Press To MECO [Interview]
TMMP is dedicated to discovering and supporting musicians who break boundaries, beat the best expectations, and mean what they play.
Is it trendy? Is it cool and hip and in and [insert alternative buzzword here]? Who the fuck cares, honestly?
A self-conscious reluctance to experiment holds a lot of musicians back from doing something fresh, new, and vital. Now more than ever, musicians are placed under constant and unrelenting pressure to conform to the ways of the past – expected to be slaves to external demands, pleasing everyone except themselves.
The thing is, all the styles and genres that we take for granted now were alien once. Jazz is now considered quaint and archaic, as is classic rock’n’roll – but when those movements first kicked off, people had no idea what to make of it. From the perspective of those original jazzers and rock’n’rollers, we live in the future – and yet that same future is frequently soundtracked by vintage sounds.
Although there’s nothing objectively wrong with that, it’s still a little ironic that this future currently tends (and trends) toward the past, rather than looking forward and trying something new. Too many of today’s musicians have forgotten that the (metaphorical) musical melting pot even exists, neglecting it in favour of textbook, formulaic recycling.
But then, there are bands like Press To MECO.
Having already ranted at length about Press To MECO’s upcoming debut album Good Intent here, I’ll leave you to visit that link for more pro-MECO evangelism and jump to this chat with Press To MECO vocalist/bassist Adam Roffey, discussing the new album, creativity, and flying crowdsurfers…
You’re in the final stages of releasing your debut album, Good Intent. What thoughts and feelings are going through your minds right now?
We are all very excited for everyone to hear our debut album, and there are a lot of great vibes around the band at the moment. We are also excited to get on the road and play some of the new album material, as we have been working very hard writing, recording, and practising it. There is a big sense of accomplishment to have the finished product sitting there waiting to go.
How did Press To MECO come to be? What’s your origin story?
I met Luke when we were playing in different bands in Crawley. Luke then went on to meet Lewis at music college, by which point Luke had already begun to put together Press to MECO.
When I joined as the bassist, it made the trio complete – and we have been together nearly 6 years since then.
How have you evolved as musicians and people over the course of writing and recording the new album?
We always write our riffs, drums, melodies and harmonies separately. This way we have to play the riffs and sing over them no matter how technical; this in turn helps us to evolve as musicians as we write more and more songs as a band.
We learnt to come together as a band driven by the work ethic that comes with making an album – it brings us together as friends and musicians alike.
What’s your creative process like? How does a Press To MECO song go from idea to reality?
Luke and I will get together and jam riff ideas and evolve on these ’til we find something we really like. After we have a bunch of riffs ready for a song we will make a rough structure and then head over to Lewis’ and jam with him so he can come up with some drum ideas. Then we take the drum ideas and structure tweaks back to Luke’s, where we record the guitar and bass into the computer and program in drum ideas.
Once we are at this point, we start coming up with vocal ideas and work out harmonies for them, recording them into the computer with la-la-las. After we are happy with the final structure and everything else, we send the track to Lewis so he can work on the lyrics.
You’re setting off on tour to promote the album this month. What’s the craziest thing that’s ever happened at a Press To MECO show?
Once at a hometown show in a cramped bar full to the sides, our friend Ben was being crowdsurfed. This quickly turned into Ben being thrown up in the air over and over again; at one point he was pretty much hitting the chandelier about 12 foot up!
What’s your favourite thing about playing live?
The connection between the band and the crowd. The feeling and energy that gives you is the most amazing adrenaline rush.
Do you ever suffer from stage fright or nerves? If so, how do you get around them?
We have all been doing this for some time now, but I certainly remember getting frightened before getting on the stage for the first time at 14.
I think the first push is all you need! Then you will get better as you practise and play more shows. Each gig you play will help you improve on the last time, and your confidence strengthens.
What’s the most difficult thing about being a musician?
There isn’t really anything difficult about being a musician, apart from loading in and out of venues at a gig. It can be very difficult if there is no easy way in and out. There are stairs and a maze of corridors which make it worse [TMMP Edit: See this clip from This Is Spinal Tap for a classic example], but it’s still worth it!
If money and good taste weren’t issues, what would your stage show look like?
I think we would have quite a lot of fire and explosions! We could make a drum kit rollercoaster for Lewis, which he can ride around while playing. Me and Luke can have a Segway each with our guitars and mics attached to the front of them – then we can rock out while driving about on the stage!
Beyond the album release and tour, what does the future hold?
Writing new material, continuing to grow our fan base, and releasing the remaining singles from the album with videos. On top of that – more tours!
Links
Good Intent drops October 16; check out TMMP’s review of the whole thing here.
Press To MECO official website.
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