THE MOVEMENT INTERVIEW
By Pilipo
Popular East Coast reggae rock band The Movement, may have been laying low in recent times, but that was because the band was slowly calculating a triumphant return. Firstly, the group added a couple of amazing musicians to line-up, next it released an absolute killer of a new album (Set Sail) and now the band is preparing to take its music to the people with strong touring plans being put into motion. For Movement lead vocalists and guitarists Jordan Miller and Joshua Swain it is undoubtedly only going to get bigger from here.
The Pier: Going back to the early days, tell us how long have you and Josh known each other?
Jordan: I met Josh when I was about 17 or 18 years old. I didn’t even play guitar at the time. I was just doing the hip hop thing and playing percussion. Josh came out to watch this band I was in and about a week later we hooked up and from that moment on it just felt right. He showed me how to play guitar and I got guitar when I was 20. We have been doing this strong together for close to eight or nine years now.
The Pier: What got you into playing reggae-inspired music then?
Jordan: Through Josh, growing up he has really developed an eclectic music taste and is a big fan of UB40 and Sublime. I listen to a lot of different things too like The Pixies and a lot of underground alternative stuff. When we got together and started playing it was the reggae that started coming out first. We really latched onto that feeling from reggae music and how it felt right to us. We love everyone from Baris Hammond to Dennis Brown to Steel Pulse. We try to take our own personal non-reggae interests and put that spin on the reggae music.
The Pier: Tell us about the recording of your debut album, On Your Feet. The word is you recorded it in 24 hours. Is that true?
Jordan: It was done in three eight sessions man! Mixing and everything. At the time Joshua and I had about $1,600 to our names, we had written a couple of songs so we decided to go in and make a record. The first thing we did was we played one show together with me just playing congas and he played acoustic guitar and I think we made $300, so went out and bought a drum machine. We made all the beats for On Your Feet on this drum machine in about a day. We went and recorded it in these quick sessions, we just wanted to get in and get it done and get it out for the people. It turned out really great and that record has sustained us for a little while now as we have been working on this new album for so long.
The Pier: What was the decision behind the recent addition of a live band (drums and bass) and losing DJ Riggles?
Jordan: As far as losing DJ Riggle goes, it has definitely been different. After having two years of touring that was nothing but having a DJ behind you playing beats that Josh and I had made. The monitor was always loud because you had to hear that beat because you couldn’t look at a drummer. So we didn’t really know what it was like to play with a full live band. There was no hard feelings with Riggles. It was a cool split, he had a lot of things going on he wanted to do in his life and Joshua and I knew what we wanted to do and that we would be together till the end.
In January we had our last show as a three-piece and we met Gary (Jackson) and Jay (Schmidt) and now it is just so different… most bands naturally have a drummer and a bassist. What’s cool about us now is we have two front-men and a drummer and a bassist that have just as much personality as we do and we all just vibe so well together. We have only had three shows. We have been rehearsing in Philly and are still growing. It is still the very beginning for us and like the record title, we are just setting sail. You can quote me on this, Gary Jackson our drummer is the backbone of this band now and is a positive inspiration for us and loves to spread the love about all the positive things we are doing. It’s a blessing.
The Pier: Cool. Let's talk about Set Sail did you have any objective in mind when you went in to record it?
Jordan: As far as the Set Sail record goes we already had a bunch of songs written that we had been playing live like Green Girl, Alright, Throwdown and Habit. So this new record is built from the basis of us going on tour for two and a half years with some bigger bands and us geting an understanding of what the industry is like and what the people are like and even understanding our fans better. It was a great position to be in, to move up to Philly and to be handed Philadelphonic Studios by Chris DiBeneditto (producer) and have a free reign. It was a huge time of reflection for me and Joshua, to be able to sit down and look back at our time on the road. We wrote a lot of the songs on Set Sail in the studio.
We really only had six or seven written before going in. Josh and I had been playing the song Cool-Aid before I even had a guitar. We heard this beat and we decided we had to bring Cool-Aid back because we love that song so much. Another Man’s Shoes, Josh wrote as we were moving up to Philly and G Love just jumped all over that track.
The Pier: Have you had many jam sessions with G Love?
Jordan: No we haven’t. One night we were playing with G Love and we had just met him through Chris D. We were hanging out on the bus and Garret came up and said he wanted to freestyle with us, as he said he was a hip hop cat. We walked in to this old club with only half a dozen folks in there and Garret, Josh and I jammed it out a bit. Hopefully we are going to be doing some touring with him in the very near future.
The Pier: It must have been great to have had all that time and freedom in the studio?
Jordan: Yeah, but we were also a little hesitant and worried about how much time we were taking. But you know, Chris D believed in that project. He is a magician behind that board. He is a remarkable human being when it comes to putting what Joshua and I had in our minds to relaying them to record. He did a spectacular job. Even though it took a long time and that sucked it was certainly worth the wait. As long as Josh and I are together writing music it is always going to be ok.
The Pier: Who would you like to record with you had the opportunity?
Jordan: Let me ask Josh right now… he is asking alive or dead?
The Pier: Either. Doesn’t matter.
Jordan: He says John Lennon. If I could pick anyone I would pick Tom Waits.
The Pier: Did you get around to recording any straight up acoustic tracks?
Jordan: Yeah we recorded about three or four, we got one mastered that hasn’t been released yet called Breath. Josh and I each did a couple and we are going to hold onto those as b-sides or release them online digitally at a later date.
The Pier: What’s been your favorite shows the band has played to date?
Jordan: Favorite shows? We loved playing with Common and Ludacris in Alabama. That was such a great show. We really love the college crowd man, because the people are our kind of crowds. If you ask most bands what is their favorite club to play they will say the one that takes care of them the most. With us we love playing in front of fucking everybody. My favorite place to play is where the people are the happiest.
The Pier: What are your upcoming tour plans? I know there are a lot of fans out there dying to see you play again?
Jordan: Right now we are doing some small East Coast runs, with six or seven shows. By the beginning of January we are going to be rolling out and doing some serious non-stop touring - from 2009 right through to 2040. I can speak for Josh as well saying there is no boundaries for this band. This is one universal thing we believe in. No shit I got 38 cents in my pocket right now, that is all I have to my name and I don’t give shit because music is always going to be there for me and I want our music to be there for everyone else.
Big thanks to Jordan for dropping by The Pier. Make sure you check out: