The first thing iheartthemusic noticed about Matthew and Nathan Leone from rock and roll super group Madina Lake is that they look exactly alike! Twin brothers, actually.  Throughout the whole interview it was hard to tell which one was the bassist (Matthew) and which one was the lead singer (Nathan). However, what we do know for sure is that these two brothers from the Windy City are probably two of the nicest, most genuine people. These brothers are not only jovial people, they are passionate about music and about pleasing their throngs of fans. Interviewing these two gentlemen before their show on April 23^rd at the Phoenix was like talking to a good friend you hadn’t seen in a long time. We talked about our favorite band – Smashing Pumpkins – Warped Tour and eating shit on Fear Factor.

iheartthemusic: Matthew, in your bio you say that you guys had more life and experiences under your belt making the new record, Attics to Eden, than you did when making your first album, From them, Through Us, To You.  What experiences did the band go through between the first album and the second that made you guys grow?

Matthew: I think one was just sort of the touring cycle. We spent two and a half to three years on the road in different countries under different circumstances and with different egos.  Lots of wonderful surprises, like Linkin Park and My Chemical Romance, they wound up being the nicest, most down to earth inspiring people ever while some of the mid-size bands to lower-size bands had huge dramatic egos and would wage these little drama wars ; and when imposed upon you it kind of creates a reaction and I think that reaction came out a little bit on the second record.

Nathan: And I think, musically speaking, one of the big inspirations too was that on the first record we got a little bit categorized in this emo or pop/punk thing, which is fine, to each his own, but it’s nothing we ever listen to and it’s nothing we ever saw ourselves as.  I think we maybe had a little bit of animosity about that or something, but it ended up great because it caused us to push way further and I think we finally found our identity with this one.

iheartthemusic: In being a Chicago-based band and growing up there, were you inspired at all by that music scene in particular?

Matthew: Yeah, and I don’t know necessarily if it was a conscience thing, I mean, it is now but at the time it wasn’t. I think it’s just a blue collar town, a lot of electronic music stems from there, a lot of house music and then bands like Smashing Pumpkins. All that is subtly ingrained in you and it actually took our producer David Bendeth, who we worked with on the second record, the one we just put out, to sort of bring that to life. He was telling us that, and we didn’t realize it until that moment, but yeah, it influenced us for sure.

Nathan: It’s really cool, I’ve grown a much bigger appreciation and respect for Chicago as of late. I mean, Chess Records is one of the most infamous blues labels based out of there; a lot of their artists are based out of Chicago, it was a huge blues city. Now it seems like every couple of years Chicago turns out huge bands, it’s really cool. I really respect and appreciate that about Chicago.

iheartthemusic: I feel that Chicago and Detroit have their own style and their own scene more than anywhere else.

Matthew: More genuine and honest music comes almost from a necessity. They make music to give them something.

iheartthemusic: Your music is very big sounding.  Was the whole band drawn to this big sound when forming and making the first record?

Matthew: I think it’s a result of the four of us having pretty diverse taste in music, but all of us having in common that we like bands like Paul Simon, The Beatles, all the staples right on through to Metallica, NIN and Smashing Pumpkins. So, like, we were fans, we didn’t grow up listening to hard core punk per say. Our parents were listening to Paul Simon and Fleetwood Mac and we were loving that and I think that’s where we became fans of big chorus and dramatics in music.

iheartthemusic: So you guys were on the same page musically from the get go.

Nathan: It’s weird because I feel like we’ve been in bands in the past and it always felt like we were trying so hard to get something we liked. With this band it seems like when we’re working on something we all kind of know when we love it right away and we all like really love it.  It’s a weird thing, whatever it is, between anybody in a creative environment, there feels like there is some magical click or something. I’m not saying that it ends up the most amazing music but for us it’s so fulfilling, it’s easy and it’s satisfying and rewarding.

iheartthemuisc: You say in an interview that Smashing Pumpkins and Refused revolutionized music, in what way do you think they did that?

