Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Connor Bracken And The Mother Leeds Band

Connor Bracken And The Mother Leeds Band know how to command a stage. Their electric energy and rock ‘n’ roll sound have won over music lovers around the world. They’re bringing that essence and newfound confidence to their sophomore album, Nightbird Motel. Pop Culturalist caught up with frontman Connor Bracken to learn more about the release!

PC: How did you discover your passion for music?
Connor: When I was a kid, I always loved music. Even though I couldn’t play it, I just loved it. I loved singing along to records and whatnot. Then I discovered music through records in the house and fell in love with it that way. It compelled me to do it.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Connor: I always go to the greats like Van Morrison, Tom Petty, or someone like that. Basically, anyone who ever had a bad record deal and wrote songs about it. I like those kind of guys who stick it back a bit. I guess that’s a subgenre of music in itself: guys who hate the business that they surround themselves with.

PC: You just released your sophomore album, Nightbird Motel. What can fans expect?
Connor: Thrills and all kinds of fun stuff. It’s definitely our live show captured and expanded upon a bit. I’m really proud of the way we were able to capture it because it’s all live in studio, which is something we always pride ourselves on being able to do. It’s everything about us. Everything from the first record and what we’ve been working on, we expanded on all of that and entered the next level of what we do.

PC: This album has been two years in the making. What was the biggest lesson you learned about yourself as an artist and as a band putting together Nightbird Motel?
Connor: I would say a lot. We made the decision to become the full band. We were tested a lot of times. We went on a lot of tours during the time of this and through a couple of lineup changes. We found what we do. We were kind of searching on the first record. But we found our voices with this one. I hear us on this.

We learned to stick to our guns and do what we do best and not to try to do anything that anybody else is doing. That’s the best way to do anything, but especially a rock ‘n’ roll record.

PC: What do you hope listeners take away? Is there a particular message you hope to get across?
Connor: I’m not sure about a message. I hope people enjoy it and know that we’ll be able to get in a room together again and sweat it out. That’s the downside of being a band like we are because it’s all about the live shows. That’s the one thing we can’t do now, but it’s something to get us by. We went back and forth about whether to put an album out now, but we said, “Fu-k it.” We put it out because if anything, people need something to hear right now.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Connor: I love Dire Straits.

PC: First album you bought?
Connor: Ramones’ Greatest Hits. I came home and I found out that we already owned that album. [laughs]

PC: First concert you attended?
Connor: I don’t remember it, but apparently I was at a Drake Bell concert, but I don’t remember that. It was like an event where he was also randomly playing, but the first actual concert I went to was a total dad rock experience of Boston and Styx.

PC: An album that changed your life and why?
Connor: The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is great.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Connor: Royal Albert Hall.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Connor: Water. You could dehydrate with everything else you drink. You drink a lot of coffee and alcohol on the road, so you need to equalize that with water.

To keep up with Connor Bracken And The Mother Leeds Band, follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Spotify.