Getting to Know Solid Gold Balls

sgb1

1. MATT
Who are you and who does what in the band?
I’m Matt Souther. I play bass and really bring the backup singing to the next level.

How would you best describe the sound?
Not really basement rock, but more garage rock, with lyrics about how the fucking kids have made a mess out of the garage.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?
My dream has always been to see the country in a van. I’ve seen the west half of it in previous bands, but still wish to see the east, and now I’m pretty keene on seeing Europe from a van too.
And I too fantasize about playing SNL. Hopefully on a night when Natalie Portman hosts.

Still got day jobs?
Sort of, I own my own business, and co-own another business with Dan the drummer, laser engraving shit.

Any regrets?
Not doing this band sooner, back in the 90’s when they were handing out record deals to anyone with a shitty guitar and a loud amp who was also head to toe in flannel.
Continue reading Getting to Know Solid Gold Balls

Getting to Know the Buckaroux Banshees

www.buckarouxbanshees.com

Where are you from and when did you get started?

Formed in St. Paul Minnesota! – 4 guys (We’ve since added a drummer! We were 3 members originally w/ no drummer) who felt a serious void of music (All their other groups had called a hiatus or disbanded i.e. – Grimace – Conquistadores – Streetwise Professors – Corp D… You know, typical obscure Twin Cities Punk Groups..) in their lives so one winter day in 2011 they decided to form “Buckaroux Banshees” – A hybrid of all previous group members projects that would try harder promoting themselves. Create sharper songs. And most importantly play stellar live shows!

Who are you and who does what in the band?

4 piece band!
Matt Graske (Me) Rhythm Gtr
Gregg Schmitt – Lead Gtr
Chad Medellin – Bass
Ryan Blue – Drums
* Everybody writes lyrics and sings them!
We have an awesome eclectic mix of singers in this group and this keeps the songs very interesting. There’s no clear front man. – But we don’t care! We ‘ve been working hard on the music! It’s coming together nicely!

How would you best describe the sound?

Fugazi type “progressive” punk music
We challenge ourselves to not write the same song over again repeatedly.
We take turns singing and changing time signatures
We have a disco song
We have a 3/5 timed song. We need to keep ourselves entertained and couldn’t do it by simple four chord punk music
We also enjoy “classic?” metal very much so
We are a very lead guitar oriented band with guitar inspirations from groups like Iron Maiden / Judas Priest / Black Sabbath

Influences include: Fugazi / Descendents / Superchunk / Judas Priest / Iron Maiden / etc

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

To be able to afford to take 1 month off of work ; pack up the van and tour the whole United States (Do-able right?)
We wanna see some of the world… at least what’s in our own country. We’re young and energetic. We hope to make this a reality

Still got day jobs?

Of Course we do… we’re not fuckin rock stars

Matt Graske – Cooks in various twin cities restauraunts (Carbone’s Pizzeria / Corner Cafe mostly)
Gregg Schmitt – Walmart Tire Lube Express Technician
Chad Medellin – Various Blue Collar jobs (Metal Fabrication / Cleaning Screens for a printing company / Occasional Prostitution Work)
Ryan Blue – Gordy’s Steak House! (A REal beast in the kitchen!)

Any regrets?

Yes We should have formed this band when we were in highschool instead of college!

BandPromoPic

Getting to Know KevoCantDance

[ad]

kevo

KevoCantDance is an Indie/Pop-Punk/Folk acoustic music project started by Kevo in 2011.

Let’s take some time and learn a bit more about Kevo, shall we?

Where are you from and when did you get started?

I am from a small town called Huntingdon in central Pennsylvania. I think my interest in playing music really started when I was 11. I was on the school bus listening to some rap metal band on my walkman and this older kid named Brandon handed me a mix-tape and told me to stop listening to shitty music. The mix-tape he gave me had Screeching weasel, Bad Religion, Blink 182 (Chesire Cat days before they sucked!), and just a mix of awesome 90’s punk bands. As soon as I popped the tape in and heard Screeching Weasels “Dummy Up” I knew that’s what I wanted to do the rest of my life. So 15 years and 9 bands later…….here I am ha.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Hi my name is Kevo and I am the band! I play acoustic guitar and I sing my lungs out :P.

How would you best describe the sound?

