sábado, 18 de diciembre de 2010

Triangle Offense




What's the meaning behind your name?
The term comes from basketball. We're all HUGE basketball fans. We like to see ourselves as a triple threat -not just because we're 3 people-, but more because we write, produce and perform all our music on our own.

How did you guys get started with all this?
Sci and Bry met in grammar school, but started rapping together around high school. Bry knew Pwol and introduced him to Sci because Pwol needed a producer. We were recording and making music together often, so we naturally decided to make songs together. It became bigger and more serious as time went by.

What's the message you guys want to transmit with your music?
To just live life. You can just be you and be cool. You don't have to conform to how society says you should be and what you should like.

What's your method at the time of writing a song?
There's never a set way! We're firm believers that the best music comes in the moment. You can never force music. It never comes out good. You can always tell when the music is trying too hard.

Who are your music influences?
Of course, we love Hip-Hop -Jay-Z, Nas, Kanye, Drake, Wale, J. Cole, Theophilus London-, among others. (We also gotta show love to Wu Tang and Dipset!) We listen to all types of music though -Billy Joel, Passion Pit, Florence + The Machine, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Taking Back Sunday-...the list goes on and on!

What plans do you guys have for the future?
Musically, our main focus is our trilogy of mixtapes on the way. It's a love story told in three parts. We released "The Courting" last April, which was the first part. The next one is "The First Love", then the finale, "The Break Up", comes after that. Of course, we look forward to performing in different places and reaching all types of people with what we're doing. We want the opportunity to meet everyone that enjoys our music and show them our gratitude through our stage show.

What has been the greatest day as a musician?
This might sound cheesy, but every day is great because we're doing what we love. We're even thankful for those days where things go wrong, because without them, we couldn't full enjoy the days when everything goes our way. The struggles make those victories so much sweeter!

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour, and the help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, who would you eat first?
We would try to call Jack Bauer from 24, Jason Bourne, or MacGyver because those guys can get out of ANYTHING. MacGyver would be last resort though, because he's kinda old now. If we had to eat each other, Sci and Pwol would probably team up because Bry's bigger than both of them. Sci likes his meat Medium Rare though, so Bry wouldn't be in much pain because they wouldn't cook him too long.

What are your hobbies?
Of course, we love to watch basketball. We each like different teams, too, so it gets interesting when our teams play each other. We love going out to eat. We're foodies! We especially love burgers. Each of us has our own favorite burgers list. It gets really serious.

What country would you guys love to play?
Our homeland, the Philippines! Pwol has performed there, but we've never performed all together.

With what bands would you guys love to share the stage?
Passion Pit or Holy Ghost! Their stage shows are so sick. They would also compliment our music so well because we all strive for similar sounds.

Are you guys happy with the direction the band is going?
VERY! We had an idea a year ago and it's so great seeing our plans come into fruition. It's one thing to think about it, but to actually live it is indescribable.



Official blog: www.triangle-offense.com
 
Free downloads of all the music, including their mixtape “The Courting:” http://triangle-offense.com/?page_id=2

A commercial for their upcoming interactive music video project for “Swing My Way:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRsVkof8S0w
 
Link to purchase their single "TGIF" on iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/t-g-i-f/id390359601

A$troe




What's the meaning behind Astroe?
The meaning of A$troe is- "The combing to form a star".

How did you get started with all this??
I started writing poetry at the age of 11, writing beats and rapping at the age of 14, by 15-16 years old I was recording in a professional studio. Being young and coming from the inner city and having a broken home, I was inspired to reach people with my music..

What's the message you want to transmit with your music??
The message with my music is "Power" and understanding that we all possess it and can over come life's struggles and pressures, it also transmits real life, creative action through experience, this makes it so music supporters on a worldwide basis relate and connect with the music.

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
My method at the time of writing a song.. Its like a crazy science project, music's playing, an i'm getting all my concepts out so i can shape the content to be a powerful song...

Who are your music influences??
My music influences are: Tupac, BigPun, Biggie, Jayz, Dr. Dre, Naz, Russell Simmons, P. Diddy, people like that...

What song or album can’t you stop listening to?
Song I can't stop listening to, a song I created for my album "Influence", it really moves me.

What plans do you have for the future??
Plans for my future is to push my music career to heights most people only dream of, this is what I do; so my main future plan is to progress and progress.


What has been the funniest prank you have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
As far as pranks, we don't do that... lol

What has been the greastest day in your music career?
The greatest day as a musician for me was the day i learned how to produce my own music, it was really like being born again..

If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while  on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, ¿Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
I guess I would go to get help and food for the simple fact: I don't eat people. So I would make sure I don’t in that situation to eat someone. Lol

What country would you love to play?
I would love to play in "Brazil".

What are your hobbies?
I use to play video games, not really too much time for that now, so every now and then I pull up metal of honor and have a little fun...

