Last year Midnite City came up with one of the albums of the year with their stunning debut and now they’ve gone and done the unthinkable and bettered it! We caught up with our old friend Rob Wylde to get the lowdown on the melodic rock masterpiece ‘ There Goes the Neighbourhood’…
Tell us about the process of writing and recording the new songs.
It was kinda strange how this album came about. The first album had only been released for about a month or so when our label approached us and asked us if we’d like to do another album and put it out in 2018. I guess the first album was selling so well, they wanted another. At the time we were out on the road in the middle of promoting the first album but we jumped at the chance to keep the momentum going with a second album so I started writing at the end of last year. I recorded three demos just before Christmas, one of them being ‘Give Me Love’ and we basically went from there. I wrote the rest of the songs for the album over the next few months and we began officially recording it in March of this year which was stretched over a four month period.
What were some of the things you wanted to achieve with the release?
We not only wanted to make an album that was as good as the first, which was going to be a hard job in itself, but we wanted to top it and I think we have managed to do that and then some. I think in general we just wanted to step everything up a few notches. The song writing, the production and the performances and I think we managed to do all of the above. I think we also wanted to add some more dynamics to give it a little more light and shade as well.
Do you enjoy the process of creating? Are you someone who continually writes or does the best come out under a little gentle pressure?
I write all the time, and have a stock pile of about 100 songs that I have never recorded or done anything with. But when I start writing a new album I want the songs to be brand new and fresh. It would be really easy for me to pick out some old songs from the stockpile and present those to the band but I always think that a new album is a snap shot of where you are at that moment in time so I always write from scratch for that reason. ‘Give Me Love’ was the first song that I wrote for this album which is funny because ‘Summer Of Our Lives’ was the first song I wrote for the debut and both became the first singles. There was definitely a little pressure to top the first one, especially as it was such a strong debut and one that sold well but once I stopped worrying about that and just sat down and started writing I was fine. My approach was exactly the same as on the first album and that was to just write the absolute best songs that I could.
What does it feel like as an artist waiting for the songs you’ve lived with for some time to get released to the fans? Is there a sense of excitement or a little panic in there too?
Yeah there is a little apprehension for sure. At the end of the day we the band, are the biggest fans of this band and our music. We put a hell of a lot of hard work into this album. Months and months and months of blood, sweat and tears. Certainly more than any album I’ve ever done before and although we love and believe in it 100 %, there’s no guarantees out there that everyone else will. But you just have to shut off from all of that and concentrate on writing and recording the best possible album that you can and hope that people will feel the same way when they hear it. So far the reviews have been pretty incredible.
‘There Goes the Neighbourhood’ opens with an edited clip of the intro from the start of Poison’s ‘Nothin’ But A Good Time’ video I posed the question in the review – why? After all this is so much better than Poison!
Haha thanks! We basically wanted to find a short intro that would lead into the album rather than just the obvious four-count then into the song. So we went on a hunt for a short speech that would sum up what that song was all about. We actually had a few other clips from 80’s movies that we were thinking about using but we felt that the clip we used just fit the song and the vibe of the song perfectly so we went with it and only the real die-hards will get the Poison connection anyaway…
Opening track ‘Here Comes the Party’ is a song with a similar ethos to that well know Poison song was that one of the first tracks recorded?
No ‘Here Comes The Party’ was actually one of the later tracks that I wrote for the album but as soon as I had, I knew that it had to be the opening song on the album. I remember years ago Paul Stanley saying that the first track on any KISS album was really important as it kinda set the stall out as to what was going to come and just as ‘We Belong’ set the tone for the first album, ‘Here Comes The Party’ does the same with this album. It has an anthem type of vibe about it and alongside, ‘Gave Up Giving Up’ and ‘Takes One To Know One’, is one of the heavier, more attitude driven songs on the album. It’s a Glam anthem for 2018 and it starts the album off with a real kick in the teeth! ‘Here Comes The Party’ is also going to be the third single and we will be shooting a video for it next month with a view to releasing it before Christmas.
