My Ticket Home: Puke Rock Or Die!

My Ticket Home: Puke Rock Or Die!

My Ticket Home present the grand and elusive Puke Rock – their own brand of auditory intrigue that has captivated the senses of all adventurous music fans ready to give a good listen.  unReal is the name of their latest sonic manifesto, now available worldwide via Spinefarm Records.  Featuring a collection of songs that will tantalize the senses and set the imagination in flight, unReal by My Ticket Home is an inspiring as it is intensive.  The band recently fascinated the early arrivals at The Loudwire Music Awards KickOff Party in Silver Lake, CA, playing their first show within the Los Angeles area in four years.  Highwire Daze Online caught up with My Ticket Home’s lead guitarist Matt Gallucci shortly after their L.A. appearance to find out more about the dynamics of My Ticket Home and their burgeoning legacy of the almighty Puke Rock!  Read on…

Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in My Ticket Home, and how long the band has been together.
My name is Matt Gallucci and I play lead guitar. The band started in 2008 and I’ve been a member since 2011.

Where is the band based out of and what is your local music scene like there?
The band is based out of Columbus, OH. I am personally from New Jersey so I don’t know a whole lot about the scene there, but from the shows we’ve played in the city I can say its alive and well.

We recently had our CD release show at Woodlands Tavern. It was our first time promoting a show ourselves and were busy with a million other things so we didn’t have a whole lot of time to get the word out. The night before me and Nick went around the city taping up fliers as a last minute push. We didn’t expect the show to do so well because of all that, but it ended up packing out and being the best Columbus show we’ve done. I think that’s a testament to the scene there, people are still willing to come out to shows and have fun, and are also on the lookout even when they aren’t being promoted so well.

Is there any overall story or concept behind the album title unReal?
There isn’t really a concept. We were down to the wire trying to come up with a title and artwork when Marshal sent over some art he liked. For whatever reason it made me think of “unreal” and we all liked it. Later we stylized it as unReal to emphasize the meaning of the word, something that literally isn’t real or tangible which we felt fit the vibe of the record nicely.

Who produced unReal and what was it like working with them?
Fred Archumbault produced the record. He was one of the many people we had talked to when we were looking for someone, and from the very first phone call it clicked and we knew he was the guy. Totally on the same page musically and sonically. During pre-pro he would sit back and let us do our thing, giving subtle guidance that made a huge difference in the end product. We respected his opinions and ideas a lot which made everything really easy.

In the studio he was always down to take a lot of time to try out different effects and amps to get the perfect sound, which is huge for us. The floor would be a mess of pedals at times. That played a big part in us being completely comfortable the entire time. We were able to be as creative as we wanted in that regard. All in all Fred is the best and working with him was a pleasure.

What made you decide to switch over from Rise Records to Spinefarm?
We were generally just unhappy with the situation, and after we put out Strangers Only we didn’t really fit the label in general. By the end there was zero relationship and it was obvious that it was time to part ways.

After we left Rise, we were torn between staying independent and signing to a label. After about a year we were shopping around and Darren Dalessio from Spinefarm found us. We became friends with him and found out what the label was all about and felt like it was a good fit. Since we’ve signed its been a good experience. The whole team is dedicated and understand our vision so we feel like we’ve found a home there.

Your previous album Strangers Only was certainly a career defining recording for you. How stressful was it to record this new album and why did it seem to take so long?
When we got to writing after Strangers we didn’t feel pressured to one up it or anything. We just started making songs that we really liked which is what we always do. There was actually an entire album pretty much finished that we ended up scrapping. As time went on our tastes changed and we felt like we had moved on artistically from that sound. Only 2 songs made it onto unReal from that.

As for why it took so long, it was a combination of searching for a label, and just living our lives outside of the band. We all got jobs, moved out, and the band got put on hold for a while. We never stopped writing, but it did slow down a lot. Once we got signed and booked studio time, it all came together in a couple months.

What could one expect from a live My Ticket Home show?
For us we just like to go out on stage and have fun. We all love playing live more than anything, for us that’s the whole point of being in a band aside from writing songs. We want people to walk away thinking they just saw a great performance, and feel good in general. There is a lot of energy in our show, but it all comes down to playing the songs the best way possible and melting some faces.

How has the tour with Nothing More been going and what have been some of the highlights?
The tour was an amazing experience. It blew away all expectations we had going into it. The main highlight was seeing that there is a thriving scene outside of hardcore, and that we belong there. It really put ourselves into perspective. We had to rethink everything about how we approached live shows and our general mentality on tour. We really felt like we were a part of something big and it brought our playing and performance to the next level.

If you could open for any band either now or from the past, who would it be and why?
There are a million and one bands I would love to open up for but only one takes the crown for all of us. Spinal Tap. Known as the UK’s loudest band, they are 100% our biggest influence. Not only in music, but in life. Viv Savage said it best, “have a good time, all the time“

When you look back on your first album To Create A Cure, what do you think of it now?
I wasn’t involved in the writing of that album, but I did tour on it. The other guys would say that it was good for the time but they were very young, just out of high school, and didn’t really know what they were doing. It was a big learning experience for them, even if they look back and don’t like it anymore. Personally I don’t like the album, but I did at the time. Tastes change and so do people.

Define the term “puke rock” to an elderly relative who thinks it’s so cool that you are in a band.
Puke Rock is our genre, our clique, and our motto. It started when we wrote Strangers Only and knew that people would try to categorize us as nu metal and all sorts of other ridiculous things. We ourselves didn’t really know what exact genre we were so we made up our own. Over time its become our brand and we will never stop rocking it. Everything we write is puke rock, even if it was a 6 hour ambient album. We are puke rock, plain and simple.

What’s up in the New Year for My Ticket Home?
There are some shows and tours in the works, but above all its getting started on the next album. We already have some demos we’ve been working on, and soon after the holidays its going to be back on the writing grind.

Any final words of wisdom?
Listen to unReal. PUKE ROCK OR DIE

My Ticket Home is:
Nick Giumenti – Bass/Vocals
Derek Blevins – Guitar/Vocals
Marshal Giumenti – Drums/Vocals
Matt Gallucci – Guitar/Vocals

(Interview by Ken Morton – Live Photos by Jack Lue)

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