With which bands you would love to share stage??
Jayz, Drake, Naz, Eminem, I would like to share a stage with those guys...

Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is moving so far?
I'm happy with the direction I'm headed, always getting better at what I am and what I'm doing…




Check out more: http://www.astroe.net/

Centrevol




What's the meaning behind the band's name?
When in Boston, the boys rehearsed on Centre Street, and they played music turned up to "11", hence the "vol" was added making Centrevol.

How did you guys get started with all this??
A mutual friend had a birthday party, and the three original members had an impromptu jam session. Later the three (Nate, Pete, and Jon) moved out west to Long Beach where they connected with kai (whom nate met in Boston at an epic snowball fight).

What's the message you guys want to transmit with your music??
Our message carries two themes: Hope and Community. Hope because we are optimistic about our future, and it comes through in our music, and community because all of our songs and all of our strivings have been in the context of the people who have surrounded us and pushed us forward. Centrevol is the sum of it's parts, not just it's members.

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
Every song is different, for example, the single Save Yourself was written from scratch as we were jamming with spontaneous ideas. We recorded everything, and Pete sat with the parts for 30 minutes and wrote the lyrics. It was quite an orgasmic, that is, organic experience.

Who are your music influences??
Quite varied. Jon and kai are into European Electronic music, such as The Chemical Brothers, Daft Punk, and Air. Peter is into anything with a good melody like the Black Keys, Delta Spirit, and the Beatles. Nate likes music with a funky backbeat rhythm section with a pop sensibility such as RHCP, Kings of Leon, and Mutemath.

What plans do you guys have for the future??
We're currently competing for $10K in a Converse battle of the bands. We wish to tour tour tour, playing all over the west, emphasizing the college market. We anticipate selling out of the first pressing of our album and plan to rerelease it with new tracks, remixes, and an even grander second release party. We'd like to start a regional radio campaign to spread our loving.

What has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
When we were on tour, we played at Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls. We showed up quite early to the show, but the folks who were planning the show were already poo-ing on the lack of expected turn out, citing that since it's an engineering school that most of the kids would rather stay in and play video games than come out and see a band. Plus it was near finals week. We quickly set up our gear in the auditorium (which was quite near the dorms) then we split up and embarked on an impromptu promo campaign. Theoretically, we were not allowed into the dorm area and certainly not allowed to knock on doors, but the RAs turned a blind eye as we marched through claiming there was a World of Warcraft Tourney with cash prizes down in the auditorium. The prank actually worked because we ended up having a great turn out and proceeded to play one of the best shows on tour.

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while  on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, ¿Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
We would send Jon because he's in the best shape and can run 65 miles in like an hour, which is like... if I'm doing the math right... like, around 65 miles an hour, or at least 60. The rest of us would take out our instruments and play some tasty licks on the side of the road. The licks would be so flavourful that it would sustain us until Jon got back.

What country you guys would love to play?
Nate: England, Peter: France, Jon and kai: Japan.

With which bands you guys would love to share stage??
Kings of Leon, Muse, Radiohead, Coldplay, Mutemath, U2, RHCP, Michael Jackson.

Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is moving so far?
Yes. (Listen to "On a Roll").



Anna Kaelin




How the did started with all this?? I started singing when I was LITTLE. I have video of me singing before I could talk. My first recording was when I was 3, and I started performing when I was 4. I grew performing in music groups and in musicals, and was in choir in High School, but switched to being a solo singer when I was about 18. When I was 19 I moved to Nashville, where my genre slowly switched to country/pop. From there I realized how deep my love for music, singing, and performing really was and after I auditioned for "American Idol" when I was 21, the ball really started rolling from there. Since then I have released an album and a music video, gone on a mini tour and look forward to what this next year will bring!

What's the message you want to transmit with your music?? The message of my songs are all positive ones. I know that not all situations and experiences we go through in life are positive ones, however I think we can have a positive attitude through hard times. That is the message of my music. There is a power in being positive.

What's your method at the time of writing a song?? Every song is different, thus the process of writing song is different. There are some songs I have written where I sit down at the guitar or piano and write it, from beginning to end, in about 30 minutes. Other songs take months to write, fine tune, rewrite and perfect. I am very particular when it comes to what I sing and how I sing it, so sometimes it comes the first time, while other times it takes a few tries! 

Who are your music influences?? My musical influences vary. I grew up listening to Jazz, Pop, Musical Theater, Rock, Classical, and everything in between. I love Etta James, MIchael Jackson, Christina Aguilera, Eva Cassidy, Celine Dion, Michael Buble, Jack Johnson, Keith Urban, and many others. My style is a mix of them all. I don't think you can be a musician who really appreciates music without allowing these types of amazing musicians to rub off on you and affect you in such a way that infects your music as well.

