Interview: My Lady Four

Sean recently spoke to Brian Schwarz of Minneapolis five-piece, My Lady Four.

Schwarz spoke about the bands beginnings, their recent album, 'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' and its follow up and more.

ATP: Who are you and what do you do in My Lady Four?
Brian: My name is Brian, and I sing, play piano, and guitar.

ATP: Whats the story of how My Lady Four got together?
B: Well, I started the band a little less than a year ago when I posted an add on craigslist, looking for a new drummer. Carp was one of the first to respond, mentioning at the bottom of his e-mail, "I promise I won't kill you". Since then we have found every member to date on Craigslist, and we've tried out over 300 people.

ATP: What bands have influenced the sound of My Lady Four?
B: A whole list of bands have influenced us. A few of the major ones are The Beatles, Taking Back Sunday, Dashboard Confessional, Brand New, and Jacks Mannequin.

ATP: How would describe you're sound to people who have not heard of your band before?
B: Hah. This is always a tough question to answer. We've been told we sound like Kings of Leon meets Panic! At The Disco, but we range from sounds as piano driven and soft as The Fray, to as hardcore as Emery.

ATP: I understand your new album, 'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' is the first part of a two part series. Would you like to expand on that?
B: Absolutely! :) We wrote an album that works on multiple levels, and is not just a collection of 8 songs. There is a story that accompanies the album, posted on our myspace site, and included in the booklet of our album, that people can read to get a better understanding of what the album is about, but what makes it so unique is that the story/album/lyrics are as much about My Lady Four the band, and about me, as they are about the main character, making it very accessible.

ATP: Can you tell us any details of the 2nd part?
B: Haha, I'll try and keep that mostly quiet for now. I can tell you the new album is titled "In This Life Or The Next", and it will express a different side of us than this album. Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper tends to be dark and ominous, while In This Life Or The Next has happier overtones while still tending to feel tense and slightly unsettling.

ATP: How was it working with producer Jordan Schmidt?
B: Working with Jordan was awesome! He's a really down to earth guy, and he takes his job very seriously. We actually thought we would butt heads a lot while in the studio, but it ended up being the exact opposite. We worked together very well.

ATP: Jake Scherer (of New Medicine) makes a guest appearence on the record. How did that collaboration happen?
B: New Medicine, formerly A Verse Unsung, was actually the first band we ever played a show with in My Lady Four, and I've had a ton of respect for Jake ever since. We've kept tabs on one another and when I was in the studio I offered it up to Jake, and he chose to participate and support us.

ATP: You're currently on the Have Your Cake and Eat it Tour. How are the shows going?
B: All the shows so far have been excellent, though I'm really excited for our upcoming east coast dates! We haven't gotten too far from the midwest for the first month, and getting out to the east coast is going to be a blast.

ATP: What can people expect from these shows?
B: Our shows are very high-energy. We are performers, first and foremost, and we believe in playing shows that people will talk about for a long time after. So we try to make every show we play, no matter how many people show up, the best, most exciting, and most entertaining show we've ever done!

ATP: Other than the new album, what does My Lady Four have planned for the future?
B: At this point we will be touring full time from here on out, so we plan to move through a lot of college campuses and high schools in the days to come! Speaking of which, if anyone wants us to come out to their high school or college, send us an e-mail at MyLadyFour@yahoo.com and we'll try to make it happen!

ATP: Would you like to say anything else?
B: Other than that we do a weekly chat on Tuesdays at 9pm cst through Stickam. So if anyone is ever wondering what we're up to, tune in and find out! :) And thank you Sean for the interview!

'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' is available now.

My Lady Four on MySpace

My Lady Four track, '...Sometimes the Beat Eats You' is just one of 51 songs included on our Autumn/Winter 2009 Compilation, which can be downloaded here.

Sean Reid

Song Stream: My Lady Four

Today's Song Stream comes from My Lady Four and the song is called 'And Suddenly, I'm Somebody' from their recent record, 'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper'.



Another My Lady Four track, '...Sometimes the Beat Eats You' is just one of 51 songs included on our Autumn/Winter 2009 Compilation, which can be downloaded here.

'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' is available now.

Also My Lady Four were interviewed on DJ Rosstar's Punk Rock Show which can be heard here.

http://www.myspace.com/MyLadyFour

12 New Bands Announced for ALTER THE PRESS! AUTUMN/WINTER Compilation

Today we are revealing 12 more bands for our Autumn/Winter Compilation.

