Midtown was an American pop punk band from Springfield, New Jersey. Midtown was formed in November 1998 by three Rutgers University students, but soon became a quartet. The band took advantage of the fertile New Jersey punk scene to develop a sound that combined elements of emo and punk rock and began recording shortly after their formation. Their first EP, The Sacrifice of Life, was released by Pinball Records in 1999. Their debut album, Save the World, Lose the Girl, was released in early 2000 by the Drive-Thru Records label. The band was then upstreamed to MCA for their following album, Living Well Is the Best Revenge (2002). Their next album, Forget What You Know (2004), was produced while the band was not under contract with a record label and was later picked up by Columbia Records. This was the band’s final studio album; they disbanded shortly after its release, in 2005. Former frontman Gabe Saporta is now the lead singer of pop punk band Cobra Starship. Former guitarist Heath Saraceno joined the band Senses Fail in 2005 but decided to leave them in 2009 to pursue personal endeavors.
Back in 2001 whilst writing FPM Zine, I spoke with drummer Rob Hitt about Midtown – here’s how it went…
Hi Rob, Can ya give us a brief history on Midtown?
Gabe Saporta – bass, vocals
Heath Saraceno- guitar, vocals
Rob Hitt – drums
Tyler Rann – guitar, vocal
Here’s info from our bio, feel free to take what you like from it,
“If it’s not rap, and it’s not country, it’s just rock ‘n roll”
Welcome to MIDTOWN. They formed in the fall of 1998 because a guy just wanted to rock with people who were fair and honest in their opinions and shared his musical vision. Meeting up through their former bands who all shared the same club scene, you could say they were born from a common dissatisfaction and a friendly proximity. They quickly hooked up with New Jersey’s Pinball Records who helped them out by releasing “The Sacrifice of Life” EP, a five-song taste of their emotionally driven material. The EP was quickly noticed and MIDTOWN was picked up by L.A.’s Drive Thru Records, who enlisted the services of Mark Trombino (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World) to record the bands’ first full length in the summer of 1999. The finished product, Save the World, Lose the Girl is the perfect collaboration of great songwriting, tight memorable melody and that added depth and harmony that Trombino is known for. Released in February 2000, MIDTOWN prepared to start making their name known.
Hailing from the burgeoning New Jersey scene, MIDTOWN manages to escape the whole “sounds like Lifetime” tag by mixing elements of pop (“Let Go”), punk (“Another Boy”), emotional (“No Place Feels Like Home”) and rock (“Just Rock ‘n Roll”) in a stylistic way that keeps the music intriguing and consistent, without becoming repetitious. The other strong point that sets them apart is the revolving lead vocal. The whole front line sings lead, intertwined in some songs and completely taking over on others, giving the record and the live show a much broader appeal. Coming from four college kids who love to rock, these elements give the band and the record a sound that’s varied yet easily discernable; convoluted yet so simple.
When asked what the songs are about, primary lyricist Gabe Saporta has a quick answer: “They are about betrayal.” Whether he is being shy, or trying to remain neutral, there are inklings of strained relationships throughout. From tales of “burning down the bridges you cross” to reminding someone that “you never listen,” there seems to be messages to former acquaintances darting in and out of every song. From loving someone and wanting to spend your life with her, to hating someone to the point that you want to kill him, Save the World, Lose the Girl, covers all the bases. The reigning anthem seems to be the very first line of the very first song: “God I wish I could hate you for the rest of my life.” It shows that the boys have been through a lot, but still find forgiveness in their hearts.
After spending 7 weeks in early 2001 touring Europe (Save The World, Lose The Girl was licensed and released on Burning Heart in November, 2000) MIDTOWN will now continue touring the US relentlessly, doing their first national headlining tour in April, following that up with an east coast run with H20 and then spending a few weeks in Rock and Roll summer camp on the 2001 Warped Tour. Next up the band is fortunate enough to be invited out for two weeks of the Blink-182 summer arena tour! As “Save The World, Lose The Girl” nears the 30,000 mark in sales, early plans are in the works to record a follow up sometime in 2001,this time for Drive Thru/MCA Records. In the meantime, Midtown songs are popping up on various releases, including the 2001 Official Warped Tour Sampler, a split release scheduled for Europe and the US with Sweden’s Millencolin and various other compilations. Some other bands that Midtown has shared the stage with recently include the Get Up Kids, New Found Glory, Reel Big Fish, Fenix TX, Saves The Day, H20, Goldfinger and Bloodhound Gang. When asked what he likes about a live show, Gabe replied, “I need energy–the band needs to be tight and they have to be in to it. When I saw the passion and honesty that a band like Nirvana played with, it showed me that music could be more than just entertainment.” Well, it’s good to know that Gabe would enjoy watching his own band perform if he could participate from the sidelines. Check them out for yourselves as they prepare to hit the streets one small club at a time in a city near you. You won’t be disappointed.
