A Matchbook Romance

Another topic we discussed was the current state of mainstream. As many of you may already know, the reason we started CONFRONT Magazine was to show that mainstream is essentially just the ability to reach a lot of people; It’s not a specific sound. People tend to assume that anything POP is mainstream and as such that’s what it’s become; Britney Spears and boy bands etc. But there has been a return to rock lately thanks to bands like Matchbook Romance and bands like Panic! At the Disco and Fall Out Boy. I asked Andy what he felt was causing the shift in perceived mainstream genres.

“I don’t know. To me bands like Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco is kind of Pop. But like Pop-rock. I don’t know. It’s very commercial and very mainstream. But who’s affecting that change I don’t know. To tell you the truth, whoever is gonna change it is gonna come out of nowhere. One band that I know that is Rock but isn’t huge right now, but can be really big is Muse. You know, a band like that could definitely bring it back.”

Matchbook Romance certainly has come a long way from the time when they played small clubs under the name The Gateway, were unsigned, still in college or in the case of drummer Aaron Stern still in high school and working odd jobs – Andrew was a waiter -to insure some sort of income.

Now they have traveled the world, have headlined their own tour and hopefully will do so again in north America soon, and as that shift from pop to rock/alternative continues to take place, more people will get a chance to discover these great artists, who despite their ‘t-shirt and jeans band’ approach to music, are making their place in the ‘fashion and theatrics heavy’ rock/punk mainstream world.
Keep an eye out for Matchbook Romance’s new single ‘Surrender’ which should be out shortly and I suggest taking a few minutes to listen to Monsters. If that song doesn’t incite you to buy the album, I’d be surprised.
To read full interview transcripts and/or submissions and to view our full picture gallery please visit CONFRONT.