The Midwinters Q&A

Your name: 
Paul Donovan (vocals, guitar).

Where are you from?
San Diego area, California, USA.

 

Name of band: 
The Midwinters.

 

Who else is in your band? 
Chris Hobson (piano, keyboards, vocals), Jeff Hoyer (guitars), Matt Cliff (bass), Erik Ekdahl (drums).

 

How would you describe yourselves? 
Power pop, Americana.

 

Who are your main influences musically? 
For me, I think Nada Surf has found a great place to reside. They're reminiscent of bands from the past without being cliche. They sound perfectly nostalgic and modern at the same time. Wilco is another that has struck that balance of paying homage while creating their own sound; they're a great guidepost. I like Matt Pond PA and he definitely creeps into my writing. The other guys have a wide range of tastes, and it blends together pretty well.

 

What do you hope to achieve in music? 
We all (mostly) have day jobs, so we don't need to make a living at this, which has freed us up to simply enjoy the process. For myself, in my twenties in a former band, life was on hold as we toured and sacrificed in hopes of making it. We nearly killed each other in the process. Now, I make music for all the right reasons. I wake up with an idea, get it out on the voice recorder with my kids fighting in the background and hammer it out with the guys at the next practice. The Midwinters guys get together as a brotherhood or something, not as a means to some end. We're like the Sons of Anarchy without the gun-running.  

 

What has been the highlight of your career so far, and why? 
While in my former band, we got picked up at the Anchorage, AK, airport by a bunch of kids in a church van and they asked us what we sounded like as they fired up the van. The local radio station was playing our song as they turned the ignition, and we all answered in unison: "Like that”.

 

And what’s the moment you want to forget? 
The Midwinters play it pretty close to the vest and there haven't been too many mishaps, thankfully. With my former band, it was most certainly breaking a succession of strings on stage at the Casbah [an iconic club in San Diego], reaching for the backup guitar mid-song, only to knock it over.  All the while, "Aunt Betty's Ford" made fun of us from the crowd. 

 

If you could choose one of your songs as an advert for your music, what would it be and why? 
All There Is, from our second EP of the same name (coming out Jan. 7, 2013), because I'm working more and more on telling stories and that one does a good job of it.   

 

Where can we listen to it? 
themidwinters.bandcamp.com

Where can we find out more about your music?

themidwinters.bandcamp.com

facebook.com/midwintersband

twitter.com/midwintersband

reverbnation.com/themidwinters

soundcloud.com/midwintersband

Anything else you’d like to say about your band that I forgot to ask? 
Between us in this band, we have nine kids. I know that's not necessarily rock ‘n’ roll but I'm trying to harness this season in life honestly in my songwriting; it's rich and fertile ground. Matt turned me on to a great new band from Nashville called Wild Cub. For a moment, I found myself gazing longingly into the YouTube screen lamenting my twenties. That's because they were doing such a good job of conveying where they're at that it hit me emotionally. I want to do that better with where I'm at now.