Dallas road warriors Messer are calling for unity with their new single "Hope In This World," a positive track touching on current times and shining a light in dark times.
Rock Life recently got a chance to speak with Messer bassist Maddox Messer and vocalist Dereak Messer, who both spoke about how grateful they are to still be releasing music and how happy they are to be back out on stage.
The band recently went through some lineup changes, but are moving full speed ahead and when asked what keeps them going, the pair shared that the fans are what keeps them wanting to do it.
"We're really blessed," Dereak shared.
Like so many others, the band had to figure out things during the pandemic and Maddox said there was a point where they thought about it being over, "For some people, this life just isn't for them, but we're still here and we're ready to go. I think this single was much needed not only for the fans, but for us as well."
"Never mind the pandemic, but now we're in a whole other world of shit! The song has really taken on even a little bit heavier weight over the last week or so with everything going on in Ukraine. It's something that effects the whole word on some level."
"We are already seeing it every day starting with the gas prices jumping," Dereak added.
The band has been performing some one-off shows here and there, but are looking to get back out on the road this Spring and Summer.
They have some acoustic shows booked and they recently announced a August show in Council Bluffs at the West Fair Amphitheater. The show is the 89.7 The River's Rock Fest, which will also feature performances from Alice In Chains, Breaking Benjamin and Bush.
When asked if there is any particular Summer festival that they would love to get on, Maddox explained, "I mean, we've done like Warped Tour and things like that are cool and fun, but I think what we're really looking to get into is more of the smaller type community things. You know, like your Fourth of July barbecue things and your taste of the city like things."
"Those off the beaten path opportunities to bring our messages to a crowd because a lot of those larger festivals are booked by labels so there's not really a lot of opportunity for a independent band to get on there. Real insider shit: they want to sell those spots to us and I'm not wiling to pay for that. We deserve to be compensated for our performances. Sometimes some of the road crew is making more money then the band on stage so it's a wild landscape for sure."
He also shared that it's been amazing to get back out on stage and feel that energy from the crowd again, "Just to see their faces and seeing everybody try to live again has been a blessing. We're super stoked. This is a drug for us. We need that exchange of energy that we get from performing. I mean, we were forced into a sobriety and getting back out there feels great. We never took this for granted, but now it has a even heavier weight to it. We're really aware of what it means."
"Yeah, you've got to be way more appreciative of what you have and being able to do what you love to do because a lot of people don't have that opportunity," Dereak piped in.
The band isn't planning on releasing a album any time soon, choosing to focus their attention on releasing a single or two every month or every couple of months because of the way listeners take in music now a days, "I think the days of the album are really gone and in retrospect, we wish we hadn't released our debut album as a album. I wish we would have just trickled them out as singles because so much time and energy and effort went into those songs on there and we prided ourselves on not having any fillers so it was just single after single," Maddox stated.
"Unfortunately, the way that the music business works these days is that people only really listen to what you put right in front of them. Moving forward, we're just going to try to release a series of singles and then maybe we'll put them all together on some special physical cassette or vinyl record down the road after we have a handful of them."
He went on to share, "We put so much time into making records in the way that we feel is the right way; the traditional way. You know, in a studio with real amps and real guitars and real drums and real players. We do it for real; it's not just on a laptop in my apartment, you know? We are still hand crafting music and using craftsmen along the way to mix and produce and master so there's a certain amount of time and money investment that goes into it and we're not willing to water that down or lower that expectation because it's our art; it's what we do."
Dereak added, "We do it our way."
The band is proud of the fact that they've been able to remain independent and support themselves and say that getting rich was never a end game for them, rather they do this to leave their mark on music history and make a difference in people's lives.
"I get choked up and Dereak too probably when I think about how many parents brought their kids to see us and we were their first concert. I mean, my first concert was a core memory so being part of that part of people's lives is really what we're doing here," Maddox exclaimed.
When asked what they want people to know about Messer, Maddox explained, "We're a real band. We love what we do and we love meeting our fans and helping them through their life issues with the power of our music. Come see us and we'll bring you a high energy show. If you hear our new single and you love it, then call your stations and call people you know and tell them to get Messer because we will come to that area."
Another great thing is that we have the greatest fans and when you become a new Messer fan, we have a great facebook group called the Messer Machine, but we also have our own app, the Messer Machine App and it's like our own social media network where all of our fans get together and we're bringing people together literally with the power of music.
To check out more on the band and to download the app, go here.
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