Check out the latest issue of Substream, featuring The Cool Kids. You can also find my pieces on Dream on, Dreamer, Noisetrade, Sleeping Giant and Will Call Clothing in there as well.

That being said – here are two new pieces. One on Substream and one on Come&Live!
Enjoy!

Immediately following our brief chat, Brendan and the crew took the historic stage. After their set, fans lined up for pictures and autographs. The band’s accessible and engaging personality works well in this scene. Check out the full concert review HERE.

To find out more about them, including what game shows they want to be on, what it’s like to play for FF5 fans each night, or how a band transitions from heavy music to pop, read below:

Rebecca: Give me a little history of the band:

Brendan: My name’s Brendan, and I’m in Since Forever. Three of our members were in a previous pop/rock group that they had just sort of started as a small thing. I actually played in it at one time so I had met all those guys. And we met Eric at college as well. We were actually playing music together at a church in our hometown and then we started playing our own songs. At the time, Nashville didn’t really have a whole lot of pop/rock at all. It was mostly hardcore bands. So we decided just to make the music we wanted to hear. So that’s how we started. Was there more to that question?

Rebecca: Nope! Alright so I apologize if this is cliché but…tell me about your name.

Brendan: Yup! We have such the most story boring story about that. The truth is we were looking for a name, and I don’t know who thought of that phrase..cause you know it’s a phrase. Like, “I’ve been doing this since forever.” And so.. or, “I’ve been working on this paper since forever,” ya know? So we googled it and no one had used it and we were like “This is stupid. No one has used this!” It’s short and simple. It doesn’t have numbers. It doesn’t have the word ‘the.’ All things I like in a band name. So that’s how we got the name. We really just picked it. Sometimes we lie though and say that it’s the letters of our name all put together, or that they were Zach’s first words.

Chrissy: You could totally say that though. People would believe you.

Brendan: Yeah. It was Zach’s first words!

Rebecca: We’ll just keep that as the official answer. So I noticed that there’s a distinct difference between your first record and this new one. Why did you decide to pursue a more pop/rock sound than before?

Brendan: Well our old bass player did a lot of writing on the first CD. Well not a LOT, but we wrote it all together and he put his feel on it. And at the time we were also, like I I said playing with a bunch of heavy bands, so we wanted to have a little more of a heavier thing. We played those songs for a long time. But it was a natural progression. I was tired of playing five minute songs. I wanted three minute songs and that’s it! And that’s what we were going for. We wanted to do more hooks, ya know? It’s so weird for people who are unabashedly about pop. But we really are. We just love pop music. So we tried to craft a bunch of short pop songs with hooks and work in that format. So it’s just a stylish change and progression. We didn’t want to do breakdowns and that stuff anymore.

Rebecca: Well it’s definitely a change when you go from breakdowns to pop hooks, but it seems to be working really well for you. So you’re touring with Family Force 5 and witnessing their heavy dance music set each evening. How has it been playing for their fans?

Brendan: They’ve been great. When you look at us on paper..well, not literally on paper..but when you look at our music and compare it to their music you wouldn’t necessarily think that it would mesh well.  But we always strive to put on a really energetic live show. And they have one of the best live shows I’ve seen in my entire life. I mean it’s different, but their fans have been so awesome. They get what we’re throwing down. They’re picking up what we’re laying down. They like to bounce with us and stuff.

Chrissy: So are you all FROM Nashville?

Brendan: Well, pretty much the Nashville area. Jason and Zach and Taylor live in suburb called Hendersonville.

Chrissy: Ohhhhh we were just down there!

Rebecca: Yeah we were down there for a show. A friend of mine played at a church in Hendersonville and we went to see him.

Brendan: Who? Who’d you see?

Rebecca: Dependency.

Brendan: Ohhh yeah yeah yeah! We know all those guys. Yeah we were at that show. It’s the opposite way of Murfreesboro which is where I’m from. Eric’s from Maryland. But we all went to school in Murfreesboro.

Rebecca: Alright so let’s switch things up a bit. If you were interviewing Since Forever and could ask the members anything you liked – what would you ask?

Brendan: Oh shoot. So like a question I’ve always wanted to be asked?

Rebecca: Yep! Or something you’d want to know about one of the other guys.

Brendan: I would totally ask Eric why he beat boxes so much. I would ask Jason why he loves shopping so much. I would ask Zach how he sings so nice. I would ask both the Easterwoods that. Actually, because I don’t really know it, I would ask them about their vocal training. I know their dad knows a lot about singing but I don’t think they really have much training besides choir in high school, but they sound like they do. But that is something that no one ever asks about their singing. I mean, are they not good singers? I always thought they were.  Are those good enough?

Rebecca: No those were great. And yeah, I’ve thought they were as well!

