The days of sitting at the record store with headphones on in search of your new favorite band are long gone. You now have an avalanche of new music available at your fingertips at any time. Allow me to introduce a band to you that should be at the top of your playlist, Midnight Mob. Hailing from New York, New York, is this four piece band that brings together influences of metal, soul, punk and rock into their own signature sound that will grab your attention.
Midnight Mob is:
- Blackey Deathproof – Vox
- Mickey Squeeze- Lead Guitar
- Carly Quinn-Bass
- Beatz – Drums
We had the chance to chat with Midnight Mob and are pleased to bring it to you here:
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Music Junkie Press: Thank you so much for taking the time out to talk with us here at Music Junkie Press! During our Reverbnation selection, Midnight Mob captured our attention from the start. You successfully bring a variety of influences together such as punk, rock, blues, metal and more.
Can you tell us where these individual influences for the band or as a whole?
Midnight Mob: We all come from a love of old school music like Elvis, Etta James & the Beach Boys. There is so much soul, musicality & creativity that oozes from that music as well as a ton of artists from the black & white days to now. We just kind of latched on to all of it. The 70’s glam movement brought great pop songs with such coolness then the late 70’s brought 3 chord grit & spit to later be run over by amazing technical guitar prowess followed all different types of metal anthems. If it’s music we can move to we listen, learn and infuse it. A few staples of ours are Iggy Pop, T. Rex, The Dead Boys, The Clash, Motorhead & Iron Maiden.
Music Junkie Press: Whom are some of your biggest influences in your music?
Midnight Mob: This is always hard. From a singer & performer’s perspective it would have to be Aretha Franklin, Iggy Pop, Freddie Mercury, Beth Hart and John Fogerty.
Music Junkie Press: If you could put together your dream lineup, which three bands would you like to tour with?
Midnight Mob: We’re going to assume living or dead on this one. It would have to be Iggy Pop, Motorhead & Eagles of Death Metal.
Music Junkie Press: When you hit the stage, there is tons of energy being released! Do you have any preshow rituals that you can tell us about?
Midnight Mob: This is such a common question for us, but unfortunately not at this moment. There’s been talk of doing a Liberache Tonight chant, but we’ll see. I don’t know if this counts as a ritual but it’s pretty consistent. When my band is ready to play, I’m never around, so they have to come find me.
Music Junkie Press: You will be playing a special show on the 24th at the Revolution Bar & Music Hall, can you tell us more about that show?
Midnight Mob: Sure! Revolution is basically our homebase. We’ve probably played there more than any other place and it’s where we honed in our craft. It’s literally one of the first places to ever have Midnight Mob play. We have a great relationship with them & they put us on the menu as a lava cake. The show on the 24th is super cool because we will be playing with Brad Whitford of Aerosmith & Derek St. Holmes of Ted Nugent. Both bands are legendary & we get to share the stage with legends. Amazing!
Music Junkie Press: You have recently released your EP Honest Brutal Glorious. The song Ghosts is a standout track! Can you tell us the inspiration behind that song?
Midnight Mob: Ghosts was actually the first completed song for the ep & we were actually playing it out live for a while before recording it, way more than the others. This song was a combination of the conversations I had to have with my friends, band, family, love interest about getting sober, and trying to get rid of all the “ghosts” of my past I had been hanging onto. The song is about trying to express to these people what’s going on and trying to even convince yourself that you’re actually going for it.
Music Junkie Press: You also released a video for the stellar track, Swing On, are you working on another video?
Midnight Mob: After we did the Swing On video we did the video for Ghosts. Originally the idea was to do a video for Stay, the acoustic track, but at the time didn’t make sense because we wanted to really showcase the energy and intensity of the band. We still would like to do a video for Stay though. It’s completely different from everything else we done and I think a simplistic ambient video would showcase it very well. Since it’s a very out yourself out there kind of song we’re actually thinking of shooting it ourselves.
Music Junkie Press: What else is next in store for Midnight Mob?
Midnight Mob: Right now we are about to record 2 new songs and scheduling release for later 2016 hopefully late Fall. If all goes well over the next two weeks we’ll back in the studio late June early July. Also in Fall UK label, STP Records, will be releasing the UK version of Honest Brutal Glorious. It will be a very limited pressing and will feature the same songs, different order and totally different artwork. It’s a music collector’s item and you can pre order it now at STP Records website.
Music Junkie Press: Being out here in California, do you have any plans to play West Coast shows? (Please, say soon!)
Midnight Mob: Jeeze! We have so many plans to CA. It’s been the hot topic over here for the last 2-3 years. We have had so many requests to come over, we know so many people over there & a chunk of our mailing list is out there. It’s the logistics of everything that makes it tricky. Right now the plan is to book about 4 shows for a long weekend, fly out and borrow gear when we get there there. It will happen for sure, not sure when but it will go down. Lets say Winter time for now. Any excuse to get out of snow in NY.
Music Junkie Press: Your music truly brings out emotion and at the same time, completely ROCKS! Do you see that in your live performances when the audience can just let loose and free their mind from the everyday world? I know when we listen to Midnight Mob, it is not only rockin but your music really takes over.
Midnight Mob: We aim to penetrate all mind, body and soul. It’s isn’t enough to play your instruments properly, sing the right notes and write a cookie cutter song structure. All of our intangible nuances bleed into our instruments and come out a mouth piece to lead the 300. Music should raise the hair on your arms, make you zone out for awhile, get your adrenaline going. When we play its genuine emotion and when the crowd feels it too there’s nothing better.
Music Junkie Press: You have recently performed at some great festivals, RocknDerby, Fashion Meets Music, etc. Can you tell us how those performances went and any highlights from them?
Midnight Mob: Rock N Derby was incredible! We opened the day on one of the main stages. Then after us was Trivium, Sevendust, Ghost, Coheed & Cambria and Shinedown. The show was awesome under the giant lights playing through a ridiculous sound system, being golf carted around with security, catering, private trailer, the whole 9. Everyone treated us with respect even though we were the only ones without a crew or a coach bus. Then at night we walked to other stage and watched the Megadeth set. I even got some footage from behind their stage while they were playing. So cool!
Music Junkie Press: You also have more festivals planned this summer, can you tell us more about those?
Midnight Mob: There are so many festivals this year it’s crazy. On 7/9 we will be opening for Skillet at Summerfest in WI, on 8/6 we will be opening for 3 Doors Down at Sturgis and on Labor Day weekend we’ll be at Fashion Meets Music Festival in OH with Passion Pit. In between all of these festivals is Great South Bay Festival, NY opening for Third Eye Blind, Liberty Music Festival in Philly, Dewey Beach Conference in DE and Hollystock in NJ. This Summer is going to rule!
Music Junkie Press: We look forward to catching you out on the road out here in California. Lastly, is there anything else you would like to share with our audience and your fans?
Midnight Mob: Yes! Follow us on Spotify! If you dig our music visit our website subscribe to our mailing list for a free mp3. We do lots of merch giveaways with our subscribers. Also if you want a personal alert of shows in your state as well as merch discounts click on MobText at www.MidnightMob.com. See you on tour!
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You can pick up their new EP by heading over to iTunes here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/midnight-mob/id418389483. They also have several upcoming shows so if you are in the area, get out to one! We can’t wait for them to head out West here for us.
Make sure to visit their social media sites so you can stay up to date on their latest news.
~ Marisol
Information & Links:
- Website: www.midnightmob.com
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/MidnightMob
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/MidnightMob101
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/MidnightMob101
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/TheMidnightMob
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