My sound is a mix of Acoustic Folk, Pop-Punk, and Indie rock thrown into a blender and pureed into a raspy sound that I like to call “Acoustacore”. My influences are Chuck Ragan, Tom Waits, The Frontbottoms, The Mountain Goats, Justin Sane(Anti-Flag), & Mike Ness.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

I really wanna headline a show @ The Electric Factory in Philadelphia, I’ve been to dozens of shows there and it would be great to see the view from the musicians perspective. Plus I like to fill beat up acoustic guitars with confetti and smash them on stage from time to time and I think that place would look quite lovely with colorful confetti flying through the air :). So yea that’s definitely my goal within the next year or so, besides that I would just like to go on tour forever (or until the van broke down).

Still got day jobs?

Yes :(…..I work in IT (Ima nerd n stuff)

Any regrets?

No regrets…….well maybe that gas station hoagie that I ate a couple hours ago; (my stomach regrets that mostly).

You can find out more about KevoCantDance below

[youtube uUyJWby_AB4]

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Kevo-Cant-Dance/230111337071105?fref=ts

https://twitter.com/KevoCantDance

Getting to know Iwanaga

Iwanaga! (pronounced “e-wa-nah-gah”) a six member ska band that formed in 2008 in the wasteland Fresno, CA. Known for stirring up a lot of commotion in the local music scene. Iwanaga has toured up and down California and has opened up for many touring bands like voodoo glow skulls, the sheds, isolated victims, ska skank redemption and potato pirates. for more about iwanaga visit their Facebook, twitter and reverbnation.

Facebook.com/iwanagaska

Twitter @iwanagaska

Reverbnation.com/iwanaga

Let’s learn a little more about them, shall we?

Where are you from and when did you get started?

We are from Fresno, California. And we started in 2008, Andrew started the band and members came and went so now we’re at the line up we have now. Which is pretty rad. Let’s hope it stays this way for a long time.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Guitar/vocals/mom– Andrew Pereida

Bass/inspirational coach– Roxanne medina/Nick Chacon

Trombone/vocals/fedora lover– Leo Esparza

Alto sax/Deaignated Asian– Will Melendez

Drums/Dance Coach– Jeff McCobb

Trumpet/Awesome– Armando Mancinas

How would you best describe the sound?

Our sound is a whole lot ska with a dash of everything from 2 tone to pop punk to Latin feels. You’ll have to check us out to hear our sound.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Opening up for voodoo glow skulls is up there. And being able to play with new bands and areas in California that we’ve never played before is pretty rad. As for a fake dream moment would be able to be signed and touring with big acts like reel big fish and such.

 Still got day jobs?

You bet your sweet goodies we do. Andrew works at a Laserquest, Leo works for GameStop. Jeff works at an Italian restaurant, Nick works for Fresno State, and Armando works for a movie theater. We all have some pretty awesome jobs.

Any regrets?

None… well there was this one time in San Francisco.

 

Getting to know 20 Bulls Each

[ad]
Getting to know 20 Bulls Each

Where are you from and when did you get started?

We’re from Dublin – Ireland, not Dublin Ohio! We started in 2002, and have been at it ever since, line up has changed a little over the years and we’ve recently moved to being a 5 piece band. Hopefully we’ve improved slightly since then too as we were truly terrible at the start.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

We are.
Gar – Vocals
Gav – Guitar
Adrian – Bass
Olly – Guitar
Paul – Drums

Olly and Adrian are the new guys, who joined us recently after Gar decided that he didn’t want to play guitar anymore and our last bassist left due to other commitments. Standard issue 5 piece hardcore line up.

How would you best describe the sound?

On a good day we sound somewhere in the middle of a rumble between Sick Of It All, Misfits & Cromags.

Paul said this when I asked, he’s got a better explaination:

“Hard to describe our sound. We all bring somethign different to the band and it all gets melded together so it’s hard for us to pinpoint any one style as sticking out. I guess we sound like hardcore, heavy riffs, shouty vocals, the occaisional melodic sing along bit and some slow stompy parts too.”

Adrian had this to say:

“Journalists are the best in pigeonholing bands so it’s up to them to describe our sound.”

Thanks Adrian, very helpful!

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Dream rock moment for me would be to play at Reading festival, it’s always something I went to as a kid. Bands would always say that their first time playing Reading was amazing. Maybe someday…

Asked Paul again:

“Real dream rock moment was for me was probably meeting Mackie and John Jospeh when we palyed with them as the Fearless Vampire Killers in the Voodoo Lounge. that was amazing and they were both really really nice blokes. Another Dream Rock moment would be being able to give up my crappy job and being able to do this full time.”

