Above and at front, A Mover, A Fighter performs in May at the 180 in Lodi. Photos by Clifford Oto / 209Vibe.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This story also appears in the June edition of the 209Vibe newspaper. To find out where you can pick up a copy, click here.)

Them sounds like fightin’ words, but in reality, Dawson Schonoff, Redding Causey, Clayton Johnson, Jeff Kleiner and Derek Krieger of Modesto’s A Mover, A Fighter aren’t about starting a ruckus with their emotionally charged yet laid-back approach. But that didn’t stop us from throwing them in front of the Squad to see if they’ll fire back.

Q: Your 209Vibe profile says “New Music + Big Things in ’08;” give us the lowdown, is there a new album or EP in the works?

Redding: We’ve really been working on these past couple months fine-tuning our sound, and the direction we want to head in. We have a good eight or so new songs that we’ve been working on, recording some demos with Ray Quintero, the lead singer for Athens, who’s kinda taken us under his wing, and has really been a great help grooming us into the band we are today. We’ll be heading into the studio very soon in Sacramento recording with the guys from Drive Thru records band Self Against City. We have been really, really anxious about finally recording all these ideas we have, and stoked about the people we’re working with.

Q: When might the album see daylight?

Clayton: Ha, you can’t rush a good thing! Shoot, we were supposed be done already, but we just keep writing, and developing as a band. We just want to make sure when we do record (which will be very soon,) that we capture the essence of all that we’ve created and worked so hard on.

Q: Are you taking any new directions or new approaches with the music you’re recording or working on now, as compared to what you’ve done before?

Dawson: Fans will hear a pretty dramatic change from the songs they know on our MySpace. Not in a bad way at all. We feel like we’ve really matured in our writing style, and hope to show that in our recordings we’re working on.

Jeff: The A Mover, A Fighter sound and style will still be there, just a more developed version. I guess you can say we just went through puberty,

Q: What other big things are on deck for this year for AMAF?

Redding: Once our recordings are done, it’s on! We have some really awesome announcements to make this year, so you’ll have to keep an eye on us and see!

Q: We understand you guys have been pals for awhile, tell us how you first got together and started playing

Clayton: A Mover, A Fighter began as an acoustic solo project I started after I left the well-nown Stockton screamo band, Sunday Airline. I grew up best friends with Dawson’s brother, and I needed help writing some leads. Dawson is extremely creative in his writing style, and he brought a lot to the table. After we received contact from some smaller record labels, they urged us to get a full band together.

That’s when the search began. Several friends told me about Jeff, and that he also had an acoustic project going on, and I approached him about jamming sometime. After just one practice together, we were amazed at how well our voices complimented each other. We began writing new songs that day. Redding is an old high school buddy, who actually moved to L.A. to attend the Musicians Institute. Randomly one day, he wrote me on MySpace just to say hi, and ask about the band. I told him of the numerous people trying to play drums for us, and how no one was a right fit for us. I jokingly remarked, “wish you were still in Modesto.” He called me later that day, and he expressed a ton of interest in playing for us. He came down, and hasn’t left.

Derek played in some cool bands in high school, and I knew him through the music scene. We needed a bass player, and he played bass, so it all kinda worked out!

Q: Screamo and other types of harder music are big in the 209, but you guys seem to be sticking with the softer side of things. Ever any temptation to go a little more hardcore to keep up with “the scene?”

Clayton: I love hardcore music. I’m pretty good friends with all the guys from The Devil Wears Prada, and even they hardly listen to their own genre of music. I’ve yet to meet someone who likes screamo and metal stuff that doesn’t have a softer side to them. We don’t want to, or try to conform to what’s popular or big right now. We write our music, and display what’s on our hearts and minds. We are “harder” on some parts of our songs, but it’s more powerful instead of harder. We enjoy what we write, and from the great response we’ve been getting, a lot of people do too!

Q: It seems like your live shows aren’t nearly as mellow as some of your recordings, would you say that’s the case?

Jeff: Ha-ha that’s most definitely correct. We for sure enjoy rocking out. We still play acoustic sets, but for the most part we play our newer songs yet to be recorded.

Clayton: I’ve been told I’m a maniac with the mic. We strongly believe that a show is just that; a show, not just a display of musical ability. Be sure to come to one of our shows, you’ll have a lot of fun. We are just the guys leading everyone in having a good time!

Q: You’re A Mover, A Fighter. What are you moving for, and what are you fighting for?

Clayton: Dude, we’ve gotten so many questions about that. To be honest, here’s where the name comes from. During the time when I was started my solo acoustic project, I knew I wanted a cool name for it. I’d been listening to a lesser known Christian band from San Diego area called This Holiday Life. The guy had an incredible vocal range, and I studied it frequently. I’m an extremely positive and happy guy; same with these guy’s lyrics. A line in a song by them titled, “The Others” basically says “I would be a lover, a mover, a fighter, I’d turn to the others…” I pretty much stole our name from that line.

Dawson: But heck, you cause any trouble with us, we’ll move you…then we’ll fight you!

email: adavis@209Vibe.com

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