Greyhound talks to Pennsylvania band Grey Machine

When we think of music labeled as "instrumental," we tend to think of musicians like Bach, Mozart and the other classical composers. Today, instrumental music can be used in any genre, including rock. The three-man band Grey Machine from central Pennsylvania does just that. I got to talk to Marshall Myers, a senior here at Loyola, who is the bassist for the band.

Meghan Hole: When did you guys start as a band? Marshall Myers: The three of us were originally in a band called Ado based out of Boiling Springs, Pa. We formed Ado in November of 2005.

MH: How did you all meet? MM: I met Matt through his older brother, Adam, who I became good friends with when we had class together in seventh grade. I met Sean quite randomly through Neil, who knew him from church. The three of us wanted to start a band, and I soon found out that Matt was teaching himself how to play guitar. I remember hanging out with Adam in his room and hearing Matt playing from the other room. His playing was very impressive considering how young and inexperienced he was; he progressed very fast. Soon enough, Ado was born.

MH: How did you come to your current lineup? MM: Neil Hawbaker, the other guitarist for Ado, decided he was going to stay at his college, St. Mary's of Maryland, for the summer of 2008 to pursue a major-related job opportunity that came about. Sean, Matt and I found ourselves in the tough situation that we wanted to continue playing as Ado - at least continue playing music together as a band. We considered finding a substitute for Neil, and we had a few good guitar players in mind. However, we realized that the band just wouldn't be the same without the original members. Our eclectic personalities added quite a bit of life and spirit to the band. So, Sean, Matt and I decided to continue playing as a three-piece band under the name Grey Machine. We also chose to take our music in a different direction.

MH: What genre of music do you place yourselves under? MM: I hate genres like many musicians do. It is very difficult to label bands under specific genres, especially nowadays when genres are blurred and improperly labeled in the first place. On MySpace we are listed as rock/progressive. We feel that even though our songs are pretty intense, they are also very easy to get up and groove to.

MH: Does "Grey Machine" stand for anything? How'd you come up with the idea? MM: Ask Pinback. They'll tell you. Grey Machine is the title of an epic 11-minute, seven-second song from Pinback. That band has had an incredible amount of influence on our playing and writing. I don't think I ever would have picked up a bass if it wasn't for that band. Basically, if you don't have Pinback in your life, you should really do something about that. There's a good chance that their music will change your life. Also, on a side note: there is this super group of metal guys out there nowadays, stemming from bands such as Isis and other "metally" stuff (I hate genres!), and they're trying to call themselves Grey Machine too. It'd be interesting to go to court over the name issue. We were definitely Grey Machine before they were though.

MH: Did you choose not to have any vocals in your songs? At the least from the ones posted on your MySpace page? MM: Yes. The songs on our MySpace are strictly instrumental. Our first intentions were to remain an instrumental band. However, we're planning on putting vocals into some of our newer songs, so we'll have instrumental songs and songs with vocals. The Appleseed Cast does that and they're really good. We're working on a track that's going to have an Algernon Cadwallader sort of feel to it but still keep the Grey Machine-esque intensity and spacey feel. I'm hoping to hop on the mic a little bit on that track. The songs are progressing and I couldn't be happier with my band mates. MH: Is it difficult to manage school as well as being in a band, especially since you guys go to different schools? MM: Very much so. Unfortunately, we miss a lot of great show opportunities because the three of us are all rather spread out from each other, and we're all doing our own things. Thus was the sort of unofficial downfall of Ado, though that turned out well because we formed Grey Machine from it. Sometimes I wish the three of us would take a semester or a year off from college and work so that we could put a lot of money into recording a full length CD - we have nearly enough material to do so - and go on tour. Even if we would only hit the road for a week or two, it would be a fulfilling experience.

MH: Are you guys planning to release an EP soon? MM: There's a slight chance that we might have plans to skip the EP and record our first full-length over Christmas break with Joe from Algernon. Shady, huh?

MH: What are your plans for the future? MM: I'm like a leaf in the wind - I go wherever I'm blown. No sexual puns intended.

Be sure to check out Grey Machine at http://www.myspace.com/greymachinepa.