Interview: Matt Langston of Eleventyseven

I had the chance to interview Matt Langston, lead singer of the popular teen band Eleventyseven recently. When I talked to Matt, he and his band had just finished playing their set at the 2006 Icthus Festival. It was something different for me as I am used to dealing with indie rock bands primarily from the New York City rock world, and so a "teen sound" band was something new for me. Being an equal opportunity writer though, I thought I would tackle the job. Besides, I had already reviewed their video for the song "Myspace" on Blogcritics and, since I liked the concept behind that song, I thought I might as well get to know Matt.

I thought I'd try to introduce the band to a wider audience because, in my opinion, the song "Myspace" has an "evil grin" sort of humorous wisdom behind it that it seemed would fly with a much wider audience than their target teen market. I learned a few things from the interview and I ended up being happy with my decision to do it.

After we chatted for a couple of minutes and got to know each other a little bit, I asked Matt what made him get into the music business and to what he attributed the band's success to date. He said, "We didn't set out to get into the Christian music industry. Everything just sort of fell into place for us. When you are with like-minded people things just seem to work. We don't do this to market our faith, we live it instead".

His answer took me by surprise because I had already listened to their new CD, Land of Fake Believe, several times and hadn't even realized that it was "Christian" rock. I guess that statement made me rethink my definition of what Christian music is. In the case of Eleventyseven, I think it means creating music which doesn't somehow violate your basic religious beliefs. I find that much more digestible than music which is just blatant proselytizing.

I asked Matt how long Eleventyseven has been together and where they saw themselves going musically in the next few years. After all you can only be a "teen" band for so long and I always find it interesting to see what comes next for people in the entertainment industry who are, for one reason or another, typecast by what they do. Matt said, "We got together in High School and have been together for four years now. We were signed by Flicker Records which was then bought by Sony."

"I want to stay in pop music," he continued. "I love the 'hooks' in it and the durability of it. 'Scene' bands come and go and I want us and our music to last."

I told Matt that I felt that their song "Myspace" was really witty in a sardonic way and a biting social commentary on the blogging world. I also said that I felt the song totally transcended the "teen" audience because of the popularity of blogging among people of all sizes, shapes, colors, and ages and asked him if he thought that this song would be the one which got the band wide exposure in front of a more diverse audience.

Article Author: Mike Johnston

Covering mainstream music, the New York City indie rock scene and off-Broadway theater productions. Also articles on science, the ongoing effects of climate change, and alternative energy.

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