Motion City Soundtrack
Biographie Motion City Soundtrack
Motion City Soundtrack originally formed in fall of 1997 with Joshua Cain and Justin Pierre. They played in bands (The Saddest Girl Story and Slide Coaster) that eventually broke up and Josh then recruited Justin. Justin was into making movies at the time but Josh convinced him that his musical talent was worth pursuing. The band got its name from Josh's brother Brian, who had originally intended to use it for a shop (his brother also named their first major record, I Am The Movie). Motion City Soundtrack's very first lineup included Josh on bass, Joe Skinner on guitar, and Justin singing and playing guitar. They then enlisted Andy Whitney on drums. After a short time Joe left to pursue other interests. Josh then switched to his current instrument, guitar, and asked his former bandmate from Superette, Austin Lindstrom, to take the bass position. At this point the band began writing their own songs.
Andy left the band in early 1998 and the band then asked Joel Habedank, who played in Sadie Foster and the Fuck Yeahs, if he would like to drum for them. With Joel aboard, the band dropped most of the material they had done with Andy and their sound changed. They then began recording the material that would become the Promenade/Carolina 7" and the Kids For America and Back to the Beat EPs. Justin and Josh wanted a moog player, and for a time Andy Gruhn played moog for the band, but eventually they decided they were better off as a foursome with Justin and Josh alternating on the moog.
The band then set out on a tour and Matt Potocnik, of Sadie Foster and Krudler, then joined to play bass. Austin had left the band because his schedule was not as flexible, but eventually he rejoined when the band decided that Matt was not a good fit. Joel also departed, and the band played with a few different drummers until Sidney Burgdorf joined. The band continued touring and recording demos.
In early 2002 MCS lost both Sidney and Austin. They needed a drummer they asked Tony Thaxton (of Submerge) to join and eventually he accepted the offer. MCS had met Thaxton because they played a show with Submerge at the My House Cafe in Milton, PA and the bands became friends. Months later Matt Taylor, also from Submerge, joined as bassist. Jesse Johnson, who was a co-worker of Josh's at Pizza Luce in Minneapolis, joined the band around this time and learned how to play the moog for the band (despite having no previous experience—Jesse actually played bass for 11 years). With their new found stability the band toured constantly, and eventually labels began to take notice. Brett Gurewitz in particular had a strong interest in the band and signed them to Epitaph records in 2003. Motion City Soundtrack then had their major label debut with I Am The Movie in June 2003.
