Music is a major part of all us. Whether it’s a sold-out show, an unforgettable kick to the face while in moshing in a crowd or a song that changed us on the inside, it provides an endless handful of memories that continue to shape who we are. During their stop in Toronto for VANS WARPED TOUR, MOVING MOUNTAINS discussed their taste in music, referencing rising new acts (Foals, Defeater) and influences such as Hammock, Thursday, The Get Up Kids and Saves The Day.
Name an album you haven’t stopped listening to lately.
GREGORY DUNN: Hmm… the one thing about our band is we never agree on anything when it comes to music. What do you guys think?
NICHOLAS PIZZOLATO: Foals’ Total Life Forever.
MITCHELL LEE: Definitely. And Vans Warped Tour (laughs).
What was the first album you bought on vinyl or cassette?
FRANK GRANIERO: I bought a Blur album a long time ago on cassette.
PIZZOLATO: Green Day’s Dookie on cassette.
GRANIERO: Yeah, a lot of 90s’ stuff.
If we played one of your mix CDs from high school, what would we find?
PIZZOLATO: It’d be kind of the same stuff we listen to now.
GRANIERO: Yeah, bands like Hammock, MewithoutYou and The Album Leaf.
PIZZOLATO: Did Brother, Sister come out in 2006?
GRANIERO: Yeah! Great album. If you don’t have it, get it.
Which artist would you say has the greatest discography of all-time?
DUNN: That’s a tough one.. Saves The Day?
GRANIERO: The Get Up Kids?
PIZZOLATO: I don’t know, Saves The Day’s might be better.
GRANIERO: From beginning to end, yeah, Saves The Day.
What’s the first music poster you hung on your bedroom wall?
DUNN: I’m a bit embarrassed to say it, but my first music poster was a Thursday one and it was signed.
GRANIERO: I bought Reel Big Fish’s Why Do They Rock So Hard? album and it came with a fold-out poster, the ones that used to come with CDs.
Name the worst scar or injury you’ve gotten from a concert.
LEE: This guy (laughs).
GRANIERO: What? What are you talking about? Oh, yeah (laughs). Angry Penguin Clothing used to put on a festival every year and I snapped my arm in half. It was just during some friend’s metal band but whatever.
What’s one band tee you will never throw away?
PIZZOLATO: I gave away my favourite band tee like an idiot. It was a Thursday one and it was super, super-limited. Such a stupid thing to do.
DUNN: Definitely my Fear Before hoodie.
GRANIERO: My Saves The Day hoodie. I don’t think I’d ever give that away.
Name the best mosh pit or crowd you’ve ever been in as a spectator.
GRANIERO: We went to go see Modern Life Is War at a Brooklyn loft and kids were stage diving from the ceiling like every second.
PIZZOLATO: Like every six seconds, kids would be doing a triple body-flip into the sea of people. And the show was in a loft, like c’mon.
Name one album that needs to be printed on vinyl.
DUNN: Oh man, that’s hard.. I can only really think of local bands.
GRANIERO: Local bands it is. There’s a lot of underground and rising ones out there that really deserve to have one of theirs on vinyl.
What’s one band that should be on Vans Warped Tour this year?
DUNN: Defeater.
GRANIERO: Fireworks and Balance And Composure.
DUNN: Yeah, that whole No Sleep Records family.
GRANIERO: There’s an endless list of bands. Those will get their shot though.
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