Some of the songs on the album do have a certain Poison-like feeling about them – like for example ‘Give Me Love’ but Poison isn’t my first point of reference here. I feel that you have a sound that fits in more with bands like Danger Danger, Trixter and maybe even Warrant and Firehouse. Is that fair?
Absolutely! You’ve just named four big influences right there. Danger Danger is obviously a huge influence, also Def Leppard too and Jani Lane, God bless him, was one of my favourite songwriters, especially lyrically, so there is probably some Warrant in there too. As a band, our sound is all based around late 80’s/ early 90’s American Hair Metal. Big hooks, huge choruses and melodies and unlike other bands, we make no apologies for it!
I know you’ve road-tested a few of the songs already but how do you think the album will play out in a live situation?
We recently tested out ‘Give Me Love’ at the HRH Sleaze festival in Sheffield and that song probably went down best out of the whole set and we hadn’t even released it at that point so I guess that was a good sign. To have the audience all singing the words when we got to the second chorus on a song that they’d never heard before was pretty awesome.
As for the rest of the set, we are going to be playing seven songs from the new album and five from the first at our live shows, opening with ‘Here Comes The Party’. There’s a lot more attitude on this album and I think that will transcend really well to the live setting. We’re also going to throw in our current single ‘You Don’t Understand Me’ and the big ballad ‘Heaven’s Falling’ to slow things down a bit as well. We can’t wait to get out and play these songs live!
I bet Def Leppard wished they still wrote songs like ‘You Don’t Understand Me’? How much of an influence have they been over the years?
A huge influence! I mean no-one really does it better than Def Leppard do they? My favourite album of all time is ‘Hysteria’ but I love everything they’ve done. They are just the kings of Pop melody mixed with Rock N’ Roll and that’s pretty much been the blueprint for everything I’ve ever done. When you’ve listened to a band so much, it’s impossible for some of that to not come out in your music and like I said earlier, we make no denial about who’s influenced us. Even if we were to deny it, it’s pretty obvious to everyone else anyway…
Pete Newdeck has done another fine job with production, he seems to really understand the band, what does he bring to the table?
I think Pete really excelled himself on this album. The whole reason I started working with him in the first place was because of his fine reputation as a producer, engineer and mixing guy and he really topped himself on this album!
Pete and I work very closely together in the studio and like any great producer, Pete really pushes and pushes and strives to get the best out of a song and the performances. He’s never satisfied until the song is the absolute best version it can be. He also comes up with some great ideas within the songs and delivers some world class backing vocals as well. He also knows how to push to get the best out of people and has an incredible ear. Pete also mixed the album and I think he did such an awesome job of it. This album just sounds HUGE! Pete and I also work great together in the studio. We just ‘get’ each other if that makes sense, and working with him is always a pleasure. We are both total workaholics when it comes to Midnite City and we are always extremely driven to put out the best album possible. The working formula and chemistry we have just works like a dream.
There’s quite a bit of variety on the album too the power pop of ‘Life Ain’t Like This On The Radio’ is amazing – I’m not sure you can fit any ore melody into that song, it’s wringing wet with it!
Haha thanks! I actually came up with the song title ‘Life Ain’t Like This On The Radio’ years ago. I just thought it was a great sounding title, and I came up with the main melody of the song around that time as well but didn’t have a verse or pre chorus to finish it off so it kinda sat on a shelf for a few years but I always knew that I’d come back to it.
I would say that of all the songs on the new album, ‘Life Ain’t Like This On The Radio’ is the one that most sounds like my previous band Teenage Casket Company, as ‘I Just Can’t Take It’ off the first album did. As I’m sure you are aware, as well as all the glam, melodic rock and AOR stuff, I am also a massive fan of power pop too and artists like Rick Springfield and Cheap Trick have always had a big influence on me and that’s where this song comes from. It’s just pure pop with 80’s guitars really…Give this to One Direction and they’d have a number one hit with it!
