Interview - Attack! Attack! UK

The U.K.'s Attack! Attack! play music that sounds just like their name - hard, fast, and fun. I caught up with them recently to see how things are going in their fast-paced world.

PPJ: First, tell us who you are and what you do in the band.

Neil Starr: I am Neil, singer and guitarist in Attack! Attack! UK

PPJ: I don't know much about Cardiff, Wales. What is it like for someone growing up there, and in terms of the area's music scene?

Neil: Growing up in South Wales was great fun! the local music scene here is amazing, just think of all the great bands that have come from a 20 mile radius of each other: Lostprophets, Bullet For My Valentine, Funeral For A Friend, Skindred, and loads more including Tom Jones, haha! It's inspiring growing up and watching bands like Lostprophets become international stars; it really gives you belief that you too can, with hard work, become an international success.

PPJ: How did you arrive at the kind of music you play in Attack! Attack! UK?

Neil: We are all into the same kind of bands and really love melodies and rocking out. We just love writing catchy songs with passion and energy!

PPJ: How do you go about writing your songs?

Neil: 2 main ways. Either one of us will write something that resembles a song and bring it to rehearsal to show the rest of the band and jam it out or we just write spontaneously as a collective whilst in rehearsal. To be honest there are no rules with song writing we just go with the flow.

PPJ: What was it like working with Stuart Richardson from Lostprophets?

Neil: Awesome! He had some really good ideas for our songs and took the album in the direction we wanted! I have known Stuart for a long time from being in other bands, and we used to hang out a lot growing up. When he moved to LA I didn't get to see him very much so it was awesome to spend a month together hanging out, having fun and of course recording the album.

PPJ: What's it like to hear your songs on the radio and to be nominated for
awards?

Neil: Kind of surreal to be honest with you. Personally for me the most satisfying thing is to hear positive things from fans and things like radio and awards can only help you expose your music to new people and help you grow as a band.

PPJ: Are you still on tour with Funeral For A Friend, or are you out with Save Your Breath now? Where are you now, and how is it going?

Neil: Right now we have a few weeks at home, which is amazing because we get to see our family and friends again! We finished the Funeral For A Friend tour and go out with Save Your Breath in 2 weeks. As much as we are enjoying being home we can't wait to get back on the road again!

PPJ: You guys were also just at SXSW. Was that your first time there? How was it and who did you see?

Neil: Yes, and it was an amazing experience. It was also our first ever live show in America and we really loved the experience. We drank a lot of alcohol and generally had a blast whilst watching bands like Gallows, You Me At Six, Fighting With Wire, The Meat Puppets, Cancer Bats, Alesana, plus loads loads more.

PPJ: What is your favorite venue to play at?

Neil: London Astoria was an amazing venue and we were lucky enough to play there twice before they closed it a few months back. It was such a shame they closed it, especially as it was destroyed to make way for a train tube station for the Olympics in 2012! Wrong in my opinion!

PPJ: What are your plans after this tour?

Neil: We basically are gigging until September, plenty of shows and festivals in the UK and mainland Europe. We plan on writing more new songs as we are the kind of band that likes to release things sooner rather than later so expect new tunes from us towards the end of 2009.

PPJ: Your MySpace says you're going to be on Guitar Hero. What song, and how did that happen?

Neil: It's "You and me" and we are SOOOOO stoked about it. Its a game we have all been fans of for ages and is always on whilst we are traveling to venues in the tour bus. To cut a long story short we were chosen by the top guys and gals at Activision (the game makers) from a whole host of bands that submitted to be on the game. It was very flattering that we were chosen over hundreds and hundreds of bands.

PPJ: What do you hope people will come away with when they listen to your music?

Neil: We hope after hearing the CD they will be inspired by the music and that it can offer them something positive. From the live shows we try and be interactive with the crowd so we hope people go away with a smile on their faces, covered in sweat and ready to spread the word of Attack! Attack! UK to everyone they see.

PPJ: Finally, tell us three bands you think we should be listening to.

Neil: Fighting with Wire, Twin Atlantic, and The Blackout.


Thanks again to Neil for answering my questions, and to Melissa Berlin at Rock Ridge Music for arranging the interview. Be sure to check out Attack! Attack! UK and try to catch them on tour!

