The Martyridge Interview
Every now and then you come across a band that is genuinely life-changing. You find yourself at a show one night and as the performance goes on for longer and longer, you realize you actually never want it to end. And when it does, you can only be grateful that you were there, that you experienced it, and that you will forever and always have experienced it.
To let you guys in on a little Bobcat Press lore, there were initially no plans to cover any St. Louis based projects. But I thought, “Why not at least see what the scene has to offer?”, because you never actually know what you’re missing out on until you stop missing out on it (with music at least). The first show I ever went to in St. Louis was opened by Martyridge, and halfway through their first song, I was certain I’d be going to many more local shows. I won’t give them all the credit (Leaving Missouri headlined that show and was also incredible), but hopefully that’s a testament to the quality of both their music and performances…
But who is Martyridge? Martyridge is a St. Louis based indie rock band emulating the style of groups like the Backseat Lovers, but cultivating an energy that is distinctly their own. They are an explosive, dynamic union of pure, unadulterated rhythm and harmony. Not only are the four members supremely talented musicians, but they all put a ton of effort into making sure every show is an unforgettable experience. They have an impressive assortment of tracks and an excellent sense of pace, knowing exactly when to slow down and ramp back up during a song. And no matter what they’re playing, they’re doing it with a ferocious passion you can’t help but admire.
[ video via the Martyridge Instagram ]
Truly, there is never a dull moment during a Martyridge performance.
This is a pretty long preamble, but hopefully I have convinced you to a) follow these guys and support them like crazy and b) go to a show if you ever get the chance! You can find them on different platforms using this link! They just officially released their very first single, “Never Change”, on Spotify, and I’ve been listening to it on repeat ever since. Seriously, when their first EP/album/whatever releases, that might be all I listen to for months.
The remainder of this article is a transcription of the interview I did with them, where you can learn a little more about who they are, their personalities, their goals, and more… enjoy!
MARTYRIDGE
[ Jack as drums, Jordan as vocals/guitar, Ian as bass, Solo as guitar ]
[ Originally recorded October 31, 2024 ]
Band Background
How did you guys meet, or how did this project get started?
Jordan: I met Ian when we both worked at Guitar Center. I hit him up, we jammed together a lot, and I was like, “Dude, we gotta start a band” and then we started a band! I go to a lot of local shows and stuff like that and that’s how I met my friend Jack here. I asked Jack to join and we invited him to a jam session and right after he was like, “Oh, I’m so down”.
So he joined and it was kind of the three of us… We had one other member and we were planning on doing stuff like, last year, but complications arose and it fell through. But yeah, with Solo…
Solo: I can talk on that. I was at Guitar Center with no interest in buying a guitar, just playing guitars and shit. I play a Quarters of Change riff on the guitar and Ian recognizes it and he goes, “Dude, you should come out to this diner I play at to come and jam”. And I show up, I show out, and it's just Ian and Jordan and they're going fucking crazy on their instruments. And I'm like, “Dude, these guys are so fucking good”.
Jack: That’s how you met them too?
Solo: That's how I met them!
Jack: Literally Jordan showed up at one of the Buy Her Candy shows and he was like, “Dude, come to this diner I jam at”. I show up and it's Ian and Jordan and they're just shredding and I'm just embarrassed.
Solo: Right, yeah!
Jack: That's so funny. Yeah, I guess we have the same story then.
That’s awesome though.
Solo: I was trying to make my own band and [I was] in another band for a little while, but it didn't work out. And then like five or six months ago, Jordan and I were at this Inches From Glory show and Jordan asked me if I wanted to be in his band-
Jordan: Actually, we are missing a step. A couple of months before that- before we had a [different] guitar player- I hit him up to play and he said “No” so he could play with his other band. He denied us the first time!
Solo: (laughing) I did
Jordan: And at that Inches From Glory show I was like, “Dude, please…” But he didn’t want to join!
Solo: I was misguided at first, but I remember I sat in on their practice- I think it was for “Tattoos”- and that shit was so fucking good dude. That shit blew my fucking mind. And after that, I was like, “Dude…” I love being a part of it, and here the fuck we are, man.
Did you guys have a different name at the start?
Jack: Technically, yeah. So, one day Jordan is talking about his autoimmune disease and I'm sitting in his room and my dumbass goes- he misspoke and said audio immune- and I go, “Jordan, if you're audio immune, how do you write songs?” And he said, “That's our band name”. And it was really funny in the moment...
Jordan: It turns out everybody fucking hated it and nobody told me and we played our first show with the name.
Jack: At that point I didn't hate it as much as I hated it after saying it on stage and telling all these people to their face, “Yeah, we're called Audio Immune”. And then I realized that it was stupid.
Martyridge definitely rolls nicer off the tongue.
