MUSICAL BOND
Missio members humbled by connections with audiences
Matthew Brue and David Butler actually got a couple of days off.
It’s a rarity for duo, as the two men have been on tour for nearly a year.
With the current tour broken up between the East and West coasts, there were a couple days to get back home to Austin, Texas, for South by Southwest Music Festival.
“It worked out nicely that we got some days to ourselves,” Brue says in a recent interview. “Honestly, it’s really nice to be back home, but I want to get back on the road.”
The reason Missio is enjoying its tour is that audiences are engaged in the show.
The duo released the album “Loner” in May 2017. The lead single, “Middle Fingers,” got off to a quick start and put the band on the map.
The singles “Everybody Gets High” and “Bottom of the Deep Blue Sea” followed that.
Since the album’s release, Missio’s profile has risen and Brue is humbled during the live performances.
“Every person in the room is singing the songs,” he says. “They are singing, and we both feel appreciated. To have a community of people that are supporting us is amazing. They are taking the lyrics to heart, and it’s really special.”
Writing for “Loner” happened over a couple months.
Butler says the process between him and Brue is always different.
“There’s no shortage of struggles for each of us to walk through,” Butler says. “No matter where and when we sit down. I think at the beginning, Missio started as a thing that we wanted to do for ourselves. It’s about fleshing out our lives through music. It’s a therapeutic process.”
Brue and Butler’s bond has also grown over time.
The pair travel the world together and share the same living space back in Austin.
They can often be found working downstairs in their home writing and records.
“It’s like living life with my brother rather than my friend,” Butler says. “When you get to know somebody as well as we know each other, there’s no fear of being vulnerable. We are going in with total freedom.”
The duo’s stop in Santa Fe at Meow Wolf will be their first show in New Mexico.
They will perform “Loner” in its entirety.
“We’ve seen photos of this amazing venue,” he says. “We’re excited about getting there and introducing ourselves.”