Midtown

Midtown is known for 2 things; their infectious pop punk that causes minor cases of whiplash from nodding along, and for lashing out at Drive Thru Records. But you already knew that. What you probably didn't know is that the band met at Rutgers University, the same college that Jeff from Thursday went. In fact, Jeff from Thursday, and Tyler from Midtown shared a house together. I had a chance to sit down with Tyler at the Warped Tour where he told me that a few days prior, in Phoenix, he fell asleep on the lawn, and woke up to a bee stinging him in the armpit! Here is what else he had to say...

Ok, if you were going to be stranded on a desert island, and you could only bring 3 CDs, and 3 other things, what would you bring?
Wow, that's a tough question. Ok, three CDs... I would probably bring disc 2 from the Led Zeppelin Re-Mastered Collection. Just because...well, I would also bring an acoustic guitar with me, and that would keep me entertained for quite some time, just trying to figure out what the hell Jimmy Page was doing! I'd bring that, I'd bring David Bowie - Rise and Fall Stardust (??) because it's such an amazing record, and I'd probably bring Radiohead - the Bends, just because I can never get enough of that record also. I know it's weird; my choices are weird. Everyone expects me to say stuff like some sort of like Jawbreaker or like Dag Nasty, and those bands I think are amazing, but like yeah. I would bring a guitar with me. Can I say like a boat?

Sure
No, I would bring myself an airplane, and I would also bring the knowledge of how to fly and navigate an airplane and get home. I would hang out on the island, get some vacation time and go home!

All right...would you rather have sex in front of your parents, or have sex at halftime during a football game?
Wow...see my parents are actually pretty cool, I mean, the idea of them seeing me having sex like, I wouldn't mind so much, but I'm afraid that like my dad wouldn't appreciate my technique or something, and would try to give me some pointers or something and that would totally gross me out like "No no son, you're doing it wrong - you've gotta support your back, or try this position and flip over the leg" or something. But I would totally have sex in front of like a huge, huge group of people, like a football field. I mean, who am I having sex with...someone I'm proud to have sex with?

Sure
Oh, well then yeah, let everyone see! I mean, like I've got enough like inside jokes with my parents right now that I don't need another one. So, but it could be fun. Like in the same sense, if I did have sex in front of them, then there would never be like a lack of conversation. It could be like fifty years from now, ya know, if I was sitting there with my dad I'd be like "dad, remember that time I had sex with my girl in front of you?" and he'd be like "yeah", and that would never get old! So, I don't know.

Ok, if you could be anyone for a day, who would you be?
Wow, if I could be anyone for a day, I guess I'd have to be alive right?

'Eh...doesn't matter.
I think I'd be Mick Jagger, 'cause like he still epitomizes everything that is so cool, I mean he's Mick Jagger, like, you can do anything you want when you're Mick Jagger. I just think he's awesome. I'd be him, or maybe like someone who's just totally completely crazy and out of their mind just to have that experience ya know? Like, I'm a little crazy, but someone who's just totally like out of their mind, just get inside someone's head. That or like someone like a musician who I don't understand how they make that music, like Thom York from Radiohead or someone like that.

Speaking of being a little crazy, are their any funny or crazy tour stories that stick out?
Well, I can tell you something that's kinda crazy, not funny, but more scary. It was our first tour in Europe, and we had this tiny little van, and I don't think the doors locked on it, so we had to back it up against walls so that no one would break into it, and we had this Swedish guy who was our tour manager and would drive us. And it was so uncomfortable, and so tiny. We were playing a show in south France, and we played our show, and it was cool. But, after the show, these people tried to car jack us. And I mean, in the south of France, in France in generally, nobody speaks English outside of Paris. Like, it was a big city, but we were told it was one of the scariest, and most dangerous cities because people come over from northern Africa, and from all these places, and like...they hate Americans or whatever. So like, have you ever seen that movie Judgement Night?

