Before we start the interview, our good friends at Big Machine have informed us that:
*The Midnight to Twelve album has been switched to self-titled
*Their self-titled album's release date is now 7/22.
We caught up with Al Baca of Midnight to Twelve.....
CWG: How did the deal with Koch come about?
We had been on the road for the past 3 1/2 years touring all over. Our management had submitted us to a few labels and JKH/Koch was a label that we had heard of and were excited to speak with.
They seemed like they would be a great home for us. They believed in our music and knew we had the work ethic to follow it up. We as a band knew that they had the ability to get us into the marketplace so in the end it was just a perfect fit. They are working just as hard as we are so everyone should see the effects of it very soon.
CWG: You guys aren't huge fans of "celebrity worship," so how do you deal with groupies and sycophants on the road?
We call them friends. Certainly we don’t have a ton of time to hang with everyone but we make a complete effort to hang as much as we can.
We just got back from dinner right now where we spent an hour with high school student signing autographs and talked about music gear with them. After that, we went and got the bus' oil changed, hung with the mechanics and talked about the normal things.
They are all coming to the show just based on us hangin’ and being real.
CWG: What was it like to open for Lynyrd Skynyrd?
What can I say, to even be close to a legendary band like them is inspiring. By the end of the day we were all fans and were out there singing along.
CWG: How did you end up getting together with Sylvia Massey to produce the album?
I had been up to her studio to do some writing/producing for another artist.
When I met her it was an instant connection. We hit it off and worked so well together. At the time we were getting ready to sign a deal with someone else but I knew she was the right fit so we made the decision to go with her. Since then I have gone up several times to work out of her studio.
CWG: The story about you posing as a booking agent to get Midnight to Twelve a national club tour was genius! Tell us a little about that please…
Well we were working hard at playing local at the time but knew it was time to hit the road. So I got on the phone and started to become this agent...
Funny thing is, I was really good at it, sometimes too good.
I would sell the act so well that they thought we would pack the place out. We would get to the venue and there would be five people but after they saw our show they were willing to rebook us and did a great job at promoting it.
Today I still get on the phone and help book shows, I’m actually doing it right now as we type.
