October 2009
0 posts
Ari of Somersault Sunday (Jenn)
Jenn: 15 years old! and you've got quite the fanbase. Did you ever think people would be buying your music on itunes?
Ari: well, It never really even crossed my mind until I realized how many kids started writing solo music, promoting on myspace, and then getting sales on iTunes. It's really cool to think that people are buying my stuff every month.
J: You say your music is the product of your emotions and life experiences, what's the story behind Wasted Time?
A: I wrote wasted time about how so many people live so stuck in their past and wanting to change something, that they lose track of what's ahead, and on a larger scale: I feel like our generation has a lot of problems in the world being handed to us, and we need to look to the future and make things the best we can.
J: If you end up making it big, would you want to form a band or keep SS a solo project? why or why not?
A: I think I would still wanna be solo, but continue to have a live band. I like being able to just deal with everything on your own, and not have to stress over planning to get together with your band to write songs, and no one can ever meet at the same times, and so on. It's easier, and I can do things exactly the way I envision them.
J: So you're an Owl City fan? Could you quote one of your favorite OC lyrics and tell me why it stands out to you?
A: Hmm.... that's a tough one. I think my favorite lyrics by Owl City would have to be in This is the Future, when Adam says, "dive in and swim away from your loneliness and miserable days. And when you wake up on you own, look around you you're not alone. release your high hopes, and they'll survive cause this is the future, and we are alive." I know that was long, but I love that song, sooooo peaceful. oh, and the lyrics in Meteor Shower!
J: If you could do a duet with anyone, who would it be?
A : hands down, Jordan Witzigrueter from The Ready Set
J: Which song of yours means the most to you and why?
A: hmm, probably This is our Summertime..... just kidding :P but really, I would say right now that Fake or Motion Sickness. Although, I'm working on writing some more and more meaningful stuff!
myspace.com/somersaultsunday
September 2009
4 posts
George of Valencia (Jen)
Jen: well to start it off, how did you guys come up with your name?
George: we're really into the books slaughterhouse 5 and catcher in the rye, and in both of them, there are minor characters named valencia. specifically, it's name of the main character in slaughterhouse 5's wife, who is mistreated and kind of seen as the underdog, and we felt like that was fitting to our story
Jen: so you guys concidered yourselves underdogs?
George: in high school, yeah. that's when we started our band
Jen: did you all go to the same high school? if not, how did the band come about?
George: nah we didn't. jd and i did, but that's it. we were just in a bunch of different bands that played together at local shows and got to be friends that way
Jen: ahh. do you have any bands that influenced your sound?
George: yeah, it's a pretty extensive list but i'd say when we first started, we were drawing from a lot of pop punk and punk bands, but as we've gotten older, it's expanded into just about every kind of music you could think of
Jen: is there a band that you played with that is most memorable?
George: definitely, blink 182
Jen: haha, I would have freaked out myself. were you starstruck at all?
George: i wouldn't say starstruck, but it was really cool that we got to be on the first show of their first tour in 5 years
Jen: that is awesome. are there any venues across the US that you favor playing at over most?
George: i really like the rave in milwaukee a lot, it's a really nice venue to play, and it's also a lot of fun to explore since it's so big and everyone says that it's haunted
Jen: haunted? haha I've never heard that. had any experiences there before?
George: not yet, but i'll keep looking until i do
Jen: well, good luck! I'm sorry to cut this short, but I have to go somewhere. Thank you for your time!
George: no problem. it was great talking to you, jen.
myspace.com/valencia
Zack of Tidal Bay (Maddy)
Maddy: Lets start off with you giving us some background information on Tidal Bay, such as how the name came about and how TB formed.
Zack: Alright. Well, I did most of my growing up in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and I was always around the music scene there. I went to high school with Jordan W. and George T. of The Ready Set, so I was constantly around the scene. So, one day I decided that I no longer wanted to just be a friend of the bands; I wanted to either be in a band or have a solo project. So around late 2007, I started writing some songs in my basement in Fort Wayne but had to put a halt on it because I moved down to Florida. So for a while, I kind of just sat in back and didn’t put too much time into the music scene down in Florida. Then over this summer, I went back up to Indiana for about a month and called my friend Mike to help me finish and record some of the songs I had previously written. As far as the name Tidal Bay goes, I honestly have no idea where it came from. I wanted something that sounded peaceful and yet something with an edge, so after a few failed attempts at creating a name, I finally settled on Tidal Bay.
