TURN UP YOUR HEADPHONES, YOU’RE LISTENING TO THE HARDCORE SOUND OF MY TICKET HOME
Hailing from Ohio, My Ticket Home has come a long way from its inception, and it is definitely apparent in 2012’s Create A Cure. With their plethora of rhythmic progressions, piercing vocals and all-around gripping concert sets, it’s not a wonder why their presence at the Never Say Never Arts Festival was such a fine addition to the already brilliant line-up. It was at this festival that I had a chance to catch up with Nick Giumenti, Derek Blevins, and Matt Gallucci of My Ticket Home. In this interview we chat about many things, including their beginnings, how they’ve grown musically and their cover of Katy Perry’s “Firework.”
Cynthia: Hello fellas! We are going to start with introductions…
Nick: My name is Nick, and I do vocals for the band My Ticket Home.
Matt: Hey, I’m Matt and I play guitar.
Derek: Hello, I’m Derek. I play guitar and sing.
Cynthia: Nice to meet you guys! My first question is: How was My Ticket Home started and how did the name come to be?
Nick: We started in July of 2008. We saw a lot of our friends starting bands and being pretty successful. Myself, a kid named Sean and my brother Marshal all took lessons at the same shop, so the three of us got together and decided to start the band. Our name, actually…I saw it on YouTube. It was somebody’s user name, I thought it was a cool thing or whatever, and then I forgot where I saw it.
Cynthia: That must have been a bummer at that time.
Nick: Yeah, it was. (laughs) But then, later when everyone was suggesting band names it came to me and I suggested it. Everyone liked it. For a very long time I couldn’t remember where it was from, until one day I remembered it was from the YouTube Channel.
We both laugh.
Cynthia: Pretty interesting way to get a band name.
Nick: Yeah, it was a pretty good idea. (laughs) So, that’s where the name came from.
Cynthia: Between 2010’s The Opportunity To Be and 2012’s Create A Cure, how do you think you’ve evolved as a band within those two years?
Nick, Matt and Derek deliberate who’s going to answer.
Nick: I was the only one in the band for both of those albums, so I’ll do this one.
Cynthia: Okay, sounds good.
Nick: We’ve changed tremendously. When we first started we had no concept of what it meant to write an album, you know? We were just writing random songs to put on the Internet. I mean, we took it seriously, but we really didn’t know our way around the music industry or the songwriting process. Sadly I think even now, we are much more progressive as a band then we were even when we wrote the album. That was a while ago, but we definitely began to understand what it meant to structure a song correctly, give a song it’s own meaning, and not write the same thing over and over. That was really a big influence in writing the latest album.
Cynthia: Cool. You guys have come a long way and it’s apparent in the latest album, which is pretty amazing. (pause) “A New Breed” is the new video off of your latest album “Create A Cure.” Do you believe, in your opinion, that videos are important for the promotion of albums?
The guys look at each other trying to figure out who is next.
Derek: Want me to go?
Matt and Nick nod.
Derek: Well…I definitely think it’s really important because a lot of people get to see your first release as a single, not only listen to it but also see it physically.
Cynthia: When it comes to your video concepts, do you have the ability to add your creative input as to what the song means to you or is it up to someone else to convey it through?
Nick: We definitely had our own vision, but unfortunately it all goes down to the budget, and this time around it wasn’t available to do exactly what we wanted. You know?
Cynthia: Yeah, I know that all too well. Working on indie films, budgets are also a big factor in so many aspects.
Nick: For sure. The video we put out now was sort of a “B” video, kinda like a back-up “Plan B,” a simpler and straightforward performance video. Hopefully in the future, we’ll get to do more videos.
Cynthia: Excellent. (pause) I recently heard My Ticket Home’s hardcore cover of Katy Perry’s, “Firework,”…
Nick interjects.
Nick: Oh, God.
We all laugh as I continue my question.
Cynthia: (cont.)…and I was wondering if there were any other covers you’d like to do in the future?
Nick: You heard it?
Cynthia: Yeah, I did hear it. It was pretty good.
Nick: Yeah, oh yeah…
Nick takes a bite of his pizza slice, while the guys mimic his answer, “Yeah, oh yeah.”
Nick (cont.): I don’t like hardcore covers of songs at all, but I would wanna cover songs for fun of the bands I like. Like, Rage Against The Machine, a Slipknot cover, or…who else do we pick?
Derek: Fall Out Boy’s “Dance, Dance, “ the catchiest song ever.
We all laugh.
Nick: Oh, No.
Derek: Yes.
Nick: No.
Matt: Lady Gaga.
