Motion Device
Interview conducted on December 23, 2020
By Dan Locke
Motion Device has enjoyed recognition since their cover band days including receiving a huge standing ovation at Canada’s Got Talent auditions in 2011 only to be cut just before the live shows because the producers did not want to pay for music royalty rights of the songs they were covering (Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ and Ozzy’s ‘Crazy Train’). They also received a huge boost in their early days when Ronnie James Dio’s social media team shared the band’s Youtube cover of Black Sabbath’s ‘Heaven and Hell’.
Album and Live Band Line Up:
Sara Menoudakis – Vocals
Josh Marrocco – Guitars
Andrea Menoudakis – Bass & Keyboards
David Menoudakis – Drums
What is your upbringing?
Josh Marrocco: I was raised in a suburban town north of Toronto in Canada. I have a European background so I’d say I have a healthy mix of Italian heritage along with modern Canadian traditions. Music didn’t really become a big part of my life until my early teen years. I started playing guitar when I was about twelve years old. From then on, my guitar and the odd part-time job took up most of my time.
How did you discover music?
My earliest memories of enjoying music were when I used to borrow my older brother’s Sony Walkman to listen to his old hip-hop CD’s as well as my mom’s pop music collection. Thankfully, as I grew older my uncle opened the horizons of my musical taste and introduced me to classic rock and metal artists like Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Ozzy Osbourne among others.
How did you start to write music?
I’m fairly certain my first experience with writing songs was at a music school summer camp. One of our activities was to write a tune with a small group of other musicians and I remember really enjoying that particular process. It sparked an interest that continued to grow as I kept playing my guitar through the years.
Describe your music.
I don’t believe Motion Device’s sound can be defined by any one genre, nor do I believe it should. If I had to pick one though, I’d consider MD to be a progressive rock/metal band.
How did your band get its name?
The name Motion Device came from the Greek mythological story of Orpheus, a man who had the ability to charm gods and even move mountains with his music. His instrument of choice was a lyre, which is incorporated in our band logo.
You are a family-based band. Who came up with the idea for you to work together?
My cousins and I all went to the same music school when we started learning to be musicians. This particular school had students grouped into bands to perform in year-end concerts. Once we all began to realize our love for playing with other musicians and live performances, the formation of MD was inevitable. We were always around each other so forming the band just made sense.
What was your first performance at like?
Our first performances were all small local shows. I remember being nervous at first but enjoying myself once we got on stage and began to perform. Those early performances were stepping stones for what our live show has become today. For me personally, I think the first song I ever performed on stage was Led Zeppelin’s ‘Rock and Roll’.
What makes a good songwriter?
I believe a good songwriter cannot appease the listening needs of everyone because music is a very subjective and individual experience. A good songwriter, in my opinion, is someone who has a vision, or experience, in their mind and can bring it to life. If what gets created is an accurate representation of that vision, that’s what makes a good songwriter.
What is the process of writing your music?
Our writing process has been fairly consistent throughout the years. It starts with melodies or riffs usually composed on guitar, bass, or piano. This framework of a track is then shared with the band members so we can get ourselves into the right mindset of what we want the track to ultimately become. Each member writes their own part and then we tweak it during band sessions until it’s a full-fledged composition. In most cases, the instrumental part of a song is pretty much complete and then the vocal melodies and lyrics are written by Sara – that’s when the song really comes to life.
Do you belong to any to songwriters’ organizations like the International singer-songwriter association, SESAC, BMI or ASCAP?
We belong to SOCAN (The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada).
What was the title of your first original song? Did you record it?
The title of our first-ever, written and recorded song was ‘Responsibility’ which can be found on our debut EP from 2014.
How are you a DIY band? How hard was it to crowdfund your first 4 albums?
The hardest part was getting our first EP crowd-funded. We had no idea what the results would be but we tried it out and thanks to our die-hard fans we were successful. Our fan base is made up of some of the most devoted followers a band could ask for. That base has rapidly grown through the years and the fans have fully supported every one of our albums and crowd-funding projects since the beginning. It makes the experience of crowd-funding less stressful when you have such a passionate group of fans backing you – they like to call themselves ‘MD Warriors’.
You are also known for doing Heaven and Hell cover (Black Sabbath). Have you ever heard from Dio or Sabbath’s team how they like the recording?
