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Bright Lights, Little City Cleveland's Nicholas Megalis talks about his long trip to New York City, and how he realized that where you are doesn't matter nearly as much as what you're doing. by David Powers Friday, November 20, 2009  "A lot of people have the misconception that because there are more people in New York, there is better stuff," Megalis recently explained, after returning from his own nine-month sojourn to the Big Apple. "That's not necessarily true. There's actually just a lot more of everything, good and bad. I'd wake up at three in the morning and go to Manhattan on the subway and listen to an old blind guy playing sad saxophone for 15 minutes, and I'd be inspired. I'd go to a studio to rehearse, and next door to me is a Linkin-Park-sounding band that makes me want to mutilate my eardrums with pipe cleaners." Fortunately, the inspirational moments had more of an effect than the urge to deafen himself, and Megalis churned out "probably two album's worth" of songs that he scrawled on paper cups and napkins—which his roommate threw away. Not all of the songs got tossed, however, and Megalis came back with more than enough new material to fill out his already considerable live arsenal. Ironically, he found himself writing about Ohio while living in the city. "New York City was thrilling and cinematic," he recalls. "I rode a bike in the pouring rain and woke up soaking wet and sunburned on the roof of my Brooklyn apartment. That was fun. But I'm inspired when I'm sitting at my kitchen table, drinking hot tea and watching the leaves die and hearing the neighbors arguing about dog hairstyles. That's Ohio. Cut the grass, eat corn on the cob, break your arm playing soccer. Trust me, I loved New York City, but I love trees and grass much more." The feeling might even be mutual, if MTV is anything to base New York's opinions of Megalis on. So far his songs have been included in two MTV shows, and he's got nothing but good things to say about the network, as well as the worth of television exposure. "Any television exposure is helpful," he says. "I recommend public access first. I started out being interviewed for high school talent shows on community TV." And he ended up opening for Nine Inch Nails in Cleveland in 2008. But he doesn't take any of it for granted, and that may be the thing that sets Megalis apart: He's got nothing to prove and no desire to try and be anything he's not, and he knows that, in the end, it will be the fans who decide what he's worth. "Tours are incredible," he states. "That's how we make new friends. It's a giant mobile friend magnet. You play a show, and that night, you get 10 new phone numbers and a place to crash and you end up coming back through town a month later and texting them and hanging out and playing a show and then eating at Denny's at 4 a.m." In the end, Megalis knows that his attitude, not his location, is what will make or break him. "Your fans have to see your face and shake your hand," he explains, surmising that, with the ease of dissemination through the Internet, some bands are hiding out way too much. "We want to put on exciting rock and roll concerts, and it's impossible to do that on a computer monitor. Send out the invites on MySpace, use Twitter to tell your friends about your shows, but remember to get some sunlight and take some of your flyers down to the local record store, too." And what of that rock n roll cliche of picking up stakes and moving to the big city, with an old guitar and one thin dime? "You shouldn't go to NYC to 'make it'," Megalis decides. "You should go to experience it." |
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recently featured Brothers of InventionCasey Cooper of the Receiver explains how the Columbus duo crafts complex music that's also infectiously listenable. Friday, December 18, 2009 Why This Site Stinks
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