And Adrian:

“My dream rock moment, realistic one would be:to make living out of what we’re doing (is that a rock moment?it would rock for me) and unrealistic one would be playing Wembley”

Still got day jobs?

Unfortunately yes.

I work in an office, Paul works in a place printing funeral cards, Olly is a part time piercer and film / video maker, Adrian runs ReINKarnated tattoo studio in Dublin and Gar runs a pub called The Thomas House. I fully endorse these two establishments! Come and visit us in either of these places if you’re in Dublin, drink and get tattooed.

Any regrets?

No big regrets. You’ve got to make the most of what you have. Adrian wanted to add: “Only regret I have is: I wish I started earlier.”

Oh and I regret that some dick head stole my Fernandes guitar before I had even played a show with it. Bastard.

Getting to know Blue Collar Convicts

[ad]
Getting to know Blue Collar Convicts:

Where are you from and when did you get started?

Keith: Where to even start? Blue Collar Convicts got started back in 2002 (I think) up in Pepperell, MA. I’m only going by copyright paperwork and it seems we started more presently than the dates the paper work reveal anyway. Most bands get rolling with a focus on something, but in this case BCC was supposed to be a side-project and nothing more. I was playing in a band with two biological brothers that hired me to play bass for them on a studio project. Somewhere during pre-production for our sophomore effort I decided I needed a break to record some of the material I’d been writing for a few years. Gratefully the brothers were willing to learn and rehearse the stuff I’d created. We rehearsed for two months and hit the studio. The sessions were brutal at first. Too much arguing and alcohol consumption left some songs far from completion. Overall the 5-song EP that came out of it received great critical acclaim nationwide but because of the bickering I finished the album with only myself and Dave Minehan (“The Neighborhoods) turning the knobs.

The brothers wanted to go back to the other gig and finish the follow up record but I bailed because I knew in my heart that the Blue Collar Convict journey was going be special. After a year off writing and playing solo acoustic gigs I decided to get it up and rolling again. I called my longtime comrade Jonny “Smash” Doty (“The Bloodsuckers”) to come aboard and start writing new material together. Coyotero and Delorenzo (drums & bass respectively) came on to help us get rehearsals going, however they left the band due to differences and the “$2 & Change” Album was finished up with only Smash and myself. BCC was effectively dead before we could even get the album a proper release party. After about 3 years of ripping through rhythm sections we came across Steve (Drums) and Dean (Bass) and the Blue Collar Convicts lineup has been the same ever since.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Steve: Well for starters, I’m the drummer. I also handle our entire web presence and most of the bookings for the greater Boston area. Jonny Smash is our lead guitarist/vocs and does a lot of work on our flyers and merch. He’s been in a number of bands over the years and has ridiculous skills on the strings. Keith Jerszyk is our founder and lead song writer on rhythm guitar and lead vocals and covers booking for our northern MA/southern NH constituents. Dean Rider is our voice of dissent and bassist. He’s really good at getting Keith all sorts of riled up.

How would you best describe the sound?

Keith: We have many influences and desires when it comes to music. They range from our mutual love of all things punk rock to our basic foundations of classic rock, early 50’s/60’s rock & rockabilly to your staple blues and country.

Steve: We put forth a combination of all these genres that can be best described (we think) as “Garage Punk”. It’s nitty, it’s gritty, it’s catchy, the lyrics are hard working blue-collar relatable, and it hold true to both the punk and rock ‘n roll genres.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Jonny: I had a dream where I went to see KISS and they were old, not in makeup, and wearing their 80’s glam garb. They were at an arena but nobody was there. I just walked up to the stage and chatted them up and they invited me up on stage. We started running through their old 70’s stuff and the crowd started showing up and we really rocked the house. Everything was fine until Paul wanted to play “Lick It Up” (which I do, regrettably, know how to play) and then I woke up!

Does the time I took mescaline and watched Headbangers Ball and Gene Simmons stuck his head out of the TV and wagged his tongue in 3D count?

Steve: I am a die-hard Fat Wreck Chords fan. In that, my biggest (real) dream is to be in a band that either gets on the label or at least gets recognition from them. I think we have the sound and the ingenuity for it, but are just lacking in the notability nationwide. Now that things are moving, hopefully that will change.

Dean: To tour oversees (or anywhere for that matter) without coming home in the hole.

Still got day jobs?