What plans do you have for the future?? I have many hopes and dreams, but very few plans for the future! This life changes so fast and so many unpredictable things happen and you never know what your future holds. I love touring and performing, so I hope that is in my future. I love music and I KNOW that will be in my future, in one way or another. Sometime in the future I would love to get married and have a family, because you can accomplish the best things in life, but unless you have people to share them with, they don't mean as much. There are so many things I want to do. My life has changed so drastically over the last 5 years, I can't wait to see what the next 5 have in store!

What has been the funniest prank you have been or took part while on tour or after a show??  I am one that is always pulling pranks, or getting them pulled on, however I can't think of any on tour! Now that is not to say that we don't have fun! We laugh more than anyone I know when we're out performing. This last summer was a BLAST, because we were out with another group and our bus was filled with about 12 people. That was a great few months! I think this tour I was more of the joke telling type, rather than the prank pulling type. I guess I will have to change that next time, so I have a better answer to this question!

If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you and your band (If any) are, ¿Who would you send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first? Ha. This is a good question. Well 65 miles is not too far - and I think I could go that long without food. Plus I liked all the people I toured with last time, so I don't think I could eat any of them. Who would I send though... good question! I would probably send a group - a mix of guys and girls. Depending on how big the group on the bus were, maybe 2 girls and 2 guys, so the others could stay in the bus. That way the guys could protect the girls and the girls could be the voices of reason. Without the guys, who knows if the girls would come back, and without the girls ... who knows what the guys would come back with!

What country would you love to play? I played in Europe last year and loved it. I was over in Venice, Slovenia, a few places in Austria, and in Poland. I would love to go back to all of those countries, but I would also love to #1. Visit more of Italy, #2. Go to China, #3. Go to New Zealand, and #4. I think Africa would be amazing!!

With what bands you would love to share stage?? There are so many! I wish I would have been able to sing with the great Michael Jackson. He was probably the greatest entertainer the world has ever seen. Country wise, I would love to share the stage with: Keith Urban, he has an energy on stage that is incredible, undeniable, and contageous; Martina McBride, she has a way of being able to sit on a stool in the middle of the stage and capture an audience like non other. It's amazing. Other than that, there are many other artists in many other genres who are talented musicians, singers, and entertainers who I know I could learn a lot from and would be honored to share the stage.

Are you OK, with the direction the band is moving so far? I love the direction the band is going. It is constantly changing and I think will continue to change until we get it "just right", which I am sure will never happen. I don't know if there IS a "just right" in the music industry, because times, people, music, and the need for music is always changing. Thus, we change with the world and the dynamic of the stages we perform on.




KingQueen




What's the meaning behind KingQueen's name?
 KingQueen is more a personality than a character. It stands for a strength that is beautiful. Anyone who follows a dream and goes for it is a KingQueen. So it stands for a personality.

How did you get started with all this?
 It was something that was magical since I was a child. It was more interesting to me than anything else. I would watch musicals and music videos and be amazed and I knew I wanted to be a part of that magic forever. I started taking vocal lessons and I played piano. I started dancing and I became a dance teacher. When I was 19 I attended a music college in London and then after a year I decided to go to Musicians Institute in Los Angeles. And during my time at MI I started networking in LA and got my connections to continue towards my goals as an entertainer.  

What's the message you want to transmit with your music?
To speak up, to always be true to yourself and to be the person you always dreamt about being. 

What plans do you have for the future?
Keep on doing what I am doing now. Playing bigger venues and growing as an artist.

What has been the greatest moment in your career?
The AMA’s was def the best week of my life. It was the first time ever where I was a part of a big production and also the experience of being at the NOKIA theatre with my all access pass as a talent and not as a guest was just magical. I remember sitting in the rehearsal and watching Katy Perry and thinking to myself "I'm here, I'm here... And I am here as an artist, not as a visitor".. It was cool.

How would you define your music?
It's clubrock. Clubby sounds with edgy lyrics and vocals.

Are you ok with the direction you're moving so far?
Absolutely, I don't do things I don't feel like doing. 




Check out more by going to:  http://www.reverbnation.com/kingqueen

sábado, 27 de noviembre de 2010

Stay Tuned



What's the meaning behind the band's name: Stay Tuned? Does it have anything to be with your music covering tracks?
PHIL: It does indeed. It's a nod to the often overused phrase typically delivered just before going to a commercial break. Or as a hook during a commercial or informercial. "Stay tuned for some important information...", "Stay tuned for the exciting conclusion of Columbo", etc.

WILL: I remember that the first name that popped into my head was, "As Seen On…" or something clunky of that nature. "Stay Tuned" popped up as an option and I think we both nodded that, yeah, that would work.