Brendan: Oh man wait. I would ask what game show we would all want to be on! And the answer would definitely be Legends of the Hidden Temple.

Chrissy: Ohh yeah!

Brendan: The thing is, we would win anything you ever put us on. We would be on Minute to Win It. We tried to be on Silent Library. We’d win that. They probably wouldn’t take us because they know we’d win. We’d be like – we’ll eat anything, we’ll never laugh. Family Double Dare, Wipeout, Ninja..what’s that..Ninja Warrior? I really liked the game Lingo. Do you remember that one? Ah, Family Feud! We’d be AWESOME on Family Feud.

Chrissy: So you’re in Philly – what do you think of the town? The food? What do you eat on tour usually?

Brendan: Oh man. Tons of junk food. Tons and tons. It sucks. WE all really like sports so when we get free minutes we do that to stay in shape. Eric’s really into P-90X. I can’t do it. It kills me, it’s so hard.

Rebecca: Ah yeah. I know a lot of people on tour who use that because it’s so convenient.

Brendan: Yeah because you don’t need anything. Dereck from Family Force 5 uses it. Dang that man is ripped. He’s a short guy but yeah..they all are really in shape. But food I like to eat on tour – homecooked food. Foods with vegetables. Oh and Taco Bell of course.

Chrissy: Ever been to Moe’s?

Brendan: Yeah but I’m not huge into it. Taylor though – Taylor could eat a burrito for every meal for every day of the rest of his life. Taylor loves burritos so much. He ate Qdoba today.

Rebecca: Well, it is Cinco de Mayo. And in case you forgot,  half of the Facebook world mentioned it in their status!

Brendan: I know right! Philly’s been really cool though. I’ve never been here before. We walked down to a market to get cheesesteaks earlier. So good.

Rebecca: Awesome. Anything else you’d like to add?

Brendan: What is this for?

Rebecca: IndieVision..

Brendan: IndieVision! No way! Oh man, I want to say that when I was in a heavy band in Nashville that we were on there once. Well that’s super good. Exposing music. How awesome.

Swimming with Dolphins filled the second set. Most of the crowd didn’t know how to react – and I’ll be honest – I wasn’t sure how to either. Their music is uncannily catchy and their indie style and seemingly laidback personalities intriguing. But from the crowd, it’s hard to know what to do. Do we dance along? Do those who know the words sing along? No one did.

Next was Stereo Skyline. Well, half of Stereo Skyline. Lead vocalist Kevin Bard walked on stage with an acoustic and drummer Rob Michelson sat behind a small set. Michelson’s had better days to say the least. He looked like someone bribed him to be there. Despite the lack of a four-piece, Bard held it together well. He played new and old songs alike, along with Backstreet Boys’ “I Want it That Way.” He explained that a last minute emergency called the other two members home. My sources say that this has been the Long Island, NY natives’ story almost every night of the tour. And I’ll just leave it at that.

After an intermission and incredibly long intro, Family Force 5 took the stage. Each in white not-so-skinny jeans and t-shirts adorned with the head of a ferocious animal. Much less jaw-dropping than the signature FF5 unique outfits (or dare I say costumes?). They opened with “Kountry Gentlemen” and then it began…a set full of a solid dance party. And it was fun. Really fun. The lights were spectacular and only added to the adrenaline-filled performance. Everyone from the 12-year-old girl standing with her mom, to the gray haired and bearded man dancing dead center by himself, partied the night away.

They played through the majority of the crowd pleasers from 2006’s Business Up Front, Party in the Back and 2008’s Dance or Die. When I spoke with them back in August, they were just about to head into the study to work on their next record. Looks like they’re almost done…but it’s only an EP. During their set, Soulglow told us that they were gearing up to release an EP. They played “Dang Girl” off the new one, and ended their encore performance with a slower track from the EP.

Overall, it was a good show. The majority of ticket-holders came Stereo and FF5, and those attendees seemed to seriously enjoy themselves. The opening acts were decent-ish and the headliner stayed true to its expectations. Let’s do it again!

(Look for an interview with Since Forever and some live shots from the evening to be posted soon!)

Nine years ago, an American University student grew sick of watching bands interviewed by the same Average Joe and asked the same mundane questions on a cliché set. “Why would I need to watch Green Day do another interview when they’re going to be asked the same questions again?” says DJ Rossstar, now in his twenties. Then the light bulb went off. “I’m in college. I have a radio station. I’m going to do an Internet show,” he proclaimed.

Rossstar then began reaching out to local artists, all whom were rather receptive. “Almost immediately I started doing shows once or twice a week,” he says. However, this was in 2002. This was before YouTube, MySpace, Facebook or Skype. Most people were skeptical of his project, declaring that the Internet would soon die off and therefore put an end to his show. Despite criticism, he created DJ Rossstar’s Punk Rock Radio Show – an interactive radio show where fans could call in and directly ask the bands questions.

