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Motopony brings Pacific Northwest sound back to DeLuna Fest

2:58 AM, Aug. 16, 2012

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Motopony returns to DeLuna Fest for the second consecutive year when the festival returns to Pensacola Beach, Sept. 21-23. / Special to GoPensacola.com

Written by

Ashley Faulkner

GoPensacola.com

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Pensacola is getting an injection of Pacific Northwest sound during DeLuna Fest in the form of Motopony, the self-proclaimed band of misfits that came together to create an album full of dreamy, earnest songs. The band, consisting of lead singer Daniel Blue, guitarist Mike Notter, percussionist Forrest Mavais and fill-ins Micah Simler and Andrew Butler, will be bringing its indie sound to our sunny beaches to, just maybe, sparkle in the sun. During a phone interview, Blue shared his plans to resemble some famous fictional vampires and how recording songs for Motopony's sophomore album went in the mountains of Washington.

Q: Motopony songs have been used by the hit television shows “House,” “Cougar Town” and “Hung.” Are there any other shows that you would be stoked to have Motopony lend songs to?

A: Well, I mean, it would be cool if “Game of Thrones” picked something up. That's really the only television show I watch. It's sort of hard to imagine what would work. I mean, some of the songs on the first album (that) are played on a 12-stringed medieval instrument called a viola might work. The song called “Vetiver.”

Q: Speaking of Motopony albums, I heard that you guys were going to hole up on a mountain somewhere to work on your second album. How's that going?

A: It's going really well. We spent time in the mountains and did a lot of writing, and we had 38 songs when we came down from the mountain. We took all of these and went into the studio for roughly two to three months and learned to play them all live, because we really wanted this record to be more of a representation of our live show. Of those 38, we recorded 17 over the course of 10 days in a studio called Bear Creek.

Listen to some of our favorite Motopony tracks

Q: Coming from the mountains of the Northwest to the sunny beaches of the South, were there any major differences that befuddled or bemused you about playing here?

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A: [Last year at DeLuna Fest] we flew in from Montreal and flew out early the next morning to Philadelphia, so we didn't get much time [in Pensacola]. The one night we were there, we met a man named Billy Martin who owns Flounders and [Crabs We Got ‘Em] on the beach and fell in love [with the area]. He showed us the restaurants and we ate his food and became great friends. So that was totally incredible — the absolute hospitality. I mean, random strangers are like, “Come over to my restaurant, your music is awesome!”

Q: That sounds about right for Pensacola.

A: That was our only experience — playing the show and freaking out because our gear was in Miami. Not only did every band at the festival feed us one piece of gear we needed, but then we get on stage and the guy who owns the [restaurants on the] beach is feeding us; it was great. Florida is great!

Q: Have you been doing any special prep for DeLuna Fest this year?

A: I've been taking pills that turn my skin silver, more like an iridescent, you know, so when the sun strikes me I look like one of those vampires.

Q: Well, that is your neck of the woods … I bet all the “Twilight” fans will love that! [laughter]

A: Yeah, Forks. [laughs] Other than that, we're just practicing every day, especially now that we are teaching a couple of new guys the songs.

Q: Does Motopony have a preference when it comes to playing smaller venues versus outdoor festivals?

A: As long as the room feels full and people are there and enjoying themselves, like then I get off. Festivals can actually be kind of difficult because, you know, you are roping in passers-by or like the hot-dog cart is exuding steam at you. [laughs] It can be pretty crazy when it's not as much of a captive audience, but we love playing outdoors.

Q: So what can fans and newcomers to the Motopony sound expect from your DeLuna Fest set this year?

A: We're a bunch of weirdos. To be honest, we are a band of misfits and we are extremely welcoming and we are very strange, but for some reason the music we make together is becoming more and more popular. I don't know what to tell people to expect — we like to have a good time and if not, it's not that thing that is like “so cool” and all the hipsters want it — it's way more just like, “hey, music is awesome, let's get together and try to enjoy life and enjoy each other's company.”