In 2005, four musicians from the Chicago area came together to form a rock band that not only would create worthwhile music but would tell an important story. Madina Lake was born out of this desire. Even if you don�t know the name, you would definitely know the infectious riffs and searing vocals of the widely-played single �House of Cards.� You might even recognize two of the band members from an episode of Fear Factor. After signing to Roadrunner Records and extensive touring, Madina Lake has earned a significant following of those who appreciate their honesty and social commentary. This summer, they can be seen on the Projekt Revolution Tour along with Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance.

How did the band get started?

Matthew Leone: Well, the four of us were in two different bands under the same management umbrella. We met in Chicago. Mateo (Camargo) started filling in for my and Nathan�s old band when we were going on tour because we kicked our guitar player out of that band. So we became good friends with him and then through him we met Dan (Torelli) and the four of us became inseparable, I mean like total soul mate kind of vibe, you know? And so we spent all summer one summer just philosophizing because we all read a lot of philosophy and things like that and then just talking about the ideal situation because none of us were gratified. We didn�t feel like we were being honest with the music we were making and the message we were conveying in our old band so we just talked about making this new band that would sort of embody all of these ideas, musically and otherwise. Then we decided �You know what? Let�s just break up the bands and get together.� So we did that.

Describe your sound for those who may not have heard you before.

Matthew: It�s, I would say, kind of dark heavy pop infused with a decent amount of electronics like Nine Inch Nails meets Smashing Pumpkins

Well that leads me directly to my next question which is who are some of your influences.

Matthew: Right, there you go! I always do that, I blow the next question! Nine Inch Nails, Smashing Pumpkins, we�re big Refused fans. The philosophy and sort of the raw energy of Refused was really appealing, we all kind of gravitated to that right away. And then Nine Inch Nails and Smashing Pumpkins were undeniable in their honest angst and the melody. With Smashing Pumpkins, we aspire to do what they did, which is every song sort of takes you through this kind of epic journey with a beginning and a conclusion and just sort of like whisks the listener away into a world instead of just like a standard format of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, bridge, chorus, out.

I love the idea of the whole concept album that you did so explain the idea behind Madina Lake and the story of Adalia.

Matthew: What we wanted to do was, like as I was telling you earlier how we kind of discussed these different philosophies and we read a lot and we have these pretty intense feelings about what�s happening socially with pop culture and politics and things like that, so we wanted to supplement the record with a kind of storyline that it follows. So we created this fictitious town called Madina Lake and I chose the 1950s era because it had sort of the same feel as the end of the Renaissance where everything was kind of great so people got a little complacent and then values shifted a little bit more towards wealth and vanity and shallower characteristics of the world. The �50s kind of had that vibe. So we created this town that was supposed to represent a microcosm of American pop culture and we created characters that the songs are about. So the songs kind of tell a story. Then the book that we wrote, I actually wrote the book that�s coming out, I think it will be ready in a week, and it ties very closely into the record and it�s about how this town obsesses over the local socialite, her name is Adalia and she goes missing one night, and the book and the record unfold the mystery of what happened to her and why it happened.

Oh wow that�s really cool. So is this going to be something that goes over a couple of albums?

Matthew: Yeah this one will have a definitive conclusion but the whole story unfolds over three records. The grand point that we are making is already done and planned for the third record but we�re sort of leading up to that with each one, each installment.

What difficulties, if any, did you face while writing and recording �From Them, Through Us, To You?�

Matthew: I think that the difficulty came before we even started writing music together and that was to really take down the parameters and the pressure of trying to write a song that was going to get you signed to a major record deal so you could be a musician for your career. That was the previous five years in our old band and so when we decided to do this, we decided to take the pressure away and that�s like a big risky step. That was the biggest challenge but once we did that, we were really able to explore. Once we got into a rehearsal spot together, we were like �Wow there�s no parameters to work with, like we don�t have to try to fit into any genre or any trend or anything like that. We can just go with what we feel like.� So that was kind of challenging, it�s very risky and psychologically it was taxing, but once we did it, it was the most liberating feeling ever.

