Metro Station, though stuck squarely within the heavily cluttered modern pop scene, appears poised to emerge from the pack. The group’s song “Shake It” recently made it into Billboard magazine’s top 10 list of hot singles, it snared a major feature in the August issue of Alternative Press magazine and the band recently completed a stint opening the Soundtrack of Your Summer tour with Boys Like Girls and Good Charlotte.
But if Metro Station achieves the big commercial breakthrough that seems within reach, the group figures to be more prepared for the spotlight than many of its peers, despite having a pair of frontmen who have yet to hit their 20s.
That’s because singer/guitarist Trace Cyrus can always call on his stepfather, Billy Ray Cyrus, and half-sister, Miley Cyrus, for advice on dealing with stardom. Meanwhile, singer-guitarist Mason Musso can look for support from his younger brother Mitchel, who stars alongside Miley Cyrus on the hit Disney Channel show “Hannah Montana.”
“I feel like I’ve learned a lot from my parents and my brother, watching them do what they do,” Musso said in a recent phone interview. “I know Trace has definitely learned a lot from his dad and his (half-sister) and everything. It’s good having that in your pocket. I know Trace will have questions and he’ll call his dad or call his mom or call Miley and ask her, and the same with me. I’ll ask my parents a question or my little brother, and it helps.”
The connections to the Miley Cyrus and Hannah Montana phenomenon have provided the media with an easy hook for Metro Station, and virtually every article about the band brings up the family ties.
Still, Musso, Cyrus and their Metro Station bandmates, keyboard player Blake Healy and drummer Anthony Improgo, haven’t used their celebrity connections nearly as much as they could have to call attention to the group.
“We kind of wanted to do our own thing,” Musso said. “We didn’t want that to be the reason why people came to shows. Not that we don’t love and respect our siblings, because I know Trace loves the hell out of his sister and I love my brother. And we love our families and stuff. But we were teenagers and we just wanted to get out in the van and just do it.”
Still, the Disney Channel and the “Hannah Montana” show, which has turned Miley Cyrus into a teen pop star whose current popularity might even eclipse Britney Spears at her peak, played a substantial role in bringing about Metro Station.
It was on the set of that show where Musso and Cyrus were introduced to each other by, of all people, their mothers.
The two decided to try writing songs together, and found they had an instant musical chemistry.
Metro Station as a band took another big step forward a short time later when Musso and Cyrus met Healy, and the trio wrote the song “Seventeen Forever.”
Healy, 26, enabled the songwriting to take a step forward and the group’s sound to solidify, surprisingly enough, around the synthesizer in part because of Healy’s knowledge of studio production.
Although Musso and Cyrus are both guitarists by trade, they have an affinity for synth-pop bands such as the Cure, not to mention such classic pop of groups as the Beatles, Bee Gees and Simon & Garfunkel. What also helped push songwriting in that direction was the fact that Musso and Cyrus started writing together using the Garage Band program, and built melodies around synthesizer lines they wrote using the program.
“Seventeen Forever” became a pivotal song in Metro Station’s young history. The band posted the tune on MySpace and the song caught on, quickly rising to the top spot on that Web site’s chart.
Not surprisingly, record labels noticed, and by the end of 2006, Metro Station had been signed by Columbia Records.
“Seventeen Forever” is the lead track on Metro Station’s self-titled debut CD, which was released last September. It provides fitting introduction to the band’s music and sound. It opens with a new wavish verse built around percolating synth notes before rocking out on the chorus. Then, a catchy vocal melody jumps out behind brisk guitar riffs, washes of keyboard and a driving programmed beat. The rest of the CD pretty much strikes a similar balance between classic pop hooks and retro synth pop instrumentation. The stylistic combination works because songs such as “Control,” “Shake It” and “True To Me” exude charming melodies and sprightly energy.
The group has been touring for more than a year behind the debut album, and has become considerably better as a live unit over that time.
“It (touring) prepares you for so much,” Musso said. “I believe, and there’s nothing like time, man, just playing shows over and over again.”
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