Dean: While there is definitely great potential for BCC, we do have families and jobs to tend to. Keith works his ass off (10-12 hour days 5-6 days a week) has a wife and two sons that he needs to keep a lot of time for. Jonny works full-time and has a newborn son and a beautiful wife. Steve works behind a desk full-time and has to take on side-contracts to barely squeak by. I’m a truck driver with a newborn on the way (6 months or so down the line).

Any regrets?

Steve: I think our only real regret is not getting the band together as the line-up stands sooner. BCC has ripped through rhythm sections like one may cheap whores. Bassist after bassist, drummer after drummer and only 8-9 years later did we finally settle on a lineup that is all of what Blue Collar Convicts is, wants to be and stands for. The only problem now is that many of us have full fledged families making large-based touring pretty much out of the question and an ever growing shitty economy makes it hard to pay the personal bills, let alone keeping the gas flowing for local gigs, the electricity pumping for our rehearsal studio and the extra funds to cover things such as merch or studio time for a new album.

Jonny: That I squandered most of my talent for drugs. That I sold my VoxAC10TS for rent (and drugs/smokes). That I should’ve gone to Berklee on guitar instead of taking the flute scholarship. That my date with Winona Ryder fell through..frickin’ Johnny Depp…true story…

Getting to know Phat Meegz

Where are you from and when did you get started?

We’re a band from Tasmania, Australia, and all of us live here, albeit a bit scattered across the island at the moment. We got started sometime in early 2009, right after I moved to Tassie from Sydney. I was 16 and just moved out of my parent’s house to live with a friend halfway across the country.

At the time Tassie was a bit of a hotspot for traveller crusties and other such riffraff cause of these massive protests over the logging of the upper florentine, which is an old-growth forest that was getting turned into wood chips and chopsticks. So, living here, I quickly gravitated to a few other out-of-town punks that had just stopped by to fulfill their rent-a-riot duties, one of which (Joey) became the bassist of the band. We used to jam even though he claimed he hated reggae, and wrote a bunch of songs. We then found a drummer and enlisted him cause he was wearing an Op Ivy shirt, and a second guitarist just cause we could. Eventually we found a music nerd to play trombone for us. After about 3 months we decided to go on tour around Australia and all spent a bunch of money and met a bunch of people, which was cool.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Well, I’m Ethan, I sing and play guitar. Joey is our bassist, he gets naked a lot on stage. Sam is our drummer and he’s the level-headed one. At the moment our Second guitarist is Jono, he’s 17 or something and has to sneak into all our shows. Luis is our trombone player, he lives on the other side of the island and handles all the complicated musical stuff, he doubles as our sound engineer and tambourine player.

How would you best describe the sound?

Old school reggae, if everyone in Jamaica was high on tweak instead of weed, and also white, angry and underage.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Real: Having the power cut at a show for playing too long, Joey being completely naked, and everyone in the crowd singing the words anyway.
Not Real: Brad Nowell somehow being alive and us opening for Sublime, and Joey flashing his balls to the entire crowd.

Still got day jobs?

Sortof. I’m usually unemployed but I just started work at a lettuce farm, picking and planting little lettuce babies. Joey goes to university and works at a fancy art gallery, Sam does furniture design at the same uni. Luis goes to Uni in Launceston, the other, shittier major city in Tasmania. Johno is still in year 12.

Any regrets?

Too many to count.

Getting to know Holding Onto Sound

Where are you from and when did you get started?

We’re Holding Onto Sound from Las Vegas, NV. We formed in 2003 and have been playing live almost every weekend since. We were drawn together by our love of certain bands & styles. Punk, reggae (not ska), Metal, Hip-Hop. We wanted to make something new, while using all the old styles.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

I am Senor Bennett Mains. I sing lead vocals and am one of the many guitar players for HOTS. We’ve also got Zabi Naqshband on the low end, he’s a bass playing maniac. He also brings the backing vocals and sings lead on a few tracks. Sitting behind the drum kit is Vanessa Tidwell. She blows my mind and the minds of all around with her drumtastic beat bangin’. Last but not least, our brand new addition, Bob Gates. Bob lends both rythym and lead guitars and some backing vocals, also. We tracked Bob down like an animal and captured him, forcing him to play guitar for us. We’re fuckin’ savage.

How would you best describe the sound?

