Interview: 19 Miles Per Hour
19 Miles Per Hour are an indie-pop band who centralizes upon the notion that melodies have the power to make us feel like we are not alone in this world. Louder Than The Music chatted with the band to find out more about their music including their recent album 'Inner Thoughts'.
For those who haven't heard of you before, can you tell us a bit about yourself and how you got involved in making music?
So our band is primarily made up of us two brothers (Danny and Mikey Iacopucci) and we formed it with our friend Brady Ellworth who plays lead guitar on all our recordings. He decided to pursue his own music path, so currently our band has been rotating through lead guitarists and bassists, with Arthur Prusso on bass now, who we hope will be for a while. Danny and I (Mikey) have been playing music together since we were young. It has become our main passion and we enjoy sharing it with others. We especially love promoting mental health awareness and love and acceptance through our music too.
Tell us about your new album 'Inner Thoughts' and what the inspiration behind it was?
"Inner Thoughts" is a memoir of personal experiences, life stories, emotions, and uplifting "hype" songs (for lack of a better term) that we wanted to share with everyone. We wanted to create a raw album that exposed our inner selves and "inner thoughts" to be vulnerable to others and inspire others to reach out if they are experiencing similar things. These are our stories, we hope it inspires others to share their stories.
Which is your favorite track on the album and why?
I think we all probably have different favorite tracks, but it's hard to pick just one! I know a few of our favorites are Contradictions, Alligator, Good Morning Rosaline, Ruined Reputations, Better Life, Where The World Can't Hurt Me, but they are all so good!!
What message would you like people to take from your music?
We just want people to know that they are not alone and that if we are all there for each other we can change the world a little at a time. We want everyone to love each other and be there for each other.
How would you describe your style of music and what are your influences?
I would describe our music as pop/rock in the simplest terms, but our music ranges in genre. Some songs sound like pop, others like rock, others like punk, others indie, it's a wide range and that's how we like it! Some of our main influences are Mayday Parade, Train, The Backseat Lovers, The Band Camino, and some classic rock bands too!
If you could work with any songwriter, who would it be and why?
I think each of us probably have different songwriters we would love to work with, but I (Mikey) would love to write music with Mayday Parade or The Band Camino or the Happy Fits. I know Danny would love to write music with Train, Matchbox Twenty, and a lot of classic rock artists too.
How would you define success in your career as an artist?
I would say success in our career would be defined as when we reach a point where our music is able to positively influence the lives of many people. When people all over are listening to our music and when it brings joy to them. Also, when we reach a point where our music career is financially stable and provides enough for us to be comfortable.
What is your favorite album of all time?
This is a very hard question!! There are so many good albums out there! I'd say one of my all time favorite albums of all time is A Lesson in Romantics by Mayday Parade! Danny says "For Me It's You" by Train is one of his all time favorites. Obviously our new album "Inner Thoughts" too ;)
You're stuck on an island, it's hot, you only have enough battery life left to listen to one song on your phone. What track is it?
I'm probably gonna have to listen to Kilby Girl by the Backseat Lovers or, honestly, Contradictions from our new album! Hey, we write music we love, there's nothing wrong with that!!
What does the next year hold for you?
Next year holds a lot of success. We have big plans to spread our music more, tour, write and release more and be consistently active on all channels of being an artist. Super excited for what this upcoming year holds!!
