In At The Deep End with Midnite City

In At The Deep End with Midnite City

Since bursting out onto the scene in 2017, Midnite City have taken on the world by storm with their almighty brand of hair metal supreme! The band have headlined tours of the UK, played high profile festivals in Europe, alongside sold out shows in Japan and Australia, and continue to dazzle a growing legion of die-hard fans around the globe with their high energy, feel good, melodic party rock.  Hot on the heels of their 2021 album Itch You Can’t Scratch, Midnite City has returned with their fourth magnum opus entitled In At The Deep End.  Mixed by Grammy award winning producer Chris Laney (Europe, Crash Diet, Crazy Lixx), Midnite City deliver a rock-solid album for the ages!

Highwire Daze recently interviewed vocalist and founding member Rob Wylde of Midnite City to discuss the making of the very epic In At The Deep End as well as his participation in bands such as Tigertailz and Teenage Casket Company.   Let’s all dive in and find out more about the amazing Midnite City!

How long has the band been together, and where are you guys from?
I formed the band in January 2017. So, I’ve been around the block for many years, played in lots and lots and lots of different bands. But Midnite City was formed at the beginning of 2017 and we’re kind of based all over the UK. I’m in Nottingham UK and the keyboard player also lives in Nottingham. But the bass player and the guitar player live in Stoke-on-Trent and our new drummer lives in Preston. So we’re kind of quite a way stretched out. But we make it work, that’s the most important thing.

How did you wind up signing with Pride and Joy Music?
I’ve actually worked with Birgitt for a while because this is our 4th album, In At The Deep End. I’ve worked quite closely with Birgitt on the previous 3 albums because even though they were on different labels she was doing the PR side of things for each album. So I worked quite closely with all that sort of stuff. She’d be emailing back and forth with interview requests and stuff like that. We talk a lot. So I’ve known her for a good 6 or 7 years now. After our last album, our first 2 albums came out on a label called AOR Heaven. And then we switched labels for the last album which is called Itch You Can’t Scratch. And then things didn’t really work out with that label, so we were on the lookout for a new label for the new album. And that’s when Birgitt got in touch and she said, “Well I’ve got a label and I’d really like to sign you guys.”  Because I’ve worked with her before on the PR of the other albums, I knew she was great to work with and it was a good label, and we got a really good deal with it. So, it was the obvious label to go for really.

The new album is called In The Deep End. What is the inspiration behind that title? Select two songs from In At The Deep End and what inspired the lyrics for you?
Hardest Heart To Break is my personal favorite song on the album which is our current single and video which came out 2 weeks ago. And that’s one of the ballads on the album. And that song was one of those typical breakup songs. But I think a lot of people have really connected with that song because everybody goes through a breakup at some point in their life. A lot of people go through many breakups. Everybody goes through that heartbreak at some point in their life. And basically, the sentiment behind that was the main punchline of the song is you’re the hardest heart to break. This means that usually when a relationship breaks down it’s usually a one-sided thing. One person wants it to end and one person doesn’t. And I just remember back to a situation I was in a few years ago where I’m at home draining my sorrows and my ex-girlfriend was out having a great time and the line came to mind. “You’re the hardest heart to break.  Why are you not at home being miserable? You’re having a great time and I’m sitting at home having a horrible time.”

Ready To Go which is the first song on the album. That was written just after we’d come out of the whole Covid situation of basically being trapped in our houses for two and a half years and going stir-crazy. That song is just all about getting out, seeing your friends, having a good time, going to shows, drinking some beers, and getting your life back after pretty much being in prison for two years.

I always say that the concerts in Europe are the ones I wish they would have here in Los Angeles. And I think you recently played one with Dare, Mad Max, and H.E.A.T. at the HRH AOR Festival. What was the experience like playing at that festival?
It was great mate. Three days ago we just finished the UK tour. So, we did an eight-day UK tour, went all over the place and one of the dates was the HRH AOR Festival. We’ve actually played quite a few of those. We’ve probably played about six or seven of those over the past six years. We played most of them, to be honest with you. We do actually have another one coming up in August which is the HRH Sleaze Festival which is going to be great. There’s going to be a lot of cool bands on that. But yeah, the one that we’ve just done a couple of weeks ago, it was great mate. It was absolutely packed. It was sold out. They’re always in great venues. They always pick O2 venues which over here are the best venues to play sort of thing. They’re kind of not huge but they probably hold about 5,000 people or something like that. They’re always packed. It’s always a nice big stage so I can always run around and be a Rockstar for an hour. And also it’s just a really good opportunity. We have a lot of fans that come purely to see us.