No I haven't.
Well that movie just scares the shit out of me. And after this experience, I really thought I was gonna die, because these people wanted our gear. Like, there was just tons of people, and we were driving on these real narrow streets, and cars were parked and would pull right out and stop in front of us, and cars were following us. We finally got away, just by driving over like sidewalks, and across people's lawns, and our tour manager was totally totally calm about it the whole time, I was freaking out, I've never been so afraid in my life! So we drive, from southern France to our next show that night, just because we were still awake, like scared. We drive all the way to Barcelona...Spain. So we get to Barcelona, and I was like "oh, it's so beautiful, wonderful here". And uh...hang out for the day and it's super nice, and I go call my mom from a pay phone in Barcelona, and I was like oh my god we almost got car jacked right, it was the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, but I'm in Barcelona now, it's super safe, it's wonderful, whatever. Ya know, I hang up the phone, and as soon as I hang up the phone these guys try to mug me right there on the street, so it was like one thing after the next. But they didn't take my wallet though, so if these guys read that...what's up? C'mon! You guys want some more of this? You didn't think I could run so fast did you? Ya know, so that was scary. But there's been a lot of funny things, a lot of beautiful things, just getting to travel, and like, I mean...even looking behind us (beautiful view of the gorge and Columbia River) it's just beautiful. It's really cool, we've had some really good times. We have a lot of fun on tour because we play a lot of jokes on people.

Yeah...like what?
Aw god, I'm trying to think. Ok, for instance, we've a guy with us right now on tour, like helping out. His name is Drew, and for some reason like if you go to scare him, and you're like "boo!", he has this huge reaction to it, and he flails his arms and he makes the funniest face. So, we've pretty much been doing this like non-stop since we figured it out, for like the last three days, and I mean, honestly it's almost like he's just doing it to just make us laugh, but it's for real! He must have some sort of like issue with it, but it's the funniest thing you've ever seen in your life, we'll just stand there and be like "boo!" and he's like "ahhh!" ya know? We've been like hiding video cameras to tape it just because it's so ridiculously funny!

What do you think about MP3s, and people sharing your music over the internet?
Well, ya know what? I wish I was more computer savvy. I do own a computer now. I finally just got one. But I don't really understand how all that stuff works, but I think it's the greatest invention in the whole world. I mean, I still buy all my CDs ya know, but I think if I could like get them all... like, there's so many CDs I buy for just one song and I don't really like it that much. Like, I probably have four copies of Eddie Money's Super Hits just because I wanted to hear "2 Tickets to Paradise", and then I always lose the CD. I would much rather just have gotten it online, and I think for a band, especially a band like us, ya know, when you're like... our records aren't always available in stores, and to go out on tour and have kids not be able to get your record, but they can find it online, they can learn the songs, they come to the show, they have a good time, and it spreads the word, and it makes life so much better. I'm so for it. I'm so angry that now there's all this confusion, we have to pay for it. It's like... music is art, and art is free for everyone ya know? I mean, I'd hope that if someone likes the album so much that they'll want to go buy it ya know? But like what if they hear it and they hate it? I don't want them to have our album if they don't like it. It's just an opportunity for kids, people to, not even kids... everyone to get music and spread the word. For underground bands, I mean that's just been like a revolution for the music industry. I mean, to be honest, when someone buys our record I don't make any money anyways. So, I would much rather go to a show, and have the kids know the music and like it, and be singing the words. I mean, maybe they'll see a flyer somewhere and be like "Oh, Midtown, I've heard of those guys but never heard them" then go online and check it out and they'll go, "Oh, this is good" and they'll come to the show. As opposed to being like "Eh, I'm not gonna go I don't really know them."

Yeah, I totally agree.
And I think it's really unfortunate that it has to come down to all these things with money, and you've got Metallica drummer guy all angry. He's just angry because Metallica can't make any good albums anymore.

They haven't been good since the black album!
Yeah totally, and he wants people to just buy their records, hoping that it's going to be the return to good Metallica, and then they'll be like "Uh, it's not" and they'll be stuck with it. As opposed to going online and going "Ah... this is crap!" and not buying it ya know? But you can't blame, you can't blame that. I think it's been such and important tool, and it's something that I'm so happy for, and it's helped us so tremendously.

Ok, I can't not ask this... what's happened with the Drive Thru Records thing since you said what you said?
Well, unfortunately Gabe and I said something, but, we said it because... maybe we shouldn't have said it in such a funny way, joking around so much. But, we said something that we had been thinking about, and all the bands think about, I know. And we thought it was time that people found out, and that's something that's truthful and honest.