Yeah and it�s probably led to the success of the band.

Matthew: Yeah, ironically, you know? Like we were trying so hard to do something the polar opposite of that for five years.

What is your favorite track off the album?

Matthew: I think I like �River People� the best. It�s one of those songs that really makes you feel a certain way. It�s pretty haunting and I think very reflective of who we are as individuals and who we are as a band. The song is about integrity and that�s kind of the whole M.O. that launched the band in the first place. It�s just kind of dark and haunting and we�re these sort of happy-go-lucky guys on the surface but underneath all of us have these really dark aspects to us. You know like tragedies in our past or things we�ve had to overcome or we�re continuing to try to overcome. I think that song is reflective of that, musically and thematically, with the lyrics.

I, personally, was immediately hooked after seeing the �House of Cards� video on MTV. How was that song chosen as a single?

Matthew: Oh that�s a great question. The record label thought from day one that �Here I Stand� was the big commercial smash hit. They were going to go to radio with that and then we had meetings and discussions with them like �Look, that�s more towards the pop punk and, dare I say, emo.� So if we came out with that first, it would be easy to just lump us into that kind of Warped Tour theme. And we didn�t want to do that so in conjunction with the label, which by the way our A&R guy Ron Berman is the most phenomenal guy we�ve met in the business. He�s just so willing to let us do our own thing and he let us make our own record. Just a great guy, that�s a side note. So anyways �House of Cards� represents more of who we are and more of where we�re probably going to be going with the next record. It�s a little edgier, it�s harder to pigeonhole us with that song. So we just kind of used that as a single, we�ve been touring on that for a year and a half and now I guess we�re gonna go for the big commercial thing.

How did you celebrate getting signed to Roadrunner Records?

Matthew: Oh man it was great. We went on a cruise!

Really? Where did you go?

Matthew: We went to the Caribbean.

How long was the trip?

Matthew: It was a five day cruise and seriously I don�t think we made it off on any of the islands. We slept right through it! We partied pretty hardcore.

Well I imagine so! That�s what cruises are for!

Matthew: Yeah exactly! Plus if you have an excuse to celebrate and have any reason to pull that credit card out�

Exactly! How do you keep your sanity with such a grueling tour schedule? Do you ever get tired of each other?

Matthew: We are very fortunate that we get along really well. I think the important thing is understanding when someone needs time and space and they need you to leave them alone and I think we have that. So if someone is in a mood we can sense it and then just kind of let them get over it instead of just pushing buttons until it blows up in a big fight. We read a lot, we are listening to our iPods all day. Mateo writes all the time on his computer, he�s got Pro Tools so he�s always writing beats and programming sequences and stuff. In our van, everybody has like their little apartment, everybody has a bench, and we decorate them like we would decorate your bedroom.

I can just see this van jammed with random stuff in it.

Matthew: Haha yeah.

How important are tours like Projekt Revolution to bands trying to get their names out?

Matthew: It�s the most important step, it�s the most important piece of the puzzle. We did a year straight of touring pizza places and coffee shops, playing to 7 to 10 kids and that�s cool for cred�s sake but to make it as a musician I mean we were struggling, making thirty to forty dollars a night, and with gas what it is, you know? Whatever. But numbers are the most important thing, to be able to play in front of large audiences like that is the difference between all the successful bands and all the bands who weren�t fortunate enough to get on those tours. And a lot of our competition, well I don�t want to say competition, I guess our colleagues, a lot of them that we�ve gone on the smaller tours with have had that shot before, doing Warped or Taste of Chaos and we�ve never had that. So Projekt Revolution, this is just going to provide us with a huge captive audience that is clearly open minded because they spend a lot money on that show which is a very diversified rock bill, you know? And so we�re going to have an open minded, perfect audience, a captive audience right in front of us and it�s imperative that we got this at this time. We�re really lucky.

