Echo and KEPW welcome Dominic from Midnight Morning

Echo: You are listening to KEPW 97.3 FM, broadcasting from Eugene, Oregon and simulcasting online at KEPW.org. I’m your host Echo, and tonight we’re joined by a band whose music has been quietly shaking up the scene: Dominic and Midnight Morning. Their unique blend of heartfelt lyrics and immersive soundscapes has caught the attention of listeners and critics alike. Dominic, Midnight Morning, welcome to the show.

Dominic: Well, thank you for having me.

[00:00:31] Echo: Let’s start at the beginning, for those who are just discovering your music. What’s behind the story on the name ‘Midnight Morning?’ How did you guys come together as a band?

[00:00:41] Dominic: The drummer and guitar player and I have been best friends since we were like 11. And we were in another band that toured around for like a decade when we were in high school and just out of it.

[00:00:58] Echo: Wow.

[00:00:58] Dominic: And we got kind of lost our minds to addiction and mental health problems and broke up. And I was kind of coming out of hitting my bottom and James, the drummer for our band, kind of pulled me off the couch and asked if I wanted to start playing music again.

[00:01:23] And it was weird because I was at a point where I wasn’t sure if I was going to be able to even write a song anymore. So it started out as more of just an exercise to see if that muscle still worked.

[00:01:42] We were super lucky that Chris, our bass player—who’s kind of a musical savant, he shreds a guitar and he’s kind of a tech wizard—wanted to kind of go on this journey with us.

[00:01:56] And the name you know, our guitar player, Josh, came up with the name and I think it almost symbolizes a light and a dark, you know.

[00:02:08] Echo: That’s a beautiful sentiment.

[00:02:10] Dominic: Yeah, right on.

[00:02:12] Echo: I love that. So you guys are grunge, right? How would you define your musical style?

[00:02:18] Dominic: That’s tough to say. Yeah, I mean, people have been calling us psychedelic grunge music which I think kind of does fit with what it is. I don’t know why it sounds like it does. A lot of people tell us, we sound like ‘90s. I don’t know why we sound that way. Maybe just situationally where we grew up and the music that’s been surrounding us our entire lives probably had an influence on that, you know?

Echo: Yeah. So ‘90s music inspired you?  

Dominic: I mean, that’s what we grew up in, you know, Nirvana and all that stuff was, you know, right at the same time. So it, it definitely did.

[00:03:02] Echo: I grew up in that era too.

[00:03:03] Dominic: Right on. Yeah. you know, and then, yeah, I mean, we all saw what came after that. You know, it’s arguably the worst era in music is your ’00’s: Kid Rock, like, you know. yeah. So we’re not that.

[00:03:23] Echo: Thank goodness! So your music often feels both personal and universal, so how do you approach writing lyrics that are true to your experience but still resonate with a wide audience?

[00:03:36] Dominic: I guess I don’t think about that necessarily. It’s more of what the song feels like, you know.

[00:03:46] Echo: It sounds like you go into a flow state.

[00:03:48] Dominic: Yeah, definitely. There’s some songs we have too where it’s almost free thought where I wrote it like almost as it came out of me on purpose, you know, and sometimes we’ll say things, I’ll say things in songs to make you feel a certain way, not necessarily that it makes sense, but that it makes you feel like you should in that moment of the song.

[00:04:12] But yeah, flow state’s a good way to put it. You’ve got to let it go through you. Otherwise, it’s a joke.

[00:04:18] Echo: I agree with that. Is there a particular song in your catalog that you feel is most you as a band? And if so, what makes that song special?

[00:04:27] Dominic: So off the new EP (Faded Colors) that we just put out, which one is most like us-us? You know, I’d probably say Black Warm Tar.  It definitely really does encapsulate the psychedelic grunge feeling that the band really puts out… Yeah. Black Warm Tar.

[00:06:41] Echo: So, who’s in the band and who plays what? Tell me about that.

[00:06:44] Dominic: James plays drums and Josh plays guitar and Chris plays bass. And I am Dominic and I sing and play guitar.

[00:06:54] Echo: Every artist has influences, but what’s something unexpected, like, that has inspired, influenced your music or creative process?

[00:07:03] Dominic: We’re super into things like the original Wicker Man. (Ooh!) You know, I think art should be an experience. So, you know, some of the things too that we’ve—we’ve played shows, last time we played in Eugene, it was at a house venue and it was awesome. There’s some down here in Portland or up here and we saw this performance piece that was a puppet show and it was so disturbing and it was awesome, you know.

[00:07:38] And I mean, that’s what we’re doing here, so art for art is what this is all about. Yeah. And the absolute weirder we can experience something, we are freaking into it. So, you know, give me John Waters you know, give me David Lynch, you know. Things like that are definitely heavily on our minds.

[00:07:59] Echo: That’s some amazing influences right there. What’s a misconception people often have about your band or your music?

[00:08:12] Dominic: Josh and I are sober and we kind of went through that journey together, you know, with the other band and then onto this one. And I don’t know a better way to put it, but I mean, we’re not a sober band in the sense of like, that’s not our focus. Like just because we don’t drink doesn’t mean that we don’t freaking have a good time. So—

[00:08:39] Echo: Absolutely. I think that’s a really profound statement because there’s so many bands out there that party it up and that’s the lifestyle that people think all bands partake in. But there’s some very serious sober artists out there that are making some fantastic things.

[00:08:54] Dominic: Yeah. You know, I mean, we got wrapped up in that lie in the other project, and that’s kind of what led to a lot of the bad. But you look at the real artists out there, I mean, Dali, Frank Zappa, you know. Dali famously said, ‘I don’t do drugs. I am drugs.’ You know, I mean, you get the real artists out there, they don’t need that. You know, they can find that without those things. And that’s really cool.

[00:09:28] So finding new, healthier routines, but still enjoying and letting yourself enjoy the parts of the show and experiencing art and live music, that’s important is, is a tough balance. So it took a little bit, but we’re definitely on the path now where Josh and I have a great time at shows. Josh is addicted to a mosh pit, you know, so—

[00:10:00] Echo: I am too. I just think it’s really inspirational to people who are out there and maybe they are trying to be sober and, and knowing that there are artists out there that are living that lifestyle and still fulfilling their dreams.

[00:10:12] Dominic: Yeah. Yeah, almost, it almost helps you, being sober, see the path better. Yeah. And you know, definitely get the wheels on the ground and it’s, I’ve definitely found clarity and direction in it that I didn’t know I had inside of me.

[00:10:31] Echo: How do you know when a song is finished and ready to go out to the world?

[00:10:36] Dominic: I think writingwise, it’s hard for a song to ever be completely finished. (Yeah.) Even like you look at Bruce Springsteen and stuff now, you know, he’s been playing these songs for 50 years and he’ll add something to it in a live show and change it up in a certain way, you know, which is fun for the audience ’cause they know it, but it’s a little different, you know?

[00:10:59] And that’s because the song itself is growing. And recordingwise, you know, sometimes perfection is the enemy of completion.

[00:11:12] You just, at a certain point, you just got to get it out. When it’s good enough, that’s when you got to get it out.

Echo: Yeah. Knowing that it’s still a growing, living kind of thing.

Dominic: Yeah, totally.

[00:11:25] Echo: Dominic, Midnight Morning, thank you so much for joining us and sharing your story. It’s been a pleasure having you on Underground Echo.

[00:11:32] Dominic: Thank you so much Echo. Thank you so much for inviting me and it was really nice to talk to you.

Black Warm Tar is available on the Midnight Morning EP Faded Colors.