We all laugh.
Cynthia: That would definitely be interesting.
Nick: Oh, no, no. Many have done it.
Matt: Continue to do it.
Cynthia: Okay, if you had to drive across the country, and each of you could only pack one CD to listen to on repeat…what would it be?
After a few “oooo’s” and inner deliberation, Nick speaks.
Nick: Alright, Slipknot. It’s not hard for me.
Nick laughs and takes a bite out of his pizza slice.
Derek: I’d probably pick Stray From The Path’s latest record…
Nick: Rising Sun…
Derek: Yeah. I can listen to that for a while.
Matt: Umm, probably Stick To Your Guns…what’s that one called?
Nick: The Hope Division?
Matt: Yeah, The Hope Division. That’s a pretty good one.
Cynthia: What has been your favorite city so far on tour before NSN and why?
Nick: Okay, I’m not going to say Nashville because that’s where my girlfriend lives and that’s a cop out.
Nick and I laugh.
Cynthia: Okay, then pick another one.
Nick: Anywhere with nice weather… I like Chicago a lot. There’s a lot of really cool people in Chicago. California, as cheesy and lame as it is to say, was pretty awesome actually. It was so nice there.
Derek: Yeah, California was fantastic. Anaheim.
Nick: Yeah, Anaheim for sure.
Derek: I gotta say I really like Nashville. The people…everyone is really awesome. I have to say and Tampa too.
Cynthia: I used to visit Tampa when I lived in Orlando and worked at the JAWS Ride at Universal Studios Orlando. It’s a cool town.
Derek:That’s awesome!Matt: Yeah, it is! I thought West Palm Beach, FL was pretty cool.
They all agree.
Cynthia: What interested you in joining the NEVER SAY NEVER ARTS FESTIVAL this year and how do you like South Texas so far? Well obviously, besides the heat.
We all laugh in agreement.
Nick: We’ve played in Texas a couple of times and the shows out here are really great. You know, we’re a band that ‘s from very far, and when people get to see us it means more to them because they’re not around us often. The shows are usually better; people are more…responsive, I guess? I hadn’t heard of this festival until we were told that we were gonna be playing it, but it think it’s awesome. This is our first outside show we’ve ever played.
Cynthia: That is so awesome! Our biggest welcome to you guys!
Nick: I’ve always looked up to these kinds of shows and thought, “It’d be so cool to do that.” Now actually being able to do it is cool.
Matt:The turn out is great; a lot of people are here.Cynthia: It’s fantastic for us too because it puts Mission, Texas on the music map. Now we can be known as “the place where the Never Say Never Festival is held” and not “that town an hour north of South Padre Island.”
Nick: Yeah, it totally sounds so much better. It really is nice here.
Cynthia: Thank you so much for appreciating South Texas. (pause) Is there anything else you’d like to say to your local fans here in the Rio Grande Valley? Words of wisdom and shout-outs are also welcome.
Derek: Never Give Up!
Nick: Yeah…Never Say Never.
We all start laughing at Nick’s sincerity.
Nick (cont.): Hey, I thought it was a cool idea! Anyway, we want to thank everyone for how awesome their response has been this most recent record cycle. It took a lot for this band to finish this record and get everything out, so we are so pleased to see everyone out and supporting us. This makes us feel like it’s worth all the time we took in making this record.
Derek: I’d like to send a personal thanks to everyone who came out to the show and has supported us on the tours we’ve been on. It’s really great to see everyone coming out and supporting music. Shows are by far the most important things to us, because that’s where we judge all of our experiences.
Matt: Umm, keep listening to music and if you are in a band that’s about to start, don’t give up because you’ll make it if you try…really try.
Cynthia: Thank you guys so much for taking the time out of your day to spend it with me.
Nick: It was awesome! Thank you.
Derek: Yeah, thank you so much. Very cool.
Matt: Thanks for coming out!
Want to catch My Ticket Home on tour? Sure thing! Follow the links below and catch up with the guys on Facebook, Twitter and the My Ticket Home website. Don’t forget to purchase their albums on iTunes! This is Cynthia for Ouch, My Ego! Magazine. Until next time, rock uniqueness!
Official Band Site: http://www.mytickethomeband.com
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/mytickethome
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mytickethome
Rise Records: http://www.riserecords.com
Special Thanks: My Ticket Home and Matt Day (for the use of their photographs), Luke Fletcher( for the help at the venue), Luca Zanello (Music Machine Management), Mike Cubillos (EarShotMedia), Rise Records, Dontgetemo Concerts and the Never Say Never Music Arts Festival for their support.
