Meet The Bay State!

Recently, I got the chance to sit down with Portland, Maine's favorite export The Bay State just after their CD release show in Cambridge and we talked about a million things be it who they ran into at Bamboozle to who they would love to play with at the festival itself to their amazing street team and their experience writing and recording the theme song for the popular clothing company Glamour Kills.
The Bay State started back in 2004 when an acoustic project started by Tom Tash became the quartet that it is today with Drew, Suzanne and Evan. Over the last six or so years, they have grown an incredible fan base that they are incredibly close to and have really made a name for themselves. They have recently finished some dates with The Bamboo Shoots and will be back out on the road with The Status and Kids of Survival this month. Catch them on their return date to Boston on February 21st and hopefully I'll be able to too!
Due to all the great things we talked about in our interview, more like a conversation, I'll be doing a three part series on this extremely talented group so come back every Monday for the next part with the last one being posted February 22nd! This week, learn about the band's awesome fans and street team, the meaning behind the title track on their album and their musical influences!

You just came off of two CD release shows, one in Portland and one here in Cambridge. How did those shows go?
Tom: They've been awesome. The one we played on Friday was at our hometown venue and generally it's a pretty excited awesome home crowd. Family and friends and then a whole bunch of really great kids and it definitely didn't disappoint. It was a packed house and the energy was awesome and actually we sold half of our cd's.
Drew: Yeah, we sold about half our cd's and a whole bunch more today.
Suzanne: A lot of people came up before the show even started and made sure to pick it up right away.
Tom: It's the kind of thing where like over five years we haven't necessarily gotten to the point where we're selling out like the House of Blues but the fans that we do have are so rock solid. It's like, we know most of them by name first and last. We've hung out with a lot of them and we've been invited to play their birthday parties and stuff like that. It's been really great.
Drew: They're really great street teamers. They're awesome.
Tom: Yeah, a lot of them are on the street team and I mean I'll send out stickers and fliers, and then the next day people will be emailing me that I don't even know yet saying "I got a sticker or a flier from a friend".
Drew: "My friend", who we know and "I checked out your music, I love it." The street team is awesome.
Suzanne: We just answered a question without her even asking about our street team!

I know you have a song called "Haunted" on your new Ep. Did you just use it as your title track or was there another reason behind it?
Evan: Yeah, it was kind of just a short little cd for us.
Suzanne: We thought about going on a different direction but it's simple and it's our title track so I mean it just worked out nicely. With bells and whistles!
Tom: The two full band songs on the ep are about kind of having to live in a place where you used to be with somebody else and then just they're no longer there and it's like having to deal with all those things..walking down the same streets, walking past the same restaurants and stuff like that. So, that's really what the whole cd is about besides the Glamour Kills song.
Drew: So much fun to write.

How did the come about? I think it was kind of a contest?
Tom: Yeah! Back in the spring, Glamour Kills was looking for a theme song and we were already wearing their clothes and were big fans of all the bands on their roster and knew pretty much everything going on there and it was just kind of perfect timing and everything. We were kind of just laying low for a bit, playing shows, and we just got together and wrote the song in a week.
Drew: We all did a bit. Like a verse, or a hook, or the chorus. The first few lines of the song we were repeating over and over and we were like whoah, what's the next step for this.
Tom: The cd has being doing great though. The response online has been cool. We got to play it for the Glamour Kills guys like before everyone else heard it and they were really positive.
Drew: Yeah we did it in New York. Those guys are so much fun. I kind of we wish we could just set up shop there for a week.
Evan: I know like go up and be like "Hey can we come work for you guys?' 'Have a sleepover?"
Tom: They were really great people. The amount that they've done for us without us even knowing is unreal. Like just saying "check out this band" has like doubled everything for us. It's been really really cool.
Drew: Like one of the things, when you have music that you've worked hard on, or are really proud of, the next step is getting people to hear it so they can decide whether or not they are going to be excited about it and you get the word out and they've helped so much. It's been really great support.
Suzanne: We absolutely couldn't do it with out them. The fans that we have are die hard.
Evan: It's kind of like let's go on stage and play our show so we can hang out with our fans!
Suzanne: I just want to put them on the stage with us!

