Band Interview: 2 AM Club rising to the top

     Among the countless forgettable and unoriginal pop artists of today it is hard to find something fresh. And not only is the rising band AM Club just that but, a successful eclectic clash of pop, rock and soul. Recently being given recognition as MTV Push artists this band holds six members, each with different musical influences. Somehow all the styles come together to create music that is sure to make you a fan.  

     While on tour and their debut album, What Did You Think Was Going To Happen? anticipated release September 14, lead vocalist Marc Griffin made time to talk. 

How's touring going?

Marc Griffin: It's going really well. We just finished up the mtvU VMA Tour with Never Shout Never and The Ready Set. It was held at a couple of six flags amusement parks. After the shows we would ride all the rides, it was pretty fun. 

Why did the band start playing, what was your drive to create music?

MG: Everyone in this band has had that kind of relationship with music I think, where the only thing you can do is what you want to do. And because of that we found each other. 

Being a new band, how does it feel to be given notice by MTV and media like that so early on?

MG: Wow, you know it's a dream come true. Obviously it's amazing. We all kinda grew up on MTV. Watching music videos and now we're a part of that now, it's a trip. I know a few people say a lot that now MTV doesn't show music videos anymore. But really their online presence on Twitter and Facebook, if you combine all of that its as big as having a music video on TRL. 

"Know Better" and "Nobody's in Love" are some of my favorite songs, is that what we can look forward to on your album in September? 

MG: Yeah, "Know Better" actually isn't gonna be on the album, that was sort of a mixtape song we did Tyga a few years back. But "Nobody's in Love" is on the album and its available now on iTunes actually but I think overall sort of represents a side of what we do. The dance, clubby, nighttime side of our music. But then, we have a lot of different feels on the record. There's a lot of soul on the record, there's a song called "Dearly Departed" that's a classier, rock type sound. 

I love the whole live band aspect; do you think that adds an appeal to an audience? 

MG: Yeah, of course. People know when they hear good music, when they hear good live music. Even if they're not completely aware of what's going on they have a sort of subconscious response that is very energetic and powerful. In our touring, we tour a lot with groups like Chiddy Bang, Mike Posner and they play with live tracks. But it has really helped us to stand out amongst our peers having a live band play live full instrumentation. 

That's really something I wanted to touch on because it's something that's really rare in our music industry right now. 

MG: Yeah it totally is. I think if you look at the pop charts and what's going on, there are not a lot of bands out there [playing live] in the pop world. We're one of the few. There are even fewer groups like us that are actually writing their own material together; which is something we take a lot of proud in. It takes all six of us to write a new 2 AM Club song. 

That brings me to my next question. I was really curious to know, how the band creates this little "melting pot of different genres" in your music? 

MG: Yeah, that was just like I was saying. We all write together, everyone gets in a room. Actually we wrote this album in Brooklyn, so we were together for 10 hours a day, in our heads together coming up with this music. We all have to make compromises and sacrifices but I think we all trust each other enough to know that at the end of the day the best song is one we create together. 

That really must create a family aspect, spending all that time together. Would you say you're a family? 

MG: We are definitely a family of unruly brothers; fighting and bickering most of the time but we know we have a common goal and we trust each other. Which is the most important thing I think in a band. 

You mentioned Mike Posner earlier and I know you're playing with him in the Up in the Air Tour. How did you guys get connected with him? 

MG: We met Mike like a year ago in our A&R offices. He has the same A&R and record company as us, RCA Records. We met him and realized we were doing something similar, making crossover pop. Pop music that includes hip-hop includes dance and we we're targeting the same fan base. And we just decided to do some shows together. Actually our first show was in North Carolina, where he used to go to school and our band was backing him and we got to collaborate. And I would sing some of his stuff and Tyler (emcee) would put verses on some of his stuff. 

It turned into a really cool show, cause we would play our set and get to be in front of his audience. Which has obviously become huge. Then people would say, "They're with Mike, they're cool." and it kind of grew from there. Now we're just good friends.