Matthew: I think honesty and integrity applies to both bands. Refused, for example, had no ulterior motives with their music, they had a statement and they were going to make it no matter who was trying to stop them, no one would be able to. The Smashing Pumpkins came out in a time when this new thing was burgeoning called “grunge” and they got thrown into that category right away, and they were not grunge! So they especially had to articulate themselves, you know, to set themselves apart; their music and subject matter and lyrics distinguished them and made them pioneers.

iheartthemusic: Well, I definitely agree with you on that, Smashing Pumpkins are my favorite. Well, back to your music and your new album, what do you want fans to take away from it, what is your message?

Nathan: Well, I think music for us has always been this kind of escape, like anything that is going on in your life that is stressful or otherwise, happy or sad or whatever, music was always a way to escape that reality. [Music] created this imaginary world for us, which is one reason why we kind of created this town and story behind the album, to get that across.  So I think it would be incredibly rewarding if someone was inspired in any way, shape or form, like if anyone felt better about their life or themselves, felt connected, relieved, anything like that, it would be really rewarding. We hope our music incites enthusiasm or provokes thought, you know, maybe  get people thinking about something from a different perspective.

iheartthemusic: Other than this tour you will also be on Warped this year! How different is it traveling with a ton of bands all at once?

Matthew: Night and day, it’s very, very different. Warped is an amazing tour but it’s a really arduous tour because your set times change every day; you never know what time you are playing until that morning and you have to get there at like 7am. The drive and the traveling is pretty brutal, there aren’t many days off, but with so many bands it’s awesome because a lot of your friends are on it and you get to hang out.

Nathan: Some people like drama, I suppose, we don’t, we like to kick it on the sidelines and enjoy ourselves. I heard that the bands on it this year are going to be just awesome, laid back, cool vibes, no egos… then the tour will be amazing.

Matthew: It is vastly different, what is important to us when we play live is to really create this full-on cerebral experience. You can accomplish that in a club where it is dark and you do your own thing with lights or whatever, however you want to present your show. [However], there’s only one way to present a show at Warped: get on stage, sweat your balls off, get off.

iheartthemusic: Tell me about your stage show, do you have any pre- and post-show rituals?

Matthew: Yes and yes. Pre-show rituals: we do some yoga and some meditating, try to get on the same wavelength. We all have our nervous things that we do while we’re pacing around and muttering little mantras to one another that I won’t disclose because they are embarrassing… As I was saying before, a concert experience for us has always been that escape; when the lights go off and the doors close and everyone is packed in, it’s like nothing else in your life matters and that’s how we feel when we’re on stage, so hopefully that is conveyed and you can get a break, a little mini vacation from all the griefs in your life and all your dramas, people judging people and all of that crap. None of it matters in that time, you can just let go and cut loose.

Nathan: We’re not about any scene bullshit, popularity, or haircut or what clothes your wearing. We’re about an uninhibited environment where everyone can absolutely be themselves and can be in a judge free zone and don’t have to worry what other people are doing, or saying or thinking about them.  So that’s what we try to convey from the stage.  The truly great shows are when the audience gives that back and you can tell it’s uninhibited.

iheartthemusic: I have one last question I have to ask. You boys were on twin Fear Factor and won! Did you use all those winnings to record and produce your first EP, The Disappearance of Adalia?

Nathan: I bought a flat screen TV, which is one of the best purchases, I love television. I love watching like Curb your Enthusiasm, Weeds, Lost, 24, I love those series. So, yeah I think that was one of my better investments. But that was it, otherwise it was all pretty much the band.

Matthew: We had so much debt going into that thing, we could pay credit cards off and make a demo that was about it.

iheartthemusic: Was it a good experience?

Matthew: It was an interesting one… we thought it would be hilarious! We were going to go on there, make fun of the jocks, get kicked off and by the time it aired we we’re going to invite our friends over and just happen to turn the TV on and be like, “look what happened!”  We thought that would be awesome. It didn’t go that way.

Nathan: It kind of became a big deal. As far as the experience, it was miserable, to be honest… The shit we had to do and the actual stunts plus it was cold.

Matthew: Dealing with those meatheads and the people that go on that show, but it was kinda funny, I guess… We invited all of our friends to this bar and had them play it and that’s when we watched it and that was about it.

Nathan: That was fun as hell that night!

iheartthemusic: Getting drunk and watching the show?

Matthew: Yeah, and a friend of ours from high school threw up in his glass just watching it!

Interview by Kristen Tignanelli

Photography by Joyce Wong