Aggressive and passionate and energetic. We love everything from The Clash to The Deftones to Genghis Tron to Bob Marley to Johnny Cash to Rx Bandits to Thrice to the Moody Blues to Interpol. haha. Some of us like Lady Gaga & Kesha. I don’t think we sound like any of them though. Maybe a little like Kesha. I often find myself wearing blue lipstick, with a pound of eyeliner running down my cheeks. And that has alot to do with our sound. We go for that ‘recently drugged & fucked’ sound.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Very real. We opened for the greatest band of all time, NoFx, January 2009. For me that was my moment. It’s all down hill after that. Any time you catch someone you’ve never met singing the words to your song with you, that’s a dream moment for anybody who ever decided they wanted to be in a band. Gotta love it man.

Still got day jobs?

But of course. Collectively we sell clothes, fix bikes and clean pools. What a life.

Any regrets?

Nope. Well….Maybe my ‘recently drugged & fucked’ remark earlier. Love you mom.

Getting to know Mall’d to Death

Mall'd To Death

Getting to know Mall’d to Death:
Where are you from and when did you get started?

We’re from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.  We first got started way back in late spring/early summer of 2009.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Dani – drums and sometimes backing vocals
Tyler – bass and vocals
Dan – guitar and 2-inch tape

How would you best describe the sound?

Tyler: Melodic punk for the ADD Generation.

Dani: Sergei Prokofiev of punk.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Dani: Playing drums for Katy Perry. I guess that’s not a moment though.

Tyler: I’m not sure. Having our album [Can’t Make a Living] put out on GC Records and a vinyl release [out soon on Bitter Melody Records] is cool enough for me.

Still got day jobs?

Dani:  I just got laid off, actually. But I worked at a grocery store.
Tyler: Yeah.  I guess I default with the Chuck Dukowski philosophy claiming he’d rather work a day job for the rest of his life than ever become dependent on his music.

Any regrets?

Dani: Telling Tyler he could take credit for all the songs I wrote.
Tyler: Telling Dani he could take part in this interview.

Mall’d To Death’s latest release, Can’t Make A Living, is out now on GC Records

Getting to know Mall’d to Death:

Where are you from and when did you get started?

We’re from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota.  We first got started way back in late spring/early summer of 2009.

Who are you and who does what in the band?

Dani – drums and sometimes backing vocals
Tyler – bass and vocals
Dan – guitar and 2-inch tape

How would you best describe the sound?

Tyler: Melodic punk for the ADD Generation.

Dani: Sergei Prokofiev of punk.

Dream rock moment (real or not)?

Dani: Playing drums for Katy Perry. I guess that’s not a moment though.

Tyler: I’m not sure. Having our album [Can’t Make a Living] put out on GC Records and a vinyl release [out soon on Bitter Melody Records] is cool enough for me.

Still got day jobs?

Dani:  I just got laid off, actually. But I worked at a grocery store.
Tyler: Yeah.  I guess I default with the Chuck Bukowski philosophy claiming he’d rather work a day job for the rest of his life than ever become dependent on his music.

Any regrets?

Dani: Telling Tyler he could take credit for all the songs I wrote.
Tyler: Telling Dani he could take part in this interview.

Mike Ivey of Basehead

Interview with Mike Ivey of Basehead
Conducted via email 11/08

Jerry ActuallyWhen “Play With Toys” came out it was greeted with a decent amount of attention, but by the time “Not In Kansas Anymore” was released, Basehead seemed to have faded back into obscurity.  Was I just not paying attention to the right channels, or did your audience pick up the ball and then drop it?

Mike Ivey – Actually, the fade back to obscurity was after “Not In Kansas Anymore,” and after we recorded the follow-up “faith” which didn’t get a major label release after parent label Imago’s BMG distribution deal ended.  Prior to that Kansas sold about as much as Toys, we did got some press, and we toured opening for Stone Temple Pilots, Butthole Surfers & fIREHOSE, as well as on our own and in Europe.  Therefore the fade to obscurity was a bit more gradual than described above.

Jerry ActuallyIn regard to the question above question, basehead came about a few years before the massive proliferation of the internet and the whole peer to peer file share phenomenon.  Do you think if basehead would have been more in line with this that things would have unfolded differently?

Mike Ivey – Actually, things unfolded the way they needed to.  “Play With Toys” came out right just as Soundscan was in the process of rolling out, and that multi-year run ended right before the internet really got going, so I feel fortunate to have experienced the record business prior to the traditional industry model falling apart.  I’ve always been skeptical of the panacea of promises of the internet age, particularly in regards to how artists are supposed to be paid for work when everything is available for free.  But in general, it’s a cost-effective means for marketing and communications in the 360 degree-DIY business model that the future seems to be calling for.

[ad]
Continue reading Mike Ivey of Basehead