But also you can sometimes play in front of people that might not have seen you before and that’s the beauty of doing festivals. The other night a couple of people came up to us and they were like, “I can’t believe we’ve never seen you before.” So you can sometimes connect with people that aren’t necessarily aware of you as well. So we had a great time and that was one of the best nights of the tour, to be honest with you. It was really cool.

Another band that you opened a few years ago was Hardline. What was it like opening for Hardline and did you get to meet Johnny Gioeli and any of the other band members?
Yeah, we met them all. That was a few years ago actually. I think that was about 2018. And that was another festival that we did with them. It was us and them and a bunch of other bands. But yeah, he was great. I was having a great chat with him. Obviously, we’re all aware of the Hardline band from back in the day. But prior to that, I was a fan of his band Brunette, which was more of a glam band in the late 80s. So I was having a great chat with him about Brunette when they were doing all the Sunset Strip stuff. But he was a great guy. He was really nice. And that was a really good show as well. It was really cool to play with them. It was a lot of fun.

Has Midnight City ever played here in the States or is that something you’d like to do in the future?
Yeah, I really would. I mean, we’ve wanted to do it for a while. But it’s tricky. I mean, Europe’s a lot easier because being in the UK, we’re on the doorstep to get out to Europe. The issue with America is, I think you have to make it worth your while when you go over there. I used to live in the States for 3 years, going back a little bit now to 2007 to 2010. I was actually a US citizen for a short amount of time. And I played in a band when I lived in the States and toured a lot on the East Coast of the USA. And then I was in a band called Tigertailz for 10 years. And we actually played the Kiss Cruise in the States, which was amazing. We did that in 2014. And I think we did a show in Miami the night before. So at the minute, we are actually talking to the Monsters of Rock people and nothing’s been announced yet. But fingers crossed, it’s looking very likely that we’ll be doing the Monsters of Rock Cruise. Unfortunately, it won’t be next year. It’s going to be the year after. So, it will be 2025. So, I think the plan will be if we can get that, we will probably come over and do maybe three or four shows around it maybe and do, not like a big tour, but we maybe just try and tie in a couple of dates alongside the cruise. That’s something we’re working on at the minute. I’m back and forth emailing them every day. So, we’re pretty confident that that will happen in 2025.

What was it like being in Tigertailz for 10 years?
It was cool.  I was a big fan of Tigertailz when I was a teenager. And I used to have posters of them on my bedroom wall when I was kind of like 14 or 15 years old. So I was a big fan of the band. So when I got asked to join, it was a really big deal. I mean, I joined in 2012 and, yeah, I was in the band for 10 years and did a lot of really cool stuff. The Kiss Cruise. I mean, Kiss is my favorite band. So being able to do the Kiss Cruise and meet Kiss – and all that kind of stuff was incredible. I absolutely loved doing that. And we did a lot of big stuff out in Europe. We did all the big festivals. You name a festival, we pretty much did it and we toured a lot. And then, I also recorded a few things with them. We did two EPs and then we did a full album called Blast, which came out in 2016. Did a lot of touring in the UK, and a lot in Europe. And it was great while it lasted. I decided to leave the band last year and it sort of ran its course a little bit for me. But I don’t really look back with any regret on it. It was a really good experience for me. And it was also, to be fair as well, a good stepping stone for me to kind of sort of get my name out there. It was a good time.

Teenage Casket Company. Looking back on your time spent with that band, what do you think of it now in retrospect?
Again, I was in that band for a long time. When I do something, I commit to it quite heavily. That band was going over 10 years as well. That was a slightly different band because when I formed that band in 2003, that would have been so we’re going back literally 20 years ago, things are a lot different. I’m not sure what it was like in the States, but over here, like nowadays, hair metal and the kind of stuff that we do – it’s not mainstream, but people think it’s cool. People are into it. There are bands like us and H.E.A.T. and Reckless Love and Crazy Lixx and all those bands. There were the kind of people who appreciate this style of music, but back then it was just so dead, it was almost considered almost like dinosaur music – that you just couldn’t play that kind of music. Nobody was interested. So, at that point, it was kind of a weird thing because I was in a situation where I was only in my mid-20s. I was like 25 at the time. And I thought, well, I’m either going to have to kind of update things a little bit and change the image and change my sound a little bit or stop playing music, which obviously was never going to be something I was going to do.  So, I still kept a big element of my love of 80s rock, but it also was a little bit more power pop, a little bit more Cheap Trick. I was really into a band called Marvelous Three and a couple of bands like that.