How did you guys get started with all this?
PHIL: It's origin goes all the way back to '98. I (Phil) was a double major at California Institute of the Arts - majoring in Music Composition for Multimedia and Jazz Piano Performance. I decided that for my graduation recital, I was going to do a full concert of jazz arrangements of classic T.V. themes. We performed a wide variety of tunes and styles including a free jazz interpretation of The Twilight Zone and a modal version of Charlie's Angels. My reasoning behind it was that some of the T.V. themes we all knew and grew up with were actually good songs. Most classic jazz standards that people are all too familiar with had their origins in popular music - at the time they were musicals and the like. So I saw no real difference between taking a popular music such as T.V. themes and adapting them to a jazz ensemble. The concert was fun to put together and was well received.

Flash forward to 2001 and I'm in my car driving up the 5 Freeway with my good friend, and future Stay Tuned bass player, Will Lanni in the passenger seat. We're planning on moving to Seattle, and are heading up to find an apartment. I had had more than enough of Los Angeles, having spent most of my formidable years there and given it every opportunity, and had decided to move to Seattle. Will and I had known each other since high school when we were in a garage band together called Assorted Nuts. We played primarily instrumental songs in bizarre time signatures (17/8, 15/8, etc. - anything to keep ourselves entertained) with only a single vocal song - a country song about inbreeding called The Imbred One - in our set rotation. We were in the mountains between Oregon and California and it was the middle of the night when a thought occurred to me. I woke Will up and explained to him my brilliant idea. We would create a rock band that performed original rock arrangements of T.V. themes. We wouldn't be a prototypical "cover" or "tribute" band in that we wouldn't try to emulate the original material but, rather, put our own spin on it. Will grumbled and fell back asleep. But the idea took hold.

Once we were fully settled into Seattle, we found a practice space and a web engineer named Don Davis who used to play drums, had a full kit, but hadn't played in a long time. We got together and just started cranking out arrangements. Pretty soon we had enough material for 2 full sets and were spreading the good word of T.V. themes.

WILL: I was sound asleep in the car on our drive to Seattle when Phil yells, "I GOT IT!" and I woke up in a panic, thinking he had been aiming for squirrels or something. He told me about his idea and hummed an approximation of 'Greatest American Hero' like it was a heavy metal song. I think that was the moment when I told him we could name the band "As Heard On TV" or… "Stay Tuned!"

THEN I grumbled and went back to sleep.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
PHIL: Ultimately, I hope that we're doing two things with our music:

1) Keeping alive what has effectively become a dying artform. T.V. themes as a songwriting platform have pretty much become a thing of the past. Most modern T.V. shows use existing pop material or a very forgettable instrumental theme. When I was growing up, every sitcom had a catchy song associated with it - Family Ties (Who can forget that Sha-na-na-naaaaa...), Perfect Strangers (Standin' tall....), Growing Pains (As long as we've got each other...), Silver Spoons (Together - we're gonna find our way...) - and even the reruns I saw as a kid had great themes. Some with lyrics, some instrumentals. Three's Company, Taxi, Barney Miller, Gilligan's Island, The Munsters, etc. It's great music. It just happens to be music that is 30 seconds long. You don't find the same sort of artistry in theme songs for T.V. shows nowadays. I think the most recent song we perform is King of the Hill and that's a great theme song. But it's more the exception and not the rule. So I hope, to some extent, that we're keeping some familiar songs from certainly my youth alive. And maybe bringing a bit of nostalgia to those meddling kids who are watching the shows on cable reruns.

2) Related to that, I think the nostalgia factor plays into the emotional connection we seem to make with people who see us perform or listen to our CDs. And that's been a great thing to see. There are a million Led Zeppelin tribute bands out there. And another million AC/DC tribute bands. Not everyone is a fan of Led Zeppelin. Not everyone is a fan of AC/DC. But almost everyone has watched television. I've seen guys who look like college football linebacker fratboys go crazy when we kick into our version of Silver Spoons, punk guys with mohawks and tattered leather jackets request The Munsters, and "Indie Rock" girls fawn over Growing Pains. With cable / satellite there's an ungodly amount of channels playing an ungodly amount of television nowadays - most of it bad. Quantity vs. quality. Not to mention the other mediums people have at their disposal like mind-blowing video games and all the media available over the web or now via mobile devices. But growing up - people of my generation and generations prior, you had only a small handful of channels and television had more cultural resonance. It wasn't that long ago, really, that families would sit around together and watch The Wonder Years or Star Trek. So I think when people hear the themes associated with those T.V. shows from their youth, we make a real connection with those people. While we definitely have fun doing what we do, we're not like "Weird" Al. We're not a comedy band. We have a genuine appreciation for the music we perform and I think our audiences get that.

WILL: Wait, what? We're not a comedy band? :P Whenever we're playing shows, the message I'm intending to transmit is, "HAVE FUN, DAMN YOU." Though we do enjoy the music we're creating, I think one of our band's primary purposes is to entertain the crap out of our audience, really leave them with a memorable, fun evening, and inspire high bar tabs for the venue we're playing. We sound pretty good sober, but we sound AWESOME after you've had a beer or two.

