Anything but conventional, MuteMath, a quartet from New Orleans, uses keytars, homemade instruments, powerful souring vocals, fiercely intense percussion and a high-energy live show to change the way people experience music. The Post's James Rice sat down with band members Paul Meany, Greg Hill, Darren King and Roy Mitchell-Cardenas before their show with The Fray Saturday night.
The Post: So how long has MuteMath been in the business of blowing minds and changing lives?
Meany: Well, MuteMath started about three and a half years ago. When it started it was just Darren and me. So it was one of those things that started as a two piece (band), then we added Greg, wrote some more songs, made an EP, and then Roy came along, so it was just a building block sort of thing that finally clicked. So we have been in this form for about two and a half years now.
The Post: With Web sites like MySpace, where all you need is a band and some songs, what did you do to set your self apart, from that mix of everybody on the Internet?
Meany: I'm not sure we did much else than whatever anyone else was doing. Our only mindset was to try to put as much information on our little MySpace page as possible ... and it worked. And a lot of credit should be given to the people that latched on to the music, so it can only go so far if people aren't interested.
The Post: What was behind the decision to initially sell your debut album at shows and on iTunes instead of in stores?
Meany: We kind of did that out of necessity. We were in a little label turmoil for a while, and we didn't want to stop putting out the CD, and actually selling it ourselves helped clear up some of the lines of communication with our record company. So it was definitely the right thing to do.
The Post: This one (show) sold out in a day. Opening for a band like The Fray, what is the mind set going onstage knowing that most people are there to see another band?
Meany: Really it's no different than any other night ' we just get up there and do our thing. I enjoy the challenge part of it. Just giving people a chance to hear us. If they like us, great. If not then, well, we just put on our show and have a great time doing it.
The Post: Sometimes I catch a little Police in some of your songs. Peculiar People sounds kind of like a Police song.
Mitchell-Cardenas: I'm defiantly a Police fan.
Meany: I think the Police were a great band that is definitely a bit underrated.
The Post: I agree. Were there any other bands in particular that you would like to claim as influences?
Hill: I grew up in a small town in Missouri, so country music was a big part of life because of the region.
Mitchell: My parents listened to really good music and introduced a lot of it to me. The Beatles, then I got into The Doors, Jimi Hendrix.
The Post: Everything you do is different, very unconventional and very refreshing for the music scene. What is the next step for MuteMath?
Meany: We are going to get back in the studio when this tour is over, and we are planning on coming out with a live DVD.
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James Rice
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Greg Hill rocks out with Mutemath Saturday night during their performance in Templeton Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium.
