- 4/22/2025
Nick McIlwain sits down with Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper of Mt. Joy and discuss their upcoming show with Dave Matthews.
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00:00It's 93.3 WMMR right here in Philadelphia. I'm Nick McElwain of the Preston and Steve Show. I am joined by Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper, lead vocalist and guitar from the band Mount Joy. Welcome, guys. Thank you for joining us here on MMR.
00:14Hello. Thank you for having us.
00:16I want to start and I want to talk to you guys about several things. We're very excited that you're coming and you're going to be playing the Skyline stage at The Man on September 10th. You are opening up for Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge in Labor Day weekend this weekend, right outside of Seattle, Washington, or a couple hours outside of Seattle, Washington.
00:34And on top of all of that, the three of us went to the same high school. I went to Conestoga High School. I'm a little older than you guys. I graduated in 1993, but I've been aware of you guys for quite some time and I'm very excited to be able to talk to you today.
00:48So, Matt, let's start with you. You know, I'd love to get MMR listeners a little more familiar with the band with Mount Joy.
00:55And so you grew up in our area, grew up outside of Philadelphia, near where I grew up, and Conestoga High School is in Berwyn, PA. The band itself is named after a mountain, quote-unquote mountain, in Valley Forge called Mount Joy.
01:09So tell our listeners and our viewers here on this Zoom a little bit about Mount Joy and how you guys got started.
01:15Yeah. I mean, you know, you're probably best suited to know what the Mount Joy thing is about. We get that question a lot.
01:21But I know you're from where we're named after. So, you know, Sam and I, yeah, grew up in the Philadelphia area.
01:30And sort of the shortest version of the story, at least, is that we ended up in L.A. after college together and, you know, had made music together while we were out in Philly for a long time.
01:43And it was sort of an obvious thing to get back together and make some music.
01:47And, yeah, just obviously had some good fortune that, you know, some of the songs we made while we were out in L.A. resonated with people.
01:55And here we are. I mean, it's been it's been a crazy journey in between, but that's pretty much the skinny.
02:01Sam, when did you move to Los Angeles? And at what point in time did you start working with Matt and realizing that this could be not only a record, but a possible music career?
02:10Yeah. I mean, Matt and I had worked together like in high school.
02:15I remember Matt was two years younger than me, but he was writing these songs that were like really great for like a 14 year old.
02:21I remember hearing him and being like, oh, my God, this is this is pretty cool.
02:25And then, yeah, we just kind of kept in touch and would say each other songs throughout college.
02:30He went to school in Boston. I went to school in New York. And then we both ended up in L.A. on our own.
02:35And and yeah, there was a moment we put a song called Astro Band on Spotify and it did pretty well.
02:41And there was just a moment of like, OK, like it's doing well. Should we like try and like really do this?
02:47I mean, we'd done music our whole lives, but like, should we actually like really do this?
02:50And I just figured I would regret it my whole life if I didn't at least see it through and see what happens.
02:57So what the hell, you know, I have a friend named Michael Carnaccia and he went to USC and he graduated from Conestoga as well.
03:04And he's an actor. And I think about actors and musicians and even like professional athletes.
03:09Like there's a point in your time, you know, probably early 20s where you think I'm pretty good at this or the guys that I'm working with are pretty good at this.
03:16I think that maybe I can find work doing it, but to turn it into a career, to turn it into a life takes commitment and then some luck and then finding an audience and making sure that the content that you're putting out is what you want it to be.
03:29So I'm sure there were times where, especially when you live in L.A. and, you know, you're sort of in the hubbub of all of it.
03:35We're like, we're not quite sure it's going to actually have some success and then it starts gaining some traction.
03:40So would you guys, Matt, would you think that was like around 2016, 2017, that era?
03:45Yeah. You know, in the beginning, I feel like you don't know what success or what the metrics are that are going to lead to success.
03:53It was really hard. It was also the beginning, really.
