Today we’d like to introduce you to John Harper
Hi John, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Motel Faces was started in 2014. It was created in an attempt to be what we considered a cross between early- Kings of Leon and Jack White. We’ve gone through an insane amount of lineup changes over the years and with every piece, it’s really taken a direction in almost every way. Starting in the early days, it was very indie. We morphed into a much more modern/melodic rock band with a whole bunch of people. Then scaling back to just a guitar/bass/drums/singer band which is where we have been for most of the length of this project. Our core song writers have been together now honestly longer than any other era of this band. So I think where we are at right now just as a 3 piece, is probably the healthiest, most excited, and best incarnation since probably the beginning!
We have definitely evolved and become not only better performers, but better and stronger song writers. We have always remained a rock band in its truest form when we go out and play live. But our recordings have changed considerably. We’ve started digging into writing our version of pop music. We are focused on hooks. Hooks and melody. If the vocal isnt catchy, we scrap it and try something else. We want the music to make you want to move. Whatever it is; dance, mosh, swing, karate. whatever you need. We want to give you the ambiance to do it. Or at least that’s what we’re aiming for.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Has this been an easy process? Absolutely not! I am the only remaining original member of the band. Me and another guy started the band way back in 2014 and I’ve seen so many different personalities come and go from the band. Good, bad, and everything in between.
We’ve been through a few different periods where we REALLY thought we were about to take off, and start seeing some real success. Right at the beginning of 2020, we had been contacted by a really big agent in the rock/metal world who told us him and his team really liked what we were doing, but given the great shut down of 2020, they weren’t in the market for digging into younger bands. So that was kind of a buzzkill, but we still took it as pretty cool validation that SOMETHING we were doing was working.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Our bio reads: “Motel Faces delivers pure, unfiltered rock with a fresh edge. Hailing from Cincinnati, this powerhouse band seamlessly blends alternative, grunge, power pop, and garage rock into a dynamic sound that’s as nostalgic as it is cutting-edge. Their music captures the raw energy of classic rock while pushing boundaries to create something unmistakably modern.”
What that exactly means? I would say we are a fun night out for anyone who stops by a show. We like to put on a fun show. We like to play our instruments. And we like to make sure that nobody feels like they wasted their time. Whether someone pays to come out and see us, or they just happen to stumble into a bar we are playing with no idea who we are. We want people to walk away thinking “Man, I had a lot of fun tonight. I’m glad we stayed”.
And, for me, I think we do a pretty damn good job with that. Hearing someone say they had fun with us is genuinely all that I can ask for
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Weve taken a lot of risks musically with our last several releases. What we’ve always traditionally done is very straight up rock and roll. The last several years, we’ve started realizing that none of us really even listen to rock music anymore and definitely havent really been writing rock music anymore. We’ve been trying to force things into the rock genre. So we’ve recently said “screw that!”. Let’s just play exactly what we want, and if people dig it, bonus!
Risk taking in the music game can be an all or nothing thing. Musically, we’ve done a pretty good job, i think. Professionally, maybe we havent done enough and that’s why we’ll never make it. But also maybe we are being smart and not trying to over extend ourselves when we ACTUALLY dont have the right stuff. Who’s really to say? We’re just trying to enjoy the ride as long as we can
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.motelfaces.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/motelfaces
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MotelFaces/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-2-7herjStDfYwHtLjDmhA