And now here he is – having recorded over 1,000 shows with some of his favorite artists and currently living in Los Angeles, California, DJ Rossstar found himself on the phone with me, recounting the tale of his slow but sure rise to Internet fame. Let’s just say I was a tad bit nervous reciting interview questions to a guy who abhors cliché interview questions. Check out some of our conversation below:

Dj Rossstar & The Pretty Reckless

It really was year by year. Until 2004 I used to do my show on an interview station called Idobi radio. I would get 2-3,000 listeners a week but it was the same audience. But it wasn’t until I started using Stickam that I saw an incredible increase I popularity. I started getting viewers who didn’t know who I was but that saw that I was a featured show. I saw my viewers go up to 30-40,000 in a year. I started to see it grow even more in the past three years when I began to expand my interest. In the beginning It was l all pop/rock like Boys Like Girls, Cobra Starship, etc. They all gave the same answers. So I got bored and my audience became repetitive again. So around 2008 I started to expand my guests. So some of the odder artists include Katy Perry, Brandy Cyrus, Jackson Rathpone (Twilight), Juliet Lewis, The Veronicas, Shwayze the rapper. So it increased more to 40, 50 and 60,000. Each show twice a week had a different genre of audience.

Who has been your favorite guest so far? Or maybe I should say guests, if singling someone out is too hard.

I honestly like every show because I like meeting new people so to me it’s exciting every time I go on the air. I don’t know if they’re going to be funny, serious, cool, not cool, etc. The most exciting interviews would be the one s I grew up listening to in college and younger. I’ve had Reel Big Fish, Less Than Jake, Goldfinger, MxPx, New Found Glory and more. The fact that they all came over and became my friends after were the “holy crap” moments.

It’s just fun cause we’re talking to the viewers, we’re letting them call in, people get to speak directly to their favorite artist. Off the top of my head I remember Andrew McMahon. Those phone calls he got were people touched by their music. I love being the enabler. On the internet, you can be whoever you want, say whatever you want. So a lot of these kids might be afraid to approach their favorite artist in person. Behind a computer or phone you can say whatever you want.

What artists will be featured on the show in the near future?

There’s one guy I had over last week named Andy Grammar and he now has a song all over the radio on Adult Contemporary stations. On Thursday we have two artists – I The Mighty and K Sera. Then the week after that we have Touche Amore.. A lot of times these artists don’t know when they’re going to be in town. But living in LA… there’s never a shortage. The Honest is coming over in March.

Your biography says, “DJ Rossstar knows music.” What do you look for in a band?

if I’m going to bring someone on, they have to have somewhat of a following. They need to have something going on whether they’re about to be on a tour or have a new EP coming out, there needs to be some hype about a band at the moment. What I usually do is like two weeks before ill see if there’s any mainstream artists in town. If no one is around ill look for the locals. There are some artists that are really interactive through social media and some that aren’t. I like people that are like me, that are proactive, that are always trying to think of new ways to engage their fans. I might find a rock band from San Diego and even though they only have 340 followers on twitter, but they’re responding to all 340, I’ll bring them on. I look for people that care about their music. You can tell from someone’s music site, how hard they’re trying. Also, if I like the songs I’ll of course bring them on.

You’re now a featured columnist in Substream Magazine. Tell me a little about that…

I found Substream in the store, like Hot Topic. I was reading through it and then asked if they’d be interested in doing an article on my show. So they wrote an article, like a page and a half. A couple months later I wrote to them again and I asked if I could write a column in one issue. They were like, how about we give you a column every month? They said I could write about whatever I want. That’s what I love the most that I have freedom to write whatever I want. One issue ill write about whether or not you’re too old to go to a concert, or a new unsigned band, records that inspired me growing up. etc.

They’re giving a lot of unsigned bands to get in print magazines. I like that you can open up Substream and can see like 40-50 bands that weren’t in the previous issue. It’s cool to see my column. To me that’s a huge accomplishment.

So what else is it that you want readers to know about you and your show?

I want them to know that you can follow me on twitter [@DJRossstar]. I’m on there all day. Since I only do my show twice a week for one hour each time I try to keep them occupied all week. So today it was like – name some of your favorite records you own on vinyl. It’s a way to interact with the viewers. Sometimes ill post suggestions for bands I might want to interview in the next month and see if they want them. I just want them to know that I’m really interactive all week. There’s always something going on there.

