Neon Arrival is a little bit country and a little bit country rock. The sound of the debut album, Summer. Never. Fails., is positive and almost wholesome or maybe better put happy ending. But they get to some pretty raw emotion. I like it – and I especially like it with the videos.
Please tell us about yourselves and how the band got started.
Derek and I (Mark) grew up together in a small town outside of Rochester. We played in various bands together from about 1998 to 2010. I started writing songs again in 2023 and eventually convinced Derek to do a 3 song open mic with me, and now we are back at it again. Older and wiser, maybe.
Songs such as County Fair or Minnesota Summers have such an honest “All Minnesota” feel. Keen observations, thoughtful perspective with a nostalgia. What is your process for writing songs? Music first, lyrics first, collaboration?
Oh, wow. Thanks! Nostalgia is especially big right now, I think. Going back to songwriting now like I did when I was in high school, can’t help but feel like a time machine.
The world got too fast with too much stimulation. We are looking back about 25-30 years to things we miss to see if we can reintroduce them, if not in the overall culture, at least our own lives.
Neon Arrival is a bridge to the music and to ourselves from that time period.
In regards to the writing process, MN Summers and County Fair are very real, lived experiences.
For MN Summers, I was playing guitar in the living room and the dog was at the door and I asked my wife to “Let the dog in. It’s 95 degrees!”
I just strummed a C chord into a G as I said that phrase again, and I put a big goofy country accent on it. And I was like…. “Oh, well, this is a song now.”
Once there is a hook, a melody over a chord progression, I work hard to get it to a 2 minute song that is usually enough to be able to come back to and finish.
You have great videos for most of your songs. I love that. How/why do you have such great videos? Do you just happen to have those skills? DO you think about videos when you write the songs?
Thank you for noticing that! Neon Arrival visually is a mash up of time-traveling neon bar signs with futuristic smart LEDs. It’s Analog merging with digital. A type of retro-futurism. The Neon experience is bringing timeless small town 90s feels and aesthetics into the future (or present). That’s the “Arrival.”
It’s important to me that when we play a show or release a song there is a visual component. Often I write songs, I have images in my head and then try to convey the feeling of those images. We’ve been fortunate to have some cool sets and music videos and are planning on more in the future. Instagram is where all this is shared, as well as full videos on YouTube.
Just Fine holds know punches. It’s quick and raw. Can you tell me more about the song? The inspiration?
I was inspired by a Goo Goo Dolls song, “Acoustic #3”. I always wanted a 90 second song that is simple and raw like that. Can I tell a story in that amount of time?
The narrative comes from the feeling a friend or lover has when someone they love is under the influence. Do they mean what they say? Is intoxication an excuse to say what you mean because your inhibitions are lower, or is it a poison that makes you unreliable for meaningful connection or conversation?
The singer hopes to do away with that confusion, but doesn’t know quite how yet.
Where can folks find you? Online and/or on stage?
We are finishing our summer shows with the full band on August 7th at Thursdays Downtown in Rochester MN and we release our EP “Summer. Never. Fails.” the following day.
The plan is to book out some Twin Cities shows as we head back into the studio this fall and winter to finish the full-length album.
We are also very active on Instagram
(instagram.com/theneonarrival)
Thanks for having us answer your questions and thanks for promoting independent Minnesota Music!
Mostly Minnesota 