Missio

What is your first music related memory?

Matthew: I was scared shitless when I was seven, I think. It was my first piano recital and my piano teacher would invite all of her students over to her house with all of the parents watching. I just remember being a kid and being so nervous to play the piano in front of people.

David: This is kind of a weird one, but growing up my mom was into country music. She was specifically into George Strait. I hardly have a recollection of this memory because I was so young, but she tells me this story of how I was in my room, standing on top of the table, doing air guitar and singing. She walked in and I was super embarrassed; which was such a weird and out of character thing for me to be doing at the time.

What drew you to the music industry?

David: For me, it’s more about creating art than music, per se. It’s more than just music for me. I think I was drawn to it from a really early age. It was interesting to me that a person could come up with a band—and you started with nothing—then you’d write songs and you’d name your band and all of a sudden there’s something. I’ve just been really attracted to creating stuff and putting all of the pieces around it. It just makes sense to me.

Matthew: I agree with that. I never tried to be in the music industry. I always just wrote because I had to write to get stuff out. It’s funny how life brings you into where you’re supposed to be. When we signed our first major label deal, I just could not believe that we were doing it. What started out as simply loving writing and playing piano turned into my actual job. It’s pretty exciting.

Which of your lyrics have the most meaning to you?

Matthew: I think mine’s still, “You’re not a monster, I’m not a monster, but we have monsters inside of us.” I think that says so much on the surface, but when you really dive into that, it can mean so many things. Despite people’s issues and struggles that they have, I love that we all have monsters, but you’re not a monster. We just have these things inside of us—whether it’s impatience or anger or depression or anxiety, we all have these things, but it doesn’t make us those things.

David: I’m going to give a two-part answer. I was going to say a very similar lyric, but from “Animal.” “I’m an animal, you’re an animal.” I think that ultimately “I See You” as a collection of lyrics is my favorite. Collectively, it really says everything that I would ever want to say; because it’s a connection song. It’s bringing people eye to eye. It’s not about the differences, but about seeing each other. It goes through the bad and the good. For example, in the third verse, once you get through, “I see you when you’re down and depressed, I see you when you’re lying, I see all these little things,” when you get to the third verse and it’s, “I see you when you chase all the dreams inside your head,” you know, the good things—I see all of that. And to me, the collective balance in a song is amazing.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts of this industry?

Matthew: My least favorite part of this industry is that I don’t feel like anyone knows what they’re doing. I feel like everyone is just guessing, and that really sucks.

David: My least favorite part, in some ways, is also my favorite part. It’s money. My least favorite part is that we have to make everybody money for us to continue to do this—a lot of people, including ourselves, we have to provide for ourselves—and that pressure is something I wish we could not have to deal with. I also love—and it’s been one of the most satisfying and fulfilling things that I’ve ever experienced— creating art from a pure place and being able to provide for my family. Like, what a great and beautiful gift that is also a double-edged sword. I would say the politics and the suits and the labels, but that’s all money. It’s all money.

Matthew: I love our fans. I know that they aren’t considered to be music industry per say, but we can’t do what we do without the fans. We can do what we do without the music industry and labels and stuff, but we can’t do it without people listening. So I love the fans.

David: I am so idealistic about when fans actually appreciate and hear music. When I hear music and I react to it... it is really special to see fans do that. To see fans hear a song and make it their own, relate to it, and be a part of it, that’s the best.

What musicians have helped you to grow as an artist?

David: I think our producer, Dwight Baker. Not a lot of people know how much time [he puts in]. I worked with him for five years as an audio engineer. He has a background as a musician, as a drummer, as all of these things. He’s such a good producer and such a good songwriter. He plays in a band called The Wind and the Wave, which is truly one of my favorite artists. He also happens to be one of our best friends. I think about the types of people that have had real influences on me, and no one has had more of an influence than him. He always brings it back to, “Why are you doing what you’re doing?”, which is an important place to come from.

Matthew: I would say Ben Gibbard from Death Cab for Cutie, [from] an inspirational standpoint. He has shaped a lot of my love for music and melodies. I think he’s one of the top-notch music and melodies people out there. Then, from a personal standpoint, my buddy, Chad Carouthers. He was the very first guy to push me to do a record on my own. I didn’t know anything about anything, and I remember working with him for a week and a half. He lived in Dallas and I was in Austin. I drove back home from Dallas to Austin and I turned on the X and Y record from Coldplay. It was the first time after seeing how he worked little by little: guitar, and then add drums, and then building the track. It was the first time I listened to a song and was like, “Oh, I never heard that part. I never heard this! I never heard this!” I had separated the music for the first time and it blew my mind. I remember thinking on the way home, “I’ll never be able to listen to music the same from this point on,” because then I knew how it worked, and I didn’t know before that. So, Chad pushed me into what the producer life is like and what it’s like to make a record. I was so excited.

What’s your favorite song off of your new album, The Darker the Weather//The Better the Man?

Matthew: I think “I See You.” I listened to that 150 times. I just could not get enough. I could not believe that we got to be a part of writing that song.

