We were interviewed in the July Issue of Florida's Rag Magazine by Music Editor Monica Cady. Photo by Sonya Revell.
Chances are that if youve partied at any of Miamis it underground places in the past few years, youve probably encountered at least one member of Modernage. Though the band deny being married to any scene, its true that they are wildly embraced by the local indie rock crowd.
As both a band and with their individual DJ gigs, the members names have been slathered across glossy flyers for popular party nights like Trashed, Spider-Pussy, Revolver, PopLife and Cinematic. And when they arent quite literally rocking the scene, the guys are taking advantage of the drink-and-dance VIP thrills of the night and chatting it up with pretty girls at the bar.
Because every time RAG and Modernage have spoken it has been
over loud music, a cigarette haze and blur of booze, we decided to talk music in a totally opposite atmosphere, super-charged by nothing more than a coffee-bean high. Cozied up at a corner table at the main Lincoln Road Starbucks, vocalist Mario Giancarlo, 28, and guitarist Xavier Alexander, 23, shared some details about their journey thus far.
The two roommates carry a similar soft-spoken coolness the kind that only members of a rock band have. Living downtown, merely steps from the up-and-happening club row of Miami, the two dapper gents admit to hanging around their neighborhood bars when they arent focused on music. Wearing collared shirts and jeans, they nonchalantly radiate a style similar to UK and New York indie bands.
While Giancarlo grew up in Miami, and Alexander moved from
Massachusetts to South Florida in high school, their energy and tone are something far from South Beach. But then, so is their music. Modernage dont play bongos, sample club beats, strum Jimmy Buffet margarita anthems or rap like beach bikini-gazing playas. Instead, they roll with an understated mystery as both musical artists and as individuals.
Their sound is something that the Strokes might want to claim for
themselves, or Interpol would have written on a happier day. Giancarlos sly and demanding Ian Curtis vocals mesh with the bands persistent rhythms and melodic guitars. I think we fall under anything that is upbeat indie rock, explains Alexander.
The band comprises five members. Aside from the modest and calm Giancarlo and Alexander, the group includes Roberto Moriel (bass), Sean Perscky (drums) and Garcia Freundt (keyboards). Since having formed in 2003, the bands sound has evolved from something somber to something dance-oriented. With the release of their EP Receiver, the quintet has earned opening spots for such hot rockers as Bloc Party, the Stills, the Walkmen and Elefant.
Modernage are now looking to the next phase of their career with optimistic eyes. Giancarlo and Alexander say they are driven by possibility the possibility that life could be something even more exciting and unusual. Being in a band is not the 9-to-5 model. Its a different life than what everybody has, says Alexander with enthusiasm.I cant really see myself not being in a band, Giancarlo confirms. [Being in this band] just gets better and better. And it does seem so, since the five have become local celebrities of the sort.
For Modernage, being in a band was initially more about a passion for writing songs than about the importance of having formal musical training. It was almost as if they knew they wanted to be musicians before they even picked up an instrument. They have a make-it-happen attitude that seems to take their far-off visions into reality.
In the studio, the guys had already written several songs for Receiver before they decided to add a keyboard element. There just happened to be a keyboard in the recording room, so they instinctively started to play around with it. Since their EP now had electronic ivories, it was then that they decided to introduce their good friend Freundt as the fifth member of the group.
We told him to buy a keyboard and join the band. He had never played keyboard, explains Alexander. Its this kind of laid-back ambition that has led Modernage to where they are now as if they created their own formula that is one part direct purpose, and one part unplanned fortune. Even their opening slots with major artists have come to them more by word-of-mouth than by any hard-core solicitations.
[The bands success has] all fallen sort of randomly, and it all sort of fit together, says Alexander, bright eyed. The goals keep changing, he says smartly behind his dark-rimmed specs. I wanted to write songs and play with other people because I had always played by myself. Then, it was, I want to play a show.'"
Its with these kind of baby-step benchmarks that Modernage have come to the point where they are. They set their sights on small accomplishments like playing out and getting an audience. Then, they recorded an EP. Now the band has a professional-level video on their My Space page and other bootleg cuts from their live gigs.
Their biggest challenge so far? Miami, Alexander flatly states without hesitation. Locals know exactly what he means. Miami is most known for its Ibiza-style DJ-spinning all-nighters than for rocknroll blazersand-Converse gatherings. Even the most rock-star touted events in Miami Beach have been known to turn into velvet-rope guest list snobbery. But Modernage isnt afraid to try to break the Magic City from its crush on glitterati cliques. Well, or at the very least to get the city to
flirt with the other side.
Without saying it outright, Modernage have shown their dedication and concern for Miamis local music. With sincere interest, Giancarlo asks me what I think about the future of Miamis live music. He agrees with me that things are making progress quickly and with the help of new live music venues like Studio A, things are on the upswing.
It used to be that there would be a promoter really promoting only one night. But now, its really becoming a community. There is something to do [for the rock crowd] every night, says Giancarlo.
And though Modernage have had success on tour at New Yorks
popular scenes like Arlenes Grocery, Pianos and Shout!, they arent looking to leave Miami to get noticed and signed. They want to make it happen here. They want to be a part of something special and though they are too humble to admit it they are already doing it. Without consciously doing so, they have become ambassadors of live music in Miami. Thats probably why they dont consider themselves to be a part of any scene. They are creating the scene not merely joining it. And that alone is something to dance and drink about.
We have to become promoters basically. Like at Studio A, [when we play or have album releases] we have bottles of vodka and stuff like that. We say, Lets have a party. And we are strategically placed in the middle of that.
So no need to fret if you havent gotten hammered with the Modernage boys as of yet. Just ask around about the hottest rock party happening tonight, and youll probably find Modernage on the bill in some form and if you dont see their names on the flyer, just sneak a peek inside the club anyway. Alexander confesses, Even if were not promoting anything, were there.