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MADINA LAKE
FROM FEAR TO CAREER
By Lisa Sharer
Photos by Brett Mayfield
From the May 2008 issue of PRICK Magazine
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Astory written by bassist Matthew Leone coined the
band’s name Madina Lake. It is a fictional 1950s town
where Adalia, the famous socialite, mysteriously disappears.
Like this town, Madina Lake is eating up its fans and
dragging them to a mysterious musical world. Some of you
might know that the Leone twins (vocalist Nathan and bassist
Matthew) originally started this whole journey with a little
pot of money they won on NBC's Fear Factor. After winning,
Matthew told NBC, "We put rockers on the scoreboard
against the meatheads." They were also smart enough to put
their money where their mouths were. They used their winnings
to make a demo, and eventually got themselves signed
to Roadrunner Records. With the help of guitarist Mateo
Camargo and drummer Dan Torelli, the band put out From
Them, Through Us, To You in March of 2007, and won Best
International Newcomer at the 2007 Kerrang! Awards.
Flooding alternative radio stations, Madina Lake is quickly
becoming a pop rock/emo/grunge favorite.
Nathan recently took a few minutes to tell
PRICK about the interesting journey that brought
them where they are today. Like other bands, the
touring has been fun and exhausting all at the
same time. "We went into it as the best of friends,
and we’re still the best of friends. With all the
traveling we've done together and all the experiences
we’ve had together, being such close friends
has helped us to get through it all pretty easily."
After only three years, Madina Lake has seen many
parts of the world and gained hundreds of thousands
of fans. “We just got back from Australia,
[and] we played, I think, five or six shows. It was
like we had a million kids supporting our band
from the other side of the country. Two weeks
before that we were in the UK, before that we
were in Europe, and before that we were in Japan.
We’ve definitely had the amazing ability to travel,
which is one of our favorite things in the world.”
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It hasn’t been all daisies and roses though.
Travel can be grueling, especially in the wrong
company. “I would say of all the touring we’ve
done, if we tour with bands (and I shouldn’t
name any) that are egomaniacs or just think
that they are rock stars, or just treat people like
shit, it’s really difficult. Especially, if you’re on for
three weeks to a month and a half with assholes,
it can be brutal. I think it ruins music, in
general.” It could be the unhindered opinion of
the innocent fledgling band, but our money is
on Leone being true to the music through and
through. If there’s one thing the rock scene
needs, it’s true, passionate musicians that work
more on writing quality songs than on quantity
of groupies shared. “Nobody should use music
as a means for money, or popularity, or ego, or
anything like that. It should be an art, it is an
art, and it should be art. So I think it’s kind
tough when you tour with a band that
you loved, you know you loved their
music, and then you meet them and
they’re just douchebags.” Here’s to
the hopeful!
So we know Leone is pumping his
fist in the air for music, but what
about tattoos? “I love them.” Though
you won’t find these band members
covered from head to toe, you will
find that the tattoos they have are
pretty detailed. Leone is looking for
future appointments to begin filling up
his canvas. “Ironically, I haven’t had
enough time to get more, and I want
to fill both my arms. You would think
that being in a touring band you would
have opportunity after opportunity to get tattoos, but it’s been impossible for me. In
convenient, yea, but I [do] absolutely love them. I am going to get as many as time
will allow.”
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Interestingly enough, you might find that you know the Leone’s favorite tattoo
artist.“Well, she used to do Matthew’s and my tattoos in Chicago, Ill., this girl named
Kim Saigh. We left for our tour and when we got back to Chicago she was gone. She
just kind of disappeared for a minute, and then she popped up on L.A. Ink.” With such
an amazing artist, Leone admits that the majority the work was purely from the mind
of Saigh. “She has an amazing style, and I would just go talk to her about general concepts
and she would put something together that I love. I didn’t want to interfere
with the integrity of the piece, so I would just tell her generally what I wanted and
what it represented, and then just let her do what she wanted.”
A confessed novice to the tattoo world and all its many artistic ideals, Leone is
interested in learning more about the art. He has been spared from too much tattoo
reality TV, and is hoping to get more work done when the touring frenzy is over.
When did this love for the art begin? “Like 16 [years old], I think. A friend of a friend
did it, and it’s the most ridiculous thing you’ve ever seen. Basically, when you get on
tour with a bunch of different bands at some point everyone’s tattoos come up, and
I always win for most [absurd] tattoo of all time. It’s hilarious; it’s a wizard holding
fire. It’s the [worst] thing you’ve ever seen in your whole life. I’ve grown to love it
again because it’s so ridiculous.” Brave enough to keep from covering tattoos, and
genuine enough to love music for what it is. Madina Lake is setting the bar for future
bands, and frontman Nathan Leone is leading the revolution.
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For more information, go to www.madinalake.com.
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