David: It feels really cool for me personally, getting to have pieces of my personal story on the record. The song “Do You Still Love Me Like You Used To?” is really special to me and my wife. When we set out to write this record, we could have just written a very dark record like we did on the first one, but instead, we both made an effort to go out further. That allowed us to explore different areas. For me personally, getting to have a song that I know is so true and can remind me [of good] even in times of like, “God damn, this sucks.” That’s a good thing for me.

When you released your song “Rad Drugz” you asked people what their rad drugz were. What would you say are your top three?

David: Number one for me, I have a long, long, standing work addiction. I’m a perfectionist that will not rest. I will sacrifice any and all relationships in my life over it.

Matthew: You’re a perfectionist for the things that you love.

David: Yes. If I don’t care about it then it’s gone.

Matthew: [Laughs] You and I are very similar there.

David: That’s what I struggle with most, in that it affects the people I love the most.

Matthew: My first one would be Grizzly Wintergreen tobacco. I’m trying to quit it, but man, if I go a day without it, I am a bitch. [Laughs] I am a mean, mean asshole. My second would probably be trying to be original, trying to be different than everyone else. I spend way too much time thinking about that. And third would probably be Netflix. It’s been really nice on this tour. We haven’t had time to do much so I haven’t watched much, but when I’m home, I love Netflix way too much.

David: My second one would be the phone. My wife and I talk about it all the time. We go through these long ass days, we’re so tired, and you’d think at the end of the day you would come home and just want to lay in bed and talk and comfort each other. But we just get on our fucking phones, and it’s terrible! You feel like you need it! My third thing is something I’m not even trying to change; I crave my comfort foods from home whenever I’m on the road. I just went home and literally went on the restaurant tour of Austin. I went to all my favorite spots and it was like, “Alright! Here we go!” It was pretty bad. I’d put that at number three, although, I’m not mad about that. (Laughs.)

If you could only be known by the world for one of your songs, which would you want it to be and why?

Matthew: “I See You.” I think that song just speaks to so many people. In this day and age, there are so many hurting people. We have a lot of really awesome songs, but what I love about “I See You” is it impacts people in a positive way. I think I would want to be known by that over anything.

David: Same. More than any one song, I think our goal is to make connections with people, so that song is right in line with our hearts. If we boil it all down, that’s what we really wanted to do.

Matthew: That or “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea,” just because I love that song.

What’s been the most difficult thing you’ve had to deal with as an artist?

David: Dealing with my own expectations—especially as you grow and get bigger opportunities—your expectations grow. You think you’re in control like, “Oh, if we do this, then this is going to happen.” For me, [it’s] just having to remind myself that no matter what, we are really not in control, like this journey we’re on is just kind of happening and we are going to make the best decisions we can. Sometimes things are going to go really well, and other times things aren’t going to go that well. So just learning when your expectations aren’t met. We both have our goals, we’re driven, and we want to do stuff, but when our expectations aren’t met, not being overwhelmingly in the darkness of that. And trying to see the balanced other side and the reality of that. It’s hard not to get sucked into every single thing that’s going wrong in this big of an operation.

Matthew: I lean more cynical towards life. Sometimes I’m overpowered. [I know that positivity] is available to me. But sometimes I just love being cynical and really dark, and I don’t even want to take the time to be positive. As an artist that can be difficult, because you can impact a lot of people with hope. I think you can impact more people with hope than with cynicism and I think the world needs to hear more of [that versus] the glass half empty thinking. It’s tough sometimes to want to be positive when I have no positivity in me whatsoever.

David: Or it’s tough to resonate and feel authentic in your positivity.

What was your reaction to hearing one of your songs on the radio for the first time?

David: It was so surreal. The first time I heard it, I turned on Alt Nation. My wife was in the car. It was hard to believe for me, even still. I’ve heard our stuff on the radio a handful of times now here and there and it’s still just shocking to me. Thankfulness is still the reaction. I’ve been a part of writing so many songs whose outward stated goals were to be on the radio and it’s just so hard. It’s so hard to do. So, when it does happen, just thankfulness.

Matthew: I had heard it in my car in Austin several times and I was like, “Oh this is cool.” But in my head, I was like, “Oh this is just local radio or whatever.” What impacted me was we were in Denver one time and I heard Alt Nation playing in an Uber and our song came on and I was like, “OH SHIT! I forgot Alt Nation plays all over the country! It’s not just in Austin!” So that was really cool for me.

What are your biggest hopes for the future of the band?

David: My biggest hope is that we can set ourselves up for the rest of our careers. We can continue to make art and say what we want to say, play shows for our fans and anyone that wants to appreciate what is happening, our show, the music, what we’re saying, whatever. And we can go and play shows and write music and do it our way. I think if I’m able to do that I’m going to be really, really stoked on my life. Regardless of if we’re playing Madison Square Garden or if we’re playing 500 cap rooms, if we’re able to write music that matters to us and push any creative boundaries we want to push, it’s going to be really cool.