Although not quite as popular as Van Halen, Oasis or even (gasp!) the Jonas Brothers – Nic and Matt Heidt of MSRP are proving that it’s not such a bad idea to start a band with your brother. I recently had the chance to sit down and question this heavy metal duo about all things MSRP including their newest techno-metal-rock release The Dead Talk Back.

Todd: MSRP recently released your second album The Dead Talk Back. What was the process of putting this EP together?

Nic Heidt: Well, it really started as a different band actually called “The Dead Talk Back”. Matt and I had wanted to try something different, really stripped down and a bit catchier than what we had already done. We asked a couple of friends (Jon from Stellar Vector/Dissociate and Kris, ex-Lifelike bassist) if they would be interested in collaborating with us and went from there. It was going to be very sparse and live sounding. We were even going to limit the number of tracks we used for recording. Very basic: 2 tracks for guitar, a track for bass, one drum kit and one track for vocals per person singing.

When the timing didn’t work out for a totally new band and it became an MSRP thing, we went back and experimented with the drum sounds and added tracks like harmony vocals and guitar overdubs to bring it back into MSRP territory.

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MSRP-LikeRome.mp3]

“Like Rome” by: MSRP

Matt Heidt: For both Nic and me, I believe this album involved pushing each other to constantly re-evaluate our sound and playing ability. We definitely stuck to a more stripped down sound on this album in terms of instrumentation in order to allow more room for the vocal hooks that I feel were largely covered by a drum machine and layers of synth sounds on the last album.

A few years ago when we recorded One Hundred Fold Origami Meteor, I got a track when it was largely finished except for the drum parts. And at the time we did not have space for me to record drum tracks, so we had to use a drum machine. We were both extremely glad that we didn’t have to do that on this album. We toned down the synths and went for a really live drum sound with this recording.

In terms of the process, it involved constant practice on both of our parts. When I would record a track for The Dead Talk Back, I would try to avoid recording only sections of songs, instead I would play the song through and we would cut out parts from two or three takes to make the finished product. I don’t like having to correct my drum parts or Nic to correct vocal lines because it means we wouldn’t be able to play the song live. We had to do that a lot on the last album and we avoided it as much as possible on this one.

Todd: How did you decide what tracks would make the cut?

Nic: There was one that didn’t really turn out right that isn’t on there. It was called “Fissure” and it was my weird attempt to blend something tonally similar to Deftones with something stylistically/tension-wise similar to Sigur Ros. The vocals veered into Harry Partch-esque territory. It didn’t really work in the end.

Todd: What was the motivation to put out an EP and not a full-length album?

Matt: I think the EP gives bands a lot more breathing room. I would always be taken back when a band would go 5 years without releasing a full length, or any music for that matter, and then when they finally did their sound had drastically changed. I’m not saying different is bad, far from it, I just think EPs allow the listeners to track a band’s changes in songwriting more accurately and it gives the bands more of a chance to toy with different sounds and writing styles. Sometimes a certain feel only works for 4 or 5 songs and not an entire album and with an EP we can do that. If we want to write 5 heavier songs, we can do that too on a different EP.

Personally, I would rather spend $8 on an EP and get new music from my favorite bands every year rather than waiting 2 or 3 years for a full length that may not show how a band’s sound has progressed over the years. I feel EPs let people hear bands moving from point A to B to C to D, whereas with a full-length you may only hear a band at point A and then D; we all know changes happened in between, but rarely do we get to hear them.

Nic: To be honest, I think full length albums are dead. How many people do you know that will actually sit and listen to an album front-to-back anymore? And really, what constitutes a full-length album? How many older albums that were huge (bands like Boston and the Ohio Players come to mind) had “full-length” albums that were only 7 or 8 tracks. I own 14 track albums that barely top 30 minutes in length.

Todd: How did the “bonus tracks” come into the picture?

Nic: The bonus tracks came about because I thought they were really great songs we had recorded, but they didn’t fit with The Dead Talk Back style songs at all. I wanted to release them, but I wanted it to be known that they were separate from the other songs so people wouldn’t be caught off guard by the sudden, liberal use of synths and whatnot.

[audio=http://borangutan.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/MSRP-Abuse.mp3]

“Abuse” by: MSRP

Todd: How is this release different from One Hundred Fold Origami Meteor? How do you feel your songwriting has changed?

Nic: The main reason this release is different is the collaboration with different musicians. Take the track “I Should Forgive“. That song was originally about 30 beats per minute faster and much angrier. Kris and Jon both thought the bass line grooved well and wanted a much more Gang of Four feel to it. Matt picked up on that idea right away and ran with some groovier drums. In turn, I toned down the vocals a bit. It was a totally different direction than MSRP would have normally taken that song. I think the song turned out way better than the original idea we had for it.

