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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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| Interview with Jordan January 30th, 2006 |
Brian Pollack - Guitar Justin Goodman - Bass Stanley the Russian - Keys, Electronics Jordan Goodman - Drums |
| E: Jordan, you play in Boy Crazy�the band of the hour now that your signing to Emerald Moon Records has been announced. This is a feat you've achieved in spite of having no one on vocals and a minuscule amount of recorded material available online... do you think that these facts were obstacles on your way to finding a label? How did you get around them?
Jordan: Robby, you work for EuphoniaOnline.net�and I'm going to answer your fine question. I think that we've gotten this far for a number of reasons. We all work super hard with this band and really dedicate time to growing a supportive fan base. I reply to every Myspace comment we get and we all make sure we spend time with the kids at the shows. Basically, we try to do more than what's necessary to stand out. We have a light show, spend a lot of time on our merch, and do anything possible to make up for the fact that we don't have someone singing vocals. I think our live show is what got this band this far. We try to give people something different than what they're accustomed to when seeing a band live. We are very interactive with the crowd. If the entire room is having an awesome time, then we did our job that night. E: How do you think not having a singer creates a very different writing process? Jordan: It's definitely a challenge for us because we're forced to write memorable parts. We spend time trying to figure out what instrument would work best as a melody and what not. We've been doing it for so long now, that it would probably be harder to make room for a singer. We play what sounds cool to us and that seems to be enough. E: Do you think that you're able to write instrumentals more complicated than most bands, because you don't need to add filler for vocals to lie on? Jordan: We obviously feel the pressure to show off what we're capable of since the music is ultimately all we have to show, but at the same time we try to never go overboard. Simple melodies are just as vital to a sweet song. E: What made you decide to release a DVD before working on a full musical release? Jordan: We wanted to showcase our live show on this release because we feel that's where this band is at its best. It's more than just the music we play. Plus, since we don't have a singer we wanted people to see who we were as people to help put a face on the band. It's also cool to have an EP/DVD, because backslashes are trendy. E: *Laughs* What other trends would you say you're hoping to follow�or create? Jordan: We're always trying to come up with new ways to outdo ourselves. We try to be trendsetters, and I think we've done a pretty good job at that. We were the first local band in the area to add a full light show to the mix. Stanley's role in the band is to just spend stupid money on ridiculous things that will make the show cooler. We play Earth, Wind, and Fire during the set on a sampler so it would be cool if we were known as the band that plays other cool songs during their set. That would be new. And once we get ripped off by someone else, we'll just figure something else out to do. E: You seem to put a lot of stock into your live shows... how would you describe them? Jordan: Well, it's hard for the average person to latch onto a band with no vocalist, so we know that we need to deliver a good show on stage. We try to involve the crowd as much as possible by starting impromptu conga lines or by having group sing-alongs to show tunes. When I watch a band live, I expect them to put on a show; I can listen to their record if music is all I'm looking for. E: And how's the afterparty? Jordan: That might be the only area in which we might disappoint. Most of us aren't into the whole "Let's get drunk until we confess that Hilary Duff is awesome." Even though I think Hilary Duff is awesome, but you get the point. We spend a lot of energy during the show trying to meet everyone and push merch that by the end of the night we'd be most happy with a bowl of cereal to eat and a Tamagotchi to feed. By the way, I just realized that you can do more push-ups when you're not counting each one. E: And what exactly do you have against cheese? Jordan: Brian, Justin, and I absolutely hate cheese. It's like the most nauseating texture of food that you can put in your mouth. You couldn't pay me $50 to eat a cheeseburger (and I'm Jewish, we'd do anything for money). I say, "No cheese, please" more than I check my Myspace. E: Do you think that your recent signing will give you guys the ability�or motivation�to write more rapidly? Jordan: We're constantly writing music whether it's for the band or not, so that won't change. At this point we have the 30-minute set that we're content with and I think we'll stick with that for the time being since the goal is to play for as many new people as possible. We want to really push this release since we're being given a chance that really wasn't expected. When the time is right, we'll start thinking about EP/DVD number two. E: Since you're clearly not too worried about album sales, how do you think you guys will be rating your success with the scene? Jordan: I think our main goal right now is to make as many friends as possible from as many different cities as possible. We really try to build friendships with anyone willing to hang out with us. The biggest compliment we get is when people either tell us, "Wow, your band is something I've never seen before" or, "We really appreciate how awesome you guys are to your fans." We try to make this more than a band playing music. E: So what would you call the band's primary focus for the future? That? Jordan: I would say so. We just want to push this as far as we can take this. We've been given a rare opportunity and it would be nice to break some stereotypes within the scene and hopefully open the doors for some other kids who want to try something unconventional. Adding a singer to the band is still a serious option that we consider. It all just depends on finding the right dude for the band. Hopefully this release will help find that right person. Also, it would be cool if we could get Rice Krispies cereal or Milton Bradley to sponsor us! E: Well thanks a lot�anything left to say? Jordan: I just hope people give us a chance. If you see that we're coming to your town, please come see us just once. It'll be entertaining if nothing else, and hopefully you'll see something different compared to other shows you go to. Our EP/DVD will be available on Smartpunk in late March! You know what time it is. �Flav E: Well, thanks a lot! Jordan: We really appreciate you guys giving us this opportunity and to anyone else who's ever given us a chance. P.S. Thanks to Andrea for making me look professional! |