If you’ve ever thought about packing up your stuff and moving to a tropical island for a few years, cialis you aren’t alone. And if you’ve never actually done it, click then you have something in common with just about every person you’ll ever meet. Unless, of course, you’ve met Magic Magic vocalist/guitarist John Murphy.

Murphy recently moved back to Boston after spending the better part of two years living in the US Virgin Islands. Murphy’s island departure has led to the reinvigoration of Magic Magic, the six piece who rose to local stardom after releasing 2010’s What Ever Happened To Monday Nights and 2011’s LP II.

While the stress of constant touring and recording led to the band’s 2013 hiatus, the group is now back in a big way and in the middle of a four night residency at Great Scott.

In addition to the residency, which is being supported by local favorites like Hallelujah The Hills and Kitner, Magic Magic also released TV Life, an album of previously recorded material just last week, and they are working on a brand new full length that will be released sometime this year.

We sat down to talk to with Murphy just before the band’s second residency show last week. In addition to discussing the new material, we also touched on David Bowie’s impact on the band and why Magic Magic would likely be a distant memory if not for their time apart. Peep it below and then check out Magic Magic at one of their two upcoming Great Scott residency shows this Sunday (1/24) and the following Sunday (1/31)

Allston Pudding: Magic Magic had been on hiatus for quite a while before you announced this residency – and you were in the Virgin Islands for most of it. Can you tell us the story behind that?

John Murphy: I guess it was over two years ago that I moved to the US Virgin Islands and posted up there on St. John, which is the smallest of the three islands. It was a good time, just very different. I was in screen printing. I met a guy who owned a few surf shops, and I do painting work and light construction, so I ended up getting a job through him when he was opening a new store. I helped him build that, and then he sort of absorbed me into the company. I worked with him for a while and then switched over to the screen printing side of the business and ended up making all of their t-shirts.

AP: Has the time away from the States affected the way you play music and the way you’re approaching this new record?

JM: Yeah! A lot of it did. The personal benefits translate into the music – like your experiences and what you make of them. But I think the most beneficial thing was not being in a band and not identifying as a musician. I did write a lot and record a little bit of reggae stuff with some guys I met on the island, but it’s a very different scene down there. There are no real rock bands – it’s just like background music, and tourist music, and steel drums, and great stuff, but it was nice to not be thinking about bands and songs and shit like that.

But in a way, it made me miss it. And when we talked about it (as Magic Magic), we all agreed we wanted to get it started again, and that’s one of the reasons I decided to move back.

AP: So would it be safe to say that if you hadn’t taken that break, you wouldn’t still be doing this?

JM: Yeah. I mean, the timing was right when we got out. We weren’t playing that much at that point and we were all just not kind of “together” – we were still friends but doing our own things.

But no, I don’t think we would be doing this. Maybe I would have a different band, but when I got back I decided that I wanted to do it with this group, the same group I’ve been playing with for ten years.

AP: After all that time off you’re making your comeback with a four night residency, which sounds kind of daunting. How do you approach that?

JM: We have these songs that aren’t 100% fleshed out, so we want to try them out in a live setting. That way we’ll have experience paying them when we get in the studio. And we want to play as much live music as we can since we’ve been off for so long and get out of the house a little bit. This weekend we’ve changed it up and we’re working on a David Bowie cover to honor him.

AP: Bowie obviously meant a lot to a lot of people – what influence did he have on you and the rest of the band?

JM: Well our drummer Mike is the notorious Bowie addict since we were in high school. He kind of turned me on to Bowie, and he’s dealt with the passing quite well.

I usually don’t care when celebrities pass away, but Bowie has been a weird one. And I think it’s because of the nature of David Bowie. He’s always been alive, but kind of sounding off from a realm beyond the material world. So it’s interesting to see the star man go home…. It doesn’t feel like we lost him but he just jumped on the bus and was like “later guys”.

I feel kind of happy. A lot of his music was about the lows of earth and being a physical human, and I felt like he spent most of his career trying to translate that spirit world and make it real. I think he was successful because he’s changed the way people think about life and music. I mean, everyone dies, that’s how it goes, and he talked about that a lot, and it’s almost like he told us how to swallow his own death.

AP: So in addition to the Bowie cover, you’re also working on new material and putting out a new record soon – how is that going?

JM: We’re focusing on recording the new record in the studio in February. We have our own studio in Norwood – it was our rehearsal space in an old mill. We call it Hanging Horse Studio and our bassist Brad Krieger is the head engineer there. We’ve spent a couple years building it up and collecting gear, and we’ve had a lot of local bands like Horse Jumper of Love record there, so we’re excited to finally record our own stuff there.

While you’re waiting for Magic Magic’s new record, be sure to grab tickets to their upcoming residency shows. They’re only $9 and available now.