Martyrs for great music, Martyr for Madison works hard to make phenomenal music for you! Let’s see what they have to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
Back in 2013, our band had just formed and the original vocalist was working crazy hours on a job that he hated and was forced to leave Michigan for a month to work in Madison, Wisconsin. He was killing himself for a job he hated, thus the name Martyr for Madison was born.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Nate (guitar) and AC (drums) have been playing in bands together for 15 years, so the have a history together that goes back before Martyr for Madison. When their previous band fell apart, they wanted to continue making music but a few new members were needed. A close friend of their’s Ryan was always hanging out with the old band and was a fun vibe. Nate and AC told Ryan that if he was willing to learn how to play bass (he knew a little guitar at the time) that he could be in the new band. At that time, the band’s sound was heavily influenced by metalcore and nu-metal. We went so far to even describe ourselves as ‘nu-metalcore’. Personalities clashed with the original vocalist, and we ended up parting ways with him after a little over a year. At that time, the original second guitarist Rich Still also left the band. He was never replaced, and the band has remained a 4 piece since. We searched for a vocalist for another year, nearly calling it quits before Tom our current vocalist responded to a Craiglist ad (of all things). We heard some bedroom covers he had posted on youtube (they’re still out there if you can find his old channel), and we thought we had someone that understood the kind of music we were trying to create. Nate and Tom drove about 40 minutes to the practice space, so Nate would use that car ride to get to know the people auditioning for the band, make sure the personalities click. Within 6 months of Tom joining the band, we had written and self-recorded our first album “Connections” which was released in February of 2016. That year we played a heavy amount of shows some of the highlights were opening for Parkway Drive and Hawthorn Heights.
How would you describe your sound?
We really don’t let ourselves be defined by a certain genre. I know a lot of bands say that, but we literally have songs that sound like anything from metalcore to pop-punk and everything in between. The closest parallels are going to be bands like A Day to Rememer, Bring Me the Horizon, or The Used – all bands who regularly push their sounds to new places record to record. Since Tom joined the band in 2015, we certainly leaned into more of what he does best which is centered around Post-Hardcore and Emo. We think he sounds like Sonny Moore or Bert McCracken, but we always love to hear what other people think we sound like because it’s so different person to person. We’re a post-hardcore centric band who take elements we like from metal, emo, rock, pop-punk, and more recently even some hip-hop and we blend it all together. We try to create the kind of music we would want to listen to.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Every member of the band would answer this differently, and we don’t share a ton of love for the same bands with the exception of A Day to Remember, Landmvrks, Movements, Letlive, Incubus, and Blink-182 (I’m sure there are others, and lots we that we all sort of like where some of us love the bands). Growing up Nate and AC were heavily influenced by bands like Deftones and Incubus. Tom was influenced by bands like Thursday, Taking Back Sunday, From First to Last, Sleeping with Sirens. Ryan was into bands like Avenged Sevenfold and Escape the Fate. With the ever evolving sound of the band, we’re always inspired by NEW music.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Nate – The Devil Wears Prada – Trapped
Ryan – Wage War – Manic
AC – Roddy Rich – Aston Martin Truck
Tom – The Used – Buried Myself Alive
What’s your source for hearing new music?
I need to shout-out @newmusicfridaypod on Instagram. That dude always has the heat that dropped that week. But the youtube feed is a source, every once in awhile Spotify curated playlists actually drop something cool as well. Word of mouth from friends is always the best! Love bonding over shared love of music with friends.
Who is your dream producer?
Jeremy Mckinnon or Oli Sykes. Who wouldn’t want to work with two producers who inspire them the most?!
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Can we keep saying Jeremy Mckinnon/A Day to Remember? Is that allowed? It just makes too much sense lol. Post Malone or Dave Grohl would be rad though.
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Music has and always will be an outlet for stress and creativity. We all use music to get out the frustrations of the daily grind, and enjoy the company of the homies. It’s always about the expression and getting out what’s on your mind – that will always be the reason we play music first and foremost.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Typically songs start with Nate. He’ll bring an idea to the group. Usually it’s at least a verse and chorus on guitar, sometimes more pieces. Then the band weighs in on what works and what doesn’t. We’ll restructure and expand on ideas. Nate will bring a lot more ideas to the band than we actually use. Once we have a general idea of the full song structure we’ll track it in the home studio, and start to build out melodies and production ideas.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Tiktok and Instagram are the places we are most active. Definitely give us a follow on there. We are highly likely to respond when you comment or message us on there! @martyrformadison on both platforms.
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BIO:
Post-Hardcore/Emo from Grand Rapids, Michigan.