03:55We didn't know it at the time, but it was the beginning, really, of the sort of influence of some of these streaming apps, Spotify being one of them.
04:04And, you know, maybe it was hard because you would you would look at it and you'd say, OK, we got a million streams, but you didn't really have anything to base that on.
04:13It's just this amazing number. But, you know, playlisting had become a thing, which was this like idea that you could get a song, you know, that sort of was, you know, kind of like radio.
04:24I guess it's sort of like the streaming equivalent of radio. So it was unclear what it would mean.
04:29You know, we did we couldn't look to other artists that had had this happen.
04:34So we were kind of flying blind in the beginning, you know, in terms of we had these metrics, we didn't know what they meant.
04:39And, you know, I think at that point it was like Sam said, it was like, well, maybe we don't have enough information to know that, you know, it wasn't the typical, you know, radio hit or something like that, where you say like, oh, other bands that have had this have had huge success.
04:56But we had something and we've been working so hard for so long to have anything, you know, that it felt like it was worth going for.
05:06And, you know, I think your friend who's who's an actor could probably tell you this, too, is like.
05:12No matter what level you're at, it always feels like maybe you should turn back to something else.
05:17You know, it's always it's sort of a an industry that feels like it has a trap door for a floor at all times.
05:24But I think eventually you just get comfortable with the you know, the the sort of uncertainty of it.
05:30And that's part of it. That's part of the thrill.
05:32I work at a radio station and I've worked here for 20 some odd years.
05:36And I think that the parallels between streaming services and streaming streaming services and radio stations are pertinent because, you know, you can find out about about a band, but it might not necessarily get airtime.
05:50It might not. But but here we are, the three of us having a conversation.
05:53And this is going to be on my social media and on WMMR dot com and something we can talk about on the radio in the morning on the Preston and Steve show.
06:01And so it's still word of mouth. Right. And so in 94, perhaps something along those lines, when you guys might not even been born yet, I remember getting a bootleg CD of this new band, Dave Matthews band.
06:14And I was like, oh, I kind of like these guys is a neat, neat little jam. It sort of spoke to me.
06:18And it was even before Under the Table and Dreaming came out.
06:22And that was that was word of mouth stuff. That was friends introducing me to a new band that they thought that I might like.
06:28And when I think about Mount Joy now, I think about like, you know, this is a band that I like.
06:33I want to talk about them. I'm in a position that a radio station where I can and hopefully help a little bit, you know, and I'm not I'm not saying that to toot my own horn.
06:41I just I want people to know about you guys because I like you guys and I want other people to find out about them as well, which is why I want to have this conversation in the first place.
06:48So flash forward to this weekend, you guys are going to be opening for Dave Matthews band at a legendary venue called The Gorge, which is in Washington State.
06:58Sam, you and I were chatting a little bit ago about how that came about.
07:02But explain, like, why how this happened and what it means to you, because I knew you grew up being a Dave Matthews fan as well.
07:09Yeah, I mean, it's all a little bit confusing how any of this happened.
07:11But apparently, you know, the Black Pumas couldn't make it anymore and it was just fell to us to to fill in for them.
07:22And and we're so honored and thrilled to be able to do it.
07:25I mean, I owned a Dave Matthews band live at the Gorge DVD when I was a kid.
07:31I remember always trying to figure out trips, how to get to the Gorge financially, never made any sense.
07:37I didn't even really really like know where it was.
07:39It just felt like this impossible place to get to.
07:43But and then eventually I kind of just gave up on the dream.
07:46But this fell into our laps and here we are.
07:50And we're just so thrilled to be able to do it.
07:52Matt, I was telling Sam, I've never been to the Gorge before either.
07:55I'm coming this weekend.
07:56I'm very excited to see you guys.
07:58I'm very excited to see the venue.
08:00I'm really excited to see Dave Matthews band.
08:01Dave Matthews band also has a legendary record where they produced and put out a live record from Red Rocks.
08:07And you guys have played there as well.
