Emerging from the pop-punk scene, Nashville-based band Morning in May have been making waves with their high-energy instrumentals, passion-filled lyrics, and expressive storytelling. Their latest release, Shania Pain (Man, I Feel Like a Loser), puts a unique spin on a new direction with their music while still keeping familiar elements. These guys are not stopping there. You can expect to see more from them in the coming year along with new music, tours, videos, and so much more. I had the chance to talk with Jake and Andrew recently. Here's what they had to say.
MSM: Thank you again for taking the time to answer a few questions for us today. Can you please introduce yourselves and tell us what roles you play in the band.
Jake: Hi, I'm Jake and I sing in Morning in May.
Andrew: I'm Andrew and I play the drums.
MSM: How did you guys come together as a band and what was the process like for you?
Jake: Actually, so the band was together for a while before Andrew but didn't start touring until 2016. Andrew came in, I think about a year after that. Our drummer at the time couldn't do it, which is great. Andrew actually was living in Florida at the time. We were in Cleveland at the time, and Andrew saw our music video while he was in Florida. He ended up moving to Cleveland a couple of months later. We had a Craigslist ad because this was almost 10 years ago, which we weren't fond of. We put out an ad; we didn't say who the band was or anything like that. We didn't want people, I guess, to be jaded and check out the band first; we just wanted fresh people that were able or could do it. We didn't want someone to see the band and then go, "Maybe this isn't my style," or anything because we were trying to open it up.
Andrew: I got to Ohio and wanted to start playing again and being in a band, so I messaged them. I met them at an Applebee's in Wooster, this little town in Ohio, and we just got along and hit it off. I sent them some videos, so I think they knew I could do it and pick it up pretty quickly, but I didn't even have a drum kit at the time. So, I held them off for a few weeks.
Jake: Passion goes very far in the band. He didn't have a drum set and really wanted to do it, and never told us he didn’t have one, were like, "Come on, man, we have to practice. We have to know you know the songs and stuff." We got some shows coming up, tours, and whatever. He was like, "No, I got it. Yeah, I can do it." He's like, I don't know how many grandparents he went through that died, but 3, 4 weeks in, he's like, "Ok, now we can practice." Little did we find out way later he was like, "Oh, I lied the whole time; I needed time to get a drum set."
Andrew: Yeah, it's been that ever since.
MSM: What's the dynamic like within everyone? How do you guys balance the decision making when it comes to making music?
Jake: We all are actually pretty democratic. We'll have ideas; we all say, "Hey, this is the idea." I bug the guys all the time with my ideas. We have group chats and stuff. I'll message them like, "Hey, how about we do this?" We all get onboard and don't really conflict with ideas. As long as we can do it and it makes sense, we kind of do it. It just depends on what it is. Like if you're talking creatively or anything, as far as songs go, we kind of just go, "Hey, I heard this song; we should do something like this," or "Hey, this is my idea for this." We kind of just build off of it to see if it works. There's never really a "no," and we have a rule in the band. If you say no, then you have to bring something better with it and counteract it.
MSM: Is there a process when deciding what song you want to be a single or any vibe for an album?
Jake: It depends on where we are at. If we have a bunch of songs to pick from, usually we kind of know as we are writing the songs. We're like, "Ok, this is a single or this is going to be the single." A lot of the time I'll write a song to be a single. There are just certain formulas that singles kind of follow and kind of just fall into. So I'll write a song thinking, this is how singles are. If things get too abstract or crazy, or if we want to do something different, those tend to not be singles. Then we usually will just put them on the EP or album, something like that. We usually will ask our publicist; we'll say, "Which one do you like?" Also, a lot of the time we'll give a bunch of ideas to the producer as well. Then whichever one they pick, we kind of just go from there, so it's different every time.
MSM: So your latest song Shania Pain has a very unique title to it. Do you have a story behind it?
Jake: Yes and no. I'll give you two answers to that. I thought it was funny. My mom and dad listened to country and stuff growing up in the car. I would say Shania Twain music, so anything in that vein, like 90's country and all that stuff, also early 2000's. So that was my whole life in the back seat of their cars. So driving around, that's kind of what it was. It was the same top 20s and top 40s hits that would play. So, Andrew and I watched a lot of documentaries and artist come-ups. They are kind of our favorite things to do. Like music biographies, no matter what genre, who they are, or who the artist is. It's always cool to know, and we watch so many different ones and things like that. We saw Shania and what was going on at the time. It's all cool; Shania Twain was relevant at whatever the time was that I came up with the title. I was trying to name what a country emo band artist name should be, and I think I said Shania Pain. I was like, That's kind of cool, and that's how I came up with the name at first. I'll hear something throughout the day, and it will jog something. I'll go, "Oh, that should be the title of an album," or one of the titles of the songs, something like that. I put it in my notes, and that's kind of it, but random moments of inspiration. I just think of something that's kind of funny or witty, and then I'll go, "Oh, I'm going to name a song that."
MSM: I noticed that most or almost all of your songs have a unique title. Is there a particular reason for that creatively?
Andrew: I'd say that you were heavily influenced by the early 2000s. To those song titles that were kind of like not jokey song titles, but more fun and creative song titles.
