ife is about making moves. We count up the cost, make our positives vs. negatives list, and then we roll the dice. Mychildren Mybride is no exception to this rule. They have been making moves, and some tough ones, for the last few years. From deciding to get serious about the message that they carry and therefore having to say goodbye to members, to stepping into the studio and deciding which direction they will head on their latest product. MCMB has not always made the most popular of decisions, but we can be sure that they make the ones that they believe in passionately and wholeheartedly, and that they are always putting us, as fans, in the forefront of these hard choices.

This was definitely the case when they entered the studio last Fall to start the recording of their Sophomore release titled, Lost Boy. In hopes of amping up their live shows for us, MCMB has added elements to their sound that is sure to open bigger pits, have larger dog-piles and better gang chants. If you have been waiting as eagerly as the rest of us for something new from Mychildren Mybride then you can rest assured that MCMB is back, and they are stronger than ever before.

In the past I haven’t seen a lot of stuff on you guys, so talk to us briefly about how you got your start.

Matthew Hastings: You mean you don’t keep up with our Wikipedia page?! Geez… KIDDING! This is kind of like behind the music or something. I’ve never really done this before! (Laughs) Alright let’s get started… MYCHILDREN MYBRIDE started in Early ‘04 with a bunch of random Alabama kids in high school. I

actually got asked to play bass in a band then when I went to try out the singer quit right before I got there, so the guys asked me to sing. I had no idea what I was doing, or how to “scream” at all but they reassured me that I could do it just fine. So we ditched the old name and brainstormed new ones. We all wrote our favorites down and then just picked what we thought was the most original at the time then saved all the runner-ups for song titles. After practicing for months and coming up with our own songs we started playing shows in our local area and venues.

This continued for a while and then our ex drummer Brian Hood started booking us more than just local shows. I remember our first attempt, yes, ATTEMPT at a tour, well it wasn’t even a tour, it was a long weekend, and we had shows booked every day. It went from Alabama to Florida and back! We were so excited. My dad even drove us all down there with a U-HAUL trailer attached to his truck. Young, stoked and living life on the road…UNTIL 3 out of the 5 shows got cancelled! (Laughs) Wow, that really killed our spirits, but we pushed on and finally ended up doing some other weekend “tours”. From then on we just kept progressing, until we were out of highschool and deciding to take this band thing more seriously. A couple members left because of school and more came in. With a few demos and a CD under our belts, we decided it was time for more, so we started touring the full US and here we are today!

A fan wrote in and wanted us to ask if you would ever consider re-recording any of the tracks from Having The Heart For War?

MH: Unfortunately no. I wish that CD never made it on the internet (Laughs). That was when we were in high school, we’re a totally different band now (literally), and I wish we could delete that CD from history! (Laughs) But everyone grows right?

(Laughs) That is fair. Outside of music what influences you to write the sort of value-strong lyrics that you do and make the style of heavy music that you make?

MH: I know this will sound sort of cliché, but honestly my family, my friends and all the people that come to our shows and influence me to uphold the lifestyle I’ve chosen. Since I was younger I was always in little bands here and there, and when this band started I just knew something was different, I knew it was where I was supposed to be and exactly what I was supposed to be doing with my life!

So talk to us about the new record title Lost Boy. What does the title mean to you and how does it tie into the record?

MH: The meaning behind Lost Boy to me is this; Have you ever just woken up one day, after being fired, losing someone you loved, or just after a sucky situation in life, and thought to yourself “what’s next? what do I do now?” You feel lost. Your life isn’t the same, and sadly, probably never will be. Everyone goes through so many different things every day. People die, friends betray you and people you love can just disappear. What Lost Boy is about is that even though you feel like your world may be crumbling around you, there’s hope and you’re never alone. We’re all Lost Boys at least once in life, and that’s what I wrote about, life situations and circumstances that hit us hardest, and what you have to do to make it thought them.

The album artwork is rad, it gives off a real eerie feeling, can you explain more about that?

MH: We wanted something dark, something mysterious to make the viewer interpret what’s going on and kind of make their own meaning for it. One of the major aspects of the new art is the torch icon you’ll be seeing all over our stuff soon. We’re all lights in this world and its time to start shining brighter than ever before.

What’s the biggest difference we can expect musically from Unbreakable to Lost Boy?

MH: Biggest difference huh? If I had to pick anything it would probably be the “catchiness” of the new direction we went. All the songs have a “chorus” now! We wanted to focus on kids singing along more and really getting their money’s worth at our shows. We felt that by adding structure to our heavy music it would just make everything flow more, and make it so much easier to listen to and really dig into the meaning of specific things I have to say.

After sitting down and listening through the final mixes, do you feel like this is MCMB at their best or do you feel like there is still room for growth?

MH: I personally feel that every artist has room to grow. I hope that our old fans and new enjoy the new record as much as we do. I joke around all the time, but I mean it when I say if no one likes the new record, and no one’s listening to it, it will be okay, I’ll still be jamming it every day. I think that we’ve become our own biggest fans after writing Lost Boy.

What’s your favorite track on the new album and why? What is it about?

MH: My favorite track is probably “King of the Hopeless.”  I wish I knew how to explain the exact meaning in words. I guess it’s just personal and meant to be interpreted as you read it. In a way it’s about getting over relationships, and as hard as it is, finally moving on. There’s just something about the way that song fit together, it really stands out to me as a direction we could jump into more on the next MCMB record. We really focused on making sure each song was different this record. We didn’t want our fans getting bored listening to the same breakdown and metal riff every single song.

Are we going to see a track like “Headshot” on the new record?

MH: Unfortunately not. To be honest I’m the only nerd in the band! (Laughs) Well I’m the only one that plays Halo, so “HEADSHOT!” was basically my own little anthem. We joked around about putting a song about Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on the new CD, maybe even have it as a secret track, BUT that idea kind went out the door in pre-production. SORRY GUYS!

You have been at this for a while, and there is a sense of passion that comes through a MCMB final product. What does music, and this band mean to you personally?

MH: Music is my life. I feel like it’s the calling on my life to get up in front of kids and scream the words God has put on my heart. We put a lot of work into this CD, and we’re all very excited to see how kids relate and get into the new songs.

What are the summer touring plans for MCMB?

MH: Haste the Day/Upon A Burning Body hits the full US this June! And we’ll be at all the major Christian festivals this summer! So make sure you come give us a hug and a high five!