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~~ninaNirvana~~ · 02-09-2009, 04:08 PM

( The following interview was intended for the album review of MRI's Where Parallel Lines Meet but it would not fit in the post; I will publish the full interview in May but here was the part intended for the album review )

Since I had the opportunity to interview MRI this past December at Palm Beach Sound Studios in Florida where they were mixing and mastering Where Parallel Lines Meet I thought it would be a good place to begin this in depth album review. I first saw MRI (previously know as Noir) when they opened for Godsmack at Coral Sky amphitheater in 2002. Their sound has evolved a lot since then hence my own personal fascination with the music. What strikes me the most about Where Parallel Lines Meet is how every song sounds so different from each other and the listener never really knows what is going to come next. The following is from a tape recorded interview with Daren Thomas Turner[guitar,vox,piano,strings] and Alan Cruz[drums] on December 12th, 2008.

NINA: "So tell us about Where Parallel Lines Meet in terms of it being Xyen Records first official release."

ALAN: "I'm just the drummer here { laughs } try that one." { points to Daren }

DAREN: "I just sing and play my geeetar... what do I know about anything either." { laughs with Alan }

NINA: "OK I see how this is going to be a long interview."

DAREN: "Interview? Oh know...you are aware that we don't speak English, aren't you?"

ALAN: "But we are learning using Rosetta Stone."

DAREN: "Yeah that Rosetta is such a stoner. 'Tis a shame...all that talent going to waste." { Daren and Alan laugh }

NINA: "I feel like I am trapped in an episode of Beavis and Butthead."

DAREN: "Those guys were pure genius...way before their time. I have all their albums."

ALAN: "Do you remember Frog Baseball?" {turns to Daren, laughs}

NINA: "Oh my I wish I brought my 4 year old Ha HA with me today."

DAREN: "Actually, I loved kindergarten. I did so well too and got great grades. I also learned how to draw a turkey using my hand as an outline."

NINA: "Yes this is going to be a long interview..."

25 minutes later...

NINA: "Do you think we could talk about Where Parallel Lines Meet now?

DAREN: "OK. After all this nonsense I owe you a real response now, huh?"

NINA: "It would make my day!" {Daren winks}

DAREN: "OKay... what do you want to know specifically?"

NINA: "Simply sum up for me the spirit of the album and any special production techniques that inspired you and Alan and Dan."

DAREN: "I think one could say that with Parallel we wanted to show the world that MRI was not an "Alice In Chains" cover band. In fact, I don't think we sound like Alice In Chains at all really. If you compare our voices really, I don't sound anything like Layne Staley; we only sound similar at times when we layer certain harmonies since we are both baritone singers. Since MRI is about having as rich and tapestried vocal layer presence as possible, I think some fans jumped to the conclusion that we were copying Alice In Chains
style when all one needs to do is listen to other songs besides "Helicopter Head" to see that we are much more diverse sounding and original sounding. This is another reason why we decided to let Xyen Records offer free downloads to all MRI fans for all the tracks on Parallel as I want folks to spread the word, even file share our songs in the same manner that bands like The Arctic Monkeys reached out to their listeners with their material. Look, Alan, Dan and I are independently well off enough to not need to make a dollar every time some one listens to our songs. I think bands should be ashamed of themselves when they only make records to make money. This is the greed that collapsed the record industry on itself. The industry should have tried to embrace Napster and seen that file sharing was going to be an inevitable outcome of the web. They should have licensed ISPs instead of taking down Napster because when they did they stabbed themselves in their own heart and only have themselves to blame today that CDs will soon be an anachronism. Their greed perpetuated the desire for OMD to become the delivery method of choice for music distribution"

NINA: "Wow I have waited more than a half hour for that; thanks!"

DAREN: "Can we go back to being idiots now?"

ALAN: "Pretty please?"

NINA: "Thanks for the interview guys! Thanks for the advanced copy of your CD too! Is it ok that I use any/all parts of this interview for future issues of ******* ?"

DAREN: "Interview? Did we get the job?"

NINA: "You guys are too much."

