L to R: Michael Epstein, Matt Girard, Travis Richter and Patrick Mussari of The Motion Sick.

Photo: Gabrielle Petraglia

We had no idea what we were in for. For our first interview flying solo (Hil is totally the old pro at this stuff) Gab and I sat down with The Motion Sick at the back of the Middle East for some beers and quite a few stories. They may joke around a lot, but these guys are the real deal– They were named Best Local Rock Band of 2009 by The Phoenix and featured as a Band of the Month in Spin Magazine.  Their song “30 Lives” is now featured on Dance Dance Revolution. They didn’t even skip a beat when a girl climbed over our table to use the breathalyzer (she blew a .38…shouldn’t she be dead?). Such gentlemen.

We easily struck up an easy rapport with frontman Michael Epstein, bassist Matt Girard, drummer Travis Richter and guitarist Patrick Mussari as they told us how The Motion Sick came to be and what we can expect from them in the coming months. Sort of. We did our best to decipher the real story from the hilarity that ensued from the moment we sat down at the table.

–Jessie

OPENING ACT: THE TEAPARTY 10

What’s your favorite breakfast cereal?

Patrick: Captain Crunch/Cookie Crisp

Travis: That shit is disgusting, how do you eat that?

P: They changed the recipe. When I was younger I used to eat so much Cookie Crisp

Michael E.: I think the granola flaxseed

Who would you rather punch in the face: Long Duk Dong from “Sixteen Candles”, or Mouth from “The Goonies”?

Matt G.: I am not going to pick.

ME: This is a really offensive question.

P: I would give both of them a really long intense hugs because they need it. I would give them a tri-hug.

T: I would punch them in the face.

ME: If I had to punch one of them, it would be a friendly punch.

If you were a kitchen appliance, what would you be?

P: Well, I think we would be a Motion Sick.

ME: I think a potato masher. It’s traditional.

P: I think we need to be a refrigerator because we keep it cool.

You go to bed, wake up, walk into the bathroom to brush your teeth… and you look in the mirror and you realize that you’ve turned into one of Jim Henson’s Muppets overnight.  Which Muppet are you?

MG:  Something from Fraggle Rock.

T: I’d be Animal.

P: I’d be Miss Piggy

ME: I would be Snuffleupagus, but the Mystics from Dark Crystal were pretty awesome.

P: And the nerdy side comes out.

Say you have a crazy night, you black out, and you wake up feeling like crap the next morning and you realize… you got a tattoo, when you were under the influence of SOMEthing.  What’d you get inked?

MG: It’s not necessarily what it would be, but where it would be.

P: I would not get a tattoo because I do not like needles so it would not matter how drunk I was.

Would you rather be a rodeo clown or a sumo wrestler?

ME: Sumo wrestler, I don’t like clowns.

If you were a particular style of facial hair, what would you be?

All: A unibrow.

If you were a type of cheese, which cheese would you be?

P: I have waited for this question! I am emperor of the cheese. I can’t answer, there is too much pressure.

ME: You might have to come back and ask later.

[Note: TPB never received this answer because it was too overwhelming for Patrick due to his love for everything cheese]

What’s your favorite word?

ME: Flabbergasted

MG: Antidisestablishmentarianism

P: Tomfoolery

T: Bro

What’s your quintessential “I’M GONNA DANCE AROUND MY APARTMENT IN MY SKIVVIES AND LOVE LIFE!” song?

MG: Something that makes me feel sexy.

ME: I am actually a fan of some of the early 80s free style music.

MG: MC Hammer, New Kids on the Block

All: (break into New Kids on the Block classics)

Photo: Gabrielle Petraglia

THE MAIN EVENT: THE MOTION SICK TPB INTERVIEW

In your own words, tell us about the band. How’d you guys get started?  How’d the band form?

ME: I think Patrick wants to tell you.

P: It’s a pretty funny story that I think Travis tells the best, actually. (Laughs) Well, Matt and Travis were originally in a band together in the early 90s. What was the band called?

MG: The Smashing Pumpkins, but then we were kicked out.

