The Firebird Suite

BP. So, what is going on in the land of The Firebird Suite?

MM. Two months ago we finished our album we've been working on called The

Matador. We released the album two weeks ago and we're really happy with it.

Much of it was a year or more in the works.

BP. You have an interesting name for the band. I think I know where it might have come from, but can you tell our readers how the name came about?

MM. Igor Stravinsky is, and has always been my favorite composer. My favorite of all his stuff is his ballet The Firebird Suite. I've always loved the way it's so dark and looming at the beginning, and Stravinsky wasn't afraid to do the unexpected. I've always respected that about certain musicians and bands, but Stravinsky pretty much embodies that for me.

BP. What's the scene like where you are at? What are some good bands we should check out from your area?

MM. Oh wow, so many to name. How much time do you have? Some of the best music that's going on in our area...Haley Rains and Holly Rains. They're identical twins that write and play folk music. They're amazing! Yetisburg is good. They remind me of a toned down Mr. Bungle. They are very adventurous in what they do. We're really digging two bands that are a little more progressive. New Statue (http://www.myspace.com/newstatue) and Crush it to Death (http://www.myspace.com/crushittodeath) are amazing. It blows my mind how these two bands aren't insanely famous.

BP. How did the band form? I know you are made up of members of some bands a lot of people have heard of before.

MM. When this band started in early 2008, it was just me. I didn't have a band. So, I made these demos with me on acoustic guitar and this cheesy sounding Digitek multi effects pedal with a drum loop on it. Eventually, I went into the studio and just made my best attempt at tracking all the instruments myself. Eventually, this turned out to be what I named "Tales of a Succubus". After playing acoustically around town a couple times and peddling the first album to friends, a couple guys that I considered to be my idols early on asked if I needed musicians to play the songs out. Naturally, I jumped at the chance. The rest is history. I tend to get a little bit excited and track a ton of guitars, so we just recently added a 2nd guitarist to take care of that...HA! Calvin (drums) played in Not Waving But Drowning and Last Flight Home. Scott (bass) played in Across the Atlantic and Winter Like Death. Brodie (guitar) played in Submergency and I played in Last Flight Home and Pennies For Allah.

BP. What are some of the goals you have for the band in the upcoming year and beyond?

MM. We have the goal of hitting the road a little bit during the weekends and sending The Matador our for reviews. It's been quite a while since any of us have played out of town and I think we all miss it. I can't speak for the rest of the guys, but I finally feel like I have music that I'm comfortable sharing with people. Brodie is a genius, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what direction his playing will take us.

BP. If you could only name one musical influence, not a list of them, but one. Who would it be and why?

MM. For me, it's the Beatles. They were way before my time. That music, to me is timeless. Music as a whole I think, runs in cycles. It ends up being a parody of its'self and then it something comes around and wipes the slate clean. The Beatles did it in the 60's, and Nirvana did it in the 90's. That means that it's almost time for that to happen again. The Beatles were so adventurous. Music around the early 60's was so terrible, out of what I heard...aside from Motown, of course. When the Beatles came along, the chord changes and structures were so rich and so creative. They were a band that had a ton of things that musicians could respect them for, but also the songs were catchy and listenable. So, in that sense, they were extremely broad in their appeal. I hear so many bands out there nowadays that are so technical that the general public can only tolerate so much of because there are no actual songs there.

BP. Is there any one song of yours that can best sum up the band and the sound?

MM. The song that probably sums us up is "The Year That Changed Me". I think we like it so much because of the dynamics and the overall texture and impact. We usually open with that one, though it's the hardest one vocally. It's gotten a little easier since quitting smoking :)

BP. Who's better? The Rolling Stones or the Beatles?

MM. After that extremely long rant about the Beatles, I bet you can guess which one. The Beatles all the way!

BP. Yeah, I guess you have a point there!

BP. Is it true that you once dated a supermodel from Europe, but you wore a disguise so no one would know it was you?

MM. I know I'm supposed to be the one answering the questions. But, who is your informant? I was naive to think that when I adopted the Bush's Baked Bean dog, he would be able to keep a secret. He always spills the beans.

BP. Well, I can't really say who told me, but I'll just say he has been on tv trying make money selling secrets.

BP. Ok.. the last question was pretty dumb.. My fault.. What kind of gear do you use?

MM. That's a hard question. So, I'm going to be very vague. I shouldn't say this, but I'm SO not a gear nerd. I'm lucky to be able to plug it all in. I play an Ibanez semi-hollowbody (I'm pretty sure it has six strings), a Marshall Half stack of some sort ran with an extra cabinet that's some sort of Frankenstein. I think it used to be a Crate Blue Voodoo cabinet but has been taken apart and replaced with 4x12" Celestion speakers. I'm getting an Ampeg cab soon. I'm a bass player originally, so I use no effects (not even a footswitch).

BP. Is there anything you'd like to add? This is where we give you a chance to say anything you want or plug just about anything. Tell us how to find you, your shoe size... anything.

MM. We look forward to playing out in the surrounding areas. We're not setting out to conquer the world. We're not trying to be something we're not. I just have a blast doing what I'm doing. We don't write to appeal to anyone. We just write what we would want to hear. Writing music is the best form therapy. I'm very happy and very comfortable playing with these guys. Imagine all of a sudden ending up in a band with your idols. It's amazing.

You can find us at http://www.myspace.com/thefirebirdsuite. My blood type is O Negative. My shoe size is 18. No joke!

BP. Thank you Mike, I look forward to seeing The Firebird Suite come to our area in the near future.

MM. Thank you for the interview. If you're reading this, I look forward to maybe meeting you in the very near future. Thanks!

Banned Promotions

Band Promotions

Bands

Music

Roadrunner Records

Metal Blade Records

Rock n Roll

Alternative Rock

Hard Rock

Heavy Metal

Rock

Punk

Death Metal

Stoner Metal

Speed Metal

Grunge

Megadeth

Avenged Sevenfold

AC/DC

Aerosmith

Alice in Chains

Anthrax

Black Sabbath

Iron Maiden

Judas Priest

Motörhead

Megadeth

Venom

Death

Ozzy Osbourne

Queensrcyhe

1Dream Theater

Celtic Frost

Manowar

Dio

Mercyful Fate

Helloween

Bathory

Napalm Death

Carcass

Sepultura

Scorpions

Morbid Angel

Tool

Mayhem

Black Label Society

Chimaira

Coheed and Cambria

Disturbed

Down

Job For A Cowboy

Killswitch Engage

Korn

Marilyn Manson

Meshuggah

Metallica

Motley Crue

Pantera

Queens of the Stone Age

Rob Zombie

Shadows Fall

Slipknot

Slayer

Soundgarden

Static-X

The Sword

Suicide Silence

Trivium

Tool