The 11 new tracks includes new music from Kyoto Drive, Wolf Am I and Machine God. As well tracks from Stagecoach, My Lady Four and A Word Like.Attack.

'Alter The Press! Autumn/Winter 2009 Compilation' will be released on the week of August 11th as a FREE DOWNLOAD.

If you are interested in contributing to 'Alter The Press! Autumn/Winter 2009 Compilation' you can e-mail with either an MP3 or a link to a track (to download) at atpcomp@googlemail.com.

Note: If you have any issues with sending a track, e-mail sean.

New tracks added:

Wolf Am I - Lex Talionis
Stagecoach - Break
Kyoto Drive - I'd Give It All
Chasing Amy - You Had Me At Hello
Latin For Truth - 88 Says
Sister City - Ellis Island Blues
Machine God - Wasted Life
Riding Giants - Magnus
A Word Like.Attack - Good Luck In Your Future Endeavours
Brave Citizens - The Same Way
My Lady Four - ...Sometimes The Bear Eats You
You Vandal - Gainsville City Limits

Full track listing so far
(no order confirmed yet)

Attack! Attack! - 'You & Me'.
Kevin Devine - 'I Could Be With Anyone'
Rushmore - Take The Honey
Nemes - Pipe Song
The Tupolev Ghost - TBC track
The Whisky Works - Electric
Caleb Lionheart - Rules of Attraction
The A-B Theory - Tell Me How Colardo Is
Letterday - Confessions of a Serial Crusher
Phaorahs - Gravity
Wolf Am I - Lex Talionis
Stagecoach - Break
Kyoto Drive - I'd Give It All
Chasing Amy - You Had Me At Hello
Latin For Truth - 88 Says
Sister City - Ellis Island Blues
Machine God - Wasted Life
Riding Giants - Magnus
A Word Like.Attack - Good Luck In Your Future Endeavours
Brave Citizens - The Same Way
My Lady Four - ...Sometimes The Bear Eats You
You Vandal - Gainsville City Limits

Album Review: My Lady Four - Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper

Concept albums at times can be based on odd, peculiar ideas, and My Lady Four's 'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' follows this logic. This 8 track release is based on the concept of the experiences of a gatekeeper who comes to find he's on trial for the crimes of another.

Opener '...And Suddenly I'm Somebody' is an upbeat, somewhat catchy introduction with the lyrics coming from the gatekeeper's perspective. Whilst 'Sometimes You Eat Bear...' and its follow up '...Sometimes The Bear Eats You', musically are straight out rock with the latter having a thumping bass and fierce guitar riffs. Lyrically they draw you into the record's storyline.

'Awfully Quiet For An Interrrogation' and 'At The Gate' sees the story and band slowing down and becoming more emotional, with a piano taking lead in both tracks with sweet sounding strings complimenting this well, alongside strong vocals that when combined, they create an eerie yet captivating atmosphere.

Next the band lighten up and become rocking with 'Jeykll, Meet Mr. Hyde', a track that sounds a lot like Funeral For A Friend but slightly lighter version. 'Your Idea of A Good Time' follows the same theme of thumping drums, strong blend of vocal harmonies and deep guitar riffs.

Closing track 'Even Apologies Have Enemies' starts off upbeat and then calms down to create a beautiful mix of male and female vocals with strings and a marching drum beat, rounding off the first chaper of this 2 part concept album well.

Despite the slightly odd concept; a story that gives the impression that is is set in medieval times, but is backed with My Lady Four's brand of alternative rock. Lyrically 'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' manages to connect the listener to the characters within the story, as they've written emotional-driven songs that captivates the listener and keeps them hooked. Whilst musically it is strong, yet at times you feel its been done.

Nevertheless My Lady Four's technique for storytelling is something to be admired, as well as ambitious.

3.5/5

'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' by My Lady Four is streaming in full on their myspace and will be on iTunes by August 11th.

Sean Reid

My Lady Four Album Stream

My Lady Four's new album, 'Everyone Pays The Gatekeeper' is streaming here.

The album is the first part of a two part series, the second part to be released summer of 2010.

The record was produced by Jordan Schmidt (Sing It Loud, All Time Low, You Me And Everyone We Know), and is scheduled to release on Itunes by August 11th. The track called "...Sometimes The Bear Eats You" features guest vocals from Jake Scherer (of New Medicine).