What is the craziest thing that�s ever happened at a show?

Matthew: In Tulsa, I would say, we had kind of a riot go down. It was a 650 capacity venue and it was a free show if you brought a can of food. So the club let in 2000 people. Way too many people. Our first song, the barrier caved in and buried the security guard. Kind of made this ramp onto the stage and kids were just getting crushed so the fire marshal came and they shut down the show and you know how kids get. They�re not happy when you stop the music. There were fights and the sound guy got wasted and punched his wife in the face and she went into a seizure!

Seriously?!

Matthew: Yeah so she was like vibrating on the floor and it was a total disaster. Good show, though!

When was this?!

Matthew: It was just this past December.

That�s wild! Well, I remember seeing you on Fear Factor. I didn�t know it was you at the time, but since I�ve become a fan of the band, I looked back and realized �Wow I remember sitting in my living room watching that!�

Matthew: No way!

So tell me about that whole experience and what made you decide to do that.

Matthew: Okay well this was in that down time while we were stressed out about breaking up our old bands and making this commitment to form the new band. We were kind of nervous and there wasn�t much going on and pressure from families to get real jobs, that kind of thing. Nathan and I will go to pretty much, well I guess obviously this proves it, any length to make our friends laugh. So another friend of ours submitted us because he saw an ad on Craigslist and they called me and I didn�t know who it was. They were like, �We�re from Fear Factor and we want to interview you.� Alright so they sent this camera over and we put it together like, �Oh my God this is the show we see!� So we just didn�t care at all and during the whole interview process we were just being sarcastic and really not even trying to get on the show. But we thought it would be funny if we got on the show and in the first round got kicked off by girls. That was our whole goal! And then when the first stunt came, everybody was being all serious like, �Yeah come on! We�re gonna win! Being twins is awesome!� So we were like, �Being twins is gay and anyone who thinks it�s cool is cheesy or whatever.�

Yeah I listened to your little introduction and I was rolling. That was the funniest thing ever.

Matthew: Haha thanks. They edited a lot of things, it probably would have been even cooler! So yeah it totally worked because I couldn�t believe we won. That was just ridiculous, but that money put us in the studio to make the demo, we bought a van and started touring. So that was like the launching pad.

What would you be doing if you weren�t making music?

Matthew: Ooh good question. I would probably be tending to penguins.

Penguins?!

Matthew: Yeah I love penguins. It�s a weird thing, I love them so much. There are the Sandwich Islands, there�s this place where it�s dangerous for boats to sail there because the weather is so bad, but they have these huge glaciers with these perfectly symmetrical holes melted through by the sun and the whole thing is covered in penguins. And Dan, our drummer, wants to be a pirate. So I want to buy an island and he could just park his boat there and we just go �piratiring� and then come back and chill on our island.

Well yeah you could pay for your island with all the loot you get.

Matthew: The booty!

Haha yeah the booty! Wow penguins. That�s probably the greatest answer I�ve ever received to that question.

Matthew: That�s awesome!

What message do you hope fans take away from your music?
Matthew: I guess that they feel free to be themselves, they feel like they can be nonconformist. It frustrates us when kids like music to belong to a scene or because it�s cool or not cool to like the music. Just like the music because you like it. You can love us or hate us, that�s okay by us, but just make sure that you listen to music with honesty. That way you find the bands who wrote their music with honesty. Then it�s gratifying on both ends.

Finally, do you have any advice for aspiring musicians?

Matthew: Yes, patience. Patience and honesty. The world we live in today, everybody wants immediate gratification. If they decide they are a musician and they want to be in a band, tomorrow they want to be on MTV and they rush it. Don�t chase trends, don�t pigeonhole yourself, don�t worry about what everyone else is doing, just make the music that you were inspired by as a kid, write what�s in your heart and be honest with yourself.

Related Links

http://www.madinalake.com/

�House of Cards� video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1Lfd8bZS60

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/

http://www.projektrevolution.com/prsampler.php