So you think that some of the other bands on the label feel the same way?
I don't know if they'll say it to you, I don't know. I don't want to speak for anyone else actually. But, in my opinion, that's what happened... certain things happened to us, and we wanted to air those things out, because there's nothing worse than being deceived in my opinion. It's like being raped of something that is so important to you. You want to believe that the music industry is people that care about music, and are like "oh who cares about money, who cares about that kind of stuff", it's about getting a band and doing something you love. For me, I don't care if I'm in band that is getting paid to play or not getting paid to play, I just love playing music. If I wasn't doing this, I'd be hanging out in some bar playing cover songs, or writing songs because that's just what I do. I look at everything and I think music. And to know that there are people who don't do it that way, and pretend to be that way... it's just tainted. I can't imagine what it's like to be violated in a sense like that, but it just took something from me that was so pure, and so real, and just crushed it. And I hated to know that kind of thing. And unfortunately, they (Drive Thru Records) went back online, and they wrote a lot of things, personal things about me and Gabe that weren't true, and it was really terrible to see that someone could sink that low... to lie about you? But the scary thing is, is that if you go back out there, and you clear your name, and you go "Ok, this isn't true, this isn't true, here's the proof, blah blah blah". If they lie about you in the first place, what are they gonna say next? "Tyler's... from Mars, and he's actually a robot, and has three arms." Ya know? I don't have time in my life to worry about ridiculous people, and the truth will expose itself one day, I have no problem with that, I can't wait until it does, and we're doing our steps to do that, right now it's like a little weird, I don't want to cause any more problems, I love all the bands on the label, and I wish them all the best of luck. I just want what's best for people who care about playing music.

What really surprises me, is that when you came out and said that, it was a shock to me, because... I mean, I had no idea. But then you see bands like The Movielife, and Home Grown, who have been around, and then they...
Well, The Movielife hasn't really been around. I mean, they did the record with Revelation, and then they went and did the record with Drive Thru, and Home Grown as well, yeah, I mean, it's surprising, but I mean, I don't know how they are specifically being treated, but it would be something that they would have to say. It's just hurtful to notice, to see people ruining the thing that you love. And you would think that bands would stop doing it, and that's what we're trying to do. We're trying to just give a head's up to people. Not even just people in bands, but also people that buy records, and think that some things aren't what they seem. I mean, you could write a million books on the record industry, and then go "Ok, don't ever sign anything until you have a lawyer go through it, and... this is going to screw you, this is gonna get you, this is gonna get you... " No matter how many books you write, there's always gonna be that person who goes... like when I signed with Drive Thru, I was what... eighteen? Seventeen or eighteen, I didn't know shit.

You probably thought it was the coolest thing in the world!
I was like "I don't care man, these people are some great people." And I was like "It's a record deal!" It's like "I get to make a record, for real, and I don't actually have to pay for it, and we're not recording in a greenhouse like we did with our last band." So like, I'm gonna sign in, and I'll be like "whatever... we'll deal with it", and just the opportunity to make a record is more important than anything else, and there's always gonna be those people, there's always gonna be bands who are gonna be like "Well, screw it... I don't care if I get screwed, at least I get to make a record", and they're passionate, but you can say anything you want, and they'll either be like "No, it won't happen to me" or "I don't care." And it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It is unfortunate... I don't want to go to into it, because the name of our album, "Living Well is the Best Revenge", that's what I'm about. If I focus all of my energy on negative things like that, then I'm not gonna be ready to do better things for myself. And I would rather be like you know what? I've already put it behind me, a long time ago. People who know me know that the stuff they wrote about me is not true, know the stuff they wrote about Gabe is not true, and if you don't know me and you just want to judge people based on some ridiculous thing that you read online, well then that's fine and I don't care. You can think what you want, but then come and meet me and I'll prove you wrong. Because I'm not some asshole person ya know?

Do you have any closing comments? And, if you could give shout outs to up and coming bands from New Jersey, or that you've seen on tour, that would be great!
I want to thank everyone who has supported us, and comes to the shows, and buys records and says nice things to us. We really appreciate it, especially with all those things that went on. The people who were behind us, we won't forget that, and we really appreciate it. And, there's so many great bands from New Jersey right now, and I'm sure I'm just reiterating. I'm gonna say Thursday, I'm gonna say Saves The Day. Taking Back Sunday is a band that is gonna be awesome. We're doing a tour in September and October, full U.S, it's gonna be us, Taking Back Sunday, and a band called Recover, they are so rad... so rockin'! So, come check us out, come say what's up, and have a good time!

BW