What's your method at the time of writing a song??
PHIL: Sometimes, I'll simply write up a basic chart of the song and we'll work through an arrangement in the studio - throw around ideas, jam on specific parts for a while, etc. - until it starts sounding good. Most of the time, however, one of us will come up with either a concept for the song or a riff / arrangement and bring the completed arrangement into the studio and work through it. Our version of Growing Pains (a ska rock style tune) and F-Troop (inspired by The Presidents of the United States - a pop-rock / pop-punk style arrangement), for example, I remember coming up with the riffs / arrangement in my head on a plane flight from Seattle to L.A. to visit my family. I scribbled down some notes so I wouldn't forget my ideas and then flushed out the arrangement when I got back to Seattle. Gilligan's Island - which combines the original theme with elements from Iron Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Styx's Come Sail Away into one epic rock arrangement - was truly a collaborative effort amongst us. Will (bass) came up with the idea of trying to integrate Gilligan's Island with Rime of the Ancient Mariner so I sat down one day and started working out the arrangement as I had never listened to Iron Maiden before - Will is slightly older than me and has an older brother. So he grew up under the influence of 80's metal whereas I was the oldest in my family and, instead, grew up under the influence of 80's pop music and 60's - 70's classic rock. As I started merging Gilligan's Island with Rime of the Ancient Mariner, I saw an opportunity to work in Styx's Come Sail Away as an appropriate ending. When I brought the arrangement in we didn't know if we were going to be able to perform it for one - being a trio without any guitars makes it difficult to perform Iron Maiden - and we weren't sure it was going to work. But we worked at it and now it's one of our most popular arrangements and closes out our new album The Last T.V. Dinner

We try our best to pick material that we feel we can put a creative spin on. We wouldn't be happy just playing the themes "as-is". There are songs out there like Barney Miller or Taxi or Sanford and Son that are just great "as-is". Why would we want to do anything to them? We still might, someday, integrate them into our songlist but why mess with perfection?

WILL: I've noticed that we put a lot of emphasis into entertaining ourselves when we're playing our music. If our own songs don't feel fun to us, then something's wrong, and they stay off the set list. We've got a couple of tracks that have seen multiple revisions and still haven't quite worked. Greatest American Hero, for example; we just cannot make that song be entertaining to us in practice, and thus it hasn't made it out live or on a recording yet. On the other hand, WKRP In Cincinnati is a great example of a song we started playing early on (it may have been one of the first 5 songs we played as a band), that saw multiple arrangements and styles and finally made it not only into live sets but recorded as the opening track of The Last T.V. Dinner.

As Phil mentioned, we usually discuss songs we want to perform, and put them on a list of future songs to play. Then we start talking about styles to play them as, or other popular songs that we can infuse them with. Phil then writes up charts, and we start hammering them out in practice.

How would you define your music?
PHIL: "Epic rock". That's been the term I've always used. We pride ourselves on being loud and full sounding for "only" a trio. It's big. Someone did a piece on us at one point where they said something to the effect of, "... they're having fun without poking fun ..." and that's very fitting. What we do is fun. There's nothing better than hearing 1,200 people singing along to Cheers at a show. Big and fun.

WILL: A sound engineer named Dave Hageage once described Stay Tuned as "like sausage." I'm not sure what that meant, but I like to think that our music is tasty, as long as you don't think about what exactly is in it.

Who are your music influences??
PHIL: We really do listen to and integrate a diverse amount of musical styles and influences into our arrangements. Bands like The Presidents of the United States, Weezer, Phish, and Cake would certainly be more modern bands that have influenced our approach. I think you can also very easily see influences from more classic rock bands like Cheap Trick, Rush, Boston, Deep Purple, and The Ramones in our arrangements as well. Because our sound is defined, in many ways, by the keyboards - which are vintage overdriven electric pianos / keytars and Hammond B-3 - many people associate us with early 70's rock. I would say in terms of performance, The Presidents of the United States - whom I've seen a number of times up here in the NorthWest - and Cheap Trick are huge inspirations. Those two bands put on killer performances and everyone should go see them if given the chance.

WILL: My own musical influences include Radiohead, Red Hot Chile Peppers, Crosby Stills and Nash. And I don't think you could really hear any of that in any of Stay Tuned's songs, except for some of the slap bass stuff. When I first started singing backup vocals, I started paying more attention to classic rock singing arrangements like Crosby, Stills and Nash, Boston, Kansas. My bass playing in Stay Tuned is also more influenced by classic rock -- as Phil mentions, we've got a pretty full sound with the keyboard parts, which doesn't leave a lot of room for complex bass lines, or for bass lines that enter into higher ranges. So I really started paying attention to what some of the classic rock bass guys were doing to fill whatever remaining frequencies there were after guitars, keyboards and vocals.

What plans do you guys have for the future??
PHIL: We would like to do more touring and branch out beyond the West Coast. We're looking to do so in 2011. We spent much of 2010 working on our new album and plan on spending 2011 working on playing dates all over the country if we can.