We received quite a bit of publicity when our ‘Heaven and Hell’ cover first came out and it continues to get a lot of views and comments on Youtube. It was Ronnie James Dio’s Facebook team that first shared it and the video took off from there. We made a point of dedicating the video to Ronnie so it was really nice to see that his fans, and Sabbath fans of course, appreciated the cover.
How was it to be on Canada Got Talent? Do you feel that a show like this could be a stepping stone for a band?
I’m glad we did the Canada’s Got Talent show as it was a memorable experience despite the unfortunate end. The song we performed was a 90 second version of Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Crazy Train’. The producers of the show had us change our original song choice (which was Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’) for copyright reasons and in the end, we received zero TV air time because the producers decided they simply didn’t want to pay the royalty rights for the Ozzy song either. There’s a clip of us performing at the live auditions on Youtube, where we received a huge (unedited) standing ovation. In the end, I don’t believe bands like ours have a place on television reality contests because there isn’t anything ‘real’ about those shows – everything is scripted.
Tell me about “Blindfold it Away”?
‘Blindfold it Away’ is the second track on our latest album release ‘MDIV’. It was the first song that was written for the album and was in the works for about a year before it was recorded. It’s also one of our personal favourites from the album. If you had to choose one song from MDIV that represents who MD is today, it would probably be that one.
The first video from your 4th studio album was “VOID”? Why did you pick that one?
‘Void’ was the last song written for this record and was also chosen to be the final track on the album. For us, ‘Void’ has such a big epic sound and is different from anything else we’ve written before. We all really loved the track so we decided it should be the first music video released with MDIV.
What is your favorite track on the album?
All the tracks on this new album are special to me in different ways, but if I had to pick one favourite it would be ‘Sweet Desire’.
What video do you feel is your best video?
My personal favourite music video? I’d pick ‘Unbroken’ from our ‘Wide Awake’ concept album. There’s a rawness to that song and video that just resonates with me.
How do you stay healthy while performing?
We haven’t done a long enough stretch of shows where our health has been a real concern. Each member of the band treats his or her personal health and fitness as a priority for everyday life and musical life so it all goes hand in hand.
What are your feelings about streaming music?
Whether you like it or not, streaming services from a band’s point of view are irrelevant. That is the way the music industry has gone and to fight it is to fight a losing battle. For my own personal enjoyment of music, I enjoy streaming services. Bands need to learn ways to work with streaming services in order to get the compensation they deserve.
Digital vs. vinyl?
Digital all the way!! Recording our own album this time around has taught us a lot about ‘sound’. We know the quality of an iTunes or Amazon mp3 isn’t as good as a physical CD but we also know that an original WAV file exported from our recording software is far better than both of them. We even had some vinyl albums made this time around but again that quality just doesn’t live up to the WAV files. The drawback of course is that most end users don’t have access to those WAV files unless you happened to back the crowd-funding campaign in which case you actually received those files as part of your backing reward.
What song from the past is in your mind right now? Moreover, what is the meaning that song means to you?
I’ve recently rediscovered our first recorded song ‘Responsibility’, which was kind of a spoof track of modern-day society. That track was written over eight years ago and its message seems to ring true even more in today’s world.
Both Pfizer and BioNTech have conclude Phase 3 Study of the Coronavirus vaccine. With the vaccine, it takes two shots. How many people do you think will take it and how many will forget to take the second shot?
Fortunately for us, MD specializes in rock music, not pharmaceuticals. We have no idea how many people will take the shot, and even less of an idea who will take the second.
How long before the whole world will be vaccinated against the virus. You have to remember there only has to be a 70% for Herd immunity (Herd immunity occurs when a large portion of a community (the herd) becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. As a result, the whole community becomes protected — not just those who are immune.)
I don’t think anyone can know the answer to this question. Except for mainstream media, they seem to know everything about it.
Do you feel the Covid-19 virus going to affect the music business in the future?
Absolutely this virus has affected the music industry drastically, basically eliminating the ability to do a normal live show. Bands need to find new ways to connect with their audience on a personal level while these restrictions persist.
What have you been doing with your self-quarantine?
Luckily for me I’ve been able to keep busy working my day job. I’ve also found myself making use of my extra time at home to complete projects that I would not normally have the time to do under normal circumstances. I hope people find the time to work on themselves over this self-quarantine and stay off mainstream media.