I hear Billy Corgan is hard to work with.

ME: Patrick and I met playing Cranium and he is really good at the “clay” party. Are you familiar with Cranium?

Yes.

ME: So he had to make a turtle. (Laughs) This is a true story. He was going really slowly and I was getting nervous because the timer was running. Patrick was really relaxed and chilled out. And I’m like, “I have no idea what this is!” There was barely anytime left. Then he just rolls a ball and slams it down and I’m like, “TURTLE!” and we won. That was really the start of the band.

P: Michael said, “You just made an awesome turtle, would you like to be in my band?” And I was like, “I have not even heard any of your songs, but I will.” So, we started the band together and we did some touring just the two of us. (Laughs)

ME: Sorry, that’s actually not true about the touring with just two of us, but the turtle part is true and there was some touring.

It’s okay, we’ll edit that part out. [oops.]

P: Michael told me about his band that he was starting called the Motion Sick, maybe. And I was like, “Oh, that’s a pretty awesome name. I would want to be in that band.” And then, I don’t know, maybe a year later I read a Craigslist ad, “The Motion Sick is looking for a guitarist.” I replied to him and I said, “I am really good at Cranium and I play guitar.”

ME: But, I don’t think I knew your last name. I was thinking, “Why is this guy telling me he is really good at Cranium?” And then he showed up and I’m like, “Now I get it.” He showed up, but we didn’t play Cranium.

P: We didn’t.

MG: And [Travis and I] were not really castoffs from the Smashing Pumpkins, but we could have been.

Really?

ME: The real truth is, the band was originally a studio project for some songs that I had and Matt was involved in the recording and played bass. I thought I was just doing it for fun and to not actually have a band, but it sort of came out okay. And I was like, “Hey! Maybe I should actually do something.” So I asked Matt if he was interested since we were already half way there.

P: What did he say?

ME: He was like, “Not really, but I guess.” So he joined and then we held auditions and these guys came along.

Did this all go down in Boston?

ME: It did.

Magical.

ME: It was mostly in Somerville.

Is that where most of you live?

P: Somerville, Jamaica Plain, City of Champions. Are you familiar with the City of Champions?

Brockton?

P: You have just earned extra points.

Do you have any musical influences that have helped mold/shape the band’s sound?

P: The sound of rain falling on tin roofs. That’s a pretty strong influence. Also, whale sounds.

ME: I think that’s a hard question to answer. We all like and listen to different things. We have a lot of things that cross over and a lot of things that don’t.

You have a little Venn diagram going?

ME: Yeah. We all like good music or at least what we consider good music.

Well, what are listening to right now? What’s on your iPod?

ME: I have been listening to a lot of local music actually.  I like the new record put out by The Everyday Visuals.

MG: I am an unabashed Wilco fan.

What’s the songwriting process like for The Motion Sick?

ME: So, usually I come in with the barebones of the song and these guys work some kind of magic.

MG: Michael comes in with almost a frame of a house. Some good siding and exterior. We are more like the interior decorators.

ME: They choose the wallpaper and lay down the carpets and paint.

P: I actually painted one summer as a job so I am very good.

Of the songs that you… build and decorate, do you have any songs that you really like to perform live?

ME: It’s hard because there are songs that I feel more intimidated by and songs I feel less intimidated by. Some are old that I have been playing for years and I still feel like I don’t own them.  They still own me a little bit. As far as I’m concerned, if people are liking what we are doing then I am happy with what we are playing. I like the songs when all of us are playing in the same key.

P: I think that’s a little old fashioned.

(Laughs)

Speaking of playing live, where is your favorite place(s) to play in Boston?

P: I still really prefer my bedroom. The acoustics are good. (Laughs)

ME: We mostly play at TTs, the Middle East, Church, and Great Scott.

Does one venue stand out more than the others?

MG: There are nice things about each venue and they are all different.  I actually really like Church, but I hate its location. I like the room and sound at Church best but I don’t like where it’s physically located. If Church were here in Cambridge, it would be my favorite.

Outside of Boston, where are your favorite places to play? How does the crowd elsewhere compare to your Boston fans?

