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Movies with Heroes


Band: Movies with Heroes

Members: Jeremy Bentley (drums), Jeff Royer (bass, vocals), Chiemena Ukazim (guitar), Keith Wilson (vocals, guitar), Patrick Kirchner (guitar)

Who we talked to: Wilson

Where'd the name come from? Three of us started playing together in high school. We were pretty bad at what we were doing, but we wrote songs together, and when we decided to solidify into a band, "Movies with Heroes" was the name of one of our songs at the time.

How would you describe your sound? We have kind of indie rock leanings, but I think where we are right now, we've evolved into kind of a big rock sound to put it really vaguely. It's the edginess of Foo Fighters and the melodic, gentle overtones that Coldplay has. Sometimes we have the kind of pop direction that Jimmy Eat World has. I tend to get this Robert Smith (of The Cure) comparison, but musically I don't think we do them at all. But I'm honored to be compared to him.

Who are your influences? I'm a big hip-hop fan, actually, but that doesn't have a lot of place in our music. What we listen to is all over the map. Sunny Day Real Estate, Radiohead, Built to Spill, Coldplay, Jimmy Eat World.

If you could open for any band or artist, who would it be and why? U2. For one, they're one of the biggest bands on the planet that's still relevant, so the advantage is there career-wise. But politically and ideologically, Bono is a personal hero. I would aspire to walk that line between doing your music and art but trying to make a difference in the world. I could see myself staying up late and talking to them and engaging them as real people. I made a CD package and fan letter and during the encore of the show I went to . . . I threw it like a Frisbee and it hit the back of Adam's (Clayton) amp. A sound guy took it, and that's the last I saw of it.

You guys shared the stage with Dashboard Confessional. We happened to play with them at a fire hall show about three years ago before they really blew up. It was a good show. We hung out with them a bit and they were all really nice guys. Our drummer Jeremy loved their drum sound so much - it was a custom drum set from a place in Florida - that he ended up ordering one shortly after.

- JASON COX, FLIPSIDE STAFF