——

Well there you have it – the story of DJ Rossstar and the passion that sparked a career. To watch the show for yourself and witness bands pile in on the DJ’s couch in his small L.A. apartment, log on to http://www.stickam.com/djrossstar on Wednesdays and Thursdays at 7pm PST. He’s an excellent communicator and will make you feel like you favorite artist is just chilling out in your own living room. Join the chat room or get your phone ready to call in during a live stream. To watch previous shows, interviews and more head over to ThePunkRockShow.com.

Justin Bieber’s new movie, Toby Mac, incorporating faith into music…these are just a few of the topics that came up during my chat with Trevor Kelly.

He is We recently finished a stint on the road with The Scene Aesthetic, Carter Hulsey and Plugin Stereo. When they played  Wilmington, DE a friend and I met up with the male  half of the boy/girl duo. Their performance was great. While most of the audience members were not familiar with the band’s songs, more than half were singing along as vocalist Rachel Taylor taught the crowd a chorus or two. After their set we met up with Trevor outside the venue, amidst multiple fans and even parents who wanted his attention.

Rebecca: First, how’s tour? How are YOU?

Trevor: Me? I’m freezing right now. Tour’s good. This is the 3^rd date so far and kids have been coming out every night.

Chrissy: Yeah, there is a super good turnout for this place tonight.

Trevor: Yeah! Especially for Delaware. You always hear Delaware being made fun of in movies and stuff – like in Wayne’s World. On the way here were like ‘Does Delaware really exist?’ So we were pretty stoked to play here.

Rebecca: Yeah there’s a weird scene here. I was really surprised that there were so many people, honestly. Usually there’s just a huge hardcore scene.

Trevor: Hardcore?! What!

Rebecca:..so I was pretty excited when I saw the packed out parking lot when I pulled in. I don’t know where these kids came from.

Trevor: They’re the hermit kids that come out of nowhere. They just appeared for this show. I mean, I’m not going to complain. We’ve played the east coast before but the closest we’ve been to here was Anapolis, MD. That place is super fun because we went to the light house afterward and hung out. It was kind of a slap in the face becuase in elementary school, all these parents were paying for their kids to go on a field trip to Washington D.C. and my parents were always like, “No! You can’t go! It’s too much money.” So I was like, “Fine, I’m just going to go when I’m older.” And I did!

Rebecca: Haha, yeah around here’s D.C. is the cliché field trip.

Trevor: Yeah it’s probably where you go grocery shopping, right?

Rebecca:  One question that someone requested I ask is why haven’t you played in Nashville yet? Will you any time soon?

Trevor: Nashville is my absolute favorite city and I’ve always wanted to play there. We’ve been there when driving to and from places and we always stop because we have so many friends in the area. But have you noticed how awkwardly placed it is? No one goes to Kentucky and no one hits Tennessee. Everyone always tours from St. Louis to Chicago or St. Louis then Little Rock, but they never go there. So, not yet. But I fully intend to. How old are you girls by the way? And you’re from here? There’s an 18+ show tomorrow night in Philly if you want to come.

Rebecca: Ah, I’d love to but Toby Mac is playing right outside of Philly  tomorrow night and I’m taking my little brother to see him.

Trevor: Ah Toby Mac! I grew up in the church and Toby Mac was one of the artists that my mother would actually approve of me listening to and that she absolutely loved. That guy’s great.

Rebecca: Sweet. He’s almost a staple in every Christian kids’ music. Okay question – What is the story behind And Run? That’s my favorite song on the record.
Trevor: When we wrote And Run, we were just hanging out in Brooklyn with our producer and Rachel was like, ‘I just want to start a song with vocals with a ooh ahhh ooh ahh hook.’ And then I was like yeah, let’s put a great beat behind it. Now, Rachel loves rap. You might not expect this but she listens to rap all the time. So we kind of second guessed putting a beat behind it. But then were like ‘Eh, we’ll just do it anyway.’ And then lyrically, its about choosing your own destiny and finding your own path and running with it. I’m really glad you like it. We don’t really look at stats and stuff,but we were going to release that as our first single and we were told that it wasn’t very popular. I was disappointed because that’s my favorite song on the record!

sometimes i hide in cornfields too

Rebecca: Well it’s definitely a great one! So tell me about your current label situation. I’ve heard that you’re signed, but online you still list the band as Independent.

Trevor: We got signed about nine months ago to Universal Motown. But uh, I guess we don’t publicly advertise that because it usually always seems to scare fans away when you tell them you’re signed. Some are like all worried that we’re going to sell out and have to incorporate new songs for the label. But it’s the total opposite. They let us do whatever we want and just release the record.

Rebecca: Well congrats on the signing. It’s great to know that people high up on the industry chain like what you’re doing.

Trevor: Yeah! I had a total girl moment the other day. Because David Massey at Mercury [Records] told us the other day, in his British accent: “Justin Bieber was in here the other day and he wanted to tweet at you. But I told him not to, because I didn’t want anyone else to sign you.” Oh man have you guys seen that movie?! It’s so so good.

