McTwist

Wootton graduates continue to record and perform together as McTwist despite distance of separate colleges.

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Given the strain that long distance can put on a relationship between couples imagine how hard it must be for a band to perform when its members live thousands of miles apart.
When Sam Lipson, Chris Grant, Mike Hoy and Kurt Hader formed McTwist last year, the four members knew it wouldn't be easy. All four grew up together and became friends in middle school and in high school at Thomas S. Wootton High School, where they graduated from in 2006.
Some of them had played together before, but they hadn't all four played together until Lipson and Hoy went on a road last summer. They talked about music, among other things, and vowed to get serious about it and play with the best musicians they knew. When they got back, they formed McTwist, a self-described pop-punk band with influences ranging from Sum 41 to 311, Avenged Sevenfold, Lucky Boys Confusion, The Who, and Sublime, among others. It's the first band where none of them have had any side projects, they say, and they want to take it as far as they can go.
"I think we're all really pretty focused on it," said Hoy.
How far they go will depend a lot on luck, but it will also depend on their commitment to the band and how well they handle being apart.
So far so good.

WHEN THEY'RE at their respective colleges — all four attend different schools — they perform under their names as members of McTwist if they play in a show on campus. When they're home from college on breaks, they practice, play shows and record as much as possible but in between, when they're thousands of miles apart, they turn to the internet.
Lipson, the group's guitarist and lead vocalist, will record a basic strong structure on an acoustic guitar and email it as an mp3 to his bandmates probably once or twice a week. All four members have recording programs on their computers, so they will listen to Lipson's recordings and often come up with their own accompaniment — baselines, drumbeats, guitar riffs — and send them back around. The exchange isn't the best way to make music but it keeps the dream alive until they can play together and in person again.
"I write pretty often," said Lipson, who does lead vocals and plays guitar.
"If he sends me a guitar part I'll try to come up with lyrics," said guitarist Grant of Lipson. "And then sometimes Kurt [the band's drummer] will come up with a nice beat and I'll ignore it," he said with a laugh.
They have played an increasing number of shows in the last year; this summer in particular was a good one for them with several performances in Bethesda, Baltimore and College Park. Santa Fe Cafe in College Park has become their most frequent venue but they also played as far away as Ohio and are trying to organize shows at each other's schools this upcoming year, their junior year of college.

LAST WEEK McTWIST spent their days at Amped Recording in Olney eating hot wings, hunting each other in a Playstation video game, and laying down guitar, bass, and vocal tracks in Greg Parker's converted basement recording studio. They also spent an additional day at Valencia Recordings in Baltimore laying down drum tracks.
They each took turns recording individually, with the others sitting nearby offering suggestions to each other and recording them again.
In the old days of recording, a band would set up in a soundproof studio and play a song the whole way through, all bands playing at the same time, said Amped producer Greg Parker. Technology long ago changed that and continues to make the process both easier and more complex. McTwist, for instance, spent their days last week in Parker's home studio individually laying down chunks of their instrumentals for each song, going back and repeating bits and pieces of each song until they got it right, even repetitive parts.
"These guys copy and paste as little as any guys I know," Parker said, meaning that they actually play just about everything a listener would hear on the final recording. Many bands prefer to get one small part of a repeating guitar riff right, for instance, then digitally copy it and reinsert it again in the song as needed.
The anatomy of a song can change from what was originally intended anytime a band gets into the studio, and that holds true with McTwist. After laying down a chorus riff just right after several attempts, Grant added a little improvisational deviation.
"That was awesome, you should do that," said Hoy.
"I don't even know what I just played, I was just messing around," Grant said.
Parker turned around from his computer — he has $10,000 worth of computerized recording equipment that drives his studio, but a good ear is invaluable — took the guitar from him and played it back.
"That's exactly what you just played, do that," Hoy said.
After a couple of tries Grant got it down the way he wanted it.