08:09And so, Matt, I don't know if you've been to the Gorge, if you've ever experienced live music there before, but you have at Red Rocks.
08:15Can you compare and contrast you and tell me about your excitement level for this weekend as well?
08:20I mean, yeah, I'm really excited.
08:22The Gorge was probably the first, you know, I went to the Gorge before I ever went to Red Rocks kind of thing.
08:28I went to Sasquatch Music Festival, which is like a now defunct music festival that they used to have at the Gorge, you know, while I was in college.
08:38I made a trip out there and, you know, it's just a magical place.
08:41If anyone has a chance to get out there, it's a bucket list type music venue, you know, just dramatic backdrop for a stage built into sort of a natural amphitheater.
08:52You know, like a huge hill. Obviously, Red Rocks is incredible.
08:57It's its own special thing in a similar way.
09:00But one thing that jumps out to me is just about the Gorge is the scale.
09:04You know, I think it holds like 30,000 people, you know, on a hill overlooking this, you know, cliff.
09:11And I think Red Rocks to scale is about 9,000.
09:14So, you know, it's a good three times bigger than Red Rocks, which, you know, Red Rocks is plenty daunting and spiritual and all that fun stuff, too.
09:24So to imagine that many more people, it obviously speaks to what Dave has built.
09:30Everybody knows the career that that band and himself have had.
09:35And it's pretty mind-blowing to imagine that he's doing three nights at a place that holds 30,000 people and that he's done it for a long time.
09:43This is not a new revelation for them.
09:46But, yeah, I mean, hopefully that speaks to our excitement to be a part of something like that.
09:50Like Sam said, obviously, grew up listening to Dave Matthews' band.
09:55You know, he was so important to this area, to the Philly area.
09:59You know, when I was in high school, it almost seemed like, you know, it was one of those things where he was so big that I can't imagine anyone not, you know, feeling the excitement to open for a Dave Matthews-type concert.
10:15Like, I don't know if I know anyone who went to school in the Philadelphia area.
10:20I graduated in 2009 that wasn't, like, you know, this close to Dave Matthews' band, you know, during that time.
10:27Yeah, I mean, it kind of, it almost became a running joke, right?
10:30Like, oh, you're a Dave Matthews' band fan, too?
10:32You know, because it was so prevalent and it was so everywhere.
10:35Sam and I were chatting.
10:36We were both in the warehouse, the fan club.
10:38And, you know, I'd go to every show when they would be in Camden or they used to play the vet when that was still around.
10:44And then, you know, one or two shows in the winter or fall.
10:47The Gorge, if people are not aware, it's in the Columbia River Valley.
10:51And so literally the Columbia River is behind the venue.
10:55And so they made a movie about it a couple of years ago.
10:58It's become in its own right sort of like a legendary venue like Red Rocks or places along those lines.
11:05And then after that, you guys are back here in Philadelphia.
11:09You're going to be September 10th, Skyline Stage at the Mann Center.
11:13So, you know, it's been a pretty epic few weeks or months for you guys wrapping up the tour,
11:18then opening up for Dave Matthews, and then playing a place like the Mann in front of a hometown crowd.
11:23Sam, you've got to be psyched to be doing a show at the Mann and be back here in Philly.
11:27I'm super excited.
11:28I just saw Fish at the Mann, and it was life-changing.
11:33But, no, I mean, it's always good to be back home in Philly.
11:37My parents are going to be there.
11:38Matt's parents are going to be there.
11:40A bunch of friends, family, everybody's going to be there.
11:43And, yes, Philly has a certain energy for us that is unlike any other city in the world.
11:48So we're very excited to be back in Philly, for sure.
11:51Does it change the dynamic at all when you're playing in front of family, friends, people you grew up with?
11:55Do you change what you do on stage, or is it just you're doing your show?
11:59I think in the past it had, because it feels silly.
12:03Like, we get up there and we jump around and get weird and, you know, sing songs and yell and scream and stuff and have fun.
