Matchbook Romance Options

[RazorBlade]

Matchbook Romance

Sparking interest
Dylan Young


If you Google "Matchbox Romance," you don't get much beyond their vanity site, a myriad lyric hubs, one with bass tabs, a couple of left-hand mentions on HotorNot.com, a blurbing on MTV.com and my own review of their 2003 release Stories and Alibis. No interviews, no articles, no joy. Maybe it's because they're still a relatively young band, maybe it's because they were forced change their name from The Getaway after it raised eyebrows (and legal fees) with a Canadian band by that name, maybe it's because they're shy, but mostly it's because they're actually called Matchbook Romance.

The Matchbook Romance story is an inspiring one, the kind of DIY tale that subsequent upstart outfits will use to fire their own ambitions. Back when they were still The Getaway, and long before the labels came sniffing around, the lads of MR took their efforts to the only public forum that would garner them the exposure they deserved - the Internet. So with a quick flip of their tech-geek badges, they set about a Net campaign to rival that of Radiohead. They built a website, digitized their songs, signed up on MP3.com and began scatter-bombing the punk ezine rings as though their futures depended on it. And remarkably it paid off.

Epitaph honcho and Bad Religion axe-slinger Brett Gurewitz was trolling the punk sites looking for the next big thing when he happened upon an effusive mention of The Getaway. He tracked down some songs and the rest is history.

"It was really lucky for us," admits MR drummer
Aaron Stern speaking with me from somewhere in a mall stateside. "Apparently, it was instant approval. Brett was just impressed right from the start. To get on Epitaph like that was amazing."

So what was it that piqued Gurewitz? Who knows? It's gotten to the point (a while back, really) where nothing vaguely emo-core stands out. Many reasonably talented outfits are foundering in the wide, choppy sea of teen-angsty guitar pop. Matchbox Romance fare pretty well, but they are far from being anything astoundingly fresh. But then maybe I just like my songs of love loss and existential blahs with a little more bite than Gurewitz or the Matchbook Romantics. Still, with MR set to begin cutting a new album at tour's end, likely we'll see the Poughkeepsie, NY rockers taking bigger bites. Certainly they've got more to hook their depression on.

"I'm still in utter shock over the election," Stern confides. "It's actually pretty hard to talk about. We're all pretty big Kerry fans and it seems unimaginable that America would pick someone as evil as Bush over him."

[Perpetuated]

I love Voices.

[angelofsin10]

i luv matchbook romance,love the drummer!

[Musefreak]

i dont

[leighton]

to

[-Base-]

they have some pretty amazing songs imo.

[Emobitch]

I love them so much. I like there songs Monster and My Eyes Burn.

[the rock girl]

thanxx for your topic