Maddy: That's awesome! But why did you let Florida stop you from creating music?
Zack: Well, the full story is: I was born in Indiana. Then at age 3, I moved down to Florida. While down there, I found my way into the world of music as a drummer. Then at about age 8, we found out my mom had cancer, so through the years, we did everything we could to help her. Then around age 13, it was announced my mom had very limited time left. We moved back up to Indiana, so she could be near all of the family. This is when I met Jordan and George for the first time. Then at about age 14, my mom passed away, which put a huge damper on my motivation for just about anything. I started writing music as a way to clam and relax myself. Then after my mom passed, my dad and I moved back down to Florida. For a while, I just found myself trying to fit in down here. There I was: a little kid from middle Indiana trying to fit in with big city kids. After a while, I started playing guitar for people, and they seemed to love it. I started writing again and eventually the birth of Tidal Bay came along.
Maddy: I'm sorry to hear about your mom, but you seem to have an amazing story. It's pretty motivating! It's good that you let your feelings flow through Tidal Bay, and I take it that your mother is a huge influence on your music. Is there anything/anyone else that also influences you?
Zack: I wouldn’t say the music is written directly for or about anyone. I take experiences I’ve had through life and just take the feelings I get from the experiences and turn them into songs. Also, I love to do what I call people watching. I’ll just go to a park and watch how people interact with each other and nature and write about that. Basically, if I’ve ever talked to you, you’re highly an influence to my songs
Maddy: Props to you! Not many people take the time to sit down and watch the world around them. Everyone seems to be caught up in the world of technology and all the gadgets it has to offer. Have you ever noticed how people can't even seem to put their cell phones away during shows when musicians are on stage? What's your opinion on that? How would you feel if you were on stage playing the music you worked hard on and seeing people in the audience on their cell phones?
Zack: On that subject, I kind of feel bittersweet. That could go one of two ways in my eyes. One, it could show they’re bored with your music. In that case, I think they should just leave the show because you go to shows to hear the music and not your best friend talk about how hot her neighbor is. It also could be a good thing though because it could be people texting friends saying, “Wow! This band is great! Get out here! You’ll want to hear this!”. In general, I feel that if you’re going to go to a show, only use your phone to take pictures or make calls and texts between bands.
Maddy: I agree. They paid for the show, so they should give their full attention when the bands are on stage. Have you ever played a show? If so, where?
Zack: Nope. Sadly, Tidal Bay has not played any shows… YET! However, I’m working with a booking company and a few other bands right now, and we’re planning a tour in the near future. In fact, one of the bands is based out of Chicago.
Maddy: That's exciting! Where would you like to play your first show? What are you expecting it to be like?
Zack: I would love to play my first show at a venue here in town called The Talent Farm. Honestly, I expect my first show to be mostly just close friends, but hopefully as time goes on and the name and music gets out there, more and more people will join the fan base and attend the shows.
Maddy: Why do you want your first show to be at The Talent Farm?
Zack: It’s just a great environment there. They have a great stage, and they do live interviews before you perform. They also broadcast your entire performance over the internet.
Maddy: That's really awesome! Once you start playing shows and bringing people in, where do you expect TB to be within the next few years?
Zack: I hope to be touring mostly full time. My goal is to, at some point, play a show in every state. No matter where I am as far as the music, I’ll always keep in touch with my friends and fans because wherever I happen to end up, it’s directly because of them.
Maddy: I hope you achieve and stick with that goal. It's a shame when bands get bigger than they expected and forget all about their fans and friends due to fame. It's important to remember that they're the reason you got so big in the first place. What do you want your fans to get out of your music? Do you want to portray any certain message or vibe?