12:10And so it is a little odd just to think about doing that in front of your mom or, like, the girl, I don't know, just whoever from high school or whatever it is.
12:20But I think after, you know, a number of years of doing this, you do end up just getting into the zone and you kind of, in a way, forget where you are.
12:28So it does make it easier to just get weird and play a Mount Joy show, for sure.
12:33In a different way, but in similar fashion, I've been at the radio station for quite some time, and it's allowed me to reconnect with friends from Conestoga that I just sort of left my life.
12:43And then they might hear me on MMR or on the Preston and Steve show or see this video, for example, and then they become a part of your life again.
12:50So maybe you guys will have people coming to the shows at the man that you might not have seen since graduation.
12:56Or, you know, it's a weird, interesting reconnection to people from earlier parts in your life.
13:02Yeah, no question.
13:03I think in some ways that can be really, really good.
13:05I'm thinking about, you know, I live here in Fishtown and I now frequent Johnny Brenda's, which was like, you know, for any band that's building through Philadelphia, that's an important venue early on.
13:17And, you know, I think back to our first show at Johnny Brenda's was like that.
13:21You know, I was really excited, super nervous, in part because so many bands that I look up to had played Johnny Brenda's and it felt like a moment, you know.
13:31And then we walk in there and it's like the, you know, 10 year high school reunion.
13:36Everyone's talking to each other, you know, telling, you know, you could almost like hear the conversations on stage like, oh, it's been so long since I saw you, whatever, blah, blah, blah.
13:45And in some ways that's great, of course.
13:47But, you know, it was like I was expecting this magical musical endeavor and it ends up being this like, you know, Conestoga High School five year reunion or whatever it was.
13:58So it can go both ways. Now that we play bigger venues, which is, you know, we're really fortunate.
14:04Like I probably won't hear those conversations. So I'm a little removed from it in a good way.
14:08But yeah, it can be it can be a lot, but it's also literally the dream.
14:14Like I literally, you know, grew up here going to shows, taking the train in and going to shows and to be to be able to be a part of the shows that people are maybe taking the train into from,
14:26you know, schools like Conestoga or even from within the city is really special.
14:30We're speaking with Matt Quinn and Sam Cooper here on MMR and, you know, talking about those types of reunions.
14:36Tell me a little bit about some of your early gigs. Did you play on the main line?
14:39Was there ever a gig at the Berwyn Tavern or places where, you know, you might have gone when you were in your young 20s?
14:45We played at the Griffin, right? The Griffin Cafe on 30.
14:49Yeah.
14:49There was always like someone making loud coffee or something in the background and you could barely hear anything.
14:57Right next to the movie theater in Wayne.
14:59Yeah.
15:00Yeah.
15:00But that was that was a vibe. That was like where kids went for open mics.
15:05We played Nookboy, of course, in Ardmore.
15:10I'm sure there's other places.
15:11Oh, what was the place, Matt, on 252? Burlap and Bean?
15:14Is that what it was? I don't know if it still exists, but.
15:16Yeah, that place, like, you know, some of the places that he's naming, you know, and people who are making music and writing songs and know about this stuff, I'm sure it's still the same way.
15:26It was like kind of tough to like, there was some politics even at that level to.
15:30Oh, my God.
15:31To get into the right slots and and, you know, make sure you were able to play your song that you had written for your 14 year old girlfriend.
15:39But, but I remember that Burlap and Bean was was pretty good.
15:46They had like an actual system that was a little more made a little easier to, like, get some time and to play.
15:52So, yeah, we would.
15:53You know, it was 252.
15:54I forget exactly where it was, but I do remember, actually, that was like one of the first ones where they gave us more than like, you know, five minutes.
16:01And we really were able to spread our wings for 10 minutes.
16:05There was there was one there was an open mic.
16:07It wasn't in Philly.
16:08It was in New York that Matt and I did.
16:10And I think they allowed for like five minutes or something.
16:13And so we played one song and then we were in the middle of the second song and then we were in the middle of it.
