HI MICAH! THANKS FOR TAKING THE TIME TO CHAT WITH US! CAN YOU TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF, WHO IS MICAH MOTENKO IN YOUR OWN WORDS?
I’m a guy that hears music in my head. I’m a red head.
HOW DID YOU GUYS MEET AND HOW DID YOU KNOW THAT, YES, WE CAN ROCK TOGETHER?
I met James first, while on tour selling merch for a band that he was playing drums for. I met Josh and Cat through the music scene in Austin, playing pickup gigs. I mostly was just looking for musicians that I thought had a good ear for the funky/groovy side of things. We started gelling together pretty quickly after we started our weekly residency in Austin.
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR MUSICAL STYLE?
I would describe Motenko’s sound as Bill Withers meets D’Angelo, with a little Professor Longhair. I like to say we’re a funky soul band – we play 70’s-style soul with a modern twist, and incorporate some New Orleans sounds and some contemporary R&B sounds.
HAS YOUR STYLE CHANGED MUCH OVER THE YEARS?
We’re still a pretty new band, but I can say that I’ve been writing some more rock-influenced songs lately. So we should be seeing some more “soul-rock” releases in the future.
WHAT IS THE BACKGROUND STORY BEHIND YOUR LATEST MUSIC PIECE “SILHOUETTE”?
“Silhouette” was written directly upon waking from a dream I had about a past love interest. The song describes a dream-state that is too good to be true, taking the dreamer through back through the passion and pleasure experienced during a newly developed intimate relationship. The crux of the song is waking from such a dream, to realize you will never more be able to experience that pure intimacy with that person in waking life.
WHAT’S YOUR PROCESS LIKE FOR MAKING MUSIC? CRAZY THINGS HAPPEN, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU PERFORM. TELL US ABOUT THE CRAZIEST THING THAT AS HAPPENED TO YOU WHILE PERFORMING
My process for making music usually starts with capturing an idea that pops into my head – I try and record a voice memo as soon as I have a single solid idea for a piece of melody or groove. I will then write the rest of the song around that idea, usually at my keyboard, and try to make a demo that gets as close to what I hear in my head.
The craziest thing that’s happened while performing is this one particular drunk lady that decided to start yelling at me during a song. I had been bantering with the crowd and I think she probably wanted us to play jimmy buffet or whatever. But we started the next song and she kept yelling at the stage, something about her blond hair and her blue eyes.. then she came really close to me, like 3 feet away right at the front of the stage, and just kept yelling. The best thing she yelled was, “can you play something relevant please!?”
WHAT SONGS ARE YOU CURRENTLY SINGING IN THE SHOWER?
“Waiting In Vain” by Bob Marley and the Wailers. “John Redcorn” by SiR.
HOW IMPORTANT IS PERSONAL BRANDING IN YOUR PROFESSION AND WHAT YOU DO TO GROW YOUR BRAND?
I think branding is huge in music, but I don’t think that means you necessarily have to have a slick brand. The most important thing is that your brand clearly communicates your individuality as a artist or band. The cool thing about doing this is, you have to be good at being yourself and communicating your personality. The more grounded you are, the more clearly this comes out I think. So it doesn’t have to be this whole engineered thing, although there is definitely some mastery involved in packaging a personality. I think the best thing to focus on to grow the brand is having a solid vision.
WHAT IS ONE PIECE OF ADVICE YOU WOULD GIVE TO A BUDDING ARTIST?
I would say, allow yourself to have a creative vision for the project as a whole – that means music, arrangement, production, artwork, branding, video, etc. And you can identify which pieces are the weakest and get some help on those. Also, practice. Always be honing your craft, because that’s what it all comes back to.
WHERE CAN WE FIND THE BAND ONLINE?
You can check our website: www.motenkomusic.com. And our Youtube Channel @Motenko and Instagram @mo_tenko and Facebook @MotenkoMusic!