Zack: The only thing I really want my fans to see and get out of the music is the same joy it brings me. I want them to love the art of music as much as I do. My music is written to be happy, so I hope it puts a smile on your face when you listen to it. I hope at some point I’ll be the band you listen to when you’re down to try to cheer you up.
Maddy: That's good! I'd like to wrap up the interview with one last thought. When do you plan on releasing new music?
Zack: I’m working on a lot of new material, so hopefully I’ll be releasing a full CD soon!
Maddy: Thank you for your time.
Zack: Thank you. It was great talking to you.
myspace.com/tidalbay
Leo of Rival Summers (Maddy)
Maddy: How did rival summers get started?
Leo: Well, I've been writing songs since seventh grade. Me and my friends, Preston and Alex, were in a band together, and it didn't really go anywhere. After that band ended, I just started writing songs for myself. I started getting serious about writing and playing shows in May of 2008. From there, I just started writing more and recording my songs at home and releasing hand made CDs at shows. That's pretty much it.
Maddy: What influenced you to write music? What inspires you?
Leo: All of my friends had their thing, like sports and art and stuff. I didn't really have much except for that I played guitar and piano. I just thought it'd make sense to try to write music. As for what influences me, pretty much everything. For example, I started writing my song “Love Is Worth the Wait” during a thunderstorm. My lights kept flickering on and off, and I was trying to watch Spongebob. Everything kept going in and out. I was getting pretty frustrated, so I started writing. “These lights, they flicker, and they die, but, unlike them, your eyes will never leave me in the dark.”
Maddy: Where was the first show played? Was it what you expected?
Leo: Well, I played my school's talent show every year, but I don't really count those as shows. My first real show was at AJ's Cafe in Ferndale, Michigan. It was a pretty chill show. A lot of my friends came and watched. It wasn't really what I expected because I was expecting less people to come.
Maddy: What are your thoughts on members of the audience text messaging during your set?
Leo: Ah! That really bugs me. Unless they're texting their friends to come to the show, I think it's really rude. I've even seen people listening to their iPods at shows. It doesn't make sense to me. I mean, if someone has taken the time to put songs together and perform them exclusively to entertain the people who came to the show, the least someone could do is pay attention. I usually turn my phone off when I'm at shows.
Maddy: Tell us a little about your new EP.
Leo: The new EP is called “The Oh, Snap! EP.” It was kind of a last minute thing. I went to Chicago to record my full-length album, and I thought that having my record release in October was too long of a wait without anything in between. Since I already had the songs and was already planning on releasing songs on free slurpee day, I thought it'd make sense to release them as an EP. The songs on the EP are “Baby, It's Been A While” and “All Yours.” “Baby, It's Been A While” is the newest Rival Summers song, and “All Yours” is the oldest. I'm hoping to get the EP on iTunes soon, but as for now, it's only available at shows. I burnt them all off my computer, and I hand wrote all of them. I think I made about 100 of them in two days.
Maddy: What do you have in store for the full-length album?
Leo: The full-length is coming out on October 9th and 10th. I'm having two release shows. The first one is at Hot Topic. I'm still figuring out where I'm having the second one. The 9th is my mom's birthday, so I thought it'd be nice to have it then because she's been the most supportive of my music and everything else in my life. Kind of like a thank you, you know?
Maddy: Yeah, that’s a good idea! What do you see in your future other than the upcoming CD release? What effect do you want the album to have on its listeners?
Leo: Well, I see more orange juice and sleep in my near future, since I'm sick. As for, like, the future future, hopefully my album will sell well, and I'll be able to play bigger shows and more people will come to see me. I don't really know what effect the album will have on its listeners. I'm hoping to at least leave people smiling after listening to it. I think it's the kind of record that doesn't get old. Maybe that's just me since I wrote all of the songs, but I really put my everything into all of these songs. Specifically, I hope that my song “Ready When You Are” becomes the soundtrack to every couple’s lives. It'd be cool to have it be a wedding song or something.
Maddy: Well, thank you for your time and good luck with the album!
Leo: Thanks for having me :)
myspace.com/rivalsummers