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This week I dug deep into the suburbs of Sydney, in search of a band that would shake the wax yet caress the ear drum. They go by the name The Mission In Motion, they're hot off the release of their latest album 'Somewhere Safe' and have just jumped on the Scary Kids Scaring Kids final tour! I got some time to chat to vocalist Brad Islaub earlier in the week.

 Before you boys made your way in to the studio to start tracking for 'Somewhere Safe' did you guys have any particular goals you set out to achieve or improve on this record that you hadn't done before?
 
I know we had expectations of how we wanted it to sound and the kinds of songs we wanted to write, but we never sat down and analysed it too much. I think if we did that we would probably sike ourselves out of the whole process. We just started writing with a "whatever comes out, comes out" attitude. If we liked it we kept it, if we didn't, we worked on it until we did.
 
How do you believe the reaction for the latest album 'Somewhere Safe' has been so far?
 
It probably doesn't seem like much to everyone else in terms of "success" or whatever, but we are blown away. Everyone who has picked it up really seems to like it and we are getting more and more attention for it lately which has been nice. We worked our arses off on this record so it's definitely awesome that so far it has been received really well.
 
How does the writing process for TMIM work? Does the band work collaboratively?
 
Far [Guitarist] will usually come up with an idea which can range from a riff to a full complete finished demo. If its a finished song he and I will immediately begin working on the melody, a few phrases will come through here and there, just to get a feel of what we are trying to say. Together, we'll continue writing until its done then we will take it to the rest of the guys who will throw a few suggestions and ideas that they'd like contributed to the song.
 
You guys have adapted quite a heavy style, what bands were you influenced by?
 
Everyone is influenced by completely different bands so it's hard to pin down any particular ones. I know we are all Smashing Pumpkins fans for example and there are bands we agree on that's for sure... but in terms of influence, everyone is being influenced by entirely different styles of music constantly.
 
You guys toured with Kenny Vasoli [The Starting Line] around this time last year and he also cameo's on your album. What was it like working with Vasoli?
 
It was great! He is a very sweet guy and it was nice just to be hanging out in the van with him being able to talk music. We sat up the back and talked about Wilco and Kevin Smith movies, we also asked him all sorts of Starting Line questions that probably would annoy the life out of anyone else, but he was really relaxed and kind. After a few dates we asked him if he would be into doing a part on the record. He said he would love to sing on the album, so the next day we went into the studio and he put the part down in literally ten minutes.
 
In this day in age, how important do you feel the usage of social networking sites such as MySpace are to the success and popularity for bands such as TMIM?
 
Obviously it's super important. I mean let's be honest, hardly anyone buys records anymore. There is just too big a volume of music being released all at the same time. Rather than going and picking up a record you may not like... it's a thousand times more convenient to click a few buttons and be able to have that record in your ears without moving from your desk. It's definitely a bonus from a bands point of view as you can put your music out into the world with relative ease which is amazing. From a listeners point of view, I am getting old and realising that the romanticism of it all is pretty lost. Being younger and walking into record stores "umming" and "ahhing" over this record or that because I only had 30 dollars was part of the reason I loved music. Having the record sleeve, looking at the thank you's and finding new bands was something that has given me all these memories of loving music. I still try to buy as many records as I can.
 
You boys are set to play a few shows on the Scary Kids Scaring Kids final tour which will see you guys travelling up and down the East Coast, before heading to New Zealand for a few dates. When you're not playing shows what keeps you boys entertained out on the road?
 
Everyone has their different things they like to do. I go looking for comic book stores as some of the boys will go looking for a TAB to hang out in for the afternoon. Sometimes we will sit around and play music and hang out but most of the time if we have pulled an all night drive we can be found at a friends house, on their floor, out cold.
 
Where would you like to see the band in say, 5 years time? What is the long term goal? What is the working mission in motion?
 
Oh you used the infamous "Mission in Motion" pun [laughs] it's a classic. We don't have aspirations to be this huge monster of a band, I think we would just like stability, to be able to earn an income from music and not have to worry about our jobs, rent, relationships etc. As long as we are still making music we believe in and music that is relevant, then I am okay with that. We will never be that band that over stays their welcome and is pushing to write "hit singles" or whatever, that's not us.