Murder by Death
Pennies for Thought
Words: James Ferreira

Appearing:
April 14, 2008
BackBooth, Orlando

April 15, 2008
Studio A, Miami

April 16, 2008
The Orpheum, Ybor City

April 17, 2008
The Beta Bar, Tallahassee

April 18, 2008
Common Grounds, Gainesville

Everything happens for a reason. This cliché is uttered almost instantaneously when people are forced to deal with unexpected or unwanted changes. For Indiana post-punk alt-rockers, Murder by Death, change isn’t something that must be dealt with; it’s a way of life. From their inception at the turn of the millennium, they’ve explored numerous musical avenues that get their message across. From majestically crafted instrumental ballads present on their first record (Like the Exorcist, but More Breakdancing) to their hauntingly droning alt-country melodies on their latest release (Red of Tooth and Claw), MBD has exhibited an amazing propensity to seamlessly shift genres while maintaining a constant fan base nationally. I asked singer Adam Turla about the highly conceptual nature of the band’s previous records as compared to the latest album.

“With this one, I was trying to write a linear narrative that is also somewhat obscure in that there is a lot going on in there, but I wanted it to be sort of hidden. I wanted people to really have to look to find the story. It’s kind of a fun way to write, where I like to have every song have to fit into the whole picture. So, with this one I think it follows more of the style that Who Will Survive and What will be Left of Them? (2003) had, more of a linear story, whereas with In Bocca al Lupo(2006) there were a bunch of short stories,” he explained.

With the release of their new record and their relatively recently signing with Vagrant records, MBD is making great strides towards stepping into the musical foreground. Having toured with numerous legendary acts over the past decade (Against Me!, Cursive, Interpol, The Weakerthans, and Lucero to name a few), I inquired about the band’s intentions on becoming more of a presence on the indie scene.

“We’ve made a lot of friends on those tours. Some of those bands have become more successful than others, or had their moment in the sun so to speak. I really enjoy the music of most of those bands, and I like that you can do something that’s not just really obvious or scene oriented and actually be somewhat successful. That’s sort of the hope with our band,  we know that we’re not going to get a huge pop sort of fame because it’s just not the sort of music that appeals to an enormous audience of casual listeners. But then you hear some of the lyrics that the Weakerthans have which are just really obscure and literate, and you think that there is an audience for some of this because these guys are doing pretty well (in Canada they do really well), and you realize that there is a home for more unique bands out there that are doing things that aren’t as predictable. And I like that, it gives us hope that we can continue to grow and have a bigger fan base,” Turla said.

Currently, MBD is headlining their own international tour in support of their latest album. I was curious how they might view this course as a means to step out of the shadow of some of the aforementioned acts.

“We would not be upset if we were more successful. Mostly, what I want is to know that there is going to be people there at the live show. That’s what we spend most of our time doing, is touring. Knowing that there are going to be people there to play in front of not only makes the show more exciting, but keeps us out of the poor house. Having a new record out really helps. Right now, we’re just really excited to have this headlining tour with 55 shows or something, then we take three weeks off and go to Europe to headline over there, and after that it’s on to Canada in the fall. It’s good to have some momentum and be able to go out and do this. I’d love to be able to say that most of the clubs are full,” he told me.

One of the band’s greatest strengths, is their versatility. MBD is able to transition between punk, alt-country, and ethereal instrumental ballads almost seamlessly. I asked Adam if the common themes and concepts behind their music help in creating such a harmonious balance.

“I’m trying to make it work, yeah. I don’t like to think a band has to have an identity. I feel like too many bands think that, ‘Oh, we’re a punk band, so we need to make sure that we do this sing along chorus here.’ Or, ‘Oh, we’re an alt-country band, so we need to go bom-bom-bom here.’ I think that mood can get across a lot more than just doing those standard things. We try to tell a story in a way that is as unique to that story as possible. If the story is about something that is very dark and foreboding, then we try and make a song that is dark and foreboding. If it’s a shit-talking, aggressive lyrics type song, we try to make the song hit hard and sound mean. I’ve been very interested in covering a lot of ground, and with each album we’ve tried to do something a little different musically. That’s been part of the fun challenge, and hoping that people will like it,” he expounded.

Murder by Death will be making four stops in Florida this month. If anything Adam and I discussed sounded remotely interesting to you, I highly suggest you catch their live show.

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