Chrissy: Yes! I saw it the night it came out. Kind of embarrassing! The theater was full of 14-year-old girls who literally started arguing with each other over Justin and their mothers were yelling at everyone to shut up and watch the movie. It was so weird.

Trevor: No, don’t be ashamed! It’s a great film. So inspiring. I thought it was going to be the same thing because I saw it opening weekend. But then we showed up and there was nobody there. There was three people behind us, who coincidentally came to the show the next night and were like …”Wait, you guys were at the movie theater.” Did you see it in 3-D? Justin’s all singing right in your face and I’m like, “Woohoo!” That kid deserves everything he gets. I used to think he was just a punk kid.

Rebecca: Same! I used to not like him until I realized he really has talent.

Trevor: Exactly. Although I wonder too if maybe he really is a punk kid but they edit the movie to make him seem relatable and down to earth. It’s whatever.

Rebecca: Okay, back on track. How do you and Rachel go about collaborating on songs?

Trevor: There’s never been a set criteria. Sometimes Rachel will come up with a melody or a chorus done and we’ll go from there. Or I’ll come in with something. The writing process is never the same, which really opens up your creativity and allows you to work more freely. For example, that’s what happened with “And Run.”

Rebecca: Awesome. Alright, last thing and we’ll let you go so you can meet that guys’ daughters. I know you had Aaron Gillespie as a guest vocalist on one of your songs and he’s a notable Christian artist. What are your ties to the Christian music industry?

Trevor: Well, Rachel and I both grew up in church. Not together. But I grew up in it since I was about six years old and played guitar in youth groups. The first CD I ever bought was Blindside. Ever listened to them? Blindside’s About The Burning Fire was my first record ever and I just fell into the Christian hardcore scene. It was so inspiring to me that people were screaming and it sounded like Devil music but they were worshiping God. So I started a metal band.

Rebecca: You? I never would have guessed.

Trevor: I know, right. No one does. Coincidentally, our backing band – Aaron our guitarist screams for a metal band and our bass player plays guitar for a metal band – but we all came together to do this. But when this He is We came about we made this name..and I know you were going to ask that question next..

Rebecca: I actually totally wasn’t going to ask about the name.

Trevor: Oh man, that’s a first! Okay well I’ll still tell you. The name He is We comes from the idea that Christ is in all of us. I don’t know if you guys are Christians or not, but it’s the idea that no matter what we’ve been through, He is in we. People give us so much flack about or name. They ask if it’s a Beattles song and stuff. But that’s the only connection.

Rebecca: So how does that idea translate into songwriting?

Trevor: Well Rachel and I when we write always write to inspire, whether or not our songs are about God or a guy or life in general. We never want to be derogatory. There’s all these millionaires out there like Ke$ha where subliminally…yeah some little 12-year-old is out there listening and isn’t going to brush her teeth with a bottle of jack. But that’s implanted in her head. A lot of people do that. So if you can just be a shining light through your music, that’s good enough. As long as its just uplifting and not derogatory, it can set a good example. That’s my rant, I guess. Sorry that was really cheesy. I got all Maury on you guys.

Rebecca: No worries!

Trevor: This is just so great right now. Because I’m used to girls, and guys even, who say they’re from a magazine but really just want to get into the show for free. And afterwards they’re just like “oh, hey.” And I ask them if they’re going to do the interview and they’re just like, “Yeah I’m from this magazine but I really just wanted to see what you guys were like.” So when I saw you guys my eyes lit up and I thought to myself – Yes! It’s a real interview! Real people!

….and the interview concluded with a conversation about Walmart and the People of Walmart.

rachel & co. playing the not-so-classy harmony grange

]]> http://rebeccacicione.wordpress.com/2011/03/29/interview-with-trevor-kelly-of-he-is-we/feed/ 1 heiswe2 Rebecca Cicione He-Is-We3 heiswelive http://rebeccacicione.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/interview-time-with-before-there-was-rosalyn/ http://rebeccacicione.wordpress.com/2011/03/09/interview-time-with-before-there-was-rosalyn/#comments Wed, 09 Mar 2011 19:24:54 +0000 Rebecca Cicione http://rebeccacicione.wordpress.com/?p=384 ]]> During our rather long conversation on a freezing cold winter night outside the Ukraine Center in Philadelphia, photographer Chrissy Dumire and I listened as Before There Was Rosalyn shared why it is they’re sticking it out on the hard road of touring, how they stay accountable to each other and even how much they love their moms. Read on.

Rebecca: Life on the road can be crazy – what makes it worth it?

