My Fiction have recently been accepted into the prestigious music conference CMJ Music Marathon in New York City, which showcases up-and-coming artists, and is a platform for the discovery of new music from 21st-25th October.
The Brisbane band consists of four curly-haired, guitar-smashing guys just trying to make it in the music industry. Lead guitarist Jimmi Laubscher says their curly hair is an asset. “That's part of the reason why we put up with each other,” he says.
“If ever we are in doubt, we just put our heads together and if we get tangled, which we usually do, then we know that we are still fighting for each other. And we all know curls get the girls.”
Jimmi says the band is excited to be a part of CMJ 2014, which will be headlined by The Kills. “I always thought my band would take me to America, otherwise I didn't really have any reason to go to America,” he says. “Going [to America] in a band is just sensational. Most of the people you meet are into music and are very open minded. I'm really looking forward to playing in New York.”
The group missed out on applying for an arts grant as the submission deadline had already passed when they were accepted ito CMJ. But the band is hoping you can get them to the United States. “We are going to try and get [a Pozible campaign] together,” Jimmi says.
“It's mainly for tickets to get over there… but also to put towards the production of a video clip. We would like to be able to hire out a fairly decent camera, otherwise we will have to do another Go-Pro video clip, which we've done before.
“The main thing is that we are trying to figure out the best thing to give back to the people that are giving to us. Mike [the bassist], has a funny video he is going to make, and I make a wicked tea, so I'm going to invite everyone over for tea.”
The band have already had a level of siuccess State-side, with their music having been played on popular American television shows 'Extent', 'Gossip Girl' and MTV's 'Awkward'. “It's a bit awkward being played on Gossip Girl, because I haven't actually watched the show, but a lot of my friends do. We ended up with about five songs on the show,” Jimm says.
Jimmi says having thick Australian accents helps the band stand out as well. “You've just got to say 'G'day, we're from Australia and we're here to rock your world'. And they say 'Oh they're so cute, look at them’."
While mainstream success lcoally has eluded them, Jimmi is confident they have a 'sound' palatable to American audiences. “Unfortunately, there just doesn't seem to be a huge demand for our music [in Australia], but as soon as we touch the shores of America it's [different]. There were a lot of people that wanted to talk to us and include us in a couple of international festivals.
“It got us really enthusiastic and motivated to try and approach places like America. They say if you do well in America, you do well in Japan.”
My Fiction’s definition of success is not measured in monetary value, but the relationships they have with each other and the friends and music they make along the way. “Success in music is a wavering definition everywhere you go. For us, being successful in this band is the fact we've been able to release two albums together and an EP and we've been able to stay together, love each other and respect each other for as long as we have,” Jimmi says.
“To not let all that stupid bullshit that happens in the music industry get in the way of the fact that we are best friends writing music. That's the reason why we think this band is a success … As far as I'm concerned, we've been successful since we started.”
