martes, 28 de septiembre de 2010

Stephanie Eason Band




  • How did you get started with this band and your music?? I guess my love for music began when I started playing the piano and violin when I was in elementary school.  I played in every orchestra that I could all through high school and began singing in talent shows at my church.  In the summer of 2004, I entered an American-Idol-inspired contest hosted by KTVK TV in Phoenix called “Gimme the Mike!”  I managed to make it to the final round at the Dodge Theatre, and placed second.  Although I didn’t win the car, or the money, or the amazing shopping trip (D’oh!), I got great exposure and was contacted by a guitarist and recording studio owner who put together a band for me.  I played with that band, Stephanie Eason and Exit 195, for nearly 3 years before deciding that it was time to find a group that would be able to go out on tour and pursue the same music career that I aspired to have. 
I then put out ads on Backpage.com, Craigslist, and even Facebook in search of musicians for my own band, the Stephanie Eason Band.  Slowly but steadily, I pieced together a band and eventually the SEB that we have now was formed! 
  • What's the message you're trying to transmit with your music?? Well, we have 3 very unique writers in this band, so I can’t say that there is one message.  We all have very different pasts and musical backgrounds, which is what makes our music so special and diverse.  I think that’s the reason that we are able to reach out to such a broad audience.  We have not confined our music or defined ourselves by one particular genre or style.  We play from our hearts and souls, and the pure joy that comes from that kind of “genuine” music is obvious on stage, I think.
  • What's your method at the time of writing a song?? I go into writing with some sort of idea for a song, whether it be a phrase that caught my attention that day, an experience, an emotion, or a title.  From there, I try to get my guitar to voice that particular emotion or idea with certain chords and strum patterns.  Once I have a sort of “rough draft” for the music, the words seem to flow and I scribble them out as quickly as I can!
  • Who are your music influences?? I grew up listening to rock and country.  My mom is who introduced me to Country music and who made me love it as a child.  I remember always listening to Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, and even Elvis while she was cleaning the house or sitting on the back porch while I played with my siblings.  My dad, however, was the reason that The Beatles are probably my all-time favorite group.  When I was in 4th grade, I knew every word to every song, and would happily recite them all to anyone that would listen.   Most of my other friends were singing Spice Girls songs while I was humming “I Want to Hold Your Hand”.  Haha! 
I would say that on top of those artists, that my musical influences now are Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum, Shania Twain, Alison Krauss & Union Station, Zac Brown Band, and probably Vanilla Ice.  Or maybe Cher?  Hahaha.  I do a pretty good impression, I have to say!
  • What plans do you have for the future?? I’m in it for the long haul.  I have no intention of letting all of our hard work and time spent go to waste.  Honestly, I’d love to have a chart-topping song, or album!  What a rush it would be to hear a song that I wrote in my bedroom one night on my car radio when I’m out running errands!  And I would definitely enjoy getting to dress up and play at the CMA’s or ACM award shows… Haha!  I really want to see this band reach its full potential, and I think that it has a lot!  The guys in this band are incredibly talented musicians and wonderful people, and I believe that we have found the perfect combination to make it to the top!
  • Which has been the funniest prank the band has pulled while on tour or after a show?? Hmmm.  Most of the embarrassing stuff happens to me, but it’s usually my fault!  So I guess you couldn’t call them pranks!  I can tell you a funny story, though! One time at a show, I wore a long skirt that had an elastic waistband with some of my taller heels.  In the middle of one of our sets, I had to fix a cable that I kept stepping on, so I knelt down (very lady-like, of course!) to fix it.  What I didn’t realize was that I was standing on the bottom of my skirt with one of my heels.  Needless to say, the skirt was at my ankles when I stood back up.  All the stage lights were on me and a bar full of drunk men were staring at my de-skirted self.  Pretty embarrassing!  I won’t even leave the house without spandex shorts under all of my dresses and skirts now!  True story!
  • If you were stranded in the middle of nowhere after a show or while on tour, and the nearest help is 65 miles away from where you and your band are, Who would you send to look for help? 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? Ok, what most people don’t realize is that we have a genius in our band. Stan Hitson, our guitarist, invented a gyroplane and was on the cover of Popular Mechanics years ago. We would probably just gather materials for him while he built us an escape-mobile. As for who we would eat, it totally would depend on what we felt like eating.  If we wanted a healthy meal, it would be the end of Stan.  If we wanted a really nice meal, we’d eat Mike. Brandon would probably taste like a Chipotle burrito, because that’s all he eats. And Eric would be far too valuable to eat.  He could just write a quick blog on his laptop about how hungry we are and our Buckeye Fan Club would be on their way with food!  Haha!  Don’t look at me!  I’m just a snack!
  • Which country you would love to play? Italy!  Only because I’ve always wanted to go there, and playing would be a pretty good excuse, I think!  Plus, people would finally not ask me what ethnicity I am over there!  Haha!
  • With which bands you would love to share the stage?? Chris Thile and the Punch Brothers, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Shania Twain, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Miranda Lambert, John Mayer… I’d be ok with any of those! J
  • Are you OK with the direction the band is going? I could not be more excited with where this band is going!  Every gig we play opens up new doors for bigger and better things.  We have come so far in the year that we have been together… I can’t wait to see how far this band can go!

Check out more: www.stephanieeason.com

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