Interview: State and Madison
State and Madison is a band that is rising quickly in Chicago’s indie-rock scene. The Chicago Sun-Times has said, “The intersection of State and Madison downtown is the zero point of the street grid. The music of local rockers State and Madison is the intersection of impassioned hooks and snappy riffs.” Comprised of singer guitarist, Nickolas Blazina, Mark Tatara (guitar, vocals), Anthony Martino (bass, and Jonah Kort (drums), this band has a clean and distinct sound. In an industry, where the outlook is that anything can be fixed in post-production, it’s refreshing to hear a group of talented musician who aren’t hiding behind studio effects. Recently, I had an opportunity to speak to lead singer, guitarist Nickolas Blazina about their experience at SXSW and their upcoming shows.
CoS: Now I know that you are all from Chicago, but how did State and Madison become a band and get to where they are today?
NB: We were all in bands in high school that didn’t really pan out, we all go through those growing pains musically and it wound up being for the best. We got a hold of each other, me and Mark, when I was 16 and I’m 23 now so that’s been 7 years since he and I started playing together. We knew Tony in high school and just kinda hooked up one day and though it would be a good idea.
CoS: So you’ve got your a team together now?
NB: Yeah, we’re doing what we can do and figuring out what is best for us as people and as musicians. It’s been fun.
CoS: Excellent, I saw that you guys just played SXSW.
NB: Yeah, that was a pretty amazing experience. Austin is now my second favorite city, besides Chicago. Have you ever been down there?
CoS: I haven’t, but it’s definitely on my list. I want to hit up SXSW or Austin City Limits.
NB: You should go.
CoS: (laughs) I have a feeling that when I go, I won’t want to come back.
NB: Yea, I can attest to that. It was 70 degrees and sunny, basically the whole idea behind that fest, is it’s like Mardi Gras for rock bands. They’ve got four straight blocks of nothing but bands in these small bars and clubs. Our guitar player Mark said it best; he said, “I think this is what it’s like when you die”. You would run into so many different people and they’re all doing what your doing. I mean, I hope that’s what heaven it like. It was freakin’ awesome.
CoS: Did you meet any of your heroes out there?
NB: It’s funny, the boys ran into Brian Posehn and I think he is one of my favorite comedians. He was down there for something SXSW related, maybe a comedy this or I know that they have a film festival. When I found out that they ran into him, I was thinking, “God damn it”, he’s one of my favorite comedians. They wound up just running into him on the street, which isn’t hard to believe because everyone and their mothers were down there. I was listening to Dennis Miller and he was saying, “I’m going down to southwest”. That’s freakin’ sweet because I’ll be down there too. We ended up hanging out mostly with Chicago crew and some friends from Omaha and St. Louis.
CoS: I saw also that you guys are hitting up Summerfest?
NB: We just got that confirmed. It’s going to be July 1st, I believe is the date and we’re playing on the US Cellular Stage. Which is cool because I’m a Sox fan. We’re doing that for the first time as well. That’s a lot of really, really awesome bands there. I’m hoping that we get Ryan Adams, but I don’t think that will happen. I haven’t seen him confirm anything.
CoS: That should be a pretty exciting show.
NB: Yea, a lot of our favorite bands have played there and it’s pretty awesome to be able to play the same place.
CoS: I have to say, I was listening to the singles that you’re streaming on your myspace page. You guys have a really clean sound. You can really hear each person’s part and the talent that is behind it.
NB: That took some time to get done to. You go into different studios and work with different producers. We just started working with a guy, from Kansas City his name is Jay Hall and he has nailed our sound better than anyone that we have ever recorded with.
CoS: You have a show coming up very soon at the House of Blues.
NB: April 30th, we’re playing with a band called Cartel. They’ve been doing really well for themselves nationally. As well as our friends from, Danger is My Middle Name, they’re from Chicago also and a good pop rock band.
CoS: Can you sum up why people should check out State and Madison in a sentence or two?
NB: We do what we like, and we like what we do. It’s modern along, with a lot of the stuff that you’ve come to like in rock music, all in one young band.
CoS: Well, I for one agree with you.
Remember to mark your calendars, State and Madison’s show at the House of Blues Chicago is April 30th.
Check Out:
State and Madison - “On My Way”
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