 By Jessica Lewis Matt and Kim: "BOOM! Break Cable Snaps"Brooklyn-based band Matt and Kim have had their share of touring mishaps. Just recently they were stuck in a Chicago airport during a storm. But that wasn’t the first time. The band that is known for being perky and all smiles may keep getting roughed up by the road, but they keep on truckin’. Sitting on the side of a parking garage in Buffalo, NY, we decided to talk about all of the crazy things that happen to them on the road. Matt: We were in Flagstaff, Arizona and our brakes broke. You think Arizona, you think desert. But Flagstaff is going back into the cold again. There’s mountains and snow there, so it totally caught me by surprise. So what happened was we played this show that the cops actually busted up and we were leaving to start our drive to San Diego, which is a pretty long drive. We’re just leaving town at night when BOOM break cable snaps and the pedal goes right to the floor.
Truth.Explosion: That’s terrible! What did you do?
Matt: Somehow we managed to make it to a Midas. We pull in and end up sleeping in the parking lot. It was probably the coldest night I’ve ever slept in the van before. I think I almost died. I might be dead now! We woke up at seven in the morning and we brought the van in. We still could have made it to the San Diego show; they just had to fix the break cable early. We ended up waiting in that place for eight hours.
Kim: With these awkward seats and this little TV playing the worst channels!
TE: Repair shops are the worst.
Matt: So we kept waiting. We were waiting for this other part to come in, but they were so laid back like “oh whatever”. It was about four and we were calling the venue because we have had really fun shows in San Diego and we didn’t want to miss it. We kept calling them and we were like “if we leave now, won’t it only be a six hour drive?” We thought we could make it just before the show was over at like ten or eleven. Before they had the job done we were like “just take the van off the lift, we’re going to go!” Breaks or no breaks. They reattached the cable but for some reason the breaks still sucked. We got on the highway and pedal to the medal. We almost ran out of gas.
Kim: And it was at like the lower part, where it’s right above Mexico where there’s nothing.
Matt: Eastern California is nothing. The van was running on pure will power. There was no gas in the tank. We also got pulled over. I think it was because they thought we were smuggling drugs because in the van all the windows are boarded up so you can’t see in.
Kim: But we made it to the show! But when we got there, I had been driving so fast that I was just shaking. It was rough. And then we played that show, made it there just in time to play. Quickly afterwards we ate some food they had leftover and then we had to leave so we could drive straight to LA where we could go to another Midas to get the job finished before our show that day.
Matt: Basically, what it comes down to is that we’ve missed a couple shows in our life, but we really try not to. We’re pretty committed to make it to everywhere we have to go. No matter what it takes. Some bands seem like “oh I don’t really feel like it” and then they won’t play a show. But we do everything we can.
TE: Did you learn anything from this experience or is it just something to laugh about now?
Kim: I think we were laughing about it then.
Matt: I think a good thing you learn from something like that is that pretty much the worst experiences you have are the most memorable experiences. In the years to come, they’re the most worthwhile. Other ones come and go but those memories stay with you.
TE: What is the “truth” about Matt and Kim?
Matt: We love fun. The music we listen to and the stuff people ask about who influences us; I usually say people’s guilty pleasures. Beyonce… or anything fun. That’s what we like to play music at shows with, fun bands. We got kind of ‘harshed’ recently by someone who was saying “you have to take a responsibility as a performer to tell them how you feel about things”… they were probably a political person.
Kim: I think that’s bullshit because you deal with that every day. You need to take a break from that or you’re not going to live a happy life.
Matt: Or as like our friend says, “I want to take myself and these people right here and try to make everyone happy and have fun, that’s my goal.” It’s not trying to take over the world. Pursuit of fun!
Kim: We should make t-shirts that say “pursuit of fun.”
Matt: No, that would be cheesy.
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