WILL: I'd like to see a more wide-spread consumption of fruit infused waffles. Oh, wait, you meant Stay Tuned. I'd love to see Stay Tuned gain a little more attention. The music is great, the concept is fun, and we are really entertaining to watch. I'd love to tour around the country a bit more.

What has been the greatest day in the band?
PHIL: The day a lovely young lady took her top off for Airwolf. I'm not entirely sure that can be topped. Although performing in front of 1,200+ at The Showbox in Seattle is pretty outstanding.

WILL: Hahahahahaha oh yeah! I forgot about that girl! For me, the day we were featured on the tv show Evening Magazine.

What's the song or album you can't take out of your head (Stop listening)? 
PHIL: Recently I've been listening to Medeski, Martin & Wood: Uninvisible and Bill Cosby & Quincy Jones: The Original Jam Sessions 1969. I like the MMW stuff generally. Being a keyboardist who plays vintage keyboards in a trio, I can totally relate and appreciate what they do.

WILL: Recently I have Local Natives' song "Wide Eyes" stuck in my head. They're a local band out of L.A., really fantastic.

What has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
PHIL: I can't think of a singular event but when we've been on the road the conversations always go into highly inappropriate territory fairly quickly. In the car. At the hotel. At the gig. Our mothers are a common target. And I've always brought along bags of nuts from Trader Joes to snack on. So there is an onslaught of jokes about snacking on my nuts, my big sack of nuts, a handful of my nuts, etc. Good times.

WILL: Whenever we do a show on or around April Fools, we open up for ourselves as some other comedic tribute band. The first time we did it, we opened up for Portland's The Misfats as Barely Manilow: A Barry Manilow Experience and we performed Mandy. Later, we dressed up in doctor's scrubs and did a version of Jesse's Girl as the fictitious Rick Springfield tribute band Dr. Drake. Most recently we opened up for a local comedy night, and Phil had a stroke of genius for a fake tribute band: we were "AC/Richie" and we did a combined version of AC/DC's "You Shook Me All Night Long" and Lionel Richie's "All Night Long." We had to do some serious shopping for Catholic School Boy shorts and funny hats. I'm lobbying for our next fake tribute to be Iron Money, and combine Iron Maiden's "Two Minutes to Midnight"  and Eddie Money's "Two Tickets to Paradise."

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, ¿Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
PHIL: To answer the last question first, I think I'd probably be the first person to be cooked and eaten. I have a nice layer of fat that would sear nicely. And, according to Emeril, fat equals flavor. So I'd be tasty. As far as who I'd send to look for help? Probably the drummer. In the big scheme of things, he's easier to replace by modern machinery than the rest of us.

WILL: I don't know if I could eat Phil. He'd be way too spicy, with the amount of Tabasco, spicy chili, and jalapeños that man eats. I'd probably be sent for help, as Phil is notorious for his lack of sense of direction (almost 10 years in Seattle and he still can't find his way to Greenlake from our studio in SoDo.) And, as Phil mentioned, the drummer is the most expendable, so we'd eat the drummer. 
"How many drummers does it take to screw in a light-bulb? –None, they have machines that do that now."

What are your hobbies?
PHIL: This is my hobby :). I walk a lot. Love to walk, hate to drive. I am a big baseball fan in spite of the Mariners performance. I lead a fairly boring lifestyle if I can manage it.

WILL: I started an originals band called Altin Jimbiz last year. So between Stay Tuned and Altin Jimbiz, I'd say music borders between hobby and part time job. I'm also an artist, I draw and paint a bit. And I'm pretty good at playing darts.

What country you guys would love to play?
PHIL: Japan. I am convinced that we would be big in Japan. They seem to have very eclectic tastes and we're a pretty eclectic band. Seems like the perfect match.

WILL: New Jersey. At least, NJ seems like an exotic 'other' country. Australia. I'd love to play Australia. I think the Aborigines would totally get us.

With what bands you guys would love to share stage??
PHIL: The Presidents of the United States. Cheap Trick. Weezer. Phish. Those would probably be my top four. I feel like they share our approach to music. They have fun. And they - as well as their audience - would appreciate what we're doing. Plus I would love to meet those guys.

WILL: Honestly, anyone who would put up with our amazing B.O.

Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is moving so far?
PHIL: I think our goal is to get bigger. Play all over. We've accomplished a lot on our own and are really looking to partner up with a label or agency to help take us to the next level. So that's one of our primary goals over the next year is to work at playing more shows, in more cities, and spread the good word of television.

WILL: Yes, and my gut says that our immediate direction isn't too clear. Phil and I have a pretty good sense of what we want to have happen, and can envision where we want to be, but we're having difficulty getting there. We have some work cut out for us to keep on track. But as Phil mentions, playing more shows in more cities, and for larger audiences.




