Spotlight – Nothing More

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Spotlight - Nothing More

Your music has been described as genre-defying, blending elements of metal, rock, and alternative. How do you approach creating a unique sound while staying true to your influences?

Thanks so much for having me! We’ve always said we love to sponge when we fall in love with all types of music. We soak up everything that moves us, whether funk, progressive metal, country, electronic, singer-songwriter, or rock n’ roll. We squeeze out those influences into the Nothing More sound, making us US. Sometimes we have a very left-of-center approach to things, but we always try to keep commercial appeal in mind. The perfect balance to us is when the music, lyrics, and melody all stand on their own, and when combined they ignite your goosebumps.

Your lyrics often address social and political issues. How do you use your platform as a band to bring attention to these topics, and what impact do you hope to have on your audience?

We all have different perspectives on politics and religion, but with the voice of the band, our unified goal is constantly pushing independent thought. Since day one we’ve always wanted our music to be a shelter for others; to let them know they’re not alone in what they’re going through. The songs and albums that have impacted me most have gotten me through some tough times, so we could only ever hope to reflect that to help others and ourselves.

Can you walk us through your songwriting process, from the initial idea to finished product? How do you collaborate as a band to bring your songs to life?

Our songs always start from a different place; sometimes it’s with a ukulele; sometimes with an EDM groove; sometimes a metal riff; sometimes a weird noise; sometimes with a traditional lyric and melody. We find that it keeps things fresh to not always start with the same thing. This initial spark has to stand on its own and get us excited to start writing melodies/lyrics and the rest of the song too. We all collaborate together and all have a voice in every one of our instruments. We find that though it can be frustrating we get a better, more unique result when we combine all our minds together.

You are known for your energetic and intense live performances. How do you prepare for a show, and what is your goal when you step on stage?

Whiskey and 5-hour energy…. Haha! We all know when we walk out on stage we are the entertainment. So we deliver a show from start to end every night. We’re blessed to be able to do this for a living and we all know that we truly do have the best job in the world! Our goal is to have fun, and put on one hell of a show by incorporating elements of things that you typically don’t see bands do; epic drum and bass solos; dubsteppy electronic mechanical guitar manipulation… we try to push ourselves to create a unique full-blown live experience that you can only get from our shows.

Your latest album is "Spirits”, what inspired the themes explored on the album, and how do you hope listeners connect with the music?

This album is a deep and dark rabbit-hole plunge. We really dug deep to pull out our progressive nature. Covid pulled us apart geographically which made things quite frustrating. We all lived quite far from each other so most of this record was done through file sharing. In-home studios were built and each one of us hibernated in our artistry to create some of the most unique songs and sounds you’ll ever hear from Nothing More. It’s obvious this was a very emotionally frustrating time for everyone in the world so that’s what we pulled from lyrically. We really got a lot of our frustrations out.

You have been nominated for three Grammy awards. How does recognition like this impact your creative process and approach to making music?

We’re proud to say that we got these nominations while self-producing. So that in turn reflects that we know that our efforts were validated. Our left-of-center approach to things is valuable, and our collaborative effort works on a Grammy scale. So basically it tells us to keep doing what we’re doing and how we’re doing it.

You have collaborated with a wide range of artists over the years. Who have been some of your favorite collaborators, and why?

You gotta love Jacoby from Papa Roach… his energy is infectious and he exudes positivity. I love him for that and for being such an open book about his story. Lacey from Flyleaf is also a life goal checkbox of mine. She truly is my favorite female singer. She’s one of those artists that make you believe what they’re singing about even if you don’t agree. Her passion is unmatched and I’m so proud she took a song like “Best Times” (which was already an amazing song) and broke through the ceiling to make it an 11 for us. This feature came out on March 24th and I can’t wait for the world to listen.

Your music videos are often visually stunning and conceptually ambitious. How do you approach creating a visual accompaniment to your music, and what role do you think music videos play in today's media landscape?

Music videos are a chance for us to show everyone our energy. It’s mostly for those that have never seen us live so they get a glimpse into what we’re about. And it’s also a chance for us to reach outside our world and into the film world to tap into artists of other expertise; dance, acting; storytelling, etc. So we try to include others from different worlds to really make the most out of every video all the while trying to combine everyone’s strength into a compelling visual representation of the music.

You have toured extensively over the years. What have been some of your most memorable performances or experiences on the road?

Our most recent show was on Shiprocked. I love playing this cruise and love thinking about how we’re on a damn boat with 5K other people in the middle of the ocean rocking the hell out. Some other noteworthy shows have included playing with GNR in Barcelona because holy shit it’s GNR… the Bataclan in Paris before the terrorist attack so we knew exactly how the venue was laid out and how those people were murdered… Tokyo with Vamps at Budokan arena to witness the celestial unity a Japanese crowd has… every year we’ve been fortunate enough to play Rock am Ring and Rock im Park because German festivals are the best, have the best lineups, and that crowd with you from start to end… all the freezing Canadian tours and how we made it halfway to Alaska to play to fans in Grand Prairie who came out in droves… all the hometown show pranks we’ve been a part of….ifyktyk… and finally having catastrophic gear failure at our first Rock on the Range DWP festival and still managing to make it a victory show. We’ve had quite a story and I’m excited to make more memories and help more people by giving them Nothing More.

You have a new tour gearing up to get started soon, including some stops in Canada. What can fans expect to see from this trip down the road?

They can expect to know that they’ll get what they always get when they see Nothing More. We don’t hold back and really push ourselves to give fans the best show we can. We’ll be showcasing lots of new songs from the Spirits album that slay and I can’t wait for people to be moved by these songs emotionally and sonically. We’re eager to get back out there and connect with everyone to make new memories, form new relationships, and share new and old stories. I’m so grateful and so pumped to be able to do this.

Much love, ~Mark

Spotlight – Nothing More is a wrap. Thanks to Mark for taking the time to chat!

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