Interview: Missed You At The Show

By Dean Wilkins

Manchester-based rock band Missed You At The Show,chat to Mancunian Matters about their upcoming gigs, the balance of University life and avoiding ‘rock-stardom’.

The five-piece are an international mixture of Mike Poplawski (lead vocals, acoustic guitar) Sergio Llopis Pascual (backing vocals, keyboard), Suthee Phoncheewin (bass), Aaron Colton (drums) and Shaun Holland (electric guitar).

The band formed when lead singer Mike and keyboardist Sergio met whilst studying at The University of Salford; they later recruited a lead guitarist, bassist and an all important drummer.

With the band’s members hailing from the UK, Canada, Spain and Thailand, it’s no wonder they emit an eclectic vibe in each piece of work.

After winning Manchester Printworks Band of the Year, the lads returned to Mallorca to work with Spanish producer Antoni Noguera and record their 10-track debut album.

Here’s what a humble Mike Poplawski had to say when Mancunian Matters caught up with him earlier today:

It’s good to see you playing Manchester and Salford, which has been your favourite city venue so far? Why?

The stages at Academy 3 and Moho have been the most fun so far; we have this undying craving to perform at larger and larger venues, and can't wait to start playing outdoor festivals.

In Salford, the Pint Pot will always be special for us, it's the place our band formed and where most University gigs are held. We often go there just to have drink, bite or play some pool.

Islington Mill is really cool and hip - expensive drinks though, especially for students.

Apart from hearts of gold, what’s the reason for doing a charity gig?

I had this awesome album title idea, which probably won't pass because it's too long, but, hell, here is it: "Doing things you don't have to for reasons you can't explain". It's weird, but I do loads of things that don't make sense, especially financially, just to do them. I think the actual act of doing something has more value that the benefits you hope to reap.

Plus, selfless people helping others are rare and should be supported.

How do you manage to balance University life with being rock stars?

Rock what? Hahaha, it’s a long way before we can even consider being called rock stars. Who wants to be a rock star anyway, right? All they do is like snort coke and have threesomes (I've heard from reliable sources that sometimes they even have the bad kind) and generally walk around acting like douches before at dying 27 or otherwise ageing disgracefully. Although, on the other hand, they never have to get real jobs and don't have to punch in and punch out for the rest of their eventless lives. So I would like something in between.

Yeah, about University life, well, it is what it is. I personally love studying music; it's the best thing in the world and easy to combine with being in a band. I'm more impressed by people being able to balance "real lives" with being rock stars. Although rock stars don't have to because they don't 

Your success has been widely talked about in Manchester, how have you found the rise in fame?

Well thank you, I'm really happy more and more people are hearing about our band, and when people genuinely like the stuff we're doing, well, that's why we're doing it.

I was going through a really rough time one day when I was younger and didn't know how to manage, so I put on the red face album off Smashing Pumpkins'  Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness  and all of my problems were gone. They weren't actually gone, but music lets us put our crazy lives on hold and that's what's amazing about it. You can submerge in something you can't touch and be part of other people in a way that many other arts can't let you do.

What’s your favourite Mancunian hotspot?

There's only one place for Missed You At The Show. And that's TAI-WU.

Manchester, and indeed the rest of the UK, has produced some of the most successful rock bands in the world: Oasis, The Smiths and The Verve to name but a few. Have you been inspired or influenced by any?

Ever since I've been living in the UK, the everlasting presence and these amazing bands have definitively influenced my music. You know, I grew up on American music and it's still the music I love the most, but I've discovered so many awesome UK bands, like the ones mentioned and particularly James, and they have influenced us, especially with regards to song writing and lyrics writing. These guys were poets, their lyrics were really important, and so I take much better care when writing lyrics now than before.

Which is your favourite track to play live and why?

Definitively, Conditional (Maureen). When we wrote it, we were like "This is the last song of every gig we are going to play forever". It just has some much power and it's so true and genuine. I just love it.

What can we expect from your upcoming gigs?

Well, we're working on ways to get a fuller sound on and off stage, plus you can expect a good dose of great songs and energy.

Where will you go from here? Are you working on any new material or collaborations at the moment?

We are constantly writing new songs, just can't stop to be honest, we figure we might as well stack them up and be ready for the onslaught! I think collaborations are great and I would love to do some. That's actually a good idea, I'm on it!

What can we expect from the future Missed You At The Show?

Our debut album. Our second album. Our third and fourth. Fifth and sixth. Loads of gigs. The band's temporary break in 2020.  Shaun's country solo project. Aaron's Drum Symphony in Drum-Flat Minor. Suthee ripping off his arm on stage and Sergio becoming a part-time famous jazz pianist. Our massive comeback in 2030. A documentary portraying our lives showing random scenes of our supermodel wives and babies and loads of more clichés!

The future is bright!

You can find further information about MYATS’s upcoming gigs here and be sure to check out their performance at this month’s charity fundraiser for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.

Check out Meet You At The Show's debut single Human below: