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Matchbook Romance.
 "What, that noise in the background?" innocently asks Matchbook Romance drummer Aaron Stern when quizzed about the strange wailing sounds coming across the phone line, punctuated by the occasional hacking cough. "Oh, that's just our vocalist Andrew [Jordan] doing warm ups. Scary stuff, huh?" he laughs.
The band are sitting backstage at a sold-our venue in Philadelphia, waiting patiently to start their set. Quite an odd time to be handed a phone to field calls from Australia, but Stern is more than happy to take a few moments out of his not-so-busy pre-show schedule. As he explains, "Performance warm ups for me is just sitting in a room, drinking a few Red Bulls and listening to Slipknot."
Based in Poughkeepsie, the band have come a long way since their debut EP 'West For Wishing' caught the attention of so many fans worldwide. "It's strange to think of people down in Australia having heard our music," gushes Stern. "It's such an honour. We've had a lot of fans sending us emails and messages saying they're looking forward to our shows. We're so excited to be coming down."
For fans who have been waiting with baited breath for the band to visit, Stern promises they'll still stick to playing old songs as well as the band's impressive new material. "We've been working a lot on our new album, so of course we're wanting to show the new songs off," admits Stern. "But it's hard to explain though - because we've been touring so much and playing so many shows, it's like our older songs are now different than from playing them so much. They're still the same songs but they've grown and evolved and become so much better. So hopefully the fans are cool with that."
The band's first full length 'Stories And Alibis' was an enormous step up from their EP, showcasing how loud and epic the band could be when given the chance. Matchbook Romance soon gained a reputation as having some amazing song writing talent, but the new album, 'Voices' promises to be even better. "When we wrote for 'West For Wishing' and 'Stories', we hadn't done all the amazing stuff we'd done now. I think no matter what band you're in, you write what you know. Back then, we hadn't been on tour, we hadn't gone through many things, we hadn't met so many amazing people and we definitely didn't have as many stories as we have now. Out on the road, you live and you learn and you pick things up. So we're in a totally different mindset when we're writing songs now. And I think it'll really show on the next record. So, of course, we want to come across and show people everything we're capable of. And going by fans' feedback so far, everything's good... It just comes down to the way we approach being in a band in general. Whether it be touring, live shows, recording, writing. I know personally, my aim is to get better and be a better band. You know, live and learn and improve; and I'm sure the other guys feel the same way."
There's no doubt then that the band have had the most incredible time growing up and learning - plucked almost from obscurity and quickly thrust into the spotlight as they were. Originally formed as The Getaway, the band let their fingers do the talking and hit up every music related website and online message board they could, advertising shows and linking downloadable mp3's. Naturally, word soon spread about the band's talent and there you have it - instant reputation. It was only a matter of time before the big guns got wind of the band and took notice. "Yeah, we were pretty lucky," admits Stern.
These days, the band still utilise the Internet as an important marketing tool - posting online journals, keeping exclusive content for fans who sign up for membership to their official site, and keeping active with sites such as PureVolume and FuseTV. "These days you really need to get yourself out there. And the Internet just happens to be the best tool to do it. Think about it - so many people, so many ways to get yourself out there, so many different mediums to use..." Stern laughs. "You know, it's almost too easy."
Ryan Smith
 | Matchbook Romance play at the Adelaide UniBar on Wed 7 Dec. |
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