Today we’d like to introduce you to Midsummer Motel.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Ethan and John started playing together in the Summer of 2020 in a different band. A year later, Matt joined the band and we later adapted the name Midsummer Motel. The way we see it, sometime between 2021 and 2022, Midsummer Motel started to take shape as its own thing, separate from what Ethan and John were doing before.
We started playing at Peachy Corners Cafe in Peachtree Corners at these little teen music nights. We would also play at Bluetop in Chamblee here and there. As time went on, we would do DIY shows around Dunwoody, where Ethan and John are from, and then we eventually got a gig at the Masquerade in January 2023, right after we put out our EP.
Before we knew it, crowds were singing along to our songs, and we had developed a pretty sizable local following. Since then, a lot of bands coming through town such as Almost Monday and Juice have had us open up for them. We’ve also taken the music on the road to other cities where we’ve played some pretty incredible shows.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The biggest struggle now is that we’re all in different states most of the year. Ethan is in Tennessee, Matt is still in Georgia and John is in Ohio. We make it work, but it’s definitely slowed down progress since we can’t play together as much as we wish we could. Money is obviously a challenge too.
Things like recording, merch production, travel, payment for team members, etc. can really add up, and we don’t yet make enough as a band to cover that. Getting booked can be a challenge when you don’t have an agent, and doing social media and promo can be hard without a team for that, but we’re looking into building up our team this year.
Overall, being a small independent band just comes with a lot of challenges. We’ve had to learn a lot along the way, but it’s all been for the best. We made some mistakes early on, but things have been going relatively smoothly as of late.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
Most people would call us an “indie” band, but that doesn’t really cover everything in terms of our sound. We’re independent and the music we have out currently, definitely fits that description, but we have a pretty wide range of influences these days. We draw a lot from psychedelic rock and shoegaze to an extent since we kinda have a dreamy vibe to some of our songs. But a lot of the stuff we’re working on now is pretty heavy, almost like post-punk or something like that.
We’re looking to get more experimental with new material as well. Through all of it, things stay pretty minimal. It’s always just been the three of us, so our arrangements have always been fairly minimal, while still sounding full. We’re proud of how far we’ve come for one thing. Just a year ago now we didn’t have nearly as much as we have now. We broke a thousand monthly listeners on Spotify this past year and for the past few months, it’s been safely staying around there.
On top of that, bands and venues like the Masquerade are always asking us to play. It means a lot that so many people are interested in us. We think we’re set apart from other bands for many reasons. We try to be easy to work with and always be respectful of others. On top of that, our shows just really have a unique energy to them. They’re really high-energy, but not in an obnoxious or abrasive kind of way. It’s loud and it’s driving, but it’s always musical.
What quality or characteristic do you feel is most important to your success?
Authenticity is key. So many bands put a lot of energy into identities separate from themselves. We’re not trying to be somebody else. We’re not trying to be an Instagram or TikTok band. We’re not even necessarily chasing commercial appeal. We’re just making the best music we can while staying open-minded and humble.
Contact Info:
- Website: midsummermotel.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/midsummer_motel/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@midsummermotel
- Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/6wn5QBDXgaA1DO3iN9MD36?si=XRpFLTW_QuKx5_2H9vieyA
Image Credits
Amelia Crowder