Who would you say are some of your bigger musical influences, maybe personally or as a band?
Suzanne: That's kind of an interesting question because they're all really, really different. I'm way more kind of old school like the sixties and seventies as far as what I grew up on. More acoustic. James Taylor is the love of my life. Um, Nick Drake, like of course the Beatles and stuff that my parents listened to like Simon and Garfunkel and then that's still what I listen to.
Drew: I was really really big into drum and bass and electric. A few of my favorite artists right now are like Pendelum and Justice. They're two of my favorites. Rocking out in my car.
Tom: Evan and I are kind of similar. Growing up, my dad listened to a lot of Bad Company and The Outfield. He was really into eighties rock which I mean, if you listen to a lot of Outfield, there's really not too big of a difference between that and like modern pop punk and my mom was really into like Mark Cohen and those two were huge on completely different ends of the spectrum but I think the Get Up Kids were probably the band that changed my life.

I caught them the day before Halloween in New Haven. I did an interview with Silverstein the night after them but Shane said Get Up Kids made his life as well.
Suzanne: The Get Up Kids are Evan's life.
Evan: I remember the first time I heard it I was just listening to some Eminem CD and then I found the Get Up Kids and was like "I just betrayed everything I've ever listened to".
Suzanne: What's funny is that you didn't know them then all of a sudden, you discovered that kind of music and it changed you're life. Like really it did.
Evan: Get Up Kids, The Starting Line, Cheshire Cat. I'm really into like Jimmy Eat World, Death Cab for Cutie. I've played classical since I was in like fourth grade so all that stuff like Beethoven and Brahms. Romantic classical stuff.

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Come back next week for their musical inspirations, their goals for their next album and how close they truly are to their awesome fan base. Thanks again to Evan, Suzanne, Tom and Drew for doing this interview and looking forward to you swinging through town once again! Check out their music on their myspace here.

That song that made me smile. "Reasons" by Augustana

"You had your reasons, lord I have mine. Don't call me baby, don't even try. You have your freedom, lord I have mine. Don't call me baby, don't waste your time".

If you have been a reader of this blog for a while, it's probably completely obvious to you who I like to call my favorite band. I have been a fan of Augustana for about four years now and they tend to keep the spot of my favorite band I still listen to. I have seen them twice in the past four years and hope that I can get the chance to both see them once again this year and have the chance to sit down and do an interview with them. Considering they are working on their new album right now, I think the chance will come pretty soon!
My personal favorite song from this band is a "secret" track on their last album 'Can't Love, Can't Hurt' and one that they played at their last show I saw them at in Montreal. It's called Reasons and it is one of the most adorable and heart wrenching songs I have heard in a long time. I just got reacquainted with it while clicking through my long list of favorites on youtube so hear it here:

All The Pretty Girls On A Saturday night...Meet Fun!

If you were a fan of Anathallo, The Format and still are of Steel Train and you were wondering where your favorite boys went, I found them for you in Fun. You probably didn't need my help though since Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff have just come off an extremely successful debut album "Aim & Ignite" in Fun.
They have been on the road pretty much constantly with bands like Jack's Mannequin and Anberlin, and they just hit the road for the third time with Jack's! For the spring, they have been announced as the openers for the new Paramore tour along with Relient K and hopefully will be able to make some new fans along the way.
I first caught this talented trio while they were on their very first tour as a band on their first time around with Jack's Mannequin in Montreal and I knew they would be a playful bunch. As you'll read in my interview with Andrew Dost who plays keys and does some back up vocals for the band, they were in the middle of the recording process for their first album and had no tours under their belt which made it even more difficult when they had to strip all their songs down to play the show acoustically. Read on to see how they believe they have matured since then and how they have really become a kind of band of brothers who also bring along their extended family!

Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with and what would the song be about?
Realistically? Ok, there would be two for different reasons. The first one would be, you kind of have to say Paul McCartney just because of what he contributed to music and he had such a great sense of melody and words and rhythms that were just so, so sharp. I still think every record he did was incredible.
Also, Ezra Koenig from Vampire Weekend. I think he's just great and I really really want to work with him at some point.

I actually caught you guys on your first tour ever with Jack's Mannequin in Montreal. You were just starting, you were in the middle of recording "Aim and Ignite" but how do you think your live show has matured over this past year, being even harder because it was acoustic?
We've matured in many ways. First of all yeah that was an acoustic show so we didn't have our full band and all the songs weren't really fully realized. They were very stripped down and it was really weird for us.
We had also never done a real so tour so to think about getting our songs down into acoustic form was really a challenge for us. It was our like our fifth show and I think we could have done better and now to go back out with them, and with a few tours under out belts, I think it's definitely going to be a lot better. We definitely play better now, we have more of a sense of what a "Fun." show is or you know what our band's live show ought to be. We just have a better sense of what we're doing and I think we've really matured in every way and I think we can do the songs more justice now with more people.

Like you said, you're going back out with Jack's Mannequin and you've toured with them a few times now. Did you guys know Andrew McMahon before or did you just get booked for the tour?
Yeah we knew him before. Yeah he was kind enough to kind of offer, well the whole band was kind enough to give us a spot on his tour when we didn't even have a name yet so he really took a chance on us. So for this one, they offered it to us and so of course we said yes because they're great. The shows are going to be outstanding. You know, we've just been really lucky to get on three tours with them.

What can fans expect when they come out a Fun. show. I know you're going to hi the road with Paramore this spring and that's going to be a little bit of a different tour for you guys. How do you think that's going to work out for you? Definitely a different genre.
Yeah a different genre. I think we are just going to expect going in that we're just going to have to win over people. I think that's how we kind of view bigger shows like that. They aren't there for us so we just have to put on the best show we can in the amount of time we have so we can kind of force them to pay attention. Try you know really as much as we can.

Awesome idea. What would you say is your favorite part of the touring experience?
Um, my favorite part of touring is just meeting people and having people sing along that really care about the music. To me, to watch people sing along is the best feeling.
Who would you say are some of your bigger musical influences? Maybe personally or for the band?
Well the Beatles, I'd want to repeat them. They were wonderful, life changing. I don't think it's right not to mention them. I also loved The Beach Boys growing up and still do. We were all into like the pop punk stuff like Epitaph and Fat Wreck Chords. The scene that happened like from mid to late nineties. That was really big for us even though I don't know if it really shows up in our music but for me at least, it was the most forwarding thing that made me think "I want to be a musician" "I want to be friends with these people". I don't know, I just seemed to really like it. They were funny and they were writing good songs and it was wonderful. So, that was a huge influence. Also like nineties punk like Weezer for example and Supertrick which as a similar band but they may just be influences for me because they were quirky and lyrically like interesting and thought provoking.

You all came from three separate bands to make Fun. How did you all come together in the songwriting process?
It was actually pretty easy. We didn't really know what to expect when we got down to writing. We weren't sure what was going to happen and the first song we actually wrote was actually a little rough. The communication wasn't there, we were all just sort of feeling each other out then eventually we started just to get the words out. Then on the second song, just something happened where we clicked as far as 'Okay, like we can communicate. We can all be like throwing ideas out and we can even be interjecting and be like this is better". It was a great feeling not having the egos, not having the hurt feelings. We all just knew that we wanted to write the best songs possible and we all should trust each other. We developed this really nice system of communication and creativity without even really trying which was very lucky and very fortunate and it became this great idea of trust.

Oh that's great. It must have worked out well because "Aim and Ignite" is on a lot of top ten lists for this year, including lots of other musicians. How do you feel this album has been doing? Does it surprise you sometimes being this new band?
If anything, I have nothing but great hopes for us and I believe in it a lot. I wouldn't be spending so much time and energy trying to make more people aware of it if I didn't really believe in it. I guess in that sense, I hoped for the response we've gotten but it's also been just really nice. I don't know, it's weird because we're not like the mainstream idea of success like Kings of Leon or anything. We're just an indie band that's able to tour and stuff so I don't know. Let's say I'm happy where we've got to.