Carlos: I’ll go first, since I know we all have something to say about this. For me, it’s stuff like tonight. We show up, the place looks sketchy and everything and I see someone singing the lyrics and I meet them after and find out they drove an hour and a half. It’s meeting people who appreciate what we do and it means something to them.

That’s what makes it worth it. You drive 800 miles to a place you’ve never been before and someone does that seem thing for you. It really just helps to reinforce what it is that we set out to do. That’s it for me.

“]

Trent Gibson [guitar

Rebecca: Great answer. Great testimony.

Trent: Why thanks.

Chrissy: Being a Christian band, how do you keep yourselves going and spiritually fed? Do you keep yourselves accountable or is there someone at home you talk to consistently?

Carlos: It’s a bit of both. Definitely we…even in a joking manner we try to keep each other accountable. We’ll crack jokes about accountability partners and things like that, but I mean, essentially we don’t let anybody get too out of hand. Myself included. When it’s me, when I’m having a bad attitude or something like that – they’ll let me know. They’ll encourage me. But even not just attitudes there’s other stuff as well. Like even today, Brice had a question about Scripture that he just wanted to know so he asked it out loud and I read to him what he was looking for. So stuff like that we really strive to do while we’re on the road. And then back home, for those of us who are from Houston, there’s a church called Anchor Church that’s been around pretty much as long as we’ve been a band. Pastor Brian Yarbrough is an amazing guy. He’ll text us scripture and he’ll also tell us what he’s preaching about that week at church. And if we feel we need extra support we will text friends of ours who are pastors and stuff like that. We try to work on keeping each other accountable. We try to pray every day, to go back to  even when we’ve had a bad show or something we’re not happy with. We still glorify God. Even with all the hardships and everything we’re doing this for him. As much as we’re broke and homeless pretty much the entire time that we’re on tour, we do understand that it’ something that a lot of people dream about doing and never can.

“]

Seth Webster [bass

Rebecca: Awesome. Here’s a question a fellow IVM’er and great friend [Jess Tack] texted to me earlier tonight. You recently had your van broken into…

Carlos: Well we had our trailer stolen

Chrissy: What!

Trent: Riiightttt off the hitch.

Carlos: Yep, right off the hitch in Houston.

Rebecca: It happened at home?

Carlos: Yeah. Right in my front yard. The van and trailer were there for 5 days when we got home from tour, and on the 5^th day the trailer was gone. That happened on the eend of our summer tour after Cornerstone. And then just recently a couple weeks ago our van completely died.

Luke: Our van caught on FIRE.

“]

Carlos Salazar [vox

Chrissy: How did you know it was on fire? Were you in it?

Carlos: Well I think the flames were a dead giveaway..Usually when your driveshaft shatters, you feel that. And then we got out to see  it was a fire. The really funny thing with that was that told us later that when he got out of the van, he really didn’t know where that day was going. But the police showed up, the fire department showed up and we had almost no money at all because our last three dates had cancelled because of snow. And then a few days before that happened we had to spend quite a bit of money to do some van repairs anyway. So we have almost no money besides the money to get us to the next city, we didn’t know how we were going to get the van towed. But this amazing man named Russell Davis..

Trent: Russell Matthews!

Carlos: Yes, Russell Matthews, of the TOWN of Davis, Oklahoma, ended up charging us almost nothing for the tow.

Luke: And bought us dinner.

Seth: Yes! He bought us barbeque – I’m from Texas – and he bought us the BEST barbeque I have ever had in my entire life.

Carlos: He gave us a trailer tire that I ended up needing a few days later when the tire blew out. He gave us a ride to the hotel that he recommended and then came back the next day to take us to the grocery store to make sure he had food to eat.

Luke: He also let us take a sledgehammer to stuff in the back of his yard. So we just busted up glass and..

Carlos: He figured we had a bad day

Trent: He runs a wrecker service and had an RV that had been flipped so it was destroyed already. So he was like – hey, here’s a sledgehammer.

Luke: We actually broke the sledgehammer on one of my personal he-man swings.

“]

Brice Johnson [touring guitarist/van rescuer

Luke: In the sketchiest roads ever, by himself

Carlos: …to come rescue us.

Rebecca: That’s such an awesome story to hear, guys.

Carlos: Yeah! Cause God is good. It ended up being a great day too because we got to watch the Super Bowl..got to watch the Packers win the Super Bowl in a nice hotel.

Trent: We got to see Fergie sing awfully to a Guns ‘n Roses song.

Rebecca: So you didn’t know that guy?

All: NO!

Trent: He’s just the guy the cop called to come tow us.

