Interview with Jonathan Michael lead singer of Self Against City


Q-Starting off... can you each please state your name, age, what you do in the band and nicknames if you have any?

A-Hello i’m Jonathan. I sing.


Q-How did you decide on the band's name "Self Against City"? Does it have any special meaning behind it all? I was reading an article that it came from Michael mishearing a DJ announce the Bowie classic "Suffragette City? Please explain that to me.

A-(Laughs), yes it is true that the idea of "Self Against City" came from an afterthought I had after singing along to Mr. Bowie's hit. It represents how I feel about the obstacles we all have to work through on a daily basis just to be who we are, and since that’s what we like to write about, it seemed to be fitting.


Q-Do you consider yourselves like a close-knit family or just business associates with similar goals in mind? Also, how did the band all come about? Did you all just pick up an instrument and say "Hey, let’s start a band" or it just happened so to speak?

A-We are best friends. there are, certain things that every successful band must do on a business level, but that side of the job is only to ensure that we can continue to play shows and write music full time. Making a little money here and there is how we pay for gas, equipment and put food in our bellies.
The formation of the band was a process that took a few months of auditioning and searching for the right fit. I auditioned with 10 bands over the course of 2 months, and that's when I met Jack and Jeff, who had auditioned 16 singers before me of the course of a year. We knew from the first practice that we had a something worth pursuing further. We began writing and getting to know each other’s playing styles and musical tastes, and after about three months we had a sound we all agreed could lay a foundation for our future plans.


Q-What type of music or artists have inspired you or influenced you the most to do what you do today? Also, where does your inspiration come from when you write your songs?

A-all of us have different personal influences regarding our instrument... some of my time tested influences are Third Eye Blind, Oasis, Better Than Ezra, Jimmy Eat World and Nirvana.
when we write a song, we like to make sure that the feel of the music and the lyrics are completely unified, so if the lyrics are done first, we write the music to fit the emotion of the lyrics and verse visa (yeah i flipped that shit ;). the inspiration for both our music and lyrics comes from how we are feeling on the day we write them. we are constantly growing as people and as musicians, so there is always some new sensation itching in our brains, screaming for its chance to become a song.


Q-How would you say that your music and the band itself have evolved from when the band first started?

A-When we first started we were just eager dreamers, now were full blown true believers. Believers in our music, ourselves, each other, and everything the future holds for what we are becoming.


Q-How would you describe your relationship between the band members and your fans?

A-We make an extreme effort to meet and get to know everyone who supports self against city. It’s not always easy being on the road, but being directly involved with the people who make our lives possible is very important to us. We appreciate all of them above and beyond any adjective the English language offers.


Q-What music or artists are currently in your CD player?

A-The Killers, The Kings of Convenience, The Velvet Teen, Kanye West


Q-When touring, how would you describe your live shows?

A-Sweaty, sexy, and real


Q-Out of everyone that has toured with you, who would you say has been the best so far? Also, if you had the chance to tour with any band, which would they be and why?

A-Our favorite tour to date would have to be the tour we did with Quietdrive, Houston Calls, Let Go and The Transit War. I love every member of all four of those bands and they are all great performers.
I would love to tour with the pussy cat dolls ;)


Q-Now that you've gotten your EP record out of the way, you are now focusing on the release of your full length debut "Telling Secrets To Strangers" that will hit stores in January of 2007. Do you find that it was harder to get things ready for the full length as it was for the EP? Also how many tracks did you record before finalizing and narrowing it down to only 11 tracks for the record?

A-The EP was the first 6 songs we ever wrote. They came easily and naturally. Speechless (track 2 on the ep) was written in 45 minutes. Those songs just came out and we recorded them. Writing the album was a whole different beast. We didn't just write a bunch of songs and group them together and call it an album. We actually wrote an album. No 2 songs are about the same thing conceptually, but they all work together as a whole to tell a story. We took time to make sure the cd had flow to it and most importantly had an overall deeper meaning. We wrote 18 songs and narrowed it down to the final 11. There would have been more songs on the cd, but time and budget constraints didn't allow


Q-On the EP or the full length, which song would be your most personal favorite and why does it have such a meaning for you? For me I would have to say "Reading And Willing" just because I know people who have went through of what is going on in the song.

A-I really don't have a personal favorite. The fabric of my being in sewn deep into every track. The song that I feel describes me the best is "even the strong won’t survive". We can’t avoid death; that thought can be something that scares your or something that enriches the quality of your life. I choose the latter.


Q-This question kind of goes with the last one. Why did you pick the "Ready And Willing" as your single and not another track such as "Becoming A Monster" which to be I think would be excellent for the next one?

A-As far as i'm concerned "becoming a monster" will be the first real single. Ready and Willing is more of a teaser that we put out to increase the awareness of TSTS's release


Q-Thank you for your time. Do you have any last comments or shout-outs you would like to give before we wrap things up?

A-Thanks for taking an interest in our band. It means the world to us. TELLING SECRETS TO STRANGERS IN STORES JAN 9TH. Call your local radio stations and request becoming a monster, and if they don’t have it, give it to them!!!
Much love,
Jonathan