Mar 7, 2008

Multiplying sum of its fans

Mute Math finds winning formula for success

By Paul Freeman / Entertainment Writer

Mute Math, genre-busting, electro-alt rockers, are making a big noise on the contemporary music scene. Opening for Matchbox Twenty and Alanis Morissette on a tour that hits HP Pavilion March 12, this New Orleans-based quartet is winning over a multitude of new fans.

"It's a blast," said drummer Darren King, who founded the Grammy-nominated Mute Math in 2001 with vocalist/keyboardist Paul Meany. "I have always loved opening for artists much bigger than us, where a lot of the crowd won't even know who we are. I love trying to get their attention, trying to do something memorable. I love that feeling of being on the line, the risk involved - the risk of embarrassment."

So what are the keys to winning over immense crowds? "Brightly colored clothing, always smiling and a good lighting guy," King quipped. "Our lighting guy is a drummer, and drummers make good lighting guys, because of that sense of timing. Ours is always on cue."

Actually, it's the band's showmanship that scores with audiences. "If you're eating in a restaurant and there's music playing in the background and it's a song you know, you actually hear it better than a song you're not familiar with, because your mind fills in the blanks," King said.

"So we know we have to work a little harder. We shuck and jive a little bit, I run around, drum on different things, get a little aerobic with it. And I love that."

In speaking about his playing style, King referenced big-band drum legend Gene Krupa. "They said about him that you could put 20 drummers onstage and your eyes would stay on him, because of what a showoff he was. So I guess it all comes down to trying to show off," he laughed.

Mute Math's self-titled debut album (Teleprompt/Warner Bros) shows tremendous appeal. Through tireless touring, fevered Internet activity and post-show meet-and-greets, the band continues building its base. They appear destined to jump to the next level.
On this tour, King has observed superstars Rob Thomas and Alanis Morissette, and has concluded that they should envy him and his bandmates.

"I get to walk about anywhere I want, anytime. Even after we play, I can often walk around the venue and watch how people react to the show. I can go out into the audience without being accosted, like they would," King said.

"I see how they can get a bit isolated. But I've found in my interaction with successful entertainers, the overwhelming majority are pleasant people. They're happy and cordial. Some of them are a little wild. But most all of them seem to have some degree of gratefulness with which they approach other people, because they realize they've got it good."

King and his bandmates felt honored that Matchbox 20 personally invited them on this tour. There have been troupe barbecues and plans for bowling. King is even taking guitar lessons from members of the other groups.

"Everyone's been so nice to us," he said. "You see each other every day in these self-contained cities that pick up and move."

King has met many of his musical heroes recently, including Talking Heads' Jerry Harrison and DJ Shadow, the man who first interested the drummer in samplers and vinyl.

"At the Grammys, I was surrounded by all of these huge personalities. They were like walking past me, tripping over me," King said. "Gosh, I even met Kermit the Frog the other day, man. So it's been really weird.

"It was intimidating being near some of those people, but ultimately invigorating. They did whatever they had to do to get their music in front of people. They put in the work necessary to make the music right."

King is driven to succeed. "Last night, I was thinking about how wonderful this is and how I ache at the same time. I want everything now. I want all of it, everything that life has to give, as soon as I can get it. It's a problem I would face no matter what my passion was. If it weren't playing the drums and making music, I'd still be wrestling with the progress of all of my goals and desires in comparison to the lack of time that I have.

"I don't understand how so many of these artists in the past were so successful and prolific while taking drugs. I don't do drugs. I have enough trouble accomplishing writing music and staying focused without any other obstructions," King chuckled.

King believes Mute Math can be a great band for years to come. "We have to just keep working on our craft. There's a tendency to want to manipulate every minute detail, down to what our Wikipedia says about us.

"As there's more and more going on with us, it seems like the only way to succeed is to care about less. The one thing to care about is the song. When you're good, that covers a multitude of sins. No matter how ugly, ignorant and uncharismatic I could be, if my song was great and people knew it, then that's it!"