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Interview - Breathe Carolina

Lots of bands choose one style of music and stick with it. Breathe Carolina take a bunch of different styles and smash them together. What they come up with is their own unique brand of sound. Frontman Kyle Even happily took a break from all this creativity to answer a few of my questions.


PPJ: First, tell us your name and what you do in the band.

Kyle Even: I'm Kyle and I sing in Breathe Carolina!

PPJ: What initially got you interested in music? Who were some of your favorite bands growing up?

Kyle: My step brother was a huge influence because he would show us all kinds of bands and groups - started me on Green Day, White Zombie- then got me into 2pac and Bone Thugs! Those were some of my favorites as well!

PPJ: How did the music you were playing with your old bands evolve into what you're doing now with Breathe Carolina?

Kyle: Screaming in other bands helped! But musically nothing really stands out - I wouldn't be here without those people believing in me though! But the music is so different in writing, recording and playing that we had to figure out a lot on our own.

PPJ: You have a bunch of musicians who tour with you. Are they different people every tour? Do you ever consider making them permanent members - why or why not?

Kyle: They are the same every tour unless they don't want to come out- but it's been the same for a year now so I don't see it changing any time soon!! They are permanent to us - just 'cause they aren't in pictures doesn't make them less important- they'd still be doing the same things and nothing would change- we'll have to see what the future holds.

PPJ: What went into writing and recording It's Classy, Not Classic?

Kyle: We had to finish the record on the road cause we did it ourselves - David wrote, recorded and produced the whole record.

PPJ: Where did you come up with the name for your album?

Kyle: David thought it up- it's about living life as hard as you can without worrying about the past and future.

PPJ: What do you think of your fairly rapid rise to the public eye?

Kyle: Things have definitely grown quickly! I just hope people are having fun with what we've created! It's been amazing getting to play venues that we could have only dreamed about!

PPJ: How do you think you managed to grab peoples' attention so quickly?

Kyle: I don't know? I think that secret is with the people who have been listening to our songs! I have no idea!!

PPJ: How did you get in with Rise Records?

Kyle: Our manager is good friends with Craig from Rise- he sent our songs to him and he sent us a contract! We signed about 3 months later but he was the first to offer us a deal!

PPJ: What's the music scene in Denver like? Is it easy or hard to break out from there?

Kyle: It's easier than some places- the local scene is great! People are very supportive! No matter where you live it's gonna be hard to break- but Denver definitely gave us a step up!

PPJ: Have you been writing new songs? What are you hoping to do with your music now?

Kyle: Ya we have! We just want to make fun songs - songs we want to write and play - hopefully they'll reach someone on a deeper level- but as long as they hit us hard then that's all I can ask for!!

PPJ: What do you hope people will take away with them when they listen to your music?

Kyle: Have fun and be yourself!

PPJ: Finally, tell us three bands you think we should be listening to.

Kyle: Bring Me The Horizon, Emarosa and Anarbor.


Thanks again to Kyle for answering these questions, and to Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media for coordinating the interview. Be sure to pick up a copy of It's Classy, Not Classic and to see when Breathe Carolina is playing near you!

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Interview - The Bigger Lights

The Bigger Lights hail from my hometown of Fairfax, VA, and I jumped at the chance to interview a band I've been watching grow and grow right in front of me. Guitarist J.K. was kind enough to answer my questions for him.


PPJ: First, tell us who you are and what you do in the band.

J.K. Royston: My name is J.K. and I play guitar and piano. I'm also one of the primary songwriters.

PPJ: You guys are from my hometown, Fairfax, VA. What was your experience with the music scene there? How do you think living so close to DC affected your band and your music?

J.K.: I'm not sure that the Northern VA scene really affected the type of music we play as much as I think it gave us an audience to expose it to. From day one, we set out with the intention to do something with a strong pop influence. Northern VA just happened to be the perfect scene for the type of band that we naturally gravitated towards being. We're really proud of our scene though. Between My Favorite Highway, The Friday Night Boys, and us, we've had three signings in the past year and I'm pretty sure that The Downtown Fiction is soon to follow. It's a really strong area for music right now.

PPJ: Tell us about how The Bigger Lights began.

J.K.: Dan and I were in a different band all throughout college. We hadn't been super happy with where that group was headed and made the decision to leave right before we graduated. We spent about nine months auditioning new players and working on different ideas before we discovered Topher singing in an upstart project. We quickly found that we all shared similar creative beliefs and decided to explore the notion of pursuing a project together. We started writing songs together and from there, The Bigger Lights was born.

