rickyleepotts.com | a voice of rhythm, reason, & reality

Where did these guys come from? I honestly have no idea how I was first introduced to this band. But that’s okay, because these guys are incredible. They have the look… they have the tunes… and produce a very polished sound that demands to be on the radio and on stage right next to some of the biggest and best rock bands out there. Rock is a pretty wide spread genre… but I would describe these guys as “hard rock”. I might even throw in a dash of metal, too. Just take a listen, and you will hear what I’s talking about. Regardless, they are very nice individuals (I hope that doesn’t tarnish their image) and I was stoked that they showed interest in the next rickyleepotts.com presents six bands for six bucks. I am excited to have them a part of the bill. After confirming them to play, I started listening to them on a regular basis. Then I started hearing them on the radio. It made me realize that these guys have a VERY bright future ahead of them, and I wish them the best. It is my pleasure to introduce you to Eyes On Fire.

Your eyes aren’t really on fire, are they? Where did you guys come up with that name? 

Well, the story behind the band’s name goes back to a time when the band wasn’t any more than an idea. Choosing a cool band name that has any meaning to it is a challenge when you haven’t yet experienced anything together. Someone threw out Eyes On Fire and someone else thought it sounded cool and we kept it. As much as I wish there were, there’s no great meaning or story behind the band’s name, but we weren’t really about being deep before Sahar had an active role. We were about writing cool riffs and head banging.

Where did you all meet?

We all met in the music scene. I left a band and moved here from Ohio chasing some broad and when I got settled I needed music again… pronto.  Eric had an ad hanging in the back of Guitar Center for a project he was trying to start; he was looking for a singer. I called him up and we wrote a few songs together, which pretty well sucked because I’m no singer so it didn’t last long. We stayed in touch though, and he was the first dude I called when it was time for me to start a band for real.

The first time I went out in this town was to Birdy’s Bar & Grill. I was looking for a place to see heavy bands and was directed to a Dystalis show. Sahar was the singer and I was really into his style right away.  I remember telling myself that when I finally started another band that dude was going to be my singer. That was in 2002.  We got to know each other through mutual friends in the scene and nearly five years later he was writing vocals for the first Eyes On Fire song, Behind The Walls Of Sleep.

How long have you been performing together?

It took a while to get things moving. We realized right away that we’d have a challenge finding the perfect fit for the other roles in the band. Our drummer and bassist positions were like a revolving door for the first year or so. Eric and I got to work writing the material for Anger To Ashes and eventually we found our sound and the right guys to cover the spots and were able to perform for the first time in late 2008. So, we’re on our third year as performing artists.

I love the Anger to Ashes album cover. But it sort of scares me a little bit! Who designed that?

I met Dan Mecca at the same show I met Sahar. He was at all the shows; he’s still a pretty big supporter of music. I remember him telling me it was his goal to find a band, but in the meantime he’d just follow these guys and rock out.  “If you can’t live, you might as well live vicariously,” he’d say.  He later went on to start a design company called Bleeding Media and we have to credit him with pretty much all Eyes On Fire related artwork. He’s been a loyal supporter of our efforts from the start.

Who writes all of your lyrics?

Sahar. Isn’t that how it is in most bands… the singer writes the lyrics? This guy is a great writer. Everything he writes has a specific meaning, but I’ve found that an EOF song can easily match almost any moment or mood you might be thinking of while you’re listening to it as if it were written about that particular time. That might just be me, but it’s awesome nonetheless. I love it when I can feel the vocals in a song.

I notice that you guys go by EOF quite a bit. Do you prefer one to the other?

Well, if there were a preference I’d say of course we prefer to be addressed by our name. The EOF thing was really just an easy way to abbreviate the name to cut down on typing characters initially. We do that a lot because our primary communication method has to be text messaging. Plus, abbreviating a bands name is kind of the thing to do these days. Ours is no different.

Do you all have jobs outside of music?

Of course. Being in an unsigned band is expensive if you’re doing it professionally, not to mention we all have fairly expensive life styles.  You can’t not have a job.

Really excited to have you guys on the next rickyleepotts.com presents six bands for six bucks. You guys getting excited for that show?

Oh yeah. We get excited for every show like it’s the most important show ever, but this one in particular is exciting because of the promotional efforts and opportunities provided. Most local shows don’t get much more attention than a quick flyer and what promotion bands are capable of on their own. It’s always cool to be part of an event that a promoter obviously works hard on has outlets available that we might not usually be able to take advantage of, like radio advertising for instance. The filming and recordings you’re offering are the icing on the cake.

There are a ton of great rock bands out there. Who are some of your favorites?

Oh man, that’s always a tough question to answer, mostly because when you get five people of five different backgrounds there’s a huge list of styles and influences to draw from. We draw inspiration largely from the bands out there doing what we’re trying to do that fit our style. Heavy metal bands that are able to break free from genre stereotypes and become popular on the public scene, like All That Remains, Bullet For My Valentine and Avenged Sevenfold. Really though, the list of our favorite bands as a group would take a whole day to compose.