16:19And this woman comes on stage and just just claps us off the stage.
16:24This was I mean, this was 10 years ago, more than that, maybe, but there's open mics are tough, but it's the way to do it, I guess.
16:34So the first record was Mount Joy.
16:35The second record rearrange us.
16:38And then the record that came out this year is called Orange Blood.
16:41I'm really enjoying it.
16:42And an interesting thing happened for me this morning.
16:45I'd been listening to the record in my headphones most of the time, either at work or on my phone or whatever.
16:50And today I have to be at work at five in the morning that I drove in and I put the record back on and the song Ruins came on.
16:58And I love that song, but it was the first time I'd heard it in the car.
17:03And to me, when you hear a song in the car and you find yourself turning it up and maybe going a little bit faster, that's the mark of a really good song.
17:11And there's a part like two, two and a half minutes in where the keys kick in and there's a really great melody and it turns into a really cool jam.
17:18So I don't know if it's part of your set list lately, but I love that song.
17:22Matt, can you tell me a little bit about what your impressions are of the song Ruins?
17:26Yeah, that's a song we've had for a really long time.
17:30Actually, truly like one of the first Mount Joy songs.
17:35Like, I think I went back not long ago and, you know, I have all these voice notes and it was from the same period as Astrovan.
17:40But like you said, it has this sort of jam at the end.
17:44And I think like over the years, the biggest thing for us is that, you know, we were kind of thrown together as a band by some songs.
17:51So we weren't this band that had been jamming together in the garage for 10 years and then we got our break.
17:55So Ruins was a song I feel like where we weren't quite ready as a band.
18:01We weren't good enough at, you know, jamming together or didn't have the understanding that that song required.
18:07So we actually tried to put it on the second record.
18:09And, you know, it just was this thing where we knew it was a special tune and it didn't quite give us that sort of, yeah, turn it up in your car vibe.
18:17Like it didn't have that yet.
18:18And this record, we, you know, that's a pretty live take, that jam.
18:24And we went out to Los Angeles and got in a room and, you know, we had played it live actually a few times years ago and like had some success with the jam and stuff like that.
18:35And, yeah, it's just a cool, it's a song I really like, but I think it's also a cool sort of personification of like the band's growth, you know, in terms of becoming more of a band that jams more and is a little more experimental as we start to understand each other.
18:53And then the sort of like, you know, unspoken language that like playing in a band for that long starts to become.
18:59So I guess the song itself, and I love this when you discover a new song or a new record, even if it's an older song, songs have a life of their own, right?
19:10And so for you guys, it had been around for a while, but it never quite fit in it.
19:15Did it just, did it take your own growth or a combination of the, a little bit of tweaks to it to finally put it on this record?
19:22And you explained some of it, but is it just, it was the right place at the right time for that song in particular?
19:28You know, I think so.
19:29I think part of it too, is we're, we're not, we don't think of ourselves anyway, as like a singles band, you know, in terms of let's just put the 10 best songs, even if they all sound exactly the same and just see if MMR will pick up one of them and cross our fingers and, and whatever it is for us.
19:48It's like, we really feel from the beginning, like we want to make albums.
19:52That's what we grew up listening to, whether it's Dave Matthews band or Beatles or whatever, these, these people that I think really perfected the art of, of making a full album.
20:02And, um, you know, for example, on the second record too, we had a song called let loose, which if people go and listen to it and they compare it to ruins, it's just a really similar structured tune.
20:13Um, and another tune that, that I really love.
20:18And, and when we put them on the record side by side, along with the other stuff that we're talking about, we, we felt like ruins could be better, uh, which I think we ultimately got there, which I'm excited.
20:27But it also just is too similar.
20:29It was too, it was too much of like, people were going to be like, isn't that just a different take on that song?