Jack: Yeah, “Martyridge” is like- I feel like a band name dictates a lot about the band, frankly, as much as I hate to say it. Like, the band name really does determine how far they go. Not solely, but the name does have a lot to do with it. And so I heard “Martyridge” and I was like, “Holy shit, I'm sold. I would listen to that band any day of the week”.
Jordan: Yeah, Martyridge is my old street that I grew up on, so that's where I got the name.
Jack: I dig it. I like it.
I like it too.
Jordan: Cable Swamp though was kind of fire. That was our original band name.
For each of you or all of you as a group, what are some of your musical or non-musical influences for this band?
Jordan: Personally, I've always been very big on indie rock. I really like the Backseat Lovers, so that's where it started. Songs like “Tattoos” and “Undecided Fate” are very indie rock, like, very Backseat Lovers, kind of. But the more I started going to shows, I really got into the Midwest emo scene in St. Louis, so that's where all these, like, somewhat tapping riffs and, like, pull offs and stuff are coming from- all the Midwest emo stuff.
Ian: When I think about how I play it’s mainly about stage presence, and I think the biggest influence that most people have pointed to is Flea, having that kind of energy. Especially, like- there’s this old College Humor sketch about the bass player being really boring.
Jack: Oh my god, dude, I’ve seen that!
Ian: That really inspired me, because yeah, like, I'm playing root notes. I should be doing just more than that. When it comes to, like, actual sound, I guess surprisingly- it's not a band I listen to, but it kind of influenced my playing- the Strokes, more so the bass tone and, like, how he plays it. I just kind of emulate the New York indie sound of it.
Jack: I don't know if I hear it as much when we play as a band, but definitely jamming I hear a lot of Jaco Pastorius from the Weather Report. And you do a lot of stuff that sounds like Eric Wilson from Sublime, but I know that's not the influence.
Ian: If it’s anyone, it’s Joe Dart. Like, whenever I’m just playing by myself it’s Joe Dart. I'm just discount Joe Dart.
Jack: If I’m playing by myself, it's usually along to Sublime or some old jazz tracks from high school. I know we've already been down this road (Buy Her Candy interview), but Sublime… I like the Police a lot. I do think I hear a lot of Sting in how [Ian plays].
Solo: I would definitely say-
Jordan: Yvette Young?
Solo: Yeah dude!! Fucking, Yvette Young, like, she had this one song called “farewell” that I used to listen to all the time whenever I had like a bad day, and the way the melodies [and] the tone of the guitar soothed me on my worst days… It made me want to play things melodically, and consciously. And I just kind of, like, do that in everything I make and play. I just love beautiful things.
Jack: I think you do play very consciously.
Solo: Thank you!
Jack: I think that's a really wonderful life quality.
Solo: I appreciate it. I love it, man. I love, like, putting thought into things.
Seriously, your guys’ stuff is incredible. I'm counting down the days until it gets onto Spotify, Apple Music, all that.
Jordan: Thank you! So soon, I promise.
I'm ready.
Live Performance
I was curious, do you guys prefer playing at something like this (Pershy’s) or something more like the Duck Room?
Jordan: I like both.
Solo: I like both too.
Ian: Both are very different. They're different experiences.
Jack: They're totally different. I think I've played the most shows out of the four of us, and personally I do have a preference for bar shows or, like, establishments, just because you have more of an expectation. Like, you know if people are going to show up. [And] it's not so much a matter of people not showing up versus showing up, it's just knowing what to expect. With house shows, it's always just what the people feel.
Like, tonight was a great turn out, but it's also Halloween, so... You don't know what is in response to what. With bar shows, it's usually a much better gauge of, “Ok, we pulled these people. We got these people to come out tonight and go to the show”. And usually that's the same people and the people who really like your music. House shows it's just anybody, you know, anything goes. But like Ian and Jordan said, they're both separate things completely.
Ian: There’s something more intimate about, like, being in a basement that’s just someone’s house and, like, we’ve never met these people before.
Jack: I think the same reasons I like playing house shows are the same reasons I like going to them, whereas the same reasons I like playing bar shows are the same reasons I like being a musician who plays live shows.
When you're performing- all of you- what do you focus on? What’s important?
Ian: Having fun, and making sure [the audience is] having fun too.
Jordan: I've always been super big on stage presence, and the way that I think about the shows is making it an actual show, and not just us going there, playing the songs. I'm a little bit of a nerd and overthink the fuck out of it, but there are a lot of things that I think about when it comes to shows.
But actually playing the shows, 100% stage presence. I have it now to move around the way that I do, but it started off- when I was like, “I'm gonna play shows”- I was like, “I need to move, I need to be entertaining”. So yeah, a little bit of stage presence, but also, like, an experience. I want people to come to these shows and expect something, and even if they’ve seen it before, like, expect something completely different. Like, we’re playing a show tomorrow: completely different setlist.
