Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band. 

Matt Addison: vocals, guitar  Mike Brown: bass guitar  Brad Smith: drums  Johnny Wingo: guitar, backing vocals

For starters, what bands were you guys a part of prior to Mythical Motors? How long has the band been around?

Johnny Wingo has been in the Chattanooga punk scene since the 80's, playing in bands like The Value and Truth Head.   

Brad Smith was in a band called Mural, and he and Mike Brown were in a band called The Unlikely prior to joining Mythical Motors.   

We've undergone several lineup changes over time, but Mythical Motors has been a band for about 11 years now.   

What’s the origin of that name and have you changed the band’s name before?

We were originally called Heaven's Basement, but we discovered that there was a UK band with the same name.  So, we needed to make a quick name change, and I chose Mythical Motors from a long list of potential song titles that I maintain.  So, the band name was originally intended to be a song title.   

Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs and do you think these topics will change over time?

Matt:  I write the songs and either bring them to the band, or record them myself at home on a digital 16 track.  Occasionally, the band will modify the arrangements to a song by extending the chorus or adding a guitar solo.   

I write lyrics in a very stream of consciousness style, which is influenced by Robert Pollard (Guided By Voices), Michael Stipe and Stephen Malkmus.  

I've written about a wide variety of topics including collecting records, the nature of art, dream paralysis, and local ghost stories and urban myths.   

What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?

Matt: Guided By Voices will always be my biggest inspiration.  Robert Pollard is an unstoppable force of nature.  Wire is another big influence, and I've been really enjoying their most recent album, Silver/Lead.  

I started listening to The Cleaners From Venus just a few years ago, and they were a pretty huge discovery.  Not sure how I'd missed out on them for so long.  I've always been fascinated by artists that have vast discographies, and Martin Newell (from Cleaners From Venus) is a great example of someone who's extremely prolific and is still making great music today.  

As for newer artists, Graham Repulski has become another favorite.  I love his sense of melody, and he's very prolific as well.   

Was there a particular band/artist or concert that inspired you to start a band?

Matt: I would say Nirvana, Sebadoh, and Guided By Voices were the bands that motivated me to start writing songs.  I was definitely inspired by the lo-fi movement of the 90's. I love the immediacy and energy found in lo-fi recordings.   

What do you do to prepare for a show? Any flexing, exercises, etc...

We drink beer, of course!   

What has been the biggest highlight of the band’s career so far?

In 2016, we had the honor of playing the Athens Popfest in Athens, Georgia.  We were the very first band to play on the first day of the festival.  It was amazing being included on a bill with Elf Power, Robert Schneider, Dressy Bessy and so many others.   

We also received a rave review for our 2017 album, Running The Shine, from Fred Mills of Blurt Online. He compared us favorably to Guided By Voices, The Clean, and The Who. It was a great compliment!   

If you could tour with any bands, past or present, who would they be and why?

Matt: It would be amazing (and very intimidating) to open for some of our musical heroes: Guided By Voices, Tobin Sprout, Superchunk, etc.   

I would love to tour with some of the bands that we've played shows with before, like Jim Shorts, Commander Keen, Vamptones, Small Reactions or Eureka California.   

Is there anything else you would like to add?

We recently released a new album called The Life Stage.  It's our tenth full length release, and it contains 26 songs.  I think it displays a good overview of the type of songs that I like to write, including jangly power pop, post punk, psychedelic folk, and garage rock. It's available on CD, cassette and download, and can be purchased on Bandcamp for $5.  

You can also download our entire catalog of 14 releases on Bandcamp for just $20.  Thanks for including us in your interview series!