The last year has marked some milestones for Motion City Soundtrack, a growing favorite on the power-pop scene.
The group played for 18,000 people in England with Blink-182, toured the globe to support it’s second release, “Commit This to Memory,” which was produced by Blink’s Mark Hoppus, and now is a main-stage act on this summer’s Warped Tour.
Guitarist Josh Cain is ready for a break.
AP: What does it mean to you that you’re a Warped Tour headliner?
Josh Cain: They don’t really call them headliners. I don’t consider us a headliner. We’re a main-stage band. Everyone gets the same treatment.
AP: What do you want out of the Warped Tour?
JC: It’s one of those things that we’ve wanted to be on the main stage and now we just want to do the tour. It’s kind of like a final hurrah for the record we have out now. It’s the final cycle. It’s a nice closer for us and we’re getting ready to write the next record. We’re going to do a lot of writing on the tour.
AP: So it’s going to be more productive and not a huge party?
JC: We’re not a huge party band. We have business to take care of. We’ve never gotten breaks — maybe a month off this year. Our goal is to get work done so we can take a break.
AP: Did recording “Commit This to Memory” with (Blink-182’s) Mark Hoppus add credibility to your music or hurt it?
JC: I think it goes both ways. Some people view Blink as hacks and some think of them as the best band in the world. I think there are people out there, in our peer level, who viewed (working with him) as a weird decision. But some of those people started recording songs with him after.
AP: Now that you’re nearing 30, doesn’t making music about things that bother you, well, bother you?
JC: I think people grow up in different ways. Some are inhibited in growing up. That’s part of that record. Our records are like our therapy. Justin is an angsty guy sometimes. The next record might be happier, but we’ll still poke fun at ourselves. We don’t take ourselves too seriously.
AP: I know that you spent some time on the road with Fall Out Boy. Would you ever take a picture of your private part like Pete Wentz? I mean, that kind of gave a new meaning to Fall Out Boy, no?
JC: (laughing) No, no, no. Personally I would probably make everybody vomit. I think it’s a bad idea all around and he knows that. I don’t know what he was thinking when he did that.
AP: Do you guys have any crazy backstage requests?
JC: The weirdest thing is probably hard-boiled eggs and Perrier. We’re all mineral water drinkers. When we don’t get our bubbly water we get a little antsy.