INTERVIEW BY JOE FITZPATRICK
PHOTOS BY LUKE WHITE AND GLORIA PICINI PHOTOGRAPHY
Combining element of synth, pop, electronica, rock, and much more, MEDLOW are quickly making a name for themselves around the local community and around the world. This past March, they released their self-titled debut album, which includes many stand-out tracks, including “Don’t Let Go”, “Our Mistake, and “Runaway”. Raised in Springfield and Gainesville, the four-piece consists of drummer Bobby Spencer, bassist Christian Mikkelsen, lead vocalist and synth player Gabriel White, and guitarist Jordan Davidson.
“This album is an evolution of what we were capable of,” explains White. “It felt like going back to school. In the beginning, we had no idea what we were doing.” Now they are coming into their own and finding their true identity as a band. We spoke with White about his band’s new album and the huge positive response it has received thus far, their goals for the next six months, and their hopes to keep quality a quality music teacher at Metz Middle School.
On your Instagram account, you have a link to a petition to keep Craig Dye as band teacher at Metz Middle School in Manassas. Can you tell me why this cause is so important to your band?
We know Craig personally, and it was completely due to him that we played there. He wants to keep the kids involved and excited about music. When it was announced that the school board wanted to transfer him to an elementary school, the kids came together to bring him back to Metz. I personally have taught piano for six years so I have seen the impact a good teacher can have, and we wanted to help keep him where he could have the most impact as well.
How did your band get started, and why did you decide to name it MEDLOW?
It started in our last years of high school, and we wanted to be in a rock band just to play music. Over the last two years though, the band has become a much bigger part of our lives. We all have jobs now and one of us is engaged, and this is something that we really want to commit to. As for our name, we started out as THE ONLY, but everyone thought we were conceited and full of ourselves. So we decided to change our name to something that didn’t make people mad. We came up with about 500 different names, and we even tried making up words. MEDLOW just felt right to all of us, and it was completely random.
On April 23rd, you guys performed at Jammin’ Java for the CD release show of your debut self-titled full-length record. How was that show, and what has the response been like to your record so far?
That was an incredible show! There were about 130 people there, and we had never had a show before with that many people singing along with me. I was completely taken aback by it to the point that I lost my breath and had to stop singing for a second. The response has been great so far, and we are focusing on putting together media to present to other venues to show them that we can sell out shows.
In your band’s biography, you explain, “These songs were born in moments where I was experiencing everything I was writing about. But, as my songwriting progressed, I started creating these stories around the world that I was in.” How would you describe the world you envisioned for this record?
All the song ideas captured in my mind were about fictional ideas, not personal experiences. For example, “Runaway” is about an older couple looking back and their younger years longing for that intimacy and simpler times. Each song has its own story.
What was the inspiration behind your colorful album art?
That was put together by our drummer. We wanted it to have a lot going on, and we wanted it to be very colorful because that’s what the album is. There is some blues here and some pop there. It’s like controlled chaos, but we also wanted to make it abstract so people could put their own spin on it.
Do you have any plans to tour through Europe or the U.S. any time soon?
Definitely in the U.S., even if it’s just on the east coast. After we get all of our media ready, we will be ready to see what kind of damage we can do.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO MEDLOW’S DEBUT ALBUM
What do you hope for MEDLOW to achieve by 2015?
Besides world dominance (laughs), we would love to be touring across the United States with a larger band like SWITCHFOOT and learning from them. “These songs were born in moments where I was experiencing everything I was writing about. But, as my songwriting progressed, I started creating these stories around the world that I was in. I wanted to write about things other than where I was at the time.
