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Metro Station
Rob Ortenzi on 1/11/08 @ 5:50 PMNOW PLAYING: Metro Station (RED INK)
WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW 'EM: Motion City Soundtrack's Justin Pierre and Josh Cain may have produced two songs on Metro Station's debut, but there's little room for melancholy in the band's upbeat dance jams.
YOU LIKE? YOU'LL LIKE? The All-American Rejects / Panic! At The Disco / the Higher
STORY: Jonah Bayer
PHOTO: Roberto Chamorro
It's probably safe to say that Metro Station are the only electro-pop band to have met on the set of the Disney Channel's smash show Hannah Montana. "My little sister [Miley] and mom had been begging me to meet Mason [Musso] because my sister was on the show with his little brother," explains Metro Station guitarist/vocalist Trace Cyrus. "[We] just clicked immediately and now we're not only songwriters-we're also best friends."
Despite the fact that the duo are polar opposites in more ways than one-Cyrus sports a chest tattoo and favors punk and new wave while Musso is a former worship singer who has a soft spot for Simon And Garfunkel-the two 18 year olds hit it off instantly and began writing songs in Musso's basement. After cherry picking keyboardist/synth player Blake Healy from another band, Metro Station recorded the song "Seventeen Forever," which instantly shot to top of the MySpace unsigned artist charts. Next, the band recruited drummer Anthony Improgo and suddenly Metro Station were an internet sensation-all before playing a single show.
It's no surprise why. Most bands would kill to write a song as catchy as "Seventeen Forever" in the course of their career; and we hate to break it to you, but every song on the band's self-titled debut is just as infectious. In fact, from the syncopated electronic romp "California" to the guitar-heavy dance floor anthem "True To Me" and synth-driven "Now That We're Done," the only red thread running through Metro Station's debut is how inherently catchy every second of the album is. Which, according to the band members, is kind of the point. "We just want people to move and have a good time," Cyrus explains when asked about the band's mission, adding that the band's live shows look more like a dance party than a traditional concert. "If we can do that, we've succeeded." Although Cyrus is currently in the midst of his first tour as a musician, he's no stranger to the road-in fact, he grew up touring alongside his stepfather, country star Billy Ray Cyrus. (If you're too young to remember the song "Achy Breaky Heart," consider yourself lucky.) "My parents have been very supportive," Cyrus says when asked what his stepfather thinks of his music. "I think, at first, they didn't really understand this could turn into something so big, [but] now that they've been to a few shows, they're starting to finally see what's happening."
So, have the band heard any of their own songs at any dance clubs yet?
"Actually, one time Trace and I went to a house party and 'Tell Me What To Do' came on and everyone instantly started dancing,'" Musso beams. "That's what I want to happen to every kid; I want you to not even know what it is, but just move with it." ALT
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