20:35And, um, and I think that's a big part of it too, is like, we're, when people dive in with our music, hopefully they, they realize that like, you know, the 10 songs that we choose or however many are on the record is, is very specific to curating, you know, um, whatever it is, 40 minutes of music that we feel like represents what we're trying to do, you know?
20:56So it, it, it means that sometimes good songs don't make it just because they sound too much like another song.
21:01Yeah, Sam, uh, you know, I, um, I'm a record guy.
21:04I like listening to albums beginning to end.
21:06I like, I like them in the order that they are on the record.
21:09I don't know if that's personal taste or if it's because I'm 47 years old, but it's cool to hear guys that are a little bit younger than me, um, feel the same way that I do when it comes to presenting music.
21:19Right.
21:19And, and so like when you're putting out a record and then you're going to take it out and play it live.
21:22Um, I, I think it's important to listen to it as a, as an entity that the, the, the record is, it's his own, has its own life and the songs place on those records and the songs similarities to other songs also have their place.
21:35Would you agree with that?
21:36Oh, for sure.
21:37Both musically and like narratively.
21:39I know Matt's pretty specific about, you know, speaking about this topic in this way.
21:45It wouldn't make any sense to speak about the same topic in a different way in the next song or like even live, you know, the way we put together set lists is to try to create a journey, try to create ups and downs that, you know, build tension and release and make sense, um, as a whole.
22:01And so I think the albums for us have been the same way where you kind of look at these songs and you're like, okay, what, what's the best way to take this journey through these 10 tracks or whatever it is.
22:11Um, and if it doesn't fit, then maybe make a transition or you had a different song or whatever it is.
22:17Um, but yeah, it's very intentional for sure.
22:20And, and yeah, of course we grew up on, you know, like the white album, um, even different.
22:24Yeah.
22:24Like speaking of Dave Matthews band, like those albums are a journey, um, it's ups and downs.
22:29So just trying to emulate our heroes like that as best as we can, because I think that creates the best, uh, way to listen to music for sure.
22:37There's a segue on a crash from, uh, um, number 41 into say goodbye.
22:43And I, like, if I'm listening to the song number 41, I have to hear say goodbye because that's those songs flow together.
22:50And I know for a fact, like when they play the, you know, I, they don't do it every time, but a lot of times they'll do that live because it's such a beautiful marriage of these songs where they can just kind of interweave them.
22:59And then all of a sudden you're in the next song, um, grateful dead, of course, is like, you know, one of the best ever doing that.
23:06And so just trying to emulate those things live too, I think has, has upped our live show for sure.
23:11For whatever it's worth.
23:12I also really love the song lemon tree.
23:14I think it just sounds terrific.
23:15It's a, it's a cool, um, uh, in my mind anyway, whole band sound.
23:19And, uh, and so I don't know if that will be played live this weekend, but, uh, if, if it's on the set list, I'm looking forward to hearing that one, uh, in, um, you know, live and in person as well.
23:29Yeah, I think, I think that will make an appearance.
23:32Yeah.
23:33Very cool.
23:34Well, I want to, uh, thank, uh, Matt Quinn, Sam Cooper, uh, lead, uh, vocalist and lead guitarist from the band Mount Joy, uh, born and raised right here in Philadelphia and, uh, now making waves really around the country internationally as well, of course.
23:46And, uh, this weekend at the gorge in, um, outside of, uh, Seattle, Washington in George, Washington.
23:53And if you're lucky enough to ever get to the gorge, um, you know, it's, it's, uh, I'm looking forward to seeing that for the first time.
23:58And I'm really looking forward to seeing you guys there.
24:00And then back here in Philadelphia, September 10 at the skyline stage at the man center right here in Philadelphia.
24:06So Matt, uh, Sam, thank you guys so much for spending some time with me and thanks for speaking with us here on MMR.
24:12Thanks so much for having us.
24:14We appreciate it.
24:14This is fun for us.
24:15Thank you so much.
24:17We'll see you this weekend.
24:18All right.
24:19Thanks fellas.
24:20Talk to you again soon.
24:21Bye.
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