The saying goes “you can't teach and old dog new tricks,” but in the modern music industry, many progressive mainstream artists are losing focus on the old tricks. Chicago-based band AM Taxi has been bending the rules on what rock is today. With live recordings, EP's completed in a matter of days, and melodies familiar to 1960’s classic rock, front man Adam Krier has led the rest of his boys to growing fame with not only the younger crowd, but older generations as well. The State Press sat down with Adam Krier and keyboardist Luke Schmitt after their set at Arizona Fall Frenzy on Saturday.
The State Press: You guys set the stage for the energy at Fall Frenzy being the first to play. How do you think you did?
Adam Krier: It was all right. Not our best show. We had a good time. We kind of just threw up the gear and plugged in. They were still turning the mics on during the first couple songs. You know, you got to make the most of it.
Luke Schmitt: Yeah, we had five minutes to get up there and get started. We were ready.
AK: We like these kind of curve balls. It keeps things interesting.
LS: I’d say it was at least a seven.
AK: It was a fun show. I think the audience was great, and pretty open-minded. We’ve been on Warped Tour all summer, which is a slightly different audience, and they would have been a little less forgiving.
SP: Talking about your name, I saw that AM Taxi means American Taxi. I thought that it would have referred to taking a taxi in the morning. So what other names were thrown around, or where did you come up with the name?
AK: American Taxi was actually the original title of our song “Dead Street.” But it was basically because most of our songs, especially the first batch of songs that were on "Runaway," were all inspired by being on the road. I was on the road for eight years before that, I think, and just meeting a lot of interesting people. Seems like everywhere you go, everyone’s got at least one interesting story under their belt. The songs are inspired a lot by traveling. So there you go. American Taxi.
SP: You guys are from Chicago, which is typically a lot cooler and more humid than Arizona. Having played Warped Tour here, a show yesterday in Tucson and playing today, how is the heat affecting you?
AK: When we were here for Warped Tour in July, it was pretty rough. We didn't get out most of the day.
LS: It was like 110 degrees. We didn’t know when we got here it was going to be that hot. This temperature in Chicago would be insane.
AK: I dig it at night though.
SP: I was reading a review of your new album We Don't Stand A Chance on blogcritics.org that really applauded you on your originality. Now, you have said before that you are not trying to be original. How do you react to being dubbed “original?”
AK: We’re just not trying to be original. We’re combining old-fashioned ideas, but as far as song writing goes, and maybe mixing all of these things that have already been done ends up unique. That’s great. That wasn’t our goal, but that’s an awesome thing to hear.
LS: Like Adam says, we’re not trying to reinvent the wheel. We’re not trying to do some crazy music where the beats are all crazy or anything. We’re just trying to make something that feels and sounds good and that people can enjoy. If we end up with something unique, it is just that much better. I think [Adam's] lyrics are pretty unique.
SP: So are you, Adam, doing all the writing?
AK: For the most part, yeah. I write the music and the words. There [are] a few songs on the new record where the little [additions from the guys] that just made the songs what they are. Those were contributions during band practices.
LS: He’s like the seed.
SP: You guys are very up-and-coming. Have you made any crazy goals so that when you reach them you know you have made it?
AK: I don’t know if we've made it at all. I mean, we never had long-term goals, they were always very short-term hopes. Let’s get this EP out. We have a show at the Metro next month. Let's have a new song by then. It was always small steps forward. You never try to look too far ahead because it’s the music business. You never get your hopes up. You just take it a little bit at a time. You appreciate every little bit of it. We don’t know if we’ll be here in a month, we just enjoy it as we go.
LS: I don’t measure [success] in terms of fame or size of a show. I measure it purely in the ability to support myself in doing this. I will know that I have arrived when I don’t have to worry about anything because I’m OK. And I don’t mean millions of dollars. I just mean regular salary.
AK: Pay the rent, and pay for groceries.
LS: That’s right. I will feel that I have arrived then.
SP: So you guys will be promoting your album for a while, but what can we see from you in the future?
AK: We’re going to keep going for a while. We are going to just take what we can get. We have some really cool people working for us right now. Everything is up in the air. This tour lasts for another week, and then we are going to be home for a little bit. We don’t know what our plans for the fall are, but we’re going to be playing as much as possible.
LS: We’ll probably tour until no one will have us.
Reach the reporter at lkjorda1@asu.edu