Seth: This is what the cop told us and what I know to be true. They charge $100 just to come out and put their hands on your vehicle and then they start charging you from there. And the two, because he had to go to his place and back twice would have been about 40 miles. So we would have spent a lot of money. But when I got in the cab with him and was like – “are you guys going to stay in a hotel? “ I said it depended on how much the tow cost. And he was like [in southern accent] “Oh I’m not really going to charge you for the tow like I charge most folks. You’re not like those crazy kids out there running around burning at both ends…”

Carlos: Little does he know we ARE! [lots of laughter]

Trent: Like Luke said, we really weren’t sure how it was going to pan out.

Seth: What was encouraging for me was that, because I just joined the band, people always say how it’s easy to have faith when it’s convenient, blah, blah, blah. And then when bad things happen its non-existent because it’s not really there. But when everyone here got out of the van they were like “You know what it’s going to be alright. Because God’s Word says there will be provision and He will hold us hope.” It made no sense. I was telling people for three days. I need you to punch me, pinch me or something because I do not believe this is happening. And here we are.

“]

Luke Hendershott [drums

Luke: Made it to the cheese steaks!

Trent: I didn’t get to see the Rocky statue, I didn’t get to see the Liberty Bell, I didn’t get to see anything!

Rebecca: Haha, that’s unfortunate. You should have driven around a little before loading in! Everything’s pretty close to here. Alright so to finish up, what else do you want fans to know?

Seth: Just basically that people who come to shows, we’re really really thankful for you.

Trent: Yeah. Like Carlos said if there is one kid who is stoked on it, that’s good enough for all of us. So if you are that one kid, you will get five really big hugs and possibly a slushie.

Carlos: But we don’t guarantee them a slushy.

Trent; I’m going to buy them a slushie if I have the money.

Luke: Also Natalie, at the Ukraine American Citizens Association rules!

Carlos: In Philadelphia. On North Franklin Street. Also, I just want to say thank you to my mom for everything. And everyone who’s ever let us stay at their house or bought us food or bought our record or just came out to a show.

Trent: I love my mama too.

Brice: I think we can all say that we love our mothers.

Luke: Thanks to Noelle [Carlos’ girlfriend] for selling merch.

So here’s part two of my “small artists you should listen to before they blow up.” Because, mark my words, they will blow up.
I have stacks of press kits and demos in my room. Some are great. Some are just awful and make me wonder why in the world I would have ever requested them. I listened to a ton of unsigned artists when I was interning with Columbia. I still do. I wish I could post about every single one of those great ones, because they really do deserve recognition. But for now, here’s one that I’ve been listening to a lot lately:

Their name? Dinner & A Suit.

There are  few reasons I’m in love with this band. For starters, they grew up half an hour from me. But somehow I was never introduce to them until maybe a year ago. I was actually pretty disappointed that they had somehow previously escaped my radar. When booking a show at Rowan, I asked students via Twitter what bands they would want to hear. Someone mentioned Dinner & A Suit. We ended up bringing in some bigger acts and that suggestion was pushed aside. Next semester I  posed the question once more on the social networking site. Once again, I got a request for Dinner & A Suit. This time, I went and checked them out. I was floored.

Vocalist Jonathan Capeci has one of the most beautiful voices I’ve heard in quite some time. It’s unique, smooth and..well…addicting. An artist with great vocals always stands out.

Check it out for yourself:

Now after you’ve watched that one, watch both of their Paramore covers. The most recent one received a nod from Hayley herself. She tweeted a link to the video, then posted it on her blog, and then on the grand Paramore.net blog.

But back before Hayley was telling her bazillion fans about how awesome these guys are, they were playing our local Camden, NJ Warped Tour date. I saw the end of their set in ’09 by accident. I just remember the lead singer’s hair, oddly enough, and that I really liked what I heard of their closing song.  Then in 2010, they played the 7 or 8 regional dates. They’ve also played MTV’s Projekt Revolution, and were featured in both AP and Substream Magazines in the unsigned artists spotlights. In addition, they’ve also made a few appearances on AbsolutePunk, including an AP.net Exclusive for their song, “Where We Started.”

Now located in Nashville, Dinner & A Suit are working on new material and polishing their act. There’s a chance they’ll be coming back up here to play my next Rowan show. Keep your fingers crossed! But while you’re waiting to see them live, be sure to “like” them on Facebook and pay special attention to their YouTube page for another great video performance.

In 2008, five musicians gathered in Huntington Beach, CA to start a new project for all of them. It was a pop/rock band called RunnerRunner. Members Ryan Ogren, Peter Munters, Jon Berry, Nick Bailey, and James Ulrich came from their respective previous endeavors including Rufio, Over It and Don’t Look Down. They named the new band after a poker term. “After the flop comes out – if you have the better hand than I do I would need to go runner runner on the last two cards that come out,” says Nick. “It basically means beating the odds. We apply that to music because there’s so many bands and artists that go unheard.  We’re also really good track runners,” he adds.

