In the Trenches with Matt Webb of Marianas Trench
By Kailee Baylor
Vancouver-based Marianas Trench has produced chart-topping hits like “Fallout,” “Haven’t Had Enough” and “Stutter” and won the 2013 Canadian JUNO Award for Group of the Year. Touring behind its most recent release, “Astoria,” the band will perform Nov. 22 at the Musikfest Café presented by Yuengling. In anticipation of this exciting show, ArtsQuest spoke with guitarist Matt Webb. Here’s how the conversation went down:
How are you feeling now that you’re officially back on tour?
You know, I’m so excited. It’s funny, we had jumped on the bus in Vancouver, Canada yesterday and then drove down to Portland last night, and it’s like we didn’t miss a beat. I jumped back into my tour bus bunk and fell asleep like a baby. It was great!
Do you guys have a band agreement, or rules that you agree to follow on the road?
That’s a good question! We encourage everybody to be showered and clean on the road so that the tour bus doesn’t smell too bad, and to just come prepared—everyone’s rehearsing hard. Oh, and also we make sure that our pants are very tight. We like to try and ‘out-tight-pants’ the other guys, especially on this tour because it’s a lot of ‘80s themes and we’re trying to really rock it up this time around. So a lot of leather, tight pants and no shaving of the chest hair.
How does touring with Marianas Trench differ from touring as Matt Webb?
Well, you know, it’s on a much grander scale. The Trench is a family, man. I much prefer traveling with the group, with my friends and family. We have a big, happy, healthy crew. Touring solo is just for fun every once and awhile, but the band is where my passion lies.
Have you ever had old enemies, or even crushes, ask for tickets? How did you react?
Yeah, sure that’s happened from time to time with friends and enemies in different towns looking for tickets. I never have a problem with that. I mean if they’re people I hate I’m not going to give them any tickets, but if it’s just friends from the past that’s fine; it’s easy to keep yourself isolated from weirdos in the crowd if you need to.
How would you say the band’s music style has changed over the years? What do you attribute that change to?
Just growing up and getting a little bit older. I think we’ve always stayed true to ourselves and released music that we loved to make and perform every night. I guess as you get older you have a lot more life experience that reflects lyrically. I think this record is the most lyrically candid record we’ve ever done, which we’re all very excited about. In terms of sounds, we wanted to go for an ‘80s sound on this record and we tried hard to get gear and instruments and studio equipment that were all period correct so that we could recreate these ‘80s sounds, because that’s what we all sort of grew up listening to and loving.
How does the image of the band translate into your personal lives? How does your personality and style differ off-stage compared to on-stage?
That’s a good question. There’s no doubt that being on stage has kind of, I wouldn’t call it a costume (look) because we don’t think that we look ridiculous like it’s Halloween or something, (but) this is stuff that we love to do and when you see a rock band on stage they should look like a rock band. The style definitely ties over into our personal lives; maybe not as flamboyant perhaps, but no one is really dressing out of their comfort zone. The style that you’ll see on stage reflects just a more extreme side of our personalities.
You do a lot of contests and promotions for your fans through social media. How much do you think your online presence impacts the band and its success?
It’s huge! I’m not sure that we’d be successful without it. The social media platforms allow us the ability to be able to connect with our fans which I think is awesome. People can sort of get to know us and see what we’re all about, and also it’s great for marketing and spreading the word, which I think helps to grow a band. We’re very thankful to have all that stuff and all the followers as well. It’s great. I love the social media and being able to interact with people and get to know our fans.
I see that Josh’s Labrador retriever gets an executive producer credit on Astoria. How does she like the band’s music?
Yeah! Her name is Benny and the Jets and she likes to step on cables and peddles and turn knobs accidently, but sometimes that leads to favorable results.
‘Astoria’ is your first physical release in the U.S. Now that the album is out, how are your fans reacting to it?
The response has been overwhelming. We were all over the iTunes charts in the states, which is really encouraging to see. Tonight (Nov. 3 in Portland) will be a good gauge because it’s our first show on this tour and I’ve been seeing on social media that there’s good buzz about the tour and the shows, and we’ll see what the crowds are like. But as far as the overall reaction, it’s been really positive and I’m excited that we finally have a U.S. release and we can get down here and tour our asses off and make some new friends. It’s awesome! I love America, man. I have family here, I have friends here and I’m excited to tour like crazy.
Which song is your personal favorite on the album?
I love the opener, “Astoria,” and “Wildfire,” and I like “Burning Up.” They’re all great. We haven’t played a lot of these songs live yet so after the first couple of shows I’ll have a better gauge of that. Sometimes you really love listening to songs but you don’t enjoy playing them live as much, and vice-versa.
You guys have shown up to award shows in everything from oversized hamster balls to bouncy castles. Can we expect a unique entrance from you when you’re in Bethlehem?
That’s a good question. I wonder if we still have those hamster balls lying around in the back of the tour bus? Typically we don’t put that much thought into the entrance to the shows because we just roll in in a tour bus, but now that you mention it, maybe we’ll think of something!
