Interview: Patrick Miranda of Movements

Since the release of their debut album ‘Feel Something’, Movements have grown an almost cult-like following within the punk scene. Going from strength to strength, they have toured with everyone from Good Charlotte and Knuckle Puck to Senses Fail and Counterparts. Now only a month and a half away from their first tour down under, we spoke with vocalist and all-around nice guy, Patrick Miranda, to find out what makes Movements so popular, how he handles the hype and the power of sad music.

Signed after one show, blow up after one EP and now one of the most hyped bands in the scene, have you had time to even comprehend that or has it been a complete blur?

It’s definitely been crazy man! It’s all happened extremely fast and we’ve all had to take a step back a little bit and really, kind of admire everything that’s happened so far and appreciate everything we have been able to accomplish. It is extremely humbling and it’s been such an amazing experience! And dude, honestly sometimes I still kind of look at it go “wow, I can’t believe this all real, I can’t believe this is all happening”, cause it’s something I’ve wanted to do since I was eight years old. I always wanted to tour, I always wanted to be a musician so the fact that it is actually happening and able to go see the world and stuff is just unreal.

The album has seen a lot of love since its release, in particular your lyrics. Every vocalist is different in their approach to writing, but for you, what value does it hold personally?

Yeah it’s always been really important to me to write openly and honestly and write from the heart about things that I’m dealing with. My emotions or whatever. For me, I think I’ve always resonated the most with music that is sad or more on the emotional side because I think there’s a certain degree of solidarity between people. Knowing that you’re not alone in a situation, knowing that there’s somebody else out there that feels the same way you do almost makes sad music, the happiest.

That was always really important to me because music was such a driving force in my life growing up, I always wanted to do that for other people with my own music. So yeah, I think that writing, or the things that we write are really important because I want other people to know that it’s okay to deal with what they’re dealing with and that they’re not alone.

You said before that Movements has been a dream you’ve had since you were eight years old. When you were growing up and just getting in music and writing, were there any inspirations that you aspired to be like? 

Oh man! I definitely looked up to a lot of musicians and artists. The first band I ever really heard of, like the first real band I ever really listened to was Good Charlotte, and I looked up to them a lot! At that time, they were punk dudes, with big spike mohawks and they were so badass and I loved that about them.

Trying to prove that I can work hard and achieve the goals that I’ve always had since I was a kid and I think so far we’ve done that with Movements.

And being a little kid, I was like “wow I want to be just like that”. And as I grew up, my music taste expanded and when I was going through my “emo phase” as you’d like to call it, I was definitely into the metalcore world and more emo bands and stuff like that too so there’s definitely been multiple artists that I looked up to in my lifetime.

But at the same time, there has been a lot of wanting to prove it to myself that I can be one of those people. Trying to prove that I can work hard and achieve the goals that I’ve always had since I was a kid and I think so far we’ve done that with Movements. We got to tour with Good Charlotte last year in Canada with Silverstein which is another of those bands that I always looked up to! So, to have those things come full circle where I toured with two of my favourite bands of all time, that’s unreal to me, it’s such an amazing thing to be able to experience.

How do you react when fans tell you how much your lyrics affect them and their lives? Is it something you get used to?

I honestly do get used to it, but that’s not to say that it doesn’t mean a lot to me! It really does and sometimes I’ll sit there and think about the fact that the music that I wrote in my bedroom or in my garage that I never thought anybody would hear, now mean so much to other people, it is mind-blowing to me. And again, it’s so humbling, I can’t even comprehend it! So yeah, even though I get used to people telling me that, it never loses its value. I’m always going to be appreciative of people telling me because I’m just glad that I could help, you know?

You’ve played with everyone from Counterparts to Knuckle Puck to Silverstein, what do you think it is about the Movements sound that makes it so wide-reaching?

Honestly, I don’t know! I don’t know what it is about our music that makes us able to do that more so than any other band. Maybe it’s the fact that our music kind of weaves between a lot of genres? I don’t think we necessarily stick to one particular sound on anything and we have a mix of singing and screaming and spoken word. We’ve got the more melodic, poppy songs for the kids that like that and we’ve got heavier songs for kids who like that. I also really love mixed bill shows and tours, I’ve always been a huge fan of having multiple genres on one show. It’s something I’d like to see more of, I’d like to do some more tours with heavy bands and I’d like to do some more tours with softer bands too because it’s really cool to see that diversity.