Check out more: http://www.reverbnation.com/staytunedtheband

A-Block



What's the meaning behind your name?
I got the name A-Block aka The B.C.H. Veteran when my uncle was in jail for a few years as well as some friends of mine. That’s the story behind my name. The 2nd meaning of it comes from my labels Black City Hustla (B.C.H.) Records and I really work hard for the label and act like a veteran. That’s why I go by A-Block The B.C.H. Veteran

How did you get started with all this?
When I was 6 years old I would listen to rap and hip-hop. When I first heard it I started to like it because the music was so creative and I liked the way it flowed together and the beats and what they would talk about. The taste of rap was good and I would rap lots of songs from 2 Pac, Biggie Smalls, Snoop Dogg, Dr.Dre ect. So one day a dude told me "Hey you got talent and you’re good too. You should record and write your own songs“. I started to think about his statement and after giving it some though, I decided to give it a try. So I started to write some bars/lyrics. Nowadays I rep my label „Black City Hustla Records“ till my death.

What's the message to transmit with your music?
I want to send a message to people and encourage them not to give up in life, just keep your head up and do your thang. Turn your dreams into reality and keep it 500% & stay true to yourself. Also I want to let people know that you can turn violence into lyrics and you dont need to pull a trigger to solve your problems. Write lyrics and solve your problems with a pen and paper. Don't be a offender, be a SONG WRITER.

What's your method at the time of writting a song?
Well, sometimes when I get in my zone, I start writing my flows down or I when I have thoughts in my mind for a beat, I start putting them together like a puzzle.

Who are your music influences?
My influences in the rap game are the legendary 2 Pac, Biggie Smalls, Big L, Dr.Dre, Guru, Outlawz, Snoop, Crooked I, The Game, Young Buck, ect.

What plans do you guys have for the future?
My main plan is trying to make it big with my label and move to the next level. I also want to be an inspiration to the youth and to my fans as well as bring a new generation and style to the rap game.

What has been the greatest day as a musician?
The greatest day as a musician was having my music played on the radio

What are your hobbies?
I love playing basketball, baseball, soccer, writing music, promoting my music and working with my label

What country would you guys love to play in?
Everywhere North and South America, Asia, Europe, ect.

With what bands would you guys love to share the stage with?
Crooked I, Outlawz, The Game, Young Buck, G-Unit, Twista ect.

Are you guys happy with the direction the band is going?
Yes. I'm confident with the direction we’re going in. We're steady grinding and getting things done the B.C.H way. I'm doing pretty good with my music, I'm still writing songs for my fans out there and trying to make a difference in my community. We're just taking care of business step by step. 

The Sour Notes



What's the meaning behind the band's name?
A few years ago, before I started the band... I used to write these little notes to myself on scraps of paper or notebooks lying around that said things like "Pay attention when people are talking to you", "Don't bite your nails", "Stop exaggerating stories or outright lying"... etc...  I used to call them my Sour Notes, as they were usually reflective negatively or bitter to some regard.  The first image I ever associated with The Sour Notes' music was a bunch of these crumpled up notes lying around a trash can that 'missed the bucket'...  

How did you guys get started with all this??
It started out as a bedroom recording project in Houston, Texas initially.  Then when I finished a collection of my first songs (The Meat of the Fruit, 2008), I decided I wanted to play them live with a band.  So I quit my job and moved to Austin, Texas where a like-minded musician friend of mine (Chris) lived and asked him if he would start a band with me.  We moved into a house together in East Austin and started recording our first real album in my opinion, (Received in Bitterness, 2009) and met some mutual friends (Brandi & Travis) to join on bass and drums.

What's the message to transmit with your music??
I'd like to think it's therapeutic for the lonely and/or down and out, but at the same has a real catchiness that can easily disguise all those feelings.  Most of the songs I write are usually self-reflective, like I tend to say the words 'Love, I, and You' to an absurd amount... but I'm working on extending my vocabulary.

What's your method at the time of writting a song??
It used to be that I would try and translate the feelings and/or scenarios I watched in old movies in a kind of 'summed up' pop-sensible 2 or three minute song... I used to particularly call upon the films of Ingmar Bergman for my darker songs and Jean Luc Godard for my more playful tunes.  I few of my song titles and lyrics use words, dialogue or even audio samples taken directly from these films.  More recently, I find myself just waiting around till a verse or chorus pops into my head.  It might sound unusual, but I rarely pick up a guitar or play the piano unless I have an idea for a song that I've already been humming for a week or so.

Who are your music influences??
Lyrically, I like the simplistic views in songs by '60s girl groups like The Ronnettes, I'm also a big fan of Francoise Hardy.  If you were to associate The Sour Notes' musical style to more modern bands, I would admit to listening to alot of Spiritualized and Slowdive.  When I first started forming my own musical opinions about what I liked and felt comfortable with in my teens, I really loved bands like Jawbreaker, Chisel, and Joan of Arc.  Those were probably the first bands I was exposed to that I understood.