So, we, me and the guy who formed the band just kind of updated the sound to make it a bit more relevant for the times. But again, I had a great time in that band. We did a lot of touring in the UK. We actually did two American tours as well in 2005 and 2006. We hooked up with Stevie Rachelle from the band Tuff. We did the Metal Sludge tour and went all over the East Coast. And it was great. It was a lot of fun.  It was slightly different from what I’m doing now. But there are still a lot of similarities in it. Basically, we kind of took that band as far as we could take it, really. And then, that band broke up at the end of 2016. And then I literally started Midnite City a couple of months later.

I was reading that you also have a Poison tribute band. Are you still doing that? And tell me a little about the band.
Yeah, I’m still doing that. I think it was in 2012 I started that band. And again, I’m sure it’s the same in the States. Over here, the tribute thing is huge. And it was something I said I’d never do because I’m not really into tribute bands at all. But the one thing I said was that if you ever do it, it would have to be a band that I really loved. And growing up, alongside Kiss, Poison was my favorite band. And Bret Michaels was my idol when I was a teenager. So it was such an easy thing to do because I knew all the songs. I knew all the lyrics. I knew all the moves. We started it in like I said in 2012. And it’s just been incredible. I mean, for me as a serious musician and songwriter, Midnite City is a number one priority. But I am lucky enough to make a living doing music. I don’t have a job.

But like any musician will tell you these days, to be able to make a living doing music, you have to be doing a lot of different things. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t be able to make a living just doing Midnite City. But by doing Midnite City, teaching guitar lessons, doing the Poison tribute, by writing and producing other artists, I can make an okay living, so I don’t have to have a horrible job that I hate. But yeah, we’re still playing. We probably play about 30 shows a year. But what we’ve got going on right now, which is really cool, is we’ve got hooked up with a Mötley Crüe tribute band and a Def Leppard tribute band. So obviously, there was the big tour that went around America last year, the Stadium Tour, which, of course, we didn’t get in the UK. We just got the watered-down version, just with Mötley and Def Leppard. Poison and Joan Jett didn’t come over. And there were so many people really disappointed that Poison didn’t come over that we kind of teamed up with the other two tribute bands and we go all over the country. And it’s kind of in the order, Poison goes on first, then it’s Def Leppard, then it’s Motley. And I mean, we’ve played up to now this year, probably maybe about 15 shows and every single one is sold out. So it’s crazy.  People do love the tribute stuff over here, but it is fun because, like I said, it’s a band that I loved and still love. So, it’s not a job. It’s just a bit of fun and you get paid really well for it. So, there you go.

What’s up next for Midnite City?
We just finished our tour, which went very well. We had a great time. It was a hell of a lot of fun. The next thing we’ve got is I touched on earlier, we’re playing the HRH Sleaze Festival in September, which is going to be really cool. And then in December, we’re actually going back to Japan. We played in Japan in 2019. We did two shows and we’re going back. We’re going to go back and play another two shows at the beginning of December, which is going to be incredible. We’re just sorting the visas out and all the kinds of business side of things at the minute. And then, we have a show a Christmas show. And then next year, we’ve got another UK tour in April, which has all been confirmed yesterday. So, we’re going to be touring again in the UK and then hopefully, we’ve also got a new booking agent in Europe. So, we’re hoping to do some cool festivals out in Europe and then fingers crossed, figure out somehow to get over to the States. So, yeah, we’re going to be busy, mate, definitely.

And do you have any messages for Midnite City fans here in the States who are reading this right now?
I’d just like to say thank you, number one, for all your support. The new album’s just been getting incredible reviews and we’re so happy!  We have messages every day on our Facebook and Instagram from fans in the States. So we are working on the US side of things. Hopefully, fingers crossed, the Monster Of Rock Cruise, and then we’ll figure out some more dates around it.  But in the meantime, please buy the new album. In this day and age where everybody streams, for a band like ours and all the bands on our level, for us to continue making music, we need you to actually buy the physical copy and buy our merch and stuff like that. So, yeah, just head over to our website, which is nice and easy. It’s just midnitecity.com and check it out!

In At The Deep End by Midnite City is now available worldwide via Pride & Joy Music!

(Interview by Ken Morton)

Midnite City on Instagram