And before we get to the big Aussie debut, you are heading out on Warped Tour again for its last go around. For people outside of America or for those who have never gone, what makes it such an iconic festival?

Warped Tour is one of those things that you always look forward to. For me, it always marked summer time. Being out of school and being able to finally go and see all of my favourite bands. I couldn’t go to concerts during the school year, my parents weren’t super cool with me going to concerts when I was younger.

It’s just this really special experience, almost like going to a fair or summer camp or something. Just a big event in your life that marks something really special.

It wasn’t until about halfway through high school that I actually started going to shows. So Warped Tour for me was the only show I’d go to every single year. It would be where I buy all my merch from all the bands that I liked, and I would spend all day running around to different stages and seeing every single band that I would listen to all year. So, it’s just this really special experience, almost like going to a fair or summer camp or something. Just a big event in your life that marks something really special.

So, the fact that it’s coming to an end is really, an end of an era. This is a tour that’s been around for 25 years and it’s finally done. This tour’s been going around since before I was born, that’s crazy to think about! It’s been a really special thing for a lot of people and it’s definitely a place where I think a lot of people go because they feel more accepted. I think the music that Warped Tour caters to is definitely for the outcasts who, like me, enjoy listening to heavy shit. It’s a community of all the people who maybe don’t belong in the “mainstream” world or the cool kids club or the fucking popular cliché or whatever. It’s just a really special place and we’re so stoked to be a part of it, but we’re bummed it’s coming to an end.

Do you think it will leave a massive hole in the scene with its absence?  

I do think that there will be something that comes in and replaces it. Whether that be another touring festival or just another two or three-day festival somewhere. I know that is going to be weird to not have Warped Tour, to not have the tour that comes through every single summer, that will be really strange honestly. I’m curious to see if it does leave a huge hole in the scene because I think the reason why it’s coming to an end is because the younger generation maybe don’t value it as much as the older ones did. So, you know, maybe it is time for it to move on so it can open up the place for something else but we’ll have to see where it all goes after this last year. What happens, happens.

And of course, after Warped you’re heading down to Australia, the first trip down for the band, but has anyone in the band been down here before? Do you know what to expect?

No! None of us have been to Australia ever actually!

Have any bands or friends given you little tips for touring down here? Have you got your eye on anything in particular while you’re here?

Well, most of the bands that we’ve talked to about touring Australia have toured there in the summer. So, given we’re there in the winter time, we don’t get to do as much of the fun things like swimming and going to the beach and exploring all that cool stuff. But obviously I want to get the stereotypical photo with the koala, I want to check out all the different foods and just see what it’s all about! I’m excited to just go and be a tourist.

Touching quickly on the changes to the tour, originally it was in support of Moose Blood. It received a bit of a mixed review from fans, was the decision to drop out of that tour purely based on the reactions of fans or was it a mutual feeling?

I won’t go into it too much detail, out of respect for privacy but obviously, we want our fans to feel safe and if there’s anything that they are telling us that we feel strongly about then we’re going to listen. The most important thing is that our fans are comfortable and that they know that we are listening to their concerns and that they know we are here for them, and we’ll be supportive of them.

Well, as a result, you’ve probably made fans even happier now with a full headlining run. How keen are you to get on the stage and perform for an entire country of new fans?

Dude, we’re so pumped. I definitely think it’s way more special to see Movements as a headlining band than a support band because we have so much more flexibility with what we can play. I think the fans should expect a very wide range of songs, not just the new stuff but some stuff of the EP and maybe a demo or something. But I’m just keen to go and play and be a tourist and just get the most out of Australia that we can!

Movements are in Australia this August in September for an extensive tour. See the dates below.

Movements Live Dates
w/ Eat Your Heart Out

THURS 23 AUG
Amplifier Bar, Perth
FRI 24 AUG
Jive Bar, Adelaide
SAT 25 AUG
Evelyn Hotel, Melbourne
SUN 26 AUG
Wrangler Studios, Melbourne (AA)
TUES 28 AUG
Uni Bar, Wollongong
WED 29 AUG
Red Rattler Theatre, Sydney (AA)
THURS 30 AUG
Hamilton Station Hotel, Newcastle
FRI 31 AUG
The Brightside, Brisbane
SAT 1 SEPT
38 Berwick Street, Brisbane (AA)
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