Hitting the road on major-label money but keeping the van

Touring extensively is a surefire way to get your foot in the door in the music industry. It… Touring extensively is a surefire way to get your foot in the door in the music industry. It certainly helped Moments in Grace, who are now on a major tour in support of their Atlantic Records/Salad Days debut album, Moonlight Survived.

Just because they’ve made it onto a major label doesn’t mean they’re going to change the way they’ve always handled tours, and that means not ditching their van for a big money tour bus.

“We’ve been through so much with this van,” drummer Tim Kirkpatrick said. “It’s actually pretty clean, and we’ve been in it for over a year now.”

Moments in Grace has a powerful sound that utilizes a nice mix of heavier and lighter songs. Some critics have placed the emo label on MIG, but Kirkpatrick doesn’t get the whole label idea.

“Everything is emotional,” he said. ” Hip-hop is emotional. I think throwing that label around is an easy way to classify all of these really great bands that are out there.”

So to get away from the emo label, Kirkpatrick refers to the music that MIG plays as a spacey, dark-rock sound.

“We take our songs very seriously,” he said. “Our live shows are more abrasive and very energetic.”

After playing extensively before getting a major-label deal, Kirkpatrick said that it’s better to be on tour with an album out.

“It’s a slow build,” he said.

MIG is finding that some cities receive them slightly better than others. They’re known well in Southern California, Boston and Florida, and fans of bands they have played with — Smile Empty Soul, Avenged Sevenfold and Hot Water Music — pay them a great deal of respect as the opener.

MIG looks to continue touring by wrapping up this current tour around the holidays and hitting road again in January.

Moments in Grace plays Mr. Small’s tonight with Hot Water Music, Alexisonfire, Planes Mistaken for Stars and Linus. The all-ages show starts at 7 p.m., and tickets are $12. For more information, call (412) 821-4447.