Local mission district wife and husband duo create the magic that is The Music Wrong. Their sound is full, electronic and anthemic. For IMBS they stripped down to just an acoustic guitar and a bass, which turned out fantastic! I highly recommend you check out their facebook page and listen to the songs they posted! I can hear a lot of their influences in their sound. One band that they did not list that I can hear is the Zombies, at least in his voice. They currently are playing shows locally, check out their page for more details!
I met Megan and Marcus of The Music Wrong through my wonderful roommate Lydia, so when they came to play a show, she was sitting with me watching them perform. It makes me want to bring an audience to the filming of these videos!
Who is your favorite writer/lyricist?
Marcus: Chris Leo of the Lapse, Van Pelt and Vague Angels. His lyrics somehow strike me as being really direct and honest yet circular and unclear at the same time. He's one of the only musicians that I know of that I think of as more of a poet than a musician, though the music is always terrific. I used to hate the Van Pelt when I was a kid. I hated how he said "puppy's chin". It took me 10 years to appreciate, I guess I just had to grow up a little bit.
What are some of your musical influences?
Marcus: My old indie rock faves like Sunny Day Real Estate, Pavement, and Built to Spill. 80's stuff like New Order, and OMD. 50's and 60's pop like Smokey's songs. Shoegazey stuff like Cocteau Twins and Chapterhouse. Heavier stuff like Trail of Dead and Drive like Jehu. Bands from the midwest like Signal to Trust, proudentall, and friends' bands from Kansas. 90's and 00's R&B like Erykah Badu. Anything I've ever listened to, really. Megan also brings her own particular set of influences that definitely affect the way I write and the way the songs sound when she plays.
Megan: Old R&B and country of the 50's and 60's are really important to me. A 3-minute heartacher is perfect and remains the model for a good pop song. I also love a song with good sass. I go to Loretta Lynn or the Rolling Stones for that quality. Female musicians are important to me, especially from the 80's and 90's. Some women from that time whose music I really admire: Hope Sandoval of Mazzy Star, Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins, Harriet Wheeler of The Sundays. I consistently try to infuse Music Wrong with their sound. When I compose bass parts I draw heavily on 80's sounds from the UK.
How do you go about writing your music?
Marcus: Most of the older Music Wrong songs I wrote by getting a hook in my head and just putting it on mental repeat until I was able to record it. After that I'd chunk it out on the computer, switching from lyrics to melody to accompaniment, until it seems to assemble into a song. These days I've been writing a high volume of songs for my job (rockbandland.org), which affects the way I've been writing songs for Music Wrong, in that I can now write songs a lot faster. An idea, a notebook, a guitar, and I will just about do, and I can finish it in one sitting.
What are all the instruments you play? Why those?
Marcus: I play guitar and keyboards properly enough. I took piano lessons starting at age 7 and taught myself guitar in 7th grade. I won't claim to play any others, but I can write and arrange for, and record just about anything.
Megan: Bass guitar, picked it up when I was 16 and played along with my MxPx albums in my bedroom. I can also play keys and guitar when Marcus needs me to.
Top 5 desert island albums?
Marcus: Idaho - Heart of Palm
New Order - Brotherhood (If I'm lucky, the extended edition)
Fleetwood Mac - Tusk
Built to Spill - Perfect From Now On
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles - Best Of
Megan: Blind - The Sundays
Ghosts of the Great Highway - Sun Kil Moon
The Pink Opaque - Cocteau Twins
It's Hard To Find a Friend - Pedro the Lion
Tell Mama - Etta James
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