Interview with Paul Meany
Words: Michael Rabinowitz

November 1, 2007
Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale

November 2, 2007
House of Blues, Orlando

Mute Math shows are a chaotic spectacle, a raw creative force of electro-pop that appears as if the song is being created on stage for the first time.  Take their first hit video to the single “Typical,” which is known just as much for the group performing it backwards (a feat they repeated on Jimmy Kimmel Live) as the frenetic energy it puts forth.  According to Paul Meany, lyricist to the New Orleans outfit, despite the theatric bedlam, there is a method to the group’s madness, a skill having been honed after years of touring in order to win over their label, Warner Bros., during a bitter contract dispute.  Now resolved, with a new contract, Mute Math has Warner’s full backing to what Meany calls the “see what paint sticks to the canvas” attitude in recording their self-titled LP.  Like the great jazz improvisations of Miles Davis and Coltrane, this is a very organic process that defies categorization, but one that Meany firmly believes in when creating his art . . .

REAX:  Was it always the original intent of the band to put on such visceral shows?
Paul Meany:  You have to understand this was a side project, a two-piece, the drummer and myself.  When we started, playing in front of people, it was a bit of a challenge.  It was more electronically driven, trying to make the most of having two guys do to as much as possible.  Somehow, we got addicted to that.  It really became a lot of fun for us, and the audience.  As we added members, with guitar and bass, we still try to keep that original ideal alive.  It forces you to think while performing.

REAX:  How do you keep the performances from meandering into prog rock? 
PM:  We are always searching for that line.  We are a band that is influenced by everything from The Beatles to jazz fusion to the most indulgent noise rock.   But, we all love a good song.  That’s the means to an end for whatever we do.  When you are in the studio, you thrive on an anything goes type of mentality.  You don’t want to just cram any idea into the standard rock structure.  Sometimes, it’s very inspirational to let an idea lead you.

REAX:  The story of your early battles with the label is well known, and to get leverage with Warner’s you had to prove yourself on the road.  Is creative control the number one priority for Mute Math?
PM:  Yes.  Its interesting when you have your first band and you start out, out of necessity, you not only have to write songs but you have to learn all of the things that go with being in a band: how to mix the record, how to manufacture it, how to write your own bio, how to take your own pictures, and run your own website.  You tell yourself, “One day I’m going to sign a record deal and I’ll have a bunch of people to do this all for me.”  For some people that’s great.  I found out that it was tortuous. So when we started Teleprompt, our own label, it was with those ideals in mind that an artist can still feel free to speak into as much of that as they want to.  Then just to have help, just to have enablers around you, not to take over. 

REAX:  Your lyrics have almost a Taoist/Buddhist bent embedded within.  Where are you finding some of your inspiration?
PM:  I’ll be brutally honest with you.  In writing lyrics, for me, it is a subconscious experience.  Its near impossible for me to sit at a piano and say “I’m going to write a song about . . . whatever.”  I feel that I am writing lyrics everyday by my experiences that are all go into my subconscious, somewhere, and I will never see them again until I hear the right music.  It almost writes itself and you go along for the ride.

www.mutemath.com