( The ) Medicine Theory Interview is up ...
1. Your sound reminds me of 90's Post Rock, Noise Rock and Lofi bands like Sonic Youth, Tar, Jesus lizard, Slint, Polvo and Mule. Where did the this very throw back idea come from?
Tyson (TS):
It's the music we came up on really, and not so much of a throw back as it is what comes naturally.
Jeff (JI):
We're old. And as Tyson mentioned, it's the music we heard while we're learning to be in a band and how to write songs.
2. The name of the band is presented in a very unique fashion. What his behind the name of the band. There must be a story?
(TS):
We argued about being a "The" band and came to a compromise which works out well graphically. The name it self was part of a line from one of our first songs. The song wasn't very good but the line struck a chord with us.
3. You must have a love for Amrep, Touch and go, SST and Matador etc. If you could be on any one of those labels in the Hey day which would it be and why?
(TS):
It would be a split between AMREP and Touch and Go. Both great labels with incredible rosters, but I preferred the politics/hand shake/5050 split of touch and go.
(JI):
Anyone of those would have be an honor to be apart of... because they all had great bands and a seemingly great ethos.
4. From your bandcamp page you have many releases how are they similar or differ to the sound on " Rain follows the plow"?
(TS):
The similarities between releases are grounded in our sensibilities and our communication as a band. The biggest difference would probably be source material. The earlier releases were largely story based, with little to no real personal connection. "Rain follows the Plow" has more of an emotional vomiting.
(JI):
The similarities is in our approach to writing... we write songs that we would want to hear and songs that keep songwriting fun for us. That is also the difference, plus we don't really follow a formula or let our "sound" define us. But let the idea take us where it needs to go.
5. Is the DIY ideal important to you rather then seek out label?
(TS):
Doing this DIY is important to us for the freedom. We're not beholden to anyone but our selves and this presents a huge canvas for us to do what ever the fuck we want.
(JI):
Being DIY allows us the chance to be creative and do things the way we want to. That being said, if the right opportunity cam along, I'm sure we'd be more than happy to see how that would turn out.
6. On more of the last question can a band truly in 2017 have success with Social media and good PR team without label support?
(TS):
All depends on your definition of success.
(JI):
In this day and age I don't think that label support is 100% a must have. I do think it's a good thing to have all 3 things working together to get your music to a broader market, but that can be done without, just have to do much more work. And what's one's real measure of success? I think we're successful in the fact that we record and release our music. Does it necessarily pay the bills? No, but we're content with what we've done.
7. How do you describe the band to people that never heard you before?
(TS):
Loud. Noisy. Abrasively enjoyable.
(JI):
That's always a toughie... Noise/Art Rock with an emphasis on telling a story.
8. What is the scene like in Kansas City 2017 good venue any bands that you want to talk about that deserve exposure too?
(JI):
There are a number of bands in KC right now that are kicking some butt and moving onto bigger things. BUMMER, Radkey, Victor and Penny, Hyborian, just to name a few. Even rap artists like Tech9ne and Mac Lethal and RB/pop singer/actress Janelle Monae. KC has always had a great music scene, like other areas sometimes there's a lull, but now is a definite upswing.
9. Do you have other projects my readers can check out or is (The) Medicine Theory the driving force?
(TS):
We're both involved in multiple projects. From visual art, performance and other bands. Jeff has A Light Within and I have Abandoned Bells for other bands. Both of which satisfy musical inspirations for us that can't be fully realized with (the) medicine theory.
10. What kind of bands do like to perform live with that gives it a good crowd reaction?
(TS):
We enjoy playing with bands that write and perform passionately. Regardless of genre.
11. Who would you like to cover (The) Medicine Theory and see how they experiment with your sounds?
(TS):
Vermillion Lies, Nick Cave, The Protestant Sons.
(JI):
John Zorn, Aphex Twin or even Goldie... someone completely out of our umbrella would put an interesting twist on what we do.
12.Artwork for Rain the follows the plow has a very early 20th century vibe how does that play into the theme of the tracks?
(TS):
It doesn't. It came from visual language we were playing around with for a video concept.
(JI):
We were thinking about doing a video for the song "A Place Without Sleep" and we ended up thinking about the Dust Bowl era and even thinking about using some Dust Bowl era slang for the title of the EP at 1st. But I liked where we landed and maybe the video will get finished.
13. Does Visuals and Image for bands today seem to be a needed element to stand out or can good old kick ass music be enough with this new digital age?
(TS):
I have no clue.
(JI):
Depends on the band and the genre IMO. A pop band def needs a strong image and while I'm a huge supporter of bands that have great visuals when playing live, it would be a distraction for us and our music. I'm sure we'd love to have some sort of visual stimulus happening while we play, but the budget just doesn't allow that. We've had some strong photoshoots and we're very happy with how those came out, but it fits well with the kind of music you hear from us.
14. Thanks for the time any closing thoughts here
(TS):
Be well.
(JI):
Thanks for your time and support. As a band that plays the kind of music we do, we really appreciate it.
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