PPJ: Where does the name of your band come from?

J.K.: The name was actually our friend Clint Herring's idea. It's taken from a Shakespeare play in which one of the characters refers to the stars as "the bigger lights." The reference was used as symbolism for the great unknown in life, which we thought was really cool.

PPJ: It seems like you guys have a page on every social network out there. Do you ever feel like you're putting too much of yourselves out there, or does the connection with the fans outweigh that?

J.K.: I think that social networking is a huge part of connectivity in today's social climate, so putting so much of yourselves out there has almost come to feel like a prerequisite to exposure. Of course, there are definitely downsides to being so connected to everything all the time but I think that in our case, the positive effects that social networking sites have had on our band's growth and exposure far outweigh the negative ones.

PPJ: What was it like to transition from local shows to nationwide tour dates?

J.K.: It's been an amazing experience. We're learning a lot about what it takes to put on a high caliber performance night after night and succeed on the road. Thankfully, we've been lucky enough to tour with some incredible bands that have been kind enough to teach us things they've learned along with way. I think we're definitely growing into a band that will be able to hold its own on any stage.

PPJ: Tell us about what went into writing and recording Fiction Fever.

J.K.: Fiction Fever was written over the course of about a year. Some of the tracks were recuts of tracks that were on our previously self-released EP while some of the tracks were new songs that we'd written since the release of our first EP. Ultimately, we wanted to make an EP that we thought was infectious and attention grabbing. We chose to work with producers Kenneth Mount and Zack Odom after having the chance to record a few demos with them right before signing to Doghouse. We're all really happy with how Fiction Fever turned out, but we're definitely excited to get back into the studio and explore new ideas for our next record.

PPJ: Do you have a favorite song you've written? Why or why not?

J.K.: As cliche as I'm sure it sounds, I think that we're proud of every song we release. I don't think I have a personal favorite because each of our songs holds a different place in my memory and affects me in a different way. All I know is that we will never release music we don't love and believe in with all of our hearts.

PPJ: How did you get hooked up with Absolute Management and Doghouse Records?

J.K.: Nano actually discovered us only a few weeks after we debuted our first demos online. He and Keith ended up coming to meet us at our third show. We spent about a month getting to know them and exploring a possible working chemistry before making the decision to work with them. Thankfully, they have become two of our closest friends and definitely our two most trusted opinions in this business. Doghouse actually took an interest in the band about six months after we launched. We showcased for several other labels around the same time but ended up making the decision to sign with Doghouse because we felt like they had a more natural passion for what we wanted our band to be.

PPJ: What are your favorite things to do while you're out on tour?

J.K.: Obviously, playing shows and meeting new fans is our favorite thing to do on tour. Other than performing, we love to find Panera breads and steal their wifi. We definitely watch a lot of Family Guy and read a lot in our van during the longer drives. Whenever we have time, we love to go see landmarks or explore cities we've never been to before.

PPJ: Do you have any future touring or recording plans yet?

J.K.: We'll likely be touring for most of the spring and summer before we head back into the studio to record our debut full length this August.

PPJ: Are you coming back to play at Jammin' Java anytime soon?

J.K.: I'm not sure exactly when we'll be playing Jammin Java again but I'm positive it won't be too long. That's one of our favorite places to play and we always love playing for our hometown friends and fans there!

PPJ: Finally, tell us three bands you think we should be listening to.

J.K.: Recently, I've been hooked on "In Rainbows" by Radiohead, "Only By The Night" by Kings Of Leon, and "How The Lonely Keep" by Terminal. You should definitely check all three of them out!


Thanks again to J.K. for answering these questions, and to Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media for arranging the interview. Be sure to check out The Bigger Lights on tour and pick up a copy of Fiction Fever!

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Interview - K'NAAN

I've recently done some work for the wonderful Corduroy Magazine, and you can see my interview with the artist K'NAAN over on their blog. Enjoy!

2008 End Of The Year List.

Here's my ten best albums of the year. That's all I'm doing this year for my EOTY list, so enjoy. I know I really missed out on a lot this year, so if I'm missing something that wound up on your list, recommend it to me!