MG: We have played DC four or five times and we seem to do pretty well there, with one exception being a show at Georgetown. (Laughs) We were branded as “Fucking Hipsters.” We were a victim of a hate crime against hipsters.

ME: Yeah, I like DC, it’s cool. New York is okay sometimes.

MG: We like playing in Brooklyn.

ME: The Knitting Factory was great until it closed down. Well, it moved to Brooklyn. We’ve played there a bunch of times and had really good shows there.

P: I like playing in Pennsylvania because you can bring dogs. I think that’s cool.

ME: Why aren’t your dogs coming to the show tonight?

P: Because they don’t like to hear me play.

How many dogs do you have?

P: Seven.

No! Really?

P: It’s a lifestyle.

ME: Don’t worry there’s not dog hair all over all of his stuff and car. Oh wait, yes there is. (Laughs)

The Motion Sick was voted Best Local Rock Band 2009 by The Phoenix and named “Band of the Month” in Spin Magazine. It’s really great to see Boston bands receive some much-deserved attention.

P: Really?! That’s so cool!

ME: I think there are a lot of really great Boston bands right now, especially over the last few years. I would really like to see the Motion Sick emerge nationally. I think it could happen.

Absolutely.

You guys are on Dance Dance Revolution?

ME: Yes we are.

P: We are really popular.

MG: Cardio for Indie Rockers

ME: Yes, we are on Dance Dance Revolution. We have a song in the Playstation/X-Box version and it’s in the arcades in Asia right now and will be in the US in the beginning of July.

Are you guys going to have a launch party in an arcade?

ME: It’s actually really hard to find an arcade around here.

MG: We’ll have to go to Billerica of something.

ME: Yeah, something in the suburbs.

It seems like The Motion Sick would have a lot of silly fun stories from the road. Do any stand out above the rest?

(Laughs)

ME: Should I tell the thing about the flowers? So we were unloading after a show in Wisconsin…

P: Madison, Wisconsin. Which is by far the most fucked up city. I don’t care what anyone says.

(Laughs)

P: The people there are…

ME: They drink a lot. So this woman is walking down the road alone. It was probably three or four AM. We just arrived back our friend’s house that we were staying at. She was walking down the road and we were like “hi” and she can’t walk straight. She is wobbling back and forth and she’s got a bundle of flowers in her hand. She starts walking toward me with her arms out. So I’m like, “Okay, I don’t really want to hug this woman or whatever she is going to do to me.” Whatever, it’s fine, everything is good and she walks toward me and I’m like “Alright, alright whatever is going to happen is going to happen.” She takes the flowers and starts slapping me in the face with them.

(Laughs)

ME: She’s just whacking me in the face with them. I wear glasses, but I was not wearing them at the time so I am being hit in the eyeballs with flowers. I start running away, screaming like a little girl, and these guys are just laughing. They are on the ground laughing at this woman chasing me with flowers.

That is incredible and horrible.

ME: Yea, it was pretty good. That might be the most absurd story.

What are guys doing right now?

P: We are getting interviewed and we are going to play a show in about an hour.

(Laughs) We mean what are the projects you are working on right now?

MG: We are in the process of writing and preparing songs for recording. It will be recorded and distributable in some format. We will probably go on tour again.

ME: Yeah, we are recording an album. I am hoping that the songs will be more dramatically linked together, instead of just a mess of songs. This album will have themes and characters that emerge.

Would you say this would be more of a concept album?

ME: Yeah, I mean, I like being pretentious so I would be glad to say concept. So it’s like a post-neo, ah…

(Laughs)

P: Throw apocalyptic in there.

MG: Post-indie apocalyptic.

ME: It’s a utopian post apocalyptic futuristic story set in the past. One of the main themes in it is going to be flight.

P: Suddenly I am really excited about when we were on tour and we came up with this idea about working on an album that is dedicated to the Waffle House. It’ll be about thirteen songs all about the Waffle House.

ME: The jukeboxes there actually have songs that are Waffle House themed…

Photo: Gabrielle Petraglia