THE BAND'S NAME comes from a skateboarding trick that involves a 360-degree turn and flip — a move that the band members picked up in a Tony Hawk video game but not one they can do, or would even try.
"In the video game we can do it — please. We've played a lot of that," said Lipson. "In real life none of us can do that. Sometimes we go on four-mile skateboard excursions to our friends' houses — that usually involved a lot of falling and running into the woods."
How well they stay on track on the way to musical success is only partly up to them. They've got a MySpace page and are hoping to get onto iTunes and, of course, selling records and going on tour would be great, but they've got a realistic perspective.
"Our ideal goal is to take it as far as it can go," Lipson said in an email. "We are all working hard in school and want to have fall backs in place, but all of us hope this is our profession in the end .… It's so difficult to say our ideal goal, because really it is completely out of our control. There are more talented people than us that will never be able to make music their career, and [there] are less talented people that will be on the radio next month. It's a long shot, but we are hoping hard work pays off."
If all goes well commitment could breed massive success, but then, in true rockstar fashion, one never knows how ego will get involved.
"Then I'll probably tour the world after this, I'll probably go solo .… I'm going to the moon, I'm going to have the first show in space," said Grant as they recorded at Amped. Then he took up his guitar and the others sat down around him as they got back to work. - Aaron Stern/The Potomac Almanac

Formed in Rockville, Maryland in 2007, the new "cocktail rock" band McTwist is off to a solid start with their debut record, "Amateur Hour". They are not named after some sweet chocolate-vanilla confection available at McDonalds; McTwist refers to a skateboarding move first performed in the 80s by Mike McGill. But there is plenty of literal twisting evident in their music, as it is a hardy blend of many rock subgenres, including pop, alternative, punk/emo, and ska. Often, this kind of musical identity crises drives a listener insane, but kudos to McTwist for emerging from this sonic blender with a surprisingly distinct and identifiable sound of their own.

Despite the self-effacing name of the CD, the band sounds more seasoned and experienced than what you would expect for a bunch of enthusiastic "amateurs." The passion for what they do leaps right out of the speakers with an energy that is usually felt only during a live performance. The vocals come across like a combination between Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge) and Billie Joe Armstrong (Green Day), sounding more than appropriate for this hodge-podge of different rock styles. The witty and sometimes amusing lyrics are also a cut above your average new band on the block. However, what does sound a tad amateurish is the lead guitar work, which merely stabs at the notes rather than creating a soulful flow between them.

Highlights for me include the feisty lead-off track, "Word Proof Vest", the very catchy "Prizefighter", and the fun sing-a-long jam, "Brianna". Much of the other stuff is OK, just not as melodic or engaging as the standouts.

They remind me of bands like Sponge, Green Day, and For Squirrels - not just because the vocal tone is similar, but also because of the songwriting structure and their ability to mix multiple forms of rock into something that is still infectious and entertaining. While it has its flaws, "Amateur Hour" is a remarkable debut by a promising young band. I will be keeping my eye on these guys and can"t wait to hear what they do next. - The Rock and Roll Report

www.awakenmusic.blogspot.com/2009/01/amateur-hour-mctwist.html

The Maryland quartet McTwist is the culmination of power pop, punk, humor, and good energy, pulsating and rocking you into a good mood. Amateur Hour is a polished 12 track album, that is part quirky, part drive, but all good times.

Songs like Don't Say You're Fine and PFD work from simple riffs and hard hitting rhythms. More poppy tracks include Prizefighter, which more accurately captures a cohesive and working sound from the band. Its reminiscent of early Greenday and All Star United. The melody is extremely catchy and singable - their best work on the album.

Other than the album closer, Sugarcoat, there's not a lot of variation. The guitar tones, rhythms, and vocals are fairly singular.

All in all, its a well crafted album that's fun and will cause your head to bob.

Rating: 3 of 5 stars - Awaken Music--Ross Christopher

May 10, 2008
McTwist?! Who the Hell are these guys and why should I give a f*ck!?

Maybe you shouldn’t, but I’d check them out.

These guys are good (I’ve yet to see them play live yet), but I do like their songs on their Myspace (which you can check out by going here: Here!)

And this site won’t do heartless plugging, so there’s actually substance to these guys. I really like Achilles Tendency (I think it’d be a great song to use if I ever make an 80’s pop film (and I could if I wanted to)), so check that one out and then check out Late Night, Long Day which I think is an interesting 50’s/90’s pop/rock song. Hope they make an album soon so I can give it a raving review (or completely destroy it ; ))!

Anyways, they’ve got these shows lined up in your area:

May 16th, 2008 @ the Sterling Community Center in Sterling, VA @ 8PM
May 24th, 2008 @ the Brass Monkey in Baltimore, MD @ 10PM

Oh, and they look like this:

Their music is better than their band pics, I promise. What the Hell are they doing in this picture??

Check ‘em out! See them live! Shave their armpits! - The Mog meandthestereo.wordpress.com

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