I also had a question about the video for your song "All the Pretty Girls". How did you guys choose the concept with these pinatas of yourselves that were alive. How did that come about? Did you choose that concept as a band?
No, we thought of most of the video just in a conference call with the director. We had a few ideas and we were going through our favorites but they just didn't sound right and so we all just called in, and we talked on the phone for a good hour or two and we came up with the band being chased and we know we wanted to have kind of a surprise ending..like they weren't chasing us, they were chasing the Jonas Brothers who were in front of us. We considered another twist where we were going to be like going to our grandma's house or something like we were running away from these ladies to our grandmother's. We wanted something random, a twist at the end and then we didn't know what it would be. He came back to us a few days later with this whole treatment where we basically turned into pinatas and they broke us so we loved it and it was just a really big surprise. I mean it made no sense but we loved it for that reason.

Anathallo and The Format aren't together anymore but with Jack's other band "Steel Train", they're still actively touring like you guys are. How do you balance between the two when he's in two bands that are actively together?
Well, it's not easy because he doesn't really go on the road much with us. So, we have this other guy Rob who has played in a band before and also has a job and a fiancee there. Rob comes out for the shows with us a lot and Rob is phenomenal. So, there's really no drop off musically. It's weird but in a sense between the two of them, they're the two best guitarists I've ever worked with so its' not weird musically but we also love Steel Train so much, and we'd love nothing more for them then to have all the success in the world so touring is a large part of that. We understand!

It's understandable considering how long his band has been around.
Yeah and he's really good about trying to find time for both. It's actually worked out pretty well so far.

Awesome and finally what can fans look forward to in 2010 from Fun. besides the Paramore tour?
Um, I don't really know what else. Nothing else is set in stone. We're probably going to do a headlining tour at some point and we're hoping to get over to the UK at some point too but nothing is for sure. I mean what I look forward to most is time spent writing and recording. Touring is fun but there is nothing quite like creating music so I'm hoping for a little of that towards the end of the year.

For sure. Especially when it seems you guys work really well together through the songwriting process like you said.
Yeah, it's just so much fun collaborating together. It's just a really great experience.

Artist of the Week: TV/TV

"The Hives because they are my favorite live band, the Strokes because they are from NYC and are one of our favorite bands, and Empire of the Sun because they are just so fucking cool". Taking a look into who Josh Ocean, the lead singer of TV/TV would hit the road with if they could, a listener could really understand the punk rock lyrics and energy in a typical song and performance from the band. When I caught the band's live set at this year's Warped Tour in Montreal, I was sold almost instantly on their catchy lyrics and high energy show and from what Josh told me in our recent interview, it's even going to get better, "Mayhem, craziness, really cool new songs, a cover or two...just a live energy that hasn't been shown before!" A lot has happened for the band since Warped including getting signed to a major record label and recording their debut album all while being with out an original member and staying true to their fan base that has been behind them for years now.

Coming together thru doing a residency at the popular New York club Pianos, it isn't surprising to hear that their experiences as a band are coming full circle with their upcoming February residency but between these two spots, a lot has happened to this band to really make them who they are today. The band paid their dues putting out two ep's featuring some stand out tracks like Turn Me On and Indie Rock Girl and played the typical basement and hole in the wall shows including some shows at Providence College where Coolio even showed up, "It was absolute pandemonium," and all of this led to their chance to play on Warped Tour as an unsigned band.

Through the tour, they played shows on some larger stages then they were originally signed to do and gained quite a following which may have had a part in eventually getting signed to Mom and Pop records by the end of the tour which is who they'll be releasing their debut album with sometime this year.

