Practically out of nowhere touring monsters Most Precious Blood returned with a new record. Guitarplayer Rachel tells all about it.
The bio that came along with 'Do Not Resuscitate' could make a fine script for a movie on it’s own. So what happened with MPB between 2006 and now. Did you guys decide on a short break which took longer and longer?
After 'Merciless' came out in 2005 we pretty much toured nonstop until 2006. Through all that touring, though we sort of felt like we were banging our heads against a wall and things just seemed to be going downhill rather than progressing further. I guess after all this time as a band, we had hit our limit and we all were quite burned out on touring and the whole music business. We decided after the last tour we had planned in Australia and New Zealand that we would take a break.
We didn’t set a time limit on this break but we figured when the time was right, we would start up again. We all sort of went our separate ways at this point. I moved to Baltimore in 2007 to attend graduate school, Matt got married and moved back home to Atlanta to pursue photography, Rob got married and became a personal trainer, Colin got married and got a government job, and Justin got very active in politics and fundraising.
We played 2 shows the following year and finally decided to start writing for a new record. The record took about a year to write because none of use was in the same state. We didn’t want to play a show at that point until we had something new to offer so even though we probably would have been ready to play a year ago, we didn’t see the point without having the new record for sale.
So a break that probably would have lasted maybe 3 years, ended up lasting close to 5.But hopefully its true that absence makes the heart grow fonder.
Already in 2009 fans thought ‘DNR’ was recorded. So are you now releasing a two year old record? Why wait for such a long time to release it?
DNR was recorded from the end of 2008 to the beginning of 2009. We were hoping it would have been ready to come out in the summer OF 2009. Unfortunately due to money issues as well as delays on our part with artwork, the record just kept getting pushed further and further and back. We finally just had to set a deadline and be like, if this stuff isn’t in it’s never going to come out. We felt that the record was still a good representation of us though, even though at this point it is a couple years old. Unfortunately with all the anticipation and delays for it to come out, the expectations for the record seem a lot higher and we hope people are not disappointed.
Between ‘Mercilless’ and ‘DNR’ a lot has happened within the music scene and globally. Is MPB ready to be a band in the age of bandcamp and twitter or are you guys just planning to do what you’ve done ever since starting the band: playing as many tight shows as possible?
It’s insane how much has changed with the music scene. We sort of feel like we were frozen in time for awhile and woke back up like 20 years later and have to navigate a new planet. We do have band Twitter, Facebook and Myspace accounts although I’m not sure we’re on bandcamp.
It’s still crazy to me that CDs have become somewhat obsolete in such a short period of time but at the same time it’s awesome that vinyl has really made a comeback. I was a big vinyl collector when I was younger.
I think its funny though that these days when you put out vinyl, people expect a free digital download with it. In the “old days” if you wanted a portable version of a record, you had to either buy it in another format or record it on a cassette!
I think that people don’t put as much thought into record artwork these days because so many people will never hold it in their hands and will only see it on a screen. But for us, we’re stubborn and really wanted to have our record out on CD and vinyl and to play a record release show, etc.. like how we’ve always done.
Are you going to tour as much as in the past or are you going to take things more slowly?
None of us are in a position anymore to tour like we used to. We all have full time jobs that we aren’t willing to give up permanently. We are just going to do things on our own terms. When we want to play some shows, we’ll book them or if we’re offered some and we want to play them, we’ll do it.
Some of the MPB members started their own label Morsecode recordings. Record sales are declining, isn’t doing a label a dangerous business to do nowadays?
I started MorseCode Recordings with my boyfriend. He approached me with the idea first and I didn’t think it was such a great idea because of how poorly the record business is doing. However, he convinced me that if things are done a bit differently there are ways for a label to survive.
Plus it’s given me a chance to put out the vinyl version of DNR. It’s a nice feeling having complete control over what you are putting out. It’s also been a good way for me to learn exactly what the record business is like these days.
While not being active with MPB did you go out and see other bands play these last few years? Which newer bands are you into.
It’s funny because there have been so many of the bands I loved when I was younger getting back together now that the majority of the shows I’ve been to, have been bands that I haven’t seen in forever. It’s great because it makes me feels young!
However there are a couple newer bands that I’ve seen that I do really like – Incendiary from NY are great, Torch Bearer from New Jersey and The May 4th Massacre from Delaware whose record we are putting out next month.
I read about an Indecision dvd coming up. What’s going to be on that one?
The Indecision documentary has been in the works for a couple years now. We had so much VHS footage to compile and go through and then all members were interviewed as well as people who were close to the band. It’s the story of the band as well as a representation of what it was like to tour in the days before there was so much technology as a band that had little backing and little in the way of connections. So it will have tons of old VHS footage, lots of live footage, interviews as well as a lot of extra features. We hope to have it out by April.
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