The supergroup Meeting of Important People could be described as a Pittsburgh indie rock institution. A triumvirate of former members of The You, Lohio, and Br’er Fox, singer/guitarist Josh Verbanets, bassist Aaron Bubenheim, and drummer Matt Miller have hung together as MOIP (yup, pronounced “moip”) for eight years—quite a long time to last in the scene’s often turbulent churn. Despite their cheekily named 2010 EP Quit Music, MOIP is now inching closer to the legacies of long-term locals like A.T.S. (30+ years), The Cynics (30+ years), and Rickety Records bands Dirty Faces (10+ years) and Anita Fix (22+ years).
Lead singer and songwriter Josh Verbanets and I sat down to analyze the band’s third full-length record, Troika. We discussed the making of the album, the influence that his musical partnership with Gab Bonesso has had on his songwriting, wedding bands, WDVE, and why the Tribune-Review’s Rege Behe and I think there could be one fewer song on the new record. Listen below:
And give a listen to Troika here before catching them at the Carnegie Museum of Art’s Third Thursday on May 19:
