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| When sitting down with the five guys from MTI,
the casual observer can tell these guys are not your average rock band.
For instance, they've implemented such non-mainstream touches as trombones,
trumpets, organs, and songs about a furry little alien from the planet
of Melmac. The five had plenty of stories to tell and seem the type to
greet you anywhere you meet them. They've already sung "Happy Birthday"
at TMC and played one of their songs multiple times at Pinestock to satiate
the crowd.
About now I'm sure you're thinking, "What kind of name is 'MTI' anyway? They must be a bunch of stoners!" The five- Joel Vanderheyden, lead vocals; Ryan Anderson, drums; John Svingen, bass/rapper; John Oman, keyboard, trombone; Noah Keitel, guitar - decided that this would be a good time to dispel some nasty (and some not-so-nasty) rumors. Myth: They all met at an open mic night at Karl's three years ago. Fact: They formed in May. Pine basement residents Noah, Ryan and R.A. John S. decided to form a band, but they felt they were short a lead vocalist after a practice or two. Through a friend, the guys hooked up with Joel. "I was so excited about it, I accepted without hesitating at all," he says. They admit the main reason they |
formed was to get out there and play for KUMM's Battle of the Bands
"because it'd be fun to do." Surprisingly, they still remember their set
list; Karma Police, Mrs. Jackson, Say it Ain't So, and their closer Primal
Noogie, which is still a crowd favorite.
Mongo's Trendy Inhalants finished third that sunny afternoon, behind Minneapolis' Gutta Percha, and a Morris staple, 8-foot Bunch. It seemed from the judges table that this recently thrown together band had a bit more than what they were showing, they looked and sounded like they had room to grow. And grow they did. They've recorded a demo of some of their original stuff. Joel says, "The nice thing I've found... is that in this band everyone brings in a whole set of their musical tastes. There is some overlapping, but there's a lot of stuff that we all like. So when we come together and write our own stuff, you can look and hear those influences." Their musical interests are clearly evident in their covers and their original stuff. John Oman reluctantly admits to a "crappy pop" addiction and a Ben Folds Five craze. Joel is a big Radiohead fan while Ryan tries to emulate Buddy Rich in his drumming style. Noah likes such classics as Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith. John Svingen is the resident rapper and the chief U2 fan. The band |
(mistakingly in my humble opinion) feels they don't possess the skills
to cover such technically amazing music as U2's but they're always striving
to put out a great song, and have fun at the same time. Their self-proclaimed
specialty is covers of covers, such as "I Will Survive", "Video Killed
the Radio Star", and "Twist and Shout."
The band wanted to thank Josh Langlie and especially his grandmother Madge. Through some Book-It style reading program with is grandmother, Josh apparently earned sound equipment (but I'm told he didn't read all the books.) I guess you'll have to ask him about it. What's in the future for MTI? They say they'd like to implementmore of John Oman's keyboard, maybe some banjo from Ryan, and some more original music. They will have a full length CD hopefully finished over break and they're trying to get a spot down at Karl's to expand their rather short career (a total of five shows including two for Pine Hall). If you've seen these guys, they recommend you "get up and dance sooner" and download some MP3's from their website. What I can recommend is that you check them out if you ever get the chance, or just say "hi" to them on campus, and maybe they'll sing "Happy Birthday" for you if you ask really nicely. |
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