Jack: I think while playing, my biggest concern is, “Please don't fuck up”. Like, that's why I don't look at you guys… I honestly think I look at the brightest thing in the room and I just zone out. And I'm just like, “Please don't fuck up”.
Solo: That’s so real.
Jack: Literally. I'm staring into the sun and I'm like, “This is bright”. But I'm just thinking, “Please, for the love of god, don't fuck up. We will look bad”. And then when I do fuck up I'm like, “Ok, how can this actually be cool?”
Jordan: Yeah, there was one time specifically, I don't remember what it was, but you repeated what you did and I was like, “Dude, that’s fire”.
Jack: Yeah! Every now and then you fuck up and you just have to do it again.
Jordan: Exactly. That's a big thing.
Solo: Something that helped me out from Blueberry Hill that I did in this show was even if I fuck up, my mentality is, “If I fuck up, they still sound good”. And that kind of helped me getting past the, like, “Oh my god, I fucked up” and moving on. Just being like, “Even though I fucked up, the group sounded really good”.
Jack: I think it was “When You Were Young”.
Jordan: That’s where it was- you cut out and then you repeated it.
Jack: I cut out and I thought that we were all supposed to cut out, but they were all going into, like, the meat of the song- the heavy part. And there are just no drums. So I just hit the hi-hat again and I'm just like, “Well, I’ll make it work”, and I just came back in like it was supposed to happen and it sounded awesome!
Jordan: It worked out. It sounded on purpose- a good musician will know how to do that.
Jack: Right. I appreciate that! But that's the biggest thing. I'm thinking, “Don't fuck up”, and past that, when I do fuck up and do something off script, I'm thinking about how I can turn it into a moment.
I've been hearing a lot about the “Month of Martyridge,” do you want to speak on that?
Jordan: #MOM!!!!
Jack: It's actually going to be every month for all of 2025.
Ian: Hottest MOM on record.
Jordan: So with the shows that we play, I've always tried to space them out. One, it gives us a lot of time to practice and prepare for the show, and two it’s just like, I don't want to overdo the shows. That can get to a point where if we’re playing too many shows people are like, “Oh, I’ve seen this before, I’m not going to go to this one”.
But this month we've had some great opportunities to play. We just have a lot of things planned, we have a lot of shows coming up, like, we're trying to release a song (Editor’s Note: Go listen!). Um, what else?
Ian: Merch?
Jordan: Merch! New merch coming too. We're gonna start posting on social media and stuff, we’ve got some youtube videos we plan on getting out. We just have a lot of things planned this month, and I think people that don’t know of us are gonna have, like, no choice but to hear of us. Hashtag MOM baby, #MOM!
The Hard Hitting Questions
I like the costumes. Did you guys choose which turtle you were? (Editor’s Note: They were the Ninja Turtles for the Halloween show)
Jordan: Yeah! Kind of personality based, but, like, I don't think [Jack is] super Raphael.
Ian: I don’t know if I’m Leo either.
Jordan: I can see Leo, personality wise…
Ian: Personality??
Solo: He's calling you a leader.
Ian: I think he’s calling me a nerd…
Solo: Well, Donnie’s the nerd. Donnie has the fucking stick.
Jordan: He is a nerd too.
Solo: Well, I have glasses, so that's just not fair.
Jack: I feel like I had to be Raph ‘cause I play the drums, but I’m not the most angry…
Ian: And the bass player is the most important person.
That’s what they say
Mouse or squirrel?
Jordan: Squirrel dude, I respect squirrels so much. They be thugging bro!
Ian: Squirrel! You ever seen Up? Squirrel!
Solo: I’d say mouse.
Jordan: One time I saw this squirrel at my grandma's house- he was a little overweight- fall from a tree. That motherfucker got right back up! Went right back up that tree! He didn't give up!! I bet a mouse would’ve given up in that situation.
How many raccoons do you think you could take in a fight?
Ian: Um, adults or- what's the age range on them?
Adults
Solo: Are we armed?
You have a broom.
Ian: Four.
Jordan: Wait, so I have to kill them, right?
Um, you just can’t die. That’s like the only thing…
Ian: I can take four.
Jordan: Oh, dude… I feel like if you take a broom you can whack the fuck out of a raccoon.
Solo: No, you would snap the broom in half so you have two sharp ends and you start stabbing them like crazy.
This is why he’s the purple turtle.
Ian: No, no, no, you need to be on defense. You can’t just use purely offense.
Solo: I’d go straight offense man.
Jordan: What I’d do with the raccoons, if one got too close: I’d smack them with the broom to get away and then if I get the chance I’m going to stomp on one- but, like, I am a pacifist, so I’d never do anything like that.