Have you discovered or rediscovered any new hobbies?
I don’t think I’ve really started any new hobbies, but rather I got to work on existing hobbies more. Now that we don’t have the option to go out and spend time doing the usual activities outside our homes, it’s important to focus on things to keep our minds busy inside our homes and social bubbles.
95% of people said that they have changed the way they watch television. This includes people who don’t have television and using their computers to do streaming of programs and movies. Which is your favourite streaming channel?
We watch a lot of shows and movies on Netflix and Crave here in Canada.
With the streaming services (Disney (50+ new shows/movies Lizzie McGuire, The Sandlot, Beauty and the Beast prequel, Moana, Cars, Soul, Raya and the Last Dragon, Sister Act 3, Pinocchio, Peter Pan and Wendy, all future Star Wars and Marvel movies and shows) and HOB Max ( including Wonder Woman 2, Godzilla vs Kong, Top Gun: Maverick, Mortal Kombat, Tom and Jerry, The Many Saints of Newark, The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, In the Heights, Space Jam: A New Legacy, The Suicide Squad, Dune, The Matrix 4) planning to pull all the upcoming movies from next year and put them on their streaming service. How will that affect the entertainment industry?
I guess a lot of movie theatres will be shutting down over the next few years. We’ve already seen many restaurants and small businesses closing down because of the pandemic up here so ‘entertainment’ is going to continue to be redefined again and again over the coming months and years I am sure.
Many artists are doing nightly concerts over either YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. In October that is going to change at least on Facebook. Facebook is cracking down on live streamed shows that include recorded music with new terms of service, preventing artists from using the platform for “commercial or non-personal” purposes, unless they have obtained the relevant licenses.
The updated music guidelines state that users “may not use videos on our products [which include Instagram] to create a music listening experience […] This will include [Facebook] Live,” and stipulates that such content should be posted for the enjoyment of friends and family only.
How do you think this will change the landscape of Facebook?
It’s our understanding that if you’re playing your own original material on Facebook it’s perfectly fine to stream concerts. We’re looking to do some live streaming in 2021 so whether it’s on Facebook, Youtube, or some other platform, I’m sure bands and artists will find ways to get it done.
How can bands keep their fans if they cannot play live in front of the fans and sell merchandise to them at the show?
Fortunately for us our fans have not only funded the release of all our albums, they also funded the building of our own recording studio this past year. We intend to put that studio to good use over the next few years. Our main priority as a band has always been to create music. Now that we have our own recording studio the sky’s the limit. We don’t even have to wait to put a whole album’s worth of material together. We can release a single anytime we want and that’s a luxury not too many bands have these days. Mixing and mastering our own music is also something we’re quickly getting used to so we really don’t need anyone’s assistance or input to get that done from this point forward. All we need is our fans in our corner and we’re good to go.
Is pay to play still a thing? Now pay to play also means thinks like playlist on the internet and opening slots for a major band on tour.
Opening for a major band will probably be the best thing that can happen to us so we’re always keeping our eyes and ears open for that opportunity. We still see the ‘pay to play’ thing going on but it’s disguised as something else. There’s some ‘rock band’ contest resembling those ‘Idol’ or ‘Got Talent’ shows coming out in early 2021 where bands get to play original material and work with ‘industry’ pros. We looked into it and turns out you have to pay for a chance to get chosen and IF you get picked you then have to pay for travel, hotel and living expenses while you’re on the show which takes place somewhere in California, U.S.A. Independent bands from Canada or any place outside the U.S. simply aren’t in position to spend a small fortune just to have a ‘chance’ to be the winner. If that’s not ‘pay to play’ I don’t know what is.
If you can’t do music what would you like to be doing?
Anything that allows me to enjoy my life as much as possible but it’s hard to picture music not being a big part of that life.
What is your happy place?
Happiness doesn’t need a place. It’s always there if you really look for it.
Anything you would like to say in closing.
I answered a lot of questions so I think I’ve said enough!! Just kidding. On behalf of the band, I just want to say THANK YOU to our fans for giving us the opportunity to go on this musical journey. It’s been quite a ride so far and we can’t wait to see where it takes us in 2021!
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