02-09-2009, 04:08 PM	#2 (permalink)
~~ninaNirvana~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Miami, FL Posts: 118	Interview with MRI ( The following interview was intended for the album review of MRI's Where Parallel Lines Meet but it would not fit in the post; I will publish the full interview in May but here was the part intended for the album review ) Since I had the opportunity to interview MRI this past December at Palm Beach Sound Studios in Florida where they were mixing and mastering Where Parallel Lines Meet I thought it would be a good place to begin this in depth album review. I first saw MRI (previously know as Noir) when they opened for Godsmack at Coral Sky amphitheater in 2002. Their sound has evolved a lot since then hence my own personal fascination with the music. What strikes me the most about Where Parallel Lines Meet is how every song sounds so different from each other and the listener never really knows what is going to come next. The following is from a tape recorded interview with Daren Thomas Turner[guitar,vox,piano,strings] and Alan Cruz[drums] on December 12th, 2008. NINA: "So tell us about Where Parallel Lines Meet in terms of it being Xyen Records first official release." ALAN: "I'm just the drummer here { laughs } try that one." { points to Daren } DAREN: "I just sing and play my geeetar... what do I know about anything either." { laughs with Alan } NINA: "OK I see how this is going to be a long interview." DAREN: "Interview? Oh know...you are aware that we don't speak English, aren't you?" ALAN: "But we are learning using Rosetta Stone." DAREN: "Yeah that Rosetta is such a stoner. 'Tis a shame...all that talent going to waste." { Daren and Alan laugh } NINA: "I feel like I am trapped in an episode of Beavis and Butthead." DAREN: "Those guys were pure genius...way before their time. I have all their albums." ALAN: "Do you remember Frog Baseball?" {turns to Daren, laughs} NINA: "Oh my I wish I brought my 4 year old Ha HA with me today." DAREN: "Actually, I loved kindergarten. I did so well too and got great grades. I also learned how to draw a turkey using my hand as an outline." NINA: "Yes this is going to be a long interview..." 25 minutes later... NINA: "Do you think we could talk about Where Parallel Lines Meet now? DAREN: "OK. After all this nonsense I owe you a real response now, huh?" NINA: "It would make my day!" {Daren winks} DAREN: "OKay... what do you want to know specifically?" NINA: "Simply sum up for me the spirit of the album and any special production techniques that inspired you and Alan and Dan." DAREN: "I think one could say that with Parallel we wanted to show the world that MRI was not an "Alice In Chains" cover band. In fact, I don't think we sound like Alice In Chains at all really. If you compare our voices really, I don't sound anything like Layne Staley; we only sound similar at times when we layer certain harmonies since we are both baritone singers. Since MRI is about having as rich and tapestried vocal layer presence as possible, I think some fans jumped to the conclusion that we were copying Alice In Chains style when all one needs to do is listen to other songs besides "Helicopter Head" to see that we are much more diverse sounding and original sounding. This is another reason why we decided to let Xyen Records offer free downloads to all MRI fans for all the tracks on Parallel as I want folks to spread the word, even file share our songs in the same manner that bands like The Arctic Monkeys reached out to their listeners with their material. Look, Alan, Dan and I are independently well off enough to not need to make a dollar every time some one listens to our songs. I think bands should be ashamed of themselves when they only make records to make money. This is the greed that collapsed the record industry on itself. The industry should have tried to embrace Napster and seen that file sharing was going to be an inevitable outcome of the web. They should have licensed ISPs instead of taking down Napster because when they did they stabbed themselves in their own heart and only have themselves to blame today that CDs will soon be an anachronism. Their greed perpetuated the desire for OMD to become the delivery method of choice for music distribution" NINA: "Wow I have waited more than a half hour for that; thanks!" DAREN: "Can we go back to being idiots now?" ALAN: "Pretty please?" NINA: "Thanks for the interview guys! Thanks for the advanced copy of your CD too! Is it ok that I use any/all parts of this interview for future issues of ***** ?" DAREN: "Interview? Did we get the job?" NINA:** "You guys are too much."