audiopinions

I recently had a chance to talk with Brady of New Medicine about their debut album, the Uproar Festival, and some other interesting things. Read the full interview after the jump!

Audiopinions: Being a new band in the scene, can you give us a history of the band?

We may be new on the radar, but we aren’t spring chickens. Dan and Jake started our previous band, A Verse Unsung, five years ago. The band recorded two EP’s and a full length, intertwined with national touring, albeit on a tight budget. We caught the attention of a few labels and played multiple showcases, but with no result. After a few member changes, and a new songwriting direction, we wanted a fresh slate and started the band New Medicine about a year and a half ago.

Since then, we’ve recorded our debut release, toured our asses off (Warped Tour, Burn Halo, Chevelle, The Used, Puddle of Mudd, Halestorm…) , and made a whole bunch of friends all over the country.

AO: How did you guys end up signing with Photo Finish Records?

After so many showcases, we got pretty jaded about the process. We needed to get back to the fundamentals of our sound instead of trying to please everyone. That’s when we played for the Photo Finish family in NY. We hit it off right away. It’s a small, tight-knit crew of young folks that love music. They’ve totally got their finger on the pulse of the up-and-coming, and they gave us a lot of autonomy in the creative process. And we sealed the deal over shots of Makers Mark… Pretty cool, right?

AO: Your debut album is set to hit stores in September, what was that recording process like?

We got to record a portion of the record with one of our childhood idols, Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag). We spent three weeks at the Blasting Room with him and Jason Livermore, and refined some of our favorite tunes like “Little Sister” and “Race You To The Bottom.”

We were also thrilled to do some tracks at our home base in Minneapolis with Steve Hodge and Colt Leeb. Among these were “Baby’s Gone” and “Sun Goes Down.”

It was a long process, but we made sure we did it right. We couldn’t be more proud of the record we made or the people we made it with.

AO: What should listeners expect from the new album?

We are stoked about every single track on the album. We came to the recording process with nearly 100 songs to choose from, and we’ve picked the best. The songs are rooted in rock music, but we draw from a wide spectrum of influences. You may hear traces of Rise Against one minute, and Rage the next. Bottom line, the record brings the party. Let’s get down.

AO: You guys recently released a music video for “Laid”. How did the concept for the video come about and what was it like filming the video?

We traded some emails back in forth with Ian and Mike from Killswitch Productions, and they nailed the vibe for the video. We shot it in Salem, MA in a junkyard and brought in two awesome actors to enhance the story. It was Jake’s first time acting, and while they filmed the intense scenes between him and his ex-lover, the rest of the band was flipping out– He killed it! We hit it off with the crew right off the bat, and we finished the whole shoot in one day. We even had time for a huge seafood feast, afterwards.

AO: You guys are set to head out on the brand new Uproar Festival. What are your expectations for this?

We are expecting to drink a lot of whiskey with Hell Yeah. We are expecting to hitch a ride in Halestorm’s RV when our van unexpectedly dies. We are expecting to arm wrestle A7X and win.

AO: What can you guys tell us about Joy 2 The World and how you guys got involved with it?

I [Brady] came across this young not-for-profit on the Internet last year after I finished up my recording for the album. I did a study abroad to Ghana in college and desperately wanted to get back. The founder Kathleen and I hit it off the first time we spoke on the phone– we began an alliance between Joy 2 the World and New Medicine. I will be returning to Ghana with Kathleen in January for my second trip with J2W.

J2W provides small loans to women in Ghana, West Africa to start businesses and gain the freedom and esteem that comes with one’s own income. It’s truly an empowering program. Right now we are hosting a fundraiser to provide wash stations to families– we’ve raised nearly $1000 to date, and we need your help!

Please visit www.joy2theworld.org or follow the links from our site to get involved.

Be the change.

AO: What are your thoughts on illegal downloading and CDs getting leaked onto the internet?

I think the answer is totally subjective. Illegally downloading a CD I want from a band I like is akin to going up to a band’s merch stand at a show and snatching a CD when no one’s looking. It’s a total bummer and you feel disrespected.

However, I never would have found out about some of my favorite bands if a friend didn’t lend me her cd, or let me borrow her mp3 player to groove on. Downloading is a way to explore new artists and check out your pals suggestions over a huge network. But if you dig it, you gotta buy it. It probably only costs $10… Or at least go see that shit live and get a rad t-shirt!

AO: Thank you for your time! Any final thoughts?

Of course! Get to Uproar early, let’s kick off this party the right way! Big ups to Audiopinions and LMP, thanks for hosting us. See y’all at the rock show.