Motion City to cause a stir Friday

Photo courtesy Epitaph Records

Motion City Soundtrack will perform Friday at 8 p.m. at Sokol Auditorium.

By PATRICK KINNEY
Scene Editor

Not so long ago, Motion City Soundtrack would not have been too excited to play a show in Omaha. It meant empty rooms, said the band’s drummer, Tony Thaxton.

But of course all of that has changed. Last July — the last time the band played in Omaha — they performed at the Sokol Underground. Friday night the band will be headlining a show upstairs at the Sokol Auditorium.

The change is indicative of the band’s steady rise, starting with the release of its Epitaph Records debut, “I am the Movie,” in 2003. Since then, the band has toured with Blink 182 and Fall Out Boy, among others, and dropped its sophomore effort, “Commit This to Memory,” last fall. The album demonstrates growth within the band, Thaxton said.

“You always think and hope the band has matured some,” he said. “The first record was songs that were written over five years with different band members. [The new record] was the first time the five of us wrote the whole thing together.”

Thaxton and bass player Matt Taylor were added to the band’s lineup a few years ago. The two Richmond, Va., artists were in a band that played a show with Minneapolis-based Motion City Soundtrack some years ago. When lead vocalist Justin Pierre and guitar player Joshua Cain found themselves down one rhythm section, they tapped their friends from Virginia. The Motion City Soundtrack sound was solidified with the addition of keyboard player Jesse Johnson.

Blink 182’s Mark Hoppus produced the new album. Hoppus is one of the record’s guest vocalists, along with Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy and members of country pop-punk band Limbeck. These developments, along with increased continuity in the songwriting, mark a step forward for the band.

“You don’t want to keep doing the same things over and over,” Thaxton said. “That would get boring, so you try new things.”

The band is still trying to do what comes naturally, and people seem to be responding, Thaxton said. Motion City Soundtrack headlined a two-month club tour of the U.S. that just wound down this month. Crowds were large and enthusiastic, he said.

“We feel like we do have a lot of loyal fans,” Thaxton said. “We’ve been touring pretty relentlessly for four years.”

Thaxton said the most loyal fans seem to be the ones who were there from day one. Many of the band’s early shows were poorly attended, but each was essential to getting the band’s name out, he said.

“It’s a long, hard process, but unless you get lucky, it’s something you have to do,” Thaxton said.

Motion City Soundtrack’s Creighton stop is part of the MTVu Campus Invasion tour, which will take them to 18 universities. Thaxton said touring colleges is very different from normal tours.

“It’s a weird mix of people,” he said. “There will be a decent amount of fans, but there will also be people there just because it’s something to do.”

“Hopefully they’re going to have a good time,” Thaxton said. “We try to put on a fun, energetic show.”

Sometimes colleges put bands in rooms that are far too large. The band should feel comfortable in the 1,500 person-capacity Sokol Auditorium on Friday.

The show starts at 8 p.m. with openers Straylight Run and hellogoodbye. Tickets are free for students and available in the Student Activities Office. Non-student tickets are $15. Call 280-1713 for more information.