BANDS U SHOULD KNOW: The Modern Glitch

By The Carlow Chronicle on December 11, 2016 • ( Leave a comment )

By Erika Kellerman, Staff Writer

(But my self belief, my self belief,

Wasn’t lost in the modern glitch.) – 1996 by The Wombats

We live in a technological age where you can find music recorded and cut by musicians from all over the world and share it with friends on many platforms. I randomly stumbled upon a quintet from Australia called The Modern Glitch sometime in May, and I have yet to regret it.

I was able to catch up with Jesse Curnow of The Modern Glitch and talk to him about what it’s like being in a band in 2016.

The Basics

In 2015, Australians Mitch King, Sam Wearne, Jesse Curnow, Brendan King, and Nick Johnson formed their band The Modern Glitch. The Blue Mountain natives met at school and have known each other for ten years.

Jesse Curnow, 20, is the drummer and a vocalist for The Modern Glitch. His love for music started when he was just a kid. When he was in high school, Curnow decided pretty quickly that playing in front of an audience was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life. His inspirations for writing come from personal experiences and other music. He says, “Everything is an inspiration in one way or another.”

At the age of 9, Curnow’s father suggested that he play an instrument. His brother and sister played Piano, so he wanted to do something different. Curnow said, “At the time, the drums seemed like the coolest thing on the planet to me!”

He credits David Grohl (Nirvana and Foo Fighters) and Tre Cool (Green Day) as his inspiration for drumming. Curnow added,“I just loved hearing how their drumming shaped and made the song what it was. They are both excellent at playing to the song.” He also admires John Lennon and Kurt Cobain. “They both changed music forever.”

On Music
The Modern Glitch is an alternative/synth/pop band. They know their music. They also know how to write good lyrics and play their own instruments.

Curnow said, “ I think we bring a lot of raw emotion and simplicity to the table. A lot of bands try and replicate a certain band, and I think we draw influences from a lot of different areas of music.”

Curnow’s advice to young musicians is to “play music for the right reasons; being famous is not what Music is about.” He added, “Too many artists/bands these days just want to be famous, rather than playing music because they love it which is the most important part.” Enjoyment is the most important aspect that The Modern Glitch could get out of the industry. Curnow said, “If we could see and experience different places in the world because of our music, that would be a dream come true for all of us.”

When people ask the guys of The Modern Glitch about their “plan b” if music doesn’t work out for them, Curnow says “We just nod politely. We all agree that a backup plan is somewhat irrelevant because of the luxury we live in- meaning we are extremely lucky and will always be able to fall back onto something if playing music doesn’t pay the bills.”

Me & You:

The Modern Glitch currently have two singles out called Me & You and Get Away. It took an hour to write the basic structure of the song; then they added different sections “here and there” over a span of a few weeks. All of the band members contributed to different sections. Curnow and Mitch King wrote the majority of the lyrics. Each of their processes varies, but for this song in particular, Mitch played the synth and Curnow started singing a vocal melody over it, which eventually became the opening section. He says “I think I am most proud of the chorus lyrics in ‘Me and You’ because they are simple and can be interpreted in a lot of different ways.”

Curnow says that they are still learning how to deal with conflicting opinions during writing. He said, “Normally a few swear words or insults are exchanged and then we get on with it.”

With 102, 662 plays and counting on Spotify, “Me and You” has resonated with a vast amount of people. Curnow said that he thinks it does because “it is a simple message that so many people could relate to. Musically speaking, it’s upbeat and has catchy sections.”

He cannot believe that so many people from other countries found their music. He said, “It’s amazing. It continues to blow our mind every time we see people from other countries listening to us.”

Future Plans:

The Modern Glitch is releasing a self-titled EP in the future. It is inspired by a lot of different things. The Modern Glitch have been working on the EP for over a year. Curnow said, “I think it has a pretty UK-esque sound. My favourite song is a song called ’Daylight.’”

Curnow said that if The Modern Glitch could play anywhere overseas it would be a dream for them. In the future, they’d like to tour different places in Europe, U.K., and also the US. Curnow thinks that New York or London would probably blow all of them away if they ever get a chance to play there. There is also a venue in Newtown, Sydney called the Enmore Theatre. It’s the first venue Curnow ever saw a band play at. He said, “Playing there would definitely be a dream for all of us.” Curnow also added,“Touring with bands like Sticky Fingers, Violent Soho and DMAs would be an unreal experience, I’m sure. If you haven’t heard of any of those bands, definitely check them out too.”

Watch The Modern Glitch’s music video for their single, “Me and You”: