Like any band, The Breakfast Machine has one dream: to go on tour. Last month, the Arlington-based psych rock/pop outfit took to Kickstarter to make such a dream a reality. Six thousand dollars might not seem like tour-funding material, but don’t worry, the band’s got it all covered. Whether it’s new merchandise, spreading the word, or just having fun, The Breakfast Machine knows exactly what they out of their upcoming “Texas Tour.”
“It’s the first tour we’re ever going on and we’re keeping it pretty local. Texas is a pretty big state,” says vocalist Meghann Moore. “We really wanted the Texas Tour because there’s so much of Texas we haven’t explored and haven’t reached out to. It’s pretty exciting because we wanted to spread out in Texas before really branching out to the [United States.]”
With their sophomore release, Electric 2033, on the way and its accompanying release party at Dallas’ Sundown at Granada next month, The Breakfast Machine has plenty of branching out to do. Slated for August, the “Texas Tour” will be making its way through Texas’ biggest cities, linking them up with friends, and providing them with a taste of Texas many have dreamed of. The fun kicks-off at Electric 2033‘s release party on July 27th, where the band plans to play the entirety of their 2012 release, A Pitch to the Wind.
Their Kickstarter is still chuggling along; you can donate to them here. In the midst of their fundraising efforts, members Meghann Moore and Ryan Sobczak sat down with me to talk about fundraising and doing things yourself.
Front Row: Congrats on the upcoming release of Electric 2033! Tell us about the album – the writing process, influences, and how it differs from A Pitch to the Wind.
Meghann Moore: Our writing process is really collaborative, and it always has been. The album’s gonna be pretty different from A Pitch to the Wind. I think it’s a lot darker and also better quality. We’ve come a long way with our writing.
Ryan Sobczak: Yeah, what we did with A Pitch to the Wind is that one person wrote a song, and you really could tell the difference between who wrote which each song. With this one we kind of have learned how to write together since, and as such, the songs are more lush.
FR: Explain the title Electric 2033. How’d you come up with it?
RS: I wish we could say. [Both laugh]
MM: It’s a really funny story.
RS: In the end, it really just ended up being a random string of words all put together.
MM: It really originated from…[laughs]. (To Ryan) You were there…
RS: Yeah, we were trying to be electricians – me, our drummer and our other guitarist were trying to replace lights in our practice space, which was also our house. Neither of us know anything to do with electricity. I’m not gonna say it was the safest thing for us to do, but we accomplished it! Then it was just used jokingly–it’s almost like an inside joke. “2033” sounds like “2013.”
FR: Why use Kickstarter to help raise money for the tour? Why not use other fundraising ideas that would allow you to stay local?
MM: Kickstarter’s a really a good place for crowd funding because they allow people who want to donate to do so in all in one place. It incentivizes us to provide high quality merchandise and spread our music around to more people. It really allows us to do what we want to and promote it in a reasonable way.
FR: What do you think about Kickstarter’s intersections with the music industry? Does it add or detract from the DIY ethics/aesthetics/sensibilities?
MM: I think it adds to the do-it-yourself. It’s so hard to promote things yourself; you can’t really just slap a Kickstarter together and tell people to donate. You have to really work on it and put a lot effort into it. And I think a lot of the bigger bands that use Kickstarter, the reason why they’re using it is because they want to do it themselves and without the label or something like that.
RS: Plus, it always comes down to if a person looking at your Kickstarter doesn’t want to donate, they don’t have to. You’re not really forcing them to donate. They’re supporting you because they want to.
FR: Is there anything in particular that you’re excited for, in regards to the tour? Any place you’d like to see or city you’d like to visit?
MM: I’m really excited to play Austin and San Antonio. We’re obviously excited to go to all of the places that we [listed], but those are big for cities for music. It’s gonna be a really great experience, I think. And of course we’re super excited for the album release.
RS: I’m just looking forward to just going. I personally have never been on a tour. I’m just most excited about getting out there and playing other places. We’ve just been playing the DFW circuit for years. I want to see what other cities are like.