01. New Frontiers – Mending
02. Vampire Weekend – S/T
03. Girl Talk - Feed The Animals
04. Lydia – Illuminate
05. The Matches – A Band In Hope
06. Anberlin – New Surrender
07. Alive In Wild Paint – Ceilings
08. She & Him – Volume 1
09. Fall Out Boy - Folie A Deux
10. Forgive Durden – Razia's Shadow: A Musical

Interview - The Love Willows

The duo known as The Love Willows are trying to make a splash in pop music with their delightfully sugary, catchy tunes. Check out my interview with them and see if they don't put a smile on your face.


PPJ: First, tell us your name and what you do in the band.

Hope Partlow: Hope Partlow, vocals.

Ryan Wilson: Ryan Wilson – guitar, vocals.

PPJ: What got you interested in music? When did you decide you wanted to write your own music?

Hope: My dad is the reason for my interest in music. He was always hanging around the house with a guitar in hand. I sang my first song, “Folsom Prison Blues” by Johnny Cash, on stage at the ripe age of five. I made $25 in tips and that's when I made up my mind to be a singer. I wrote a few songs growing up, but it never really came together until I met Ryan.

Ryan: For me it was my older brother. He played guitar in a band when he was in high school and I thought it was cool, so Santa brought me a guitar for Christmas that year. I got my brother to show me a few things, but for the most part I taught myself. I started writing music in high school, when I joined my first band.

Tell us about how you guys met and started The Love Willows.

Hope: I met Ryan in 2005, when he tried out to be my touring guitar player for my solo record. We instantly hit it off and became great friends. Then when I turned 18, I moved from my hometown of Drummonds, TN to his hometown of Griffin, GA and we began to write songs that would later developed into the unique sound of The Love Willows.

PPJ: Where did you come up with the name for your band?

Ryan: “Willows” comes from our last names – Wilson & Partlow. If you cut them in half and glue them together with “love,” you've got The Love Willows.

PPJ: What went into writing and recording Hey! Hey!

Hope: All of the songs on our record were written by Ryan and I over the span of year. Once we had a significant amount of material, we decided to make a record. We didn't have the funds to record at a major studio, so we decided to save up and do it ourselves. I worked at a hair salon and Ryan did carpentry work with his dad, as well as playing cover gigs on the weekends. We made the entire record for less than $1500, including the computer.

Ryan: We tracked the drums at a friends home studio and brought the files back to our house on an external drive. The rest of the record was done on our Pro Tools/Mbox rig. I had a couple of other friends play on some of the tracks, but all of the other instrumentation, arrangements, editing, and production was done ourselves.

PPJ: Is The Love Willow's music very different from what Hope was doing as a solo act?

Hope: Very much so. I didn't write any of the songs on my solo record. I feel way more connected with this new record, mainly because it's true moments and emotions that I vividly remember and, with the help of Ryan, I got to capture those feelings in nifty little songs.

PPJ: What's it like to be dating each other while on tour? Does that ever get tough?

Hope: I know this sounds really corny, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Ryan is my best friend and, although he does get on my nerves sometimes, we both know how to separate our business relationship from our personal relationship.

PPJ: How did you get signed to Decca Records?

Ryan: Our manager found us on MySpace and he really liked our songs. Within a month he had a showcase lined up for us in New York to play for the head of A&R at Decca. They liked what they heard and signed us on the spot.

PPJ: What is your favorite song on the record? Your least favorite? Why?

Hope: My favorite song is “Strut My Stuff,” because it's just so girly. I like playing it live because of the reaction. I'm truly not lying when I say that I don't have a least favorite. I guess its like children. There's always that ugly one that you still love, because it's a part of you.

Ryan: Favorite song is “Falling Faster.” That pre and chorus are dynamite! My least favorite to listen to is probably “Try,” just because it's the only song over 3:30 - but as a song itself, I think it's some of our best songwriting.

PPJ: Do you ever get tired of dressing up all the time for shows?

Ryan: Every show is a performance and whether it's a for 30 people or 300, they all deserve the same experience. It may be difficult sometimes to get dressed, in between loading gear and setting up, but no one really wants to see you in what you had on earlier that day. I've actually always enjoyed dressing up. As a kid, I'd switch from Batman to Superman, to policeman to Spiderman, all in one day.

PPJ: When is your next tour?

Hope: We just came off of the road with a band called Push Play. Really cool guys and a really fun tour. There's some awesome stuff in the works for '09!

PPJ: Have you written anything new since releasing Hey! Hey!

