by Kenneth Morton

At first a Myspace sensation, Mychildren Mybride from Alabama have expanded their fan base well beyond the computer age. Now touring all across the country in support of their tremendous Solid State debut entitled Unbreakable, Mychildren Mybride is reaching out to fans to where only able to hear their music online. We recently spoke with two of the members about their new CD, touring, and being a Myspace favorite. Read on…

Where is the band from and what is the music scene like there?
The band is based out of northern Alabama. We have members that are pretty scattered around though. Robert, the guitarist, has a home in San Jose, CA and Joe, the bassist, lives in Arizona. The scene in Alabama is very good considering how small it is here. We just had our hometown CD release show and a good 500 kids came out to support us. It was great.

How did you wind up signing to Solid State Records?
We had been on and off talking with Solid State for a while. But it was this past year that the talk got serious and we went into negotiating. We had been shopping around for a label to call home and they just felt real to us. We got really good vibes and on top of that they offered us the best contract.

Being from Alabama, have you ever played Furnacefest or attended the shows?
Matthew - I had went to Furnacefest in 03. Every good band I can think of had played it. I wish it were still around. It was the best festival around the area, I think.

Who came up with the name Mychildren Mybride, and is there any story behind the name?
Our old guitar player came up with the name and at first we just thought it was cool. But over the years we had adapted the meaning that God refers to his people as his children and his church as his bride.

What made you guys decide to call your CD Unbreakable. Any story or concept behind the title?
We threw around a lot of names. But we finally all agreed that "Unbreakable" summed up the CD. Spiritually Unbreakable more so than physically.

Where do you get the ideas for some of the lyrical content on the CD.? Please cite a few of the songs and what they are about?
I write all of my songs from personal experience. I just try to write in a way people can understand and relate to.

How difficult was it to set up the European tour on your own, and what were some of the highlights over there.
I would definitely say there was stress involved hahaha. We had learned our lesson about getting merch shipped over there haha. We are also still paying back Robert for buying all the tickets. But it all started out with a booking company called Clarity Booking wanted to work with us. So we asked around to some friends to see if it was a good idea to go with them. We heard some good things and some bad. But we had really wanted to work with Avocado Booking. They do almost all of the European booking. So we had emailed them asking if they would be interested and they totally were down. Overall it was a fun experience. Stonehenge is a must see!

Your vocalist Matthew has quite a presence on Myspace, his personal page probably having more friends than the band page. Has Matthew's Myspace presence been a help or a hindrance to the band?
Yes I would say it has helped us. There is no doubt about that. A lot of people see us as a "Myspace band". We had just used Myspace to our advantage for promoting our music. We were also a DIY band up until the beginning of 07. I think people will realize that we aren't just some band that popped up out of nowhere. We plan on sticking around and playing music for a while.

Any strange Myspace stories you could share?
Matthew - One time my page got hacked and it turned into this HUGE FBI investigation. I couldn’t log in for a couple weeks. Tom had ended up getting a hold of me letting me know the guy was going to jail for what he had done.

Myspace personality Jeffree Starr was at your Safari Sams show and is apparently a big fan of the band. How did you meet him and what do you think of his over the top personality?
Well our guitarist, Robert, is from California so he had known Jeffree for a few years. He is a fan of our music, just like anyone other fan. We aren’t going to single anyone out. I wouldn't say he's any more over the top than any other fans.

Do you consider Mychildren Mybride to be a Christian band? Why or why not?
We are in fact a Christian band. We don’t feel we need to be preaching on stage. We would rather just show an example to the people rather than shoving it down their throats. Our lyrics are positive and uplifting and relate to Christianity.

How did Adam D of Killswitch Engage become involved with the mixing of the CD and what was it like working with him?
Well we are a huge fan of all of his work, in the studio and his personal projects. So we had told Solid State that we made a sure decision of wanting to work with him. So they made it happen. Working with him was amazing. He has such a great eye and ear for music. We do hope to work with him again in the future.

On the CD, Brian Hood apparently played all of the instruments. Why did he wind up playing everything and how easy or difficult was that situation?
Well Brian is the primary writer of the band. So due to our busy touring schedule the rest of the band was unable to learn all the songs before we hit the studio. We did near 280 dates last year. Robert and Kyle had known some of the songs but we didn't want to have three different playing styles on the record. We wanted one super smooth sound.

To you, what is the best and worst part about touring and being on the road?
The best part being you get to see a new place everyday. I think it’s really nice knowing that you always have somewhere to be the next day. It's exciting. There are downsides though. Sometimes it's hard dealing with 5 or 6 different personalities. There's so many different things that come into play when you’re on the road. But we are all there doing it for the same reason so we try to make the best of every situation.

Future plans for the band?
Touring and touring! We are heading out on the "Scream the Prayer" tour with some good friends in June/July. The Dates are posted on our Myspace.

Do you have any messages for your fans in the LA/OC area?
We hope you guys pick up the record and enjoy it! We also hope to see you on the "Scream the Prayer" tour!

Mychildren Mylinks

Mychildren Mybride on Myspace: MCMB's Official Myspace Page!
Solid State Records: The Record label for MCMB!
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