Patrick Stump, Thom Yorke and Matthew Bellamy all have voices that are unique and have driven their respective bands to the top of the charts and arguably to an iconic status.
Tonight, The City Skyline may not aspire to be an iconic band, but they certainly do aspire to make quality pop-rock that is relatable and sing-along worthy, behind lead singer Martin Moore, Jr. who sounds very similar at times to ex-Fall Out Boy Stump.
Their new album, "Nothing Will Be The Same," was released earlier this summer, and with a performance on Milwaukee Boat Line this Aug. 6, the guys wanted to let OMC readers know why they should join them for the cruise.
OnMilwaukee.com: You guys had a chance to perform at Summerfest this year. How was that experience?
Tonight, The City Skyline: It was great. Normally we play on the Refugee Stage which is a smaller stage and it suited us because up until recently we have only been a two piece, and for the most part played only acoustic shows. This year the Cascio Interstate Groove Stage invited us and the timing couldn't have been more perfect because we recently welcomed our new bassist Jim Sinicki, which gives us a much needed fuller sound. The show was great and we got to play for a lot of people that wouldn't normally have seen us.
OMC: How did you come up with the name of your band?
TTCS: Tonight, the City Skyline was derived from a time we all may have experienced in our lives where we felt alone, abandoned or secluded and all we have is the city around us to change us, shape us and bring us back on track. The beginning lyrics of our song "Mantra For A Dark Lit December" starts off saying "Tonight, the city skyline, is everything and all we have, and in spite, of all this lost confusion, I'll never miss what's stuck inside my head."
OMC: Tell me about the record. Why will nothing be the same?
TTCS: The title to our album and the second track "Nothing Will Be The Same" is a reference to how it only takes one thing in your life to completely change you, and the way you look at the world and your life, and when something profound like that happens nothing will be the same. All of us have had things like this happen in our lives and the song is about a circumstance that Martin went through and how it changed him.
OMC: You've all played in other bands or still do play with other bands. What about this band is unique? What do you get to do in this band that you might not be able to in other bands?
TTCS: I think we get to play music we personally feel will be everlasting, music that is accessible to more people and to create something that is a little bit more poetic musically and lyrically.
OMC: With a lead singer that sounds a bit like Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy fame, do you ever draw comparisons to them or receive any criticism because of it?
TTCS: Not really, which is odd because he was an influence when first starting this band. We have more people say he sounds like Thom Yorke from Radiohead or Matthew Bellamy from Muse, and rightly so because those are his two biggest vocal influences. Because this band is a little more "indie pop" and Martin's previous singing style was a much slower "Muse" style of singing with very few melodies, he did turn to the style of Patrick Stump and incorporated it into what he was already doing. We feel it works very well and is very unique as his voice flows in and out of these new catchy back-and-forth melodies and yet still being able to slow things down and use falsetto and vibrato.
To be honest, developing Martin's singing style for this band was one of the hardest things we overcame. It was not a natural and comfortable way of singing for him at first. Of course now we feel it sounds great. His voice is actually one of the biggest compliments we get.
OMC: What are your plans for the summer and fall?
TTCS: Well, we have a few more shows lined up in Illinois and Wisconsin. We will be getting the physical CDs for our new album soon which we are very excited about. We are also recording a few new songs and writing as well. Our main focus right now though is playing great shows and pushing this band and this new album. We are so proud of it and it has gotten such great reviews and response from people.
Born in Milwaukee and raised in the Milwaukee suburb of Brown Deer, Concordia University Wisconsin alumnus Poppe has spent the majority of his life in or around the city and county of Milwaukee.
As an advocate of Milwaukee's hip-hop community Poppe began popular local music blog Milwaukee UP in March 2010. Check out the archived entries here.
Though heavy on the hip-hop, Poppe writes about other genres of music and occasionally about food, culture or sports, and is always ready to show his pride in Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