Jake: Yeah, whenever you type in the name of the band and the song, I never want there to be 10 other songs named the same thing. This is kind of like a peek into our secrets, I guess, but I try to use a lot of key words. So if you ever look something up, it will be the only thing that comes up, or a lot of things will come up for just keyword searches. We have a song called Makeup Tutorials for Crying Out Loud. If you type in makeup tutorials into YouTube or Google, it will come up, so everything needs to have meaning. It can't just be nothing, and I absolutely hate song titles that are saying the same thing 100 times in the chorus throughout the song. Then that's the name of the song. That's what everyone wants, and that's what you need to do. I think it's an opportunity to be funny, be witty, and kind of showcase who we are as people in everything we do.
MSM: Is your latest single different than past releases or does it kind of have its own vibe?
Jake: It kind of has its own vibe because it was the first time we sat down at a table. It's the first time I ever wrote melodies and lyrics with anybody. So we were sitting at a table, and I kind of was just doing melodies while we were playing the guitar riff, and Andrew was like, "Oh, I like that. Yeah, do that. Sing that." I was like, Ok well now I have to figure out words that fit that and kind of do that. So it was cool; it was a very organic song. It's one that kind of wrote itself and has a deeper meaning. There was a certain kind of song we wanted to write, and I think we hit it. We just wanted to write a very open, feel-good vibe song that we don't already have. I kind of have this knack of trying to be as clever as possible the entire song, but I think we popped the brakes on that a little bit. We basically wanted to create something that, if it was in a different language or if the words were just sounds, you could listen to it on its own. Also, it would still make you feel how it does now. I kind of write to say less but have a bigger impact. It was the first time we actually achieved that.
MSM: What was the songwriting process like for this song? Any standout moments?
Jake: It's cool; questions about the song actually make me think more about it. We wrote it a while ago, and it kind of brings up certain things that I didn't know while I was writing it that I know now. The why, when, and how. All the songs we write are all about different things but have a genuine theme of manifestation. They're the words that you need to say to get yourself out. I was recently talking about when you're listening to an artist and they're like, "Oh, I'm so sad, or this is what's going on right now." I feel like we have been doing that for a long time, and we never get to the next step of "Ok, we've established the sadness, we've established the problem." Whatever is going on, how do we now get to the next part of it? A lot of the songs are like mantras and words of confidence, manifestation just to get you out of it and things you could say. So it's not necessary that you're stuck in the situation you are in, but it's finding peace with it because no matter what happens in life, there's always going to be the next thing that goes wrong or the next obstacle to overcome. Especially with getting older, I found that if you find this inner peace inside, it really doesn't matter what's going on around you. It's just another task you have to do. Instead of thinking like, "Oh my life's over, kind of deal." So I wrote Shania in the terms of, "Oh, I'm free now. I'm free from this situation I was in, I'm free from this person, I'm free from this job, I'm free from this family crisis, or something." I distanced myself away from this terrible thing, and now I can take that with me. Now it's all ok; I'm by myself, but I'm ok.
Andrew: Musically, it does the same thing. It has waves, that big ending is like a big wave. It is a release, especially for you, as you played a big part.
Jake: We knew it was going to be our closer song. While we were writing and especially the first time we heard it back. We write songs like a movie. So there's an introduction, and there's the exposition. In the beginning, you establish what's going on, and it's the inner dialogue between you and whatever is happening. Then every chorus is cool; it's like, "Oh no, I'm ok, everything's cool." You really get that breakthrough and then start receiving back into it. After that, then there's the, "Oh no, maybe it's not cool, maybe it's not ok," kind of deal. Then that next chorus hits, and you're like, "No, I got it. I'm fine. I'm cool." Everybody's inner dialogue when something happens basically, you kind of just have to reason with yourself. Finally, the bridge is like the "Ok, I got knocked down. Now I know what I have to do." There's a piece to it at this point. Then the end, the outro chorus comes in, that's like the "Ok, I have a newfound understanding of what happened, and I can now take it with me."
MSM: What can fans expect from your live shows that are coming up in a few days? Any surprises in store?
Jake: Yes, I don't even want to say it. There's a lot more to our set now than usual. We got to a point where we have a lot of control over our own things. It's gonna be even wilder than it usually is.
Andrew: Yeah, it's beautiful visually. You have to come out and see it. It's wild.
Jake: You know that's a good thing, visually it's a completely different set. We use to do something, now we do it times 100, and now it's crazier.
MSM: Once the tour wraps, what's next for Morning in May?
Jake: We have more tours, more releases, and more stuff. We have a video that's going to be coming out soon. Also more content.
Andrew: We hope to never be home.
Jake: Yeah, that's right.
MSM: Lastly, are there any final messages for fans that you would like to share before we wrap up?
Jake: Self-love is great; self-awareness is even better. Be aware of yourself and others. Be respectful, be kind, because you never know what someone else is going through or dealing with, no matter how dumb the situation might be. I forget this all the time, and I need to take my own advice. I would say that.
Andrew: Also follow us on Instagram (@morninginmayoh); give us a follow so you can get tour news and other updates.
Jake: Oh, and we are filming a little documentary on the band. It's cool; it's going to be extremely funny.
Andrew: Like a mockumentary.
Jake: A mockumentary, but a real documentary on things that are happening as we do them. It is being filmed like Modern Family and The Office. It's going to be cool. Episodes are going to come out on TikTok. I'm sure they will be out on YouTube and Instagram at some point.
Andrew: Come see us live!
Jake: Yeah, come see us live. Follow us on iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, TikTok, and Amazon. Whatever you got.
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