Interview with The Motels

“The Motels Keep A Light On For You”
Written by Jason Reed
December 9, 2015

This last week we had the pleasure of sitting down with Martha Davis and Marty Jourard of The Motels before their performance at the Canyon Club in Agoura Hills.

Martha’s got one of the most sultry female voices out there, so your intrepid interviewer was more than a little nervous to chat with her. Luckily he maintained his professionalism (for the most part) despite his lingering schoolboy crush on this iconic singer! During our in-depth interview, we talked in greater detail about the unique origin story of the band as well as Martha and Marty’s memories of the vibrant and diverse LA music scene in the late 70’s and early 80’s. Highlights included their recollections of playing at the legendary Madame Wong’s in Chinatown, their experience in producing trailblazing music videos for a fledgling MTV, opening for the Cars (aka, the “Caaaaas”) and their take on the pros and cons of being on the Capitol Records roster. Marty also talked about his new book chronicling the history of Gainesville Florida’s music scene. This lively interview clocked in at a whopping 40 minutes (!) and is chock full of insights and quips from these two legends.

During the evening’s concert, the band also debuted new material off of their upcoming album as well as performed classic hits such as “Only the Lonely”, “Total Control” and “Suddenly Last Summer.”

For more information about tour dates and new material  check out: www.themotels.com. I also highly recommend the eclectic and informative website of Marty’s: www.jourard.com. For fans that would like to see the Motels perform from the comfort of your own living room, get yourself a copy of their recently released “Live at the Whiskey A Go Go” DVD that you can purchase here: (http://www.amazon.com/The-Motels-Live-Whisky-Go/dp/B013GY0FQ0?ie=UTF8&redirect=true