I finished writing the song at the end of last year and did a rough demo of it but when we got into the studio, Pete thought that we could change the intro and a few little bits here and there, so Pete gets a co-write with me on that one. It turned out great.
You don’t write a bad ballad either mate the pair you have on there – ‘Tonight You Are All I Need’ and the world-class ‘Heaven’s Falling’ are up there with your finest.
Thanks! I would say that ‘Tonight You’re All I Need’ is my personal favourite track on the album. I’m really proud of that one. It has an almost dark and haunting type of vibe about it and is completely different from anything that we’ve done before. Our keyboard player Shawn played some really awesome keys on this and I think we really managed to capture the feel and raw emotion of this song perfectly. Pete also produced the hell out of this one and after rehearsing this song up for our upcoming live shows the other day, we all feel that this is going to be one of the standout tracks in the live set. ‘Heaven’s Falling’ is a different type of ballad for me. I love writing ballads but 99% of the time, I write them about having my heart broken and losing someone which is exactly what ‘Everything You Meant To Me’ was about on the first album. This time around though ‘Heaven’s Falling’ has a really positive message (for once!). It’s about finding someone who makes your life complete and who completes you as a person. Having total faith and trust in them and finding that special someone that you just cannot live without, knowing that you’re in it for the long haul and that you’ll always be there for each other even when things get tough.
I hope you’ll be taking the album out on the road – What can people expect from a Midnite City show?
Absolutely! A massive part of Midnite City is our live show. We are a very visual band onstage and we go completely nuts when we get up there. If you want to go and see a bunch of guys that just stand there looking at their shoes, you’re going to see the wrong band! Our show is a balls to the wall, feel good, high energy rock n’ roll show that doesn’t let up until we’ve left ourselves and audience totally exhausted! I think that aspect of things sets us apart from a lot of other bands in this genre.
Now let’s get to some tough questions: How do you feel about the current music scene right now?
The good news is that there is definitely a much bigger market for our style of music these days than there was a few years ago. It will never be main-stream again but there is a pretty decent scene out there for it, especially in Europe, so that is encouraging. But apart from that it’s pretty much the same, a constant struggle! And the only way around that is to work your absolute ass off 24/7 and that’s what we do. Nothing will ever fall in your lap. If you want something, you’ve got to work and fight for it all the way and that’s what we do. We are the hardest working band out there right now!
From what you’ve learned so far what is the most valuable advice you’ve been given so far as a musician?
Best piece of advice given to me was to keep your head in the clouds but your feet on the ground. Also, to listen to other people’s opinions outside of your own.
I said at the end of our review that “The best albums like this back in the day transported you. You could drop a needle on the record and forget everything that ailed you, as the music kicked in the world was instantly a better place.” Tell us about what some of those albums are for you? What inspired you to make music like this?
I have so many albums that I could say that about but to name a few I’d say ‘Hysteria’ by Def Leppard, ‘Slippery When Wet’ by Bon Jovi, ‘Screw It’ by Danger Danger and anything by KISS to name a few… Since being a little kid, music was always the most important thing in my life and all that I ever wanted to do and be. My mum took me to see the band Europe when I was 11 years old during their ‘Out Of This World’ tour and that night changed my life forever. I’d like to say we take all of those bands above and more, put them in a blender, then we add our own unique ingredients to the mix and then that becomes Midnite City. To me, there is no better style of music. It’s passionate, exciting, emotional, energetic, flamboyant and exhilarating all in one go and you can’t really say that about any other form of music really.
And finally the tricky one… we used to believe in the sixties that everything was possible and that music could move mountains, do you believe music can still change the world?
I don’t think music can change the world but it can certainly make it a much better place. I think now more than ever, people need escapism from life and that’s what our music is all about. When you put on a Midnite City CD or come to one of our shows, you can leave all your worries and stresses behind and forget about them for a while. All great music should take you away somewhere else for a while and I’d like to think that people maybe see us in the same light.
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