REVIEWS         INTERVIEWS         ARTICLES         BLOG       ABOUT         SHOP

Interview with Miggs

In just a few short years, the power-pop rock quartet Miggs have earned critical raves across the board, sold 10,000 copies of their debut release Anyway and opened for the likes of Aerosmith and Kid Rock. You may have even heard them on commercials for Fox's successful teen soap opera "The OC." Impressive? No doubt. But what's truly remarkable is that they've accomplished all of this on their own terms, without a major label shoving them down our throats at every waking moment. They're now back with Insomnia, the new album that we guarantee will be lodged in your stereo for a very long time. Recently, band members Don Miggs, Mark Baker and Jason Gianni were kind enough to take a few minutes away from plotting their world domination to answers the oh-so-nosey questions we threw at them. Here's what they had to say!

Serendipity Media: How's 2005 been treating you?
Mark: Better than 2000-2004 combined.
Don: Excellent, thank you very much. We’ve basically been touring non-stop all year and will continue to do so until every child and puppy in the country knows Miggs! And then we’ll do the same over seas!

Take us back to the time you had completed Insomnia and finally heard the entire finished album back for the first time. What were you thinking and feeling?
Jason: "I can't believe it's finally done!"
Don: It was a weird time actually. We had worked so hard and had a few setbacks during the recording. When you record, you go late and don’t sleep. Sort of lose touch with the real world. I was a bit fragile (laughs) by the time I heard “Perfect” mixed. I finally felt like this album was really going to come out and we had a shot at quitting our day jobs and making music our work. And that’s what happened. Remember, that tearing up part was exhaustion. I am a very manly man otherwise!!!! (laughs)

What's the song writing process like for you? Where do songs as great as "Into and Over You" and "Perfect" come from?
Don: Thank you for calling them great. You picked two of my faves from Insomnia. I’m sure I’m not unique but my ability to write comes and goes. Some days I can get it all out. Other days…nothing. Being really inspired is really rare and I refuse to just write drivel. We have enough of that, right? Both of those songs were examples of being inspired and immediately having to get it out. "Perfect" came out in one 20 minute sitting at 2am after a show in San Francisco. I got home, couldn’t sleep and there the song was. The first time the band ever played it was in the recording studio and that take is what is on the album, which is cool. They trusted me enough that when I said I had a song that I thought would be a great one, they went with it.

Your songs are extremely honest lyrically. Does all of that come from personal experience or is fiction ever incorporated into your work?
Don: I try to always be honest but it isn’t always about me and it isn’t always from a real event. I read a lot and that inspires me but I tend to mix the story with the reality somewhere. My antennae is always up so if we were just talking about life or your day or whatever right now, my mind would be grabbing the bits of the story that it does- stuff that can be related to how I’d feel in that situation, etc. I tend to gravitate towards universal themes because I want people to feel like the song could be THEIR story and it could be. Mark tells people not to talk around me or it’ll end up in a song. He knows this from personal experience…A few times.

What was it like to work with Gavin MacKillop?
Don: Gavin taught us that it’s all in the details, every note matters. We had days where he was a thorn in our side. But he is spot on with how he makes a record. Months later we really appreciated just how good he was.
Jason: Many words come to mind: Interesting, challenging, humbling, experienced, revealing. Gavin had a way of making our ideas come to life that made so much more sense than we felt originally. He has a certain magic touch.
Mark: Humbling, inspiring, difficult, anxious, rewarding. He's very very good at what he does, perhaps one of the best. He was the first person we'd ever really got to work with in the music business who had a track record of repeated success spanning a few decades, and I think all of us went in very ready and willing to listen to what he had to say. From the start he punctured all of our egos and brought us all down to earth. But in the end we got exactly what we wanted: a cohesive, accessible, rock album that has depth and feeling and grows with you as you listen to it.

What's your reaction to hearing people reguard "Insomnia" as proof that Miggs is the "next big thing?"
Don: It's flattering but it doesn’t effect my day-to-day. We have a big mountain to climb and fixating on that stuff can only cause trouble. Those words are nice but they are just words and we’ve got to create the weight to them for people to believe.

What is it that you hope people will walk away from your music having experienced?
Don: I want them to feel something. Anything. Just not be passive about the experience. I want to make them dance, sit still, make love, break something, call a friend, open a book, email us. I want to inspire people to listen BEYOND the “nice song” if we can.

How has the touring been going? Any particular shows that have stood out?
Jason: Every show is a different story. It's work - real work, not just the "party" that people picture it to be before they hit the road. But that one hour each night makes it all worthwhile!

What do fans heading out to a Miggs show have in store?
Jason: High cover prices and expensive bar tabs! (laughs)
Mark: We want you to walk away saying that is one of the best bands I have ever seen. We are dedicated to this more than anything else we do.

Do you prefer playing live or recording in the studio?
Don: I prefer it all. I love both processes equally. Nobody claps in the studio and you can’t get a do over live so they both have their place!

What are your thoughts on major record labels?
Don: I really frowned upon signing a major label deal because they want to own you and THEN decide if they will even give you the push you need. That didn’t appeal to me. I do see the value in them because they have the pockets to make you a household name that you have to have these days. There are no REAL cinderella stories anymore, sadly. If a song is a hit, you can pretty much guarantee it’s because a label ponied up BIG money to have it played at radio. The cream still has to rise to the top but we’re not playing with a “clean” deck of cards. I sound jaded! I’m not though. I still believe that we can be the one in a million that breaks through. I’m nuts, I know. And the labels WILL figure out how to exist WITH the artists better at some point. They have to, right?

In the future, what producer(s) would you love to work with? How about what artist(s)?
Jason: Miggs is a band that can cover a wide, varied spectrum, and I think that different producers could really take us on different paths. I'd love to see what someone like Rick Rubin would do with our music, or whoever worked on the new Muse album or Coheed & Cambria. I'm also looking forward to the day to work with a producer who is involved with the arrangement process from square 1.
Don: JC Convertino (produced two songs on Insomnia- “Suddenly Wonderful” & “Perfect”) did a nice job of letting us see our vision through and then doing what he wanted anyway! (laughs). No he was great. As a songwriter, I would love to work with Greg Dulli, write some songs for Rod Stewart that rock and do a tour with U2.

What's your favorite album of all time?
Don: I’m the worst person to ask that of!
Mark: Who can name just one… OK, I will! Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams. There is not one single note on that album that is out of place. Not one. I would help her move, I would take her to the airport. Whatever. Call me, Lucinda. My girlfriend said you can move in with us.

Are you a fan of the Internet? I read on your online journal that the Miggs MySpace has been sucking up a lot of your time.
Don: I really think this Internet thing is going to take off!!! (laughs) I am a fan. I like that we’re all connected and that there are alternatives to radio and CD distribution out there. It’s all underground and new but so was FM radio at one point. And so was cable TV. I don’t mind myspace taking my time. It means people are responding to what we do and I’ll make all the time I can to support that!

Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions! Anything we left out that you'd like to mention?
Don: You didn’t mention our nicely coordinated jackets and ties.

For audio samples, tour dates and further info on Miggs, be sure to visit them online at www.miggsband.com and www.myspace.com/miggs.