From a personal songwriting standpoint, I wrote a lot of these tracks around the vocals. I’ve never done that before. I sometimes have a vocal idea, or I will leave space for vocals, but I don’t write riffs or song structures around, say, a chorus. I became OK with the idea of a catchy chorus and pop song structure.

The other major change is Matt’s drumming. But I’ll let him talk about that.

Matt: I would say my drumming has changed drastically on this album. For one, on Origami Meteor, we had to use a drum machine because we had nowhere to record my set. I would still be playing the same parts live, but it didn’t feel the same on the album. Now, we can record what I’m playing. Also, I tried to play well outside of my means on the last album. I was scared to let a good grove carry the song and thought that lots and lots of crazy rhythms meant I was a good drummer. That changed. The drums on this album vary from catchy punk hooks on tracks like “Like Rome” to furious double bass in sections of the track “Tomorrow”, but I learned to back off and let the vocals, bass and guitar carry the song. I tried to mix a lot of tom groves into the mix where I could because I’m a sucker for those. This album was challenging for me because writing changed the way I think about drumming in general. It’s harder to think of one seemingly simple beat that can carry a song and put one drum fill in the right place than it is the flail my arms like a mad man trying to play everything at once. I can’t tell you how many times I would put the guitar tracks on repeat on my iPod and practice one song on a loop for 30 minutes playing every drum beat I could think of until I finally hit the right one. I feel it was worth it though.

Todd: You mentioned recording live drums this time out, what’s your set-up? How do you feel the V-drums compare with a live acoustic set?

Matt: Since I bought an electronic set, I’ve actually down-sized to a four piece by using one of the tom triggers as a ride. I try to keep my set up pretty basic; I find the less drums I have the more I think about the parts I’m playing. My acoustic is a 6-piece, which I love, but if I had never down sized I really don’t think I would be as good a drummer as I am now. However, in terms of practicing, acoustic sets are a pain in the ass. Guitarists have the luxury of headphones, but an acoustic set in an apartment just doesn’t work. With the electronic set, I can finally practice on a regular basis. If given the choice, I’d take an acoustic set if I had the space for it, but unless I buy a house or pay for practice space, that’s not going to happen. The electronic kit has also made recording a breeze. After we record, Nic has complete control over the drum sounds without having to worry about things like mic bleed. So many musicians use triggered acoustic sets anyway, they may as well use V-drums. It was strange to switch from acoustic to electric, especially on the bass drum, the sensor I have rebounds nothing like a real drum and lead to hours of frustration as I had to re-learn a few of my double bass rhythms. However, I now have more control over my feet because of it.

Todd: What are each of your histories in the Minneapolis music scene?

Nic: I started playing in Minneapolis with a band called The Eighth Day with Shawn Phillips. We split off to become MSRP and Shawn continued as The Eighth. I also played guitar in Thosquanta for a couple years. I mastered their last couple albums as well. I’ve done a few remixes for people and mastered a few other things. The last full master I did was for the Minneapolis band OBCT. MSRP pops up on the Twin Cities Electropunk compilations and I ran sound at Club Underground on Spring Street (awesome breakfast food!) for a bit.

Matt: MSRP has pretty much been it for me. I was a full-time student at the University of Minnesota until I graduated in May which sucked up pretty much all of my free time, and now I can’t wait to get involved in the music scene again.

Todd: Nic, you mentioned you recently mastered Thosquanta’s and OBCT’s new records. Have you been mastering quite a bit locally?

Nic: Mastering was something I just kind of fell into. I didn’t know anyone else that had the equipment or even really knew how to do it short of “run the song through a compressor and limiter and squish the crap out of it.” It was born of necessity. However, I found I really love to do it. The mastering I do is not what you would call of “commercial loudness” though. I have a very definite stance when it comes to the loudness wars. If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about there, check out Wikipedia here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loudness_war

I think the early 90s had it right. A bit of multi-band compression and limiting to give the mix some power and you are good to go. So many CDs I have are just “on” or “off”, there is nothing in between that lets the music breath to build or release tension.

Todd: Is this something you’re looking to “break into” locally?

Nic: The short answer is yes, I would love to master more CDs. I just love working with audio in any capacity. I can work on a mix or master for hours and completely lose track of time. It’s the best! For me, I get the same sort of feeling rocking a good mix and tweaking that kick drum as I do playing a live show in front of an audience.