What would you say was the best thing about being in Midtown?
There are a lot of great things about being in a band. There is no way I would been able to travel all around the country and over the world if I weren’t doing this. Although, I think the absolute best part is being given the opportunity to play shows and have people sing along. It’s times when you see people singing along that you realize everything you’ve been working for is all worth it.
What’s the punk scene like in your local area?
We were so fortunate to have been from New Jersey, the scene is so strong and the kids are amazing. Since it’s one of the most densely populated states you can find many shows every weekend and most weeknights too. I think what also seperates the NJ scene is that it isn’t soley run by club or bar owners. It’s tons of kids renting out VFW Halls, Fire Houses, Rec Rooms, and the like to put on shows DIY style. It’s great because the scene can survive with or without the money hungry bar and club owners.
Do you feel that the scene is quite strong right now and how do you see it progressing?
Many times it’s hard to tell exactly because we’ve been on tour non-stop for the last 2 years straight except for recording. From everything I’ve experienced, the scene is still super strong and the kids are amazing.
What would be your favourite bands that you’d played with?
The Movielife from Long Island and The Donots from Germany. Those two bands are the absolute best. I could watch those bands play every night and never get even a little tired or board. So great…
Which bands are you currently listening to? And which excite you the most for the future?
Right now in my CD player I’m listening to the new River City High CD, the new Movielife e.p., and this new band from Philly called Days Away. I love hearing new bands that are amazing. It’s definitely awesome to hear new bands and watch how they will evolve, and hopefully not BREAK UP. Why do the great bands always break up??? Refused and Lifetime had to break up??? WHY?!?
No definite plan for the UK right now but we keep talking about it and really want to go. We want to make it out so within the next year we’re gonna make a hard push and we’ll get to see you guys.
What countries have you played in and any lasting memories?
The Donots took us out on tour in Germany and Austria last January/February and that tour was so much fun. That band is the best. After we did about 30 dates with The Donots we went out to the rest of continental Europe to play some shows on our own. I remember when we had a show in France, these thugs came up to our van and kept asking us questions about what we were doing there and then asked us if we had ever seen the movie “New Jersey Drive.” That’s a movie about car jacking! All of the sudden a whole bunch of their other friends showed up and starting walking closer to us and were acting very sketchy. So to get to the point, they were going to try to steal our van and equipment, we got the owner of the club outside and tried to get more kids outside and just jetted out of that club to save our asses from losing all our stuff. Yeah, so ummm… be careful in France, especially southern France.
If you could play with any band live, past or present, who would it be?
Hmmmm, Foo Fighters definitely! It would be really fun to play with Tenacious D. I’d like to do shows with Gorilla Biscuits or Lifetime too.
You released a split with Millencolin – any more split releases upcoming?
There’s nothing scheduled right now but we’ve had some ideas on our minds, you’ll just have to wait and see…
Or new albums in the pipeline?
YES YES YES, we’ve been in California the last 2 months working on our new album. We don’t have a name yet but we’re really excited. It’s coming out great and we can’t wait to finally get this thing released. Hopefully it will be out in early 2002. It would be rad if everyone signed up on our mailing list on our website – http://www.midtownrock.com/ – so we can keep everyone posted with news on the new album. We’re gonna try to give our mailing list songs before the album actually comes out so SIGN UP!
What do you feel the future holds for Midtown?
I see Midtown in the UK and Europe in the near future… The magic 8 ball sees Midtown selling album to all the cool kids in England, Wales,
Scotland, and Ireland…. The future sees midtown hanging out with ALI G! You guys are so lucky you have Ali G, we don’t get him here in the U.S.
How can people find out more about Midtown, show details and get your releases?
Check it! WWW.MIDTOWNROCK.COM and sign up on our mailing list, we’re good like that 🙂
Originally appeared in FPM Zine back in 2001. I’ve stuck it up here so that it’s not consigned to history forever in a zine that has long since been forgotten.
Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/midtown
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