What plans do you guys have for the future??
We've got a new 7-inch record coming out on New Years Eve, then heading out on our 4th tour up the East Coast and into Canada for a couple weeks, before returning to Austin to release our 4th album 'Last Looks'.  

What has been the greatest day in the band?
The band has grown and changed so much from the beginning and I've shared so many experiences with the different members of the band that I couldn't pick just one.  The days I'm most excited about sharing with the band are 'recording sessions', because when everyone starts to hear how new songs start to unfold and solidify, everyone just gets really excited and there's a burst of productivity for a while that carries us further.

What has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
Everyone in the band is pretty reserved.  Though, there are/have been a few 'wise-guys' in the band, nobody's really tryied to pull a fast one, or at least they haven't on me.  We have gotten into some weird situations on tour... partying after shows with 'hosting bands', being involved in after-hours altercations, danger, etc, but no pranks... Like EPMD, "We're strictly business."

If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, ¿Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
Well, this being the 'smart-phone' generation of touring, I think we would just find the nearest helping hand and wait for their arrival.  I can't imagine what touring was like without GPS navigation systems or using physical maps. 

What are your hobbies?
I really don't do anything but work on the band non-stop.  There's always something to do everyday.  Making flyers, driving around town hanging flyers, recording, booking shows/tours, fixing what's wrong with the van and working full-time to support the band.  It's a full-time job.  There isn't really time for much more.

What country you guys would love to play?
We'd love to tour any country.

With what bands you guys would love to share stage??
I'd love to share the stage with Radiohead.  Other than that, we've had the opportunity to play with loads of talented bands across the country.  My favorite bands to play with here in Austin are Ume & White Dress.

Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is moving so far?
I don't really know where we're going, but the choices have been made.

Grand Hotel



What's the meaning behind the band's name?
The name comes from the 1932 film Grand Hotel, the only movie to win Best Picture without being nominated in any other category.

 How did you guys get started with all this??
 The core of the band began playing together in high school. Aaron LaChance (drums), Jason Elvin (bass), and Glen Capen (guitar) had been a part of several bands throughout high school and wrote music together in college and afterwards. Kyle Gervais (vocals/guitar) became introduced to group through mutual friends. Kyle and Glen have always had a knack for writing and composing and we figured out pretty quick that there was definitely some musical chemistry between them, as well as the group as a whole. Six months after becoming a unit, we wrote and recorded a six song debut EP (released in August 2009). Almost a year later, we decided to add a fifth member, Michael Reid, for extra color and character. 
 
 What's the message to transmit with your music??
The message we're trying to transmit? Raunchy Sexytime.
 
 What's your method at the time of writting a song??
Kyle, Glen and Michael are the creative jump-starts to any song constructed by GRAND HOTEL. The three will individually, or cooperatively, bring 3 to 6 song ideas to the table. Aaron and Jason will then throw a groove under the form while guitars and vocals fill out the melodies. 
 
 Who are your music influences??
We each come from very different areas but I would say altogether, our influence would be music in general.
 
 What plans do you guys have for the future??
 GRAND HOTEL’s immediate plan is to keep writing music and producing albums. In a year or so, we plan on touring the Northeast and eventually expanding the trek to run from Maine
 to Florida.

 What has been the funniest prank you guys have been or took part while on tour or after a show??
While playing a 3-day festival, we started spreading the rumor that Justin Bieber was playing "secret sets" at 2:45, AM and PM, but to keep it on the down low. Eventually, we started hearing people asking if anyone had seen Bieber's set because they had missed it and heard it was sweet.
 
If you guys were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour. The help is 65 miles away from where you guys are, ¿Who would you guys send to look for help? And if while the rest wait, there's no food and the only way to feed yourself is by eating each other, ¿Who would you eat first?
 We’d send Aaron... he can walk faster since there is very little air resistance.
 
 We’d eat Michael... because he's the new guy... he’d probably taste like whisky... and we could build a debris hut out of his beard to keep us warm.


 What country you guys would love to play?
 Brazil. Kyle has been obsessed with learning Portuguese and moving there for far too long. Playing there would give him an excuse to do so.

 With what bands you guys would love to share stage??
Like play with at the same time? Nobody. Kyle doesn't have enough room to move around as is. But together at the same show? Oh, the usual giants. Radiohead,GorillazFlaming LipsGrizzly Bear, Phoenix, U2. To be honest, we'll play with just about anybody as long as they aren't named Chad Kroeger or on the stage with us at the same time. We really need to make that clear.

 Are you guys OK, with the direction the band is moving so far?
Absolutely. We keep trying to push ourselves further as musicians but also have as much fun as possible with the songs we're writing and playing. Plus, we really want our audiences to have a good time so we're always working to make it as much of a party as possible for everyone involved. And we feel, if we're having fun, they're having fun. We think, at least. 





Check out more: www.myspace.com/grandhotel