The recording process is always an exciting time for a band and for Tv/Tv, it was both something that they have gone through before but that something that was also completley different from the past ep's they have put out. "It has been the most amazing experience. It is completely different from how we have done things in the past. We recorded using lots of vintage gear, tracking in analog to get a more vintage warm sound. Everything is just way bigger, you are gonna have to hear it for yourself. There is no going back," is just a little glimpse from Josh of how the process has been for their musical debut into the world. From watching their tour blogs that they have been posting on youtube throughout the process, I was able to learn a lot about how their recording process went as did fans. From recording in an old abandoned church to traveling to Toronto, the band was able to fully enjoy all the elements of the recording process.

There was something different in the recording of this album though and that was the absence of their original drummer Camille but the band hasn't let it bother them. Instead, they've gone back to a dear friend to fill that missing void, "We are extremely happy with the new drummer. He has been a friend for a long time. Even playing on the recording of 'Sleep On It'. It was all for the best".

All of this hard work is paying off for the band and they will be going full circle by doing a residency tour at Webster Hall Studio with a new local opening act every time. They'll be there February 18th, the 25th and March 4th trying out their new songs, playing around with some covers and really preparing their act to take on the road soon after once again.

Tv/Tv is definitely going to become a big name this year so catch them while you can. Their hard work is about to pay off and make sure you get a chance to see this amazing band live. You definitely won't regret it and let me know if you go to the upcoming residency! Lucky new yorkers!


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Check out their music on their myspace.

Point of View: What seems like the world versus Pete Wentz.

I was about to settle in for sleep when something caught my eye that finally was the flipping point for me. Over the last few months I have seen Pete attacked a million times over for being the reason Fall Out Boy was going on hiatus and finally I just had to have my say.

It seems like the general public just can't get over the fact that this indefinite hiatus Joe, Patrick, Andy and Pete find themselves on right now is looking like a dissolution of the band. Every band stops playing songs one day. No band has lasted forever (with an exception of The Rolling Stones!), every band will stop rocking and most of the time it's for the best. From what I've seen so far tonight and over the past few weeks, it seems like fans (hey I'm one too!) can't get over that. Fall Out Boy had an amazing run as a band and success that can't be disputed but since the hiatus started at the end of the Blink tour this past year, the boys have all been able to pursue some amazing projects.

Don't forget, every band can reunite, every band can get back together. This situation reminds me of when Blink 182 broke up and everyone blamed it on Tom. Look what happened, the band has come back together, did a huge reuniting tour and unlike most reunions, are actually back together, not just for a farewell tour. They are currently recording their new album and it will be on shelves this year.

I really think it's funny how the only people who don't seem to be pissed off are the press because we've been following these side projects and all probably couldn't be more excited about them. At least I think that way. I'll break it down for you:

Pete-Actually gets to enjoy being a father and a husband. Fall Out Boy, with the rare exceptions of recording new music, were constantly on the road for pretty much the last ten years. He also gets to focus on his record label Decaydance.

Joe-Is getting married to his long time fiancee and exploring so many different amazing projects. He did a week long radio show on Friends Or Enemies where he got to play the music he actually listened to and enjoyed. If you listened to this radio station, he would ask people to call in with questions or discussion topics and ninety percent of the time, it was all about Fall Out Boy this, fall out boy that and he was getting obviously annoyed. He also jumps into the studio with Andy tomorrow to start recording their first album as The Damned Things along with the lead singer of Every Time I Die, Keith Buckley. It is a heavy metal band that they have been wanting to do for a while and the music that they actually listen to themselves.

Andy-Gets to focus on his brand new band The Damned Things with Fall Out Boy band mate Joe Trohman and gets to work on FuckCity. Fuck City is an awesome campaign that he works on with his roommates who make up the heavy metal band Misery Signals. It's something you should definitely look out for!

Patrick-Patrick is writing and collaborating with some amazing musicians right now, including his amazing songwriting skills in the mix. He is also doing something that I think everyone is incredibly excited for and that is producing his own debut album and doing everything that goes along with it.


Learn that people do grow apart, and bands do break up but I like to believe that every time a band breaks up, five more amazing bands/things happen and already three are coming from this band. Check out the bands that have grown up listening to these guys and bands that are bringing something new to the table like these guys did so long ago. It was a great run boys!

