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Tiny Moving Parts is a Minnesota-based band. They will be at the RecordBar September 23rd. Guitarist/vocalist Dylan Mathieson recently discussed his first time onstage, the family beginings of Tiny Moving Parts and why the band loves playing Kansas City. For more info on Tiny Moving Parts, check out http://tinymovingparts.bandcamp.com/

Did you come from a musical family? 

They all love rock n roll! We were always surrounded by Bruce Springsteen & Tom Petty in our households growing up. Last year we moved back in and nothing has changed, which is pretty awesome 🙂

Were your parents musical?

Honestly, not really! Some of our parents played instruments in high school, but that’s about it.

What was your earliest musical memory?

When we first started practicing in Matt and Billy’s bedroom. Billy was 14 years old, Matt and I were 12. We would horrible cover blink 182 songs after I got my Tom Delonge signature guitar for Xmas. We have videos of us playing, disco lights flickering all over, it’s absolutely hilarious. 

What do you remember most about your first time onstage?

How we never wanted to come home! First off, we had to lie to our parents about the show. They told us we couldn’t do it because we were too young to start playing shows in other cities. It was in Minneapolis (2 1/2 drive from our hometown) and they thought we were going to die if we went.

The show was in front of 20-25 people, and it was incredible! It was such a thrill playing in a different city, in front of different people other than our friends back home. We knew we wanted to tour asap after that moment. 

How did Tiny Moving Parts get started?

Billy and Matt are brothers, and I’m their cousin! We’ve been playing music together since we we’re 12-14 years old. Throughout the years of playing, we knew we wanted to tour and take our band more seriously. We had a couple different punk/weird bands in school, but Tiny Moving Parts started about 6 years ago.

How do you go about creating songs?

I usually come to the table with guitar riffs and lyric ideas. We start to jam them out, eventually making a rough draft of a tune. When we get in the grove of nailing the song, we start to re-write them to make more interesting. Billy does all his drums and Matt does all the bass. When we throw lyrics into it, we re-write again hahaha! It’s a lot of reconstructing to make sure all three of us are 100% satisfied with the song.

How often do you find yourself writing songs?

Few times a week for sure! I try play guitar everyday and see if ideas come. I’ve realized through the years of playing, when I have the mindset like “Hey! Today I’m going to write a new song from scratch,” it always turns out HORRIBLE. So I’ve quit doing that and just play for fun. It honestly goes hand in hand! The songs truly come out themselves, and I’m having a blast playing. I love the good ol’ guitar 😀 !

Do you have a favorite song you’ve written?

There are some melodies I like more than others, but I can’t pick a favorite song to be honest. Whenever I think I have a favorite, it changes the next day or week. 

What inspires you lyrically?

My day to day interactions with people, life on the road, life at home, dealing myself in general, all has an impact lyrically.

What do you feel is the message of your music?

Being content with your own life. Finding true happiness in yourself.

What was the first song you recorded together?

We actually an album titled “Waves Rise, Waves Recede, The Ocean is Full Of Waves” when we first started. We took it all down last year haha. We we’re figuring out our sound, and it wasn’t what we wanted it to be. 

Do you try and record your songs as live as possible?

Yeah for sure! We don’t want our recordings and live performances to be a “night and day” difference.

How did the song “Vacation Bible School” come together?

There’s no super awesome story about the writing process. Just did what we always do with tunes! I do recall the lyrics being quite tricky to put the intro of the song. When we recorded the song, we actually had our drummer Billy sing the “I’ll stray to the forest!” line. That was a blast to watch him sing in the studio!

How do you go about crafting a set list?

We have a few different guitar tunings throughout the set. We try to construct a happy balance to not eat up time between songs. Tuning between songs is something i’ve personally improved on from when we first started. With the tunings being an important piece of creating the setlist, we’ve surprisingly have never ran into any issues!  

You are playing the RecordBar this year. What do you enjoy most about playing in Kansas City?

We always have a blast hanging with friends we’ve made from past shows. There’s cool BBQ spots we hit up every time we come! After the shows, we head over to our friend Dakota’s house to party/stay the night. He helps run the Art Closet Studio there, and I’m so happy how that spot is turning out. 

What are your hobbies outside of music?

Hanging out with our close ones. It’s too bad we can’t have our friends at home to quit all their full time jobs, to hop in the van with us haha. We enjoy cracking beers and poking fun with our friends all over Minnesota, and Fargo, ND. 

Do you have a quote or motto that you live by?

Stay Young & Have Fun! (which is kind of the new age YOLO??????)

What have been the biggest challenges you’ve had to overcome in your career?

Preparations for long upcoming tours. When we book our DIY tours a couple years ago, we would have shows once every three days. Mainly the fact that we we’re terrible at booking! On the tours we do now, we tend to have shows everyday. We love staying busy, even if it means not to out party yourself out in the first week of a six week tour. 

What advice would you give to musicians just starting out?

BE HAPPY! If you’re not having fun, you’re not doing it right.