Late 2004, Matt Thornton and Matt Mahern sit in a Fort Collins bar with red walls and sip drinks named after hell and Elvis Presley, discussing how their band could, quite possibly, take over the world.
Motorhome, dreamed up over firery martinis and heated conversation, is now in the process of doing just that. On the path to world domination, Thornton and Mahern picked up local mandolin expert, Darren Radach, who also brought along his accordian and love for hair bands. Motorhome now faces the world a full army of five with two guitars, mandolin, bass, and drums.
Both guitarists, songwriters and vocalists, Matt and Matt sing about everything from drugs, sex and violence to hometowns, growing up and their mothers-in a manner that some have called irreverent, others hilarious.
High on harmonies and catchy, driving rhythms, Motorhome shows tend to bring out the loud in the crowd-often rowdy, raucous and always memorable.
"When I go see a show," explains Thornton, "I want to forget about everything for those couple of hours-forget about bills and forget that I have to eat and just not worry about anything. I want to see live music because it feels good."
When not enjoying live music or They Might Be Giants in his station wagon complete with Pat Benatar sticker, Mahern plays guitar in other hot local acts, the Lindsay O'Brien Band and Big Oil, and works on his solo album. Thornton's own solo CD, Broekn Down Dream, was completed in 2005 with the help of some friends, a recorded washing machine, and the influences of Kris Kristofferson and the ever inspiring yodels of Slim Cessna's Auto Club.
Veterans of the local music scene, Thornton and Mahern have played in previous bands together and are attracted to each other's professionalism and senses of humor-two traits both musicians believe are key to acheiving any level of success. And the combo seems to be working, as Motorhome opened for such acts as Jerry Joseph, The Legendary Shack Shakers and Green Lemon in its first few months of existence and has attracted a considerable amount of media attention.
"Watching them play is not like your typical concert experience," writes Joseph Shipley in Scene Magazine. "Not only to [Matt] and Matt write hillarious, off-the-cuff songs, but their strong, dead-on harmonies and solid musicianship make you forget you're laughing as hard you're dancing."
