When Midland was making their debut album, On the Rocks, lead singer Mark Wystrach was going through a pretty tough break-up, which might have influenced some of the heartache that was heard on that album. But for their second album, Let It Roll, Mark was happily engaged to his now wife, Ty Haney, and he found out they were expecting their first child, so we wondered how or if that impacted his contributions to the songs on the second album. “Well, I’m one third of the band here,” says Mark, “so, on the first album I was going through a breakup which was really based upon just not the right match, but also because of the demands and the strains of being on the road and being in a band. And so, so much of those feelings can be universal,” which is why his situation at that time was felt and understood by bandmates Jess and Cam, who are happily married.
Mark points out that no matter what he’s going through in his personal life, he’s able to tap into all kinds of emotions because of the life he’s experienced. “It’s the human experience. You show me somebody with a perfect relationship and I’ll show you some psychopaths.”
Even as blissfully in love as he is today, Mark points out that no relationship is perfect. “The natural state is to have friction,” he says. “And now I’m in a beautiful functioning relationship that knows how to deal with problems, address them healthily, and then resolve, and then essentially grow from that. And I feel like that’s what we’ve all done.”
Even in a happy, functioning relationship, Mark’s still able to tap into the sentiment of a song like Midland’s latest single, “Mr. Lonely,” about a single guy who all the ladies call when they don’t want to be alone.
Midland – impact of relationship status on album :40
Mark Wystrach – “Well, I’m one third of the band here. So, on the first album I was going through a breakup which was really based upon just not the right match, but also because of the demands and the strains of being on the road and being in a band. And so, so much of those feelings can be universal. Again, it’s the human experience. You show me somebody with a perfect relationship and I’ll show you some …”
Cameron Duddy – “Psychopaths.”
Mark – “Psychopaths, exactly. The natural state is to have friction. And now I’m in a beautiful functioning relationship that knows how to deal with problems, address them healthily, and then resolve, and then essentially grow from that. And I feel like that’s what we’ve all done.”