Ryan: Yes. Hope and I are constantly writing. We've actually written a few really cool songs that I feel confident about putting on the next record.

PPJ: What do you want people to take away with them when they hear your music?

Hope: We strive for upbeat, happy songs, and so far the reaction that we've gotten is just that. People have told us that they've had horrible days and once they hear us, for some odd reason, they're in a good mood.

PPJ: Finally, tell us three bands you think we should be listening to.

Ryan: I listen to a lot of old stuff that you've probably heard before, but something new that has been coming through my speakers as of late is a band called Cash Cash. Something old that you may not be too familiar with is Owsley and Jellyfish – check it!

Hope: I've always been a fan of whatever Sheryl Crow has thrown at me. The one artist that I've loved from day one of my musical career is Patsy Cline. Also, Natasha Bedingfield has impressed me with her writing and singing ability.

Thanks again to Hope and Ryan for answering these questions, and to Brandon at Universal Music Group for arranging the interview. Make sure to pick up of copy of Hey! Hey! and catch The Love Willows on tour!

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Interview - Anarbor

Talk about a band on the rise. Anarbor have been hard at work making their super catchy brand of rock known to the world. I caught up with them for a minute before they rolled onward to conquer the world.

PPJ: First, tell us your name and what you do in the band.

Mike Kitlas: I'm Mike and I play guitar.

Slade Echeverria: I'm Slade and I play bass and sing.

Adam Juwig: I'm Adam and I play guitar.

Greg Garrity: I'm Greg and I play drums.

PPJ: You guys have all known each other a long time. Did you go through other bands or styles of music before arriving at Anarbor?

Mike: Not really. The first band we were ever in was called Troop 101 and it had this exact same lineup. We eventually grew up and changed the name, but the group stayed the same. We all learned how to play our instruments together and we all matured as musicians together.

PPJ: Was it tough to try and choose between college and the band?

Greg: It wasn't a tough decision for us, because we knew that we only had one shot at this. We couldn't be as serious as we wanted to be and be in college. Plus, when we signed a record contract before we even graduated high school, that made our decision easier. We are all taking online courses while we are on the road, so we aren't losing any ground on our peers.

PPJ: Did you ever think Anarbor was going to take off? Or, when did you know you had something big on your hands?

Adam: I think we all had dreams of being big, but that's what kept us motivated.

Mike: We had been getting attention in the local scene for a while, but I guess we new things were taking off when we started getting noticed outside of Arizona.

PPJ: Tell us what it was like recording "The Natural Way."

Mike: Mike Green is amazing. A musical genius. Period.

Greg: Yeah, it was our first time ever working with a real producer in a real studio and we were all kind of nervous. Mike really got the best out of us and I think we were all happy with how the 4 songs came out.

Slade: We're going back in to record our debut EP with him in December.

PPJ: You're on tour with The Years Gone By right now. How is that going?

Slade: The Years Gone By are amazing. They are such great guys and its always good to be touring the East Coast with a band that is from the East Coast. Haha. They have lots of fans out here.

PPJ: There are hundreds of pop bands out there right now. What do you think separates you from the rest of the pack?

Mike: We get thrown in the same sentence as all of these bands for some reason. Like all of these bands that use backing tracks and autotune on their vocals. We just make real music. If you don't like it fine, but at least its really us.

Greg: Well yeah, but in a way its kind of good that we get lost in the mix. Because when someone finally does hear us, they are always pleasantly surprised that we aren't one of those bands.

PPJ: What are your favorite and least favorite songs that you've written, and why?

Slade: I think we're always into the new songs more than the old songs.

Adam: Well, we usually judge our favorites by the songs that are most fun to play. Like the ones with the most energy.

Mike: I like playing "Right There With You" and "Salem's Filled With Witches."

PPJ: What can we expect next from you?

Mike: EP in March 2009. A bunch of new songs and maybe one or two old ones.

Slade: And just non-stop touring.

PPJ: Finally, tell us three bands you think we should be listening to.

Adam: The best 3 albums of 2008 are:
Margot & The Nuclear So and So's - Animal/Not Animal
Bring Me The Horizon - Suicide Season
Lydia - Illuminate


Thanks again to Anarbor for answering these questions, and to Mike Cubillos at Earshot Media for arranging the interview. Make sure to pick up a copy of The Natural Way and catch them on tour!

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