I had the chance to chat with Nick for a bit on the phone a few weeks ago. While our time was short due to another interview I was on the way to, I was able to get some information from him on how the band started, what they stand for, their new record and what drives these guys to keep making music. He’s a super personable guy and “hanging out” as he called it, was quite enjoyable.

The band is currently gearing up for their tour with Good Charlotte, then one with A Rocket To The Moon, and then a slot on Bamboozle. They’ll be playing brand new songs of their debut self- titled full length that dropped on Tuesday. Skeptical if you want to purchase the songs? No worries. Head over to their site and stream the album for free. Now there’s something that doesn’t happen very often.

In case you hadn’t heard before, RunnerRunner enjoys being rather unconventional. What happens when users on one of the biggest music sites continually tears a band apart? Well, I’d guess either retaliation or retreat. Not so in this case. When AbsolutePunk members continually bashed RunnerRunner’s musical style last year, the band got smart. They started an ad campaign featuring a 47 second video of Nick delivering a very pointed, effective message.

“A lot of critics and music lighteners are so quick to give a negative opinion or talk trash about someone they don’t like,” he told me. “They way to look at it is that music is an amazing thing – so go find the stuff you like and love and enjoy it and the feelings that good music gives you. Some people are just unhappy in life in general because they dwell so much on the negative. It’s important to realize that music is subjective. I just, I’m a positive person. We’re a very optimistic band and fueled by positivity.”

This positivity continues to translate into the bands’ songwriting process. For example, “Dedicate,” one of the tracks on the new album, features the story of Nick’s cousin and his suicide. The lyrics employ listeners to look at the world from a different perspective and not lose hope, while still being incredibly sensitive and empathetic to the situation. “Things can be okay,” Nick says of the song. “You just have to keep believe there’s a lesson and keep praying.”

With the band’s busy tour schedule, chances are they’ll be in a city near you…or at least within a few hours and a mini road trip. So why not grab some friends, pile in and go for it? Each night is sure to be a good time with the bands’ energetic and passionate show. “We just really want to entertain people, so come out and see us play and have a great time,” Nick encourages. “Ryan is a pretty funny guy so he likes to tell some jokes on stage. We get people laughing and having a good time and want to sound good and make people enjoy themselves.”

Tour dates can be found HERE. Enjoy!

church goers and surfers of the world wide web have deemed this blog worthy
of the title “Best Blog of 2010.” What?!

I don’t know who the heck voted for me. But thank you! They even gave me this super cool “badge” to put on here.

Seconds Before Sleep

So you may have noticed from previous posts…although on second thought, I’m not sure I’ve ever said this..

Let’s try again – if you know me, you know that I love discovering new bands. New, raw yet polished, small yet growing, artists are my favorite to listen to and work with. There are a few that have caught my eye. Some recently formed, while others have been around for years and are now starting to make waves in the music industry. When I was scouting for one of my internships, 95% of the music I listened to were indie bands that no one had ever heard of.

I’d like to share some newer artists with you so that in a few months or years when they’re the buzz word you can say, “Oh I was so cool and listened to them way back when I read Rebecca’s blog.” Do you see the genius in this? Even if you don’t like the music, it’s a win-win situation.

The first one is Seconds Before Sleep. From Minneapolis, MN, the five piece band is signed to none other than Garden State Records. It’s based out of..you guessed it… good ‘ole New Jersey. The More Daring Than Fate EP can be found on iTunes, Amazon and on their Web site. If you’re a fan of The Fray, Goo Goo Dolls or Acceptance you might want to keep on reading.

sbs poster

When their manager sent me a link to demo of one of their songs, I immediately responded with positive feedback. Lyrically, the content isn’t my favorite. But I will say that the songwriting is excellent at using imagery and symbolism to create a vivid picture in the listener’s mind. Musically, I’m in love. Their light, accessible, passionate sound is one that had me hitting the repeat button on one song for almost an hour. That song would be  “Enchante.”

“Enchante” seamlessly builds and falls while telling a story. The first few bars gain attention and increase anticipation. “Well tell me now, do you like what you see? I’m an original,” proclaims lead singer Michael Shynes. The vocals have such an innocent, simple sound while still coming off as very mature and polished.  “Hey Now” is super catchy. Imagine that – an artist producing really catchy songs without having to be a super pop band.

Shynes started posting the inspiration behind each song in the form of notes on the band’s Facebook page. You can find them right HERE. He says of “Hey Now”:

“The overall theme is now is the time to make a choice (“this time its now or never”) so you don’t spend your entire life trying to manufacture happiness rather than finding a situation that would give it to you free and clear”

Definitely keep your eyes out for these guys. Chances are they’ll be popping up where you least expect it. “Here It Always Rains” is already getting radio play, while “Enchante” is slated to be used for the band’s first music video.