Ian: I would murder them.
Jack: I think I could take, like, an infinite number, because I would befriend them. I would befriend them and we wouldn’t be fighting.
I'd like to see that. I would be interested in seeing that…
Jack: I would just kneel down and offer them [friendship].
Solo: True pacifist, okay.
Jack: I have a question. Do you think you would last longer fighting 100 mice or one lion, but with the lion, you're in one of those motocross cages, like, the octagon or whatever. But you have no motorbike, is the thing, so you're just in one of these octagonal cages.
Jordan: What kind of question-
Jack: But you can climb! You can climb though!
Jordan: So can the lion!
Solo: I think I’d lose to the mice honestly.
Jack: Hundred mice in a football field or lion in an octagon.
Jordan: Dude, what are you going to do with the lion??
Jack: Climb to the top, motherfucker!!
Jordan: Do you know what a fucking lion is like?
Solo: (laughing) Jumping the top rope on a fucking lion…
Jordan: They can climb on trees. They climb trees.
Ian: You're not out climbing a lion…
Jack: Ok, so you don’t have the willpower to beat the lion?
Jordan: No!
Jack: Ok, well I think I can beat the mice for sure.
Solo: One hundred mice with one goal of killing you? I don't think you can.
Jack: But I'll befriend the mice, dude! We'll be buddies! I'm not going to befriend the lion...
Jordan: No!!! That lion will murder the fuck out of you.
Jack: All right, it might have been a loaded question
Jordan: I have a question for you. What’s your goal with this?
Jack: Yeah, what’s the goal with the Bobcat Press? Is it just for fun? Like, are you trying to start a paper or something?
No, I'm like- I do computer science for school, so this is not related at all.
Solo: Hey, I’m in accounting man. Here the fuck I am.
Jordan: It's cool that you put in the work though. I looked at your website and you have a lot of interviews. You've done this.
Jack: Yeah, no, you’ve put in the work, like, the most interviews I’ve seen. I feel like the issue is a lot of people want to do it, but they do like 10 interviews and get burnt out, so it's cool to see someone who has passion for it.
I can definitely understand getting burnt out...
Jordan: I got a saying man. You put so much time into this, you’re putting time into it- it has no choice but to pay off. I've always had the mindset that if there’s anything that you want to do, if you put enough time into it, there's no way you don't get closer to that door. That’s my mindset with instruments, like, if there's this riff I want to learn, there's no way that if I practice it I don't get closer to playing it.
The Future of Martyridge
What are the short or long term goals for this project?
Jordan: I want to take this all the way, that's always been a goal. I've always been a very ambitious person- I used to want to be a YouTuber, funnily enough, and I put a lot of time into that. But yeah, I personally want to go all the way with this. I hit up these guys, I talk with them all the time and I'm like, “If you guys are really into putting the work in, I have faith that we can take this far”.
All of us put so much time into the things that we do, so that's the goal. But at the end of the day, we're having fun. This is a fucking dream, bro. I sat in my room just picturing myself playing in front of that many people and [now] it's happening.
Ian: The goal is just doing this, but more often.
Do you guys have any closing thoughts?
Jordan: Dude, I love these guys, man. Genuinely these are some of my best friends. This is fun, I’m having a blast, it’s great. I'm so happy with my life right now.
Solo: This is one of the better experiences I’ve ever had in my life. These guys are great, I really appreciate these guys.
Ian: I'm doing what I want [to be doing], like, I'm here playing. I want to keep doing more of this, so I’m just wishing that I can do this more often.
Jack: I think I've had a lot of experience playing shows, but like, I don't think I've ever had so much joy in one night, like, playing with these guys. Like, one show beats every other show I've played, you know? And that happens every single time we play. Every time I play with these guys, it really does top, like, all my experiences, and that's what I appreciate most. I just feel so honored to be a part of it.
I feel the same way. Both these shows I've gone to, I'm so glad that I'm just here.
Jack: That's how I feel.
Jordan: That's the goal, man.
Ian: It’s always crazy hearing people come back to another show, like, that's the craziest thing.
Jordan: What’s crazy to me is hearing people- like, random people- like, “You're in Martyridge?”
Jack: Did you hear anybody singing along during “Tattoos” or was that all in my head?
Jordan: I didn't hear anything to go with “Tattoos”, but people at the end screamed, “Don’t change!!” That was sick, dude. When I screamed, “Some things don’t change”, there were people screaming it with me.
And that concludes this edition of The Bobcat Press! Massive shoutout to Martyridge, seriously make sure you tap into this band. In two years when they are triple platinum, let it be known that I boarded the hype train very early. But yeah, happy Month of Martyridge and thanks for tuning in!
Until next time!
Bobcat Press out.