Back on the Road with..A Rocket To The Moon!

Just two months ago, I had the chance to experience A Rocket To The Moon truly for the first time in Foxboro, MA. During my interview with Andrew Cook and Nick Santino, I learned about their songwriting process, how they all got together and some of their craziest moments as a band. To ensure my idea that this band was definitely not one to miss, their live show was electric and full of amazingly written love songs that melted the crowd completely. Lucky for the fans of the band, the boys are already jumping back on the road after a quick break for the holidays as part of the 2010 Take Action tour!

A Rocket To The Moon first started with Nick putting tracks on myspace and quickly it spiraled into it's current incarnation as a quartet of Nick, Justin Richards, Andrew Cook and Eric Halvorsen. They recently dropped their debut full length album on Fueled by Ramen "On Your Side" and they are quickly becoming a house hold name in the alternative scene! They are taking part in an extremely special tour and will be doing it until March 2nd ending in Dallas Texas.

Every year the Take Action Tour! gives a percentage of its' ticket sales to charity which should give you even more reason to head out. If not, just take a look at the lineup package for this tour. Included are Stereo Skyline, Call The Cops, There for Tomorrow, Mayday Parade, We the Kings and of course Rocket! Tonight they hit The Crofoot Ballroom in Pontiac, Michigan but check out all the dates below for the rest of the tour! They promise a completely redesigned set and will hopefully be incorporating more of their songs from "On Your Side"! The boys will also be playing some in store shows and one headlining one off during this tour and those are included in the dates below!

Leave me a comment if you make it out to one of their dates!

2/1 House of Blues..Cleveland, Ohio
2/2 Phoenix Concert Theater..Toronto, Ontario
2/3 *HEADLINING*Lost Horizon..Syracuse, New York (with There for Tomorrow)
2/4 Starland Ballroom..Sayreville, New Jersey
2/5 Webster Theater..Hartford, Connecticut
2/6 The Chance..Poughkeepsie, New York
2/7 Theater of Living Arts*Matinee* *SOLD OUT* ..Philly
2/8 Highline Ballroom*SOLD OUT*..New York, New York
2/9 Bourbon Street Ballroom..Baltimore, Maryland
2/11 House of Blues..Lake Buena Vista, Florida
2/12 State Theater..St. Petersburg, Florida
2/13 Floyds Music Store..Tallahassee, Florida
2/15 *IN STORE*Cactus Records..Houston, Texas
2/15 House of Blues..Houston, Texas
2/16 Las Palmas Event Center..McAllen, Texas
2/17 Emo's..Austin, Texas
2/19 The Rock..Tuscon, Arizona
2/20 House of Blues..Anaheim, California
2/21 House of Blues..West Hollywood, California
2/22 The Regency Ballroom..San Francisco, California
2/23 Wonder Ballroom..Portland, Oregon
2/24 El Corazon..Seattle, Washington
2/26 Murray Theater..Murray, Utah
2/27 Gothic Theater..Englewood, Colorado
2/28 Sunshine Theater..Alburquerque, New Mexico
3/01 Diamond Ballroom..Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
3/02 The Door..Dallas, Texas!

Check out their music on both iTunes and Myspace, and pick up the new album "On Your Side" as soon as you can! Believe me, it's worth it!

Patrick Stump solo lie? This girl is in heaven.

So, confession time.

Every person has their musical influences and people they look up to, and completely fan out about. One of those people is Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy fame. Coming off a long day of interviews and rushing around and doing a million things, I came back to the tweet from Greta Morgan, former lead singer of The Hush Sound. The tweet was a link to PatrickStump.com and said that Patrick will be releasing his first debut album. He is recording, playing all the instruments, producing and singing everything on it and I could not be more excited for him. Patrick is one of the greatest songwriting talents I have ever seen and I could listen to his lyrics and voice all day. If I interviewed him about this project, It would be a milestone in my career for sure! Check out the video he just released below:

Patrick Stump - New Album Coming Soon from Patrick Stump on Vimeo.