Todd: From an audio engineering point of view, what do you think some of the biggest “mistakes” a home recordist can make in their recordings? Any advice or audio tricks you’re willing to share?

Nic: Well, my mixes are far from perfect, but I’ll do my best. I think the biggest thing that can make your mixes sound better is to listen to them on as many different speakers and in as many different environments as possible. I can tell the instant I pop in a home-brewed CD whether or not the person who mixed it has some decent studio monitors. I really think that a decent pair of monitors is one of the best investments you can make. I remember when I first got real monitors and I started listening to music on them. I couldn’t believe what I had been missing! Whenever I get a new CD I still listen to it the entire way through on my monitors and in my nice pair of headphones at least one time. When you mix on regular stereo speakers the frequency response varies so wildly from pair to pair and your mixes reflect that. The mixes will sound completely awesome for certain frequency bands and completely whacked out and wrong in others.

Todd: You mentioned you use to play guitar in Thosquanta. With the number of members they’ve had they seem like the local industrial farm-league! How did you hook up with them? Did you enjoy not being in the lead role?

Nic: Yeah, it’s a lot like the black metal scene, but without the murder and brain eating. I knew Adam from local shows and whatnot and the guitarist he had at the time couldn’t play shows anymore, so he asked me to fill in on one they had already booked. This was back when all the guitar work was acoustic. It worked out great and we just went from there. I really loved just being reactive and complimentary with my parts in Thosquanta. It was super fun not to have to be the main creative force, a totally different kind of fun. I would just throw ideas out there and let Adam tell me whether or not they gelled with his idea of the song. Very rarely did I push for something that the rest of the band vetoed. I didn’t pre-judge any of my ideas; I just put them on the table.

Todd: What prompted the decision to move on?

Nic: I left the band simply because life got in the way. Between my job at the time and everything else, it just wasn’t working anymore.

OK, I guess I’ll tell you what really happened, since the readers want to know. One night backstage after a show, there were a lot of substances involved on my end for sure, I walked in on Adam having sex with my best friend’s old roommate’s cousin’s neighbor. So, to get back at him, I punched his grandmother. He found out the next day and, still drunk, tried to run me over. I narrowly jumped out of the way and onto a nearby motorcycle to give chase screaming “tally-ho”. The chase ended when we both took a sharp turn and crashed into the backstage area of a Morrissey concert. He stayed to see the show because he’s stupid and likes Morrissey. I left because Morrissey sucks. We haven’t spoken since.

Todd: Funny… that’s the exact same way their previous guitarist left! Speaking of other bands, weren’t you part of the Glampyres with Mach FoX? Was this a one off or will you come out every Halloween?

Nic: That was just a one-off type of thing. Mach FoX had already booked the show and their current guitarist had some previous obligations and couldn’t make it, so I filled in. Wow, that sounds familiar! It was really a fun show. I had a blast and would totally do another Glampyres Halloween show if Mach Fox wanted to, but I haven’t heard anything yet. He’s a great guy to work with. He balances the fun aspects of music with the dedication and practice needed really well. Something like — “We need to run through this song at least 3 more times to get it right, but let’s have a beer and talk about how cool the new CD from (insert awesome band here) is first.”

Todd: Finally, what’s next for MSRP? When can we expect more new music?

Nic: I’m actually really excited for the next disc. I mean, if I wasn’t, there would be something wrong and musicians always say this, but I really feel it’s going to be the best thing we’ve ever done. Some of the stylistic blends we’ve been trying to accomplish since we started writing music are working brilliantly on the new stuff. Screaming, singing, the catchy chorus, breakdowns, synths, heavy riffs, guitar and vocal harmonies, odd time signatures, double kick and badass drum grooves – all in the same song sometimes. The music is all done, I’m just finishing vocals on a few tracks. We are shooting for a fall release, maybe late summer around August (when we get renters tax returns so we can afford to print up the disc, ha!). The tentative title is MSRP Vs. The Aztec Mummy. I’ll send a free CD to the first person that can guess the method we are using to come up with the album names for that and The Dead Talk Back. Seriously, just email me your answer at msrpband@yahoo.com with your address to send the disc and I’ll e-mail you back letting you know if you got it right. Your first hint is that it’s rooted in Minnesota!

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More info:
http://www.myspace.com/msrp

Editor’s Note: Todd Millenacker performs in the local electronic band Avenpitch and writes about the TC Electropunk music scene in Minnesota. He can be contacted at avenpitch[at]avenpitch[dot]com.

posted March 10th, 2010 at 10:48 pm MN Rock Matt Heidt, MSRP, Nick Heidt, TC Electropunk