X103 has been a big supporter of your work. What’s it like hearing your tunes on the radio?

Incredible. It took a while to get that kind of attention. I’m not sure they were too impressed with our first releases or that our music was radio material. We never set out to make radio music in the first place; rather it was annoying to hear simple and thoughtless music over and over. It doesn’t take much skill to create a radio hit, the right repetition of a few power chords and a catchy chorus seem to be all bands have to put out to get it played, especially if they’ve already got a deal. The X played a couple songs from Anger To Ashes here and there on the local hour, but it wasn’t until we released When I Die that they took a real interest or took us seriously.

Our writing process, musical ability and the production quality matured a lot on this new album; I think that helped a lot. But being part of radio showcases and hearing our interviews and the song played is quite a feeling of accomplishment. We’re receiving an awesome amount of positive feedback and making new fans from it, so we’re pumped to say the least.

Tell me a little bit more about your affiliation with FMB Records.

(Laughs) That’s funny. There’s no such thing as FMB Records. When you’re an unsigned band setting up an online profile and the record label field is available, sometimes you just fill it with something funny. FMB is an inside joke among the band and it represents the idea that any production released or distributed is all done in house with our own personal efforts.

You guys recently had the opportunity to open for Hawthorne Heights. What was that like? (I really like that band, by the way.)

Honestly, it was like any other the Rock House Cafe show that we’ve done. The thing that was special about that show for us was the debut of a new line up after a short hiatus and regrouping. We had a somewhat controversial (among die hard EOF fans) change of drummer so a lot of people turned out just to see what it was going to be like. As for opening for Hawthorne Heights, we’ve had much more exciting opportunities opening for bands that have more drawing power and in other cities that our sound is better suited to open for, like Bullet For My Valentine and Sevendust.

Looks like you guys have all of the social media sites covered. Who handles all of those efforts?

I do, for the most part. We all have an online presence and each of us promote our band and ourselves as often as we can. Typically I maintain those sites, something that needs more attention, more often honestly.  The Internet is an amazing tool for bands and we’ve barely scratched the surface of taking advantage of it.

What’s the best concert you have ever been to?

Jeez, how can you narrow it down when there are so many to choose from?  I saw 311 in 1999 outdoors in Columbus, Ohio (huge fan, but don’t tell my metal friends that) and the vibe at one of their shows, at least ten years ago, was amazing.  There was this sense of unity among total strangers that is hard to describe… you had to be there. More recently though my girlfriend and I got the royal treatment and Mayhem 2009 and the lineup that year was awesome. Killswitch Engage, All That Remains, Bullet, Lamb of God… all favorites and we had full access. It was pretty sweet.

It’s nice to see a band treating their sound as a brand. Speaking of that, who designed your logo?

Again, credit for any digital design has to go to Bleeding Media Design.

Where can I get some Eyes on Fire merchandise?

Well, the shows of course. We always have the table set up everywhere we go. It’s not set up at this moment, but there’s an online store at eyesonfiremusic.com where people can pick up a shirt. Your best bet is to come get rocked at a show and grab a shirt from one of us. It’s way more personal and that’s how we like it.

That photo on your website… where was that shot? That’s just such a sick (sick in a good way, of course) photograph. I love it!)

I found a set of abandoned passenger train cars near where I live from like the 50’s or something and I had to explore them. They were disgusting actually, but the setting was perfect for a photo shoot I thought so we tried it. They turned out pretty killer. I’m actually hoping we film a video in one of them.

Where do you guys practice?

Where haven’t we practiced… our drummer has converted his garage into a sweet studio and that’s where we practice now. Before that we spent a lot of time at the Music Garage. Chris, the guy who runs the place, is super cool and the space is perfect for the band living in suburbia with neighbors.

Wait a minute… you have played with Sevendust too. How do you get put on all these killer bills?

There’s a couple different ways. Some of them we pursue and some of them we’ve been asked to be part of based on our sound and image. We go after every opportunity there is to play with a signed band and really it’s up to the promoter. If you present yourself as big and professional as you can, it’ll get noticed and could make the difference of who gets asked.

I have not been there yet, but you guys seem to play a lot of shows at the Rock House. Makes sense… you guys are a rock band. What’s that venue like?

The Rock House is awesome. It’s my favorite place to play because it’s become comfortable. The stage is a good size and so is the room.  The sound system slams, a must for and Eyes On Fire performance. Matt takes good care of us, he’s responsible for some of the cooler gigs we’ve gotten. Definitely a great place to play or watch a show.

What’s a typical Friday night look like for you?

There’s no such thing as a typical Friday night when you’re always on the move.

What’s the biggest crowd you have ever played for? The smallest?

One time we drove to Madison, Indiana… something like two hours away, and set up inside of what turned out to be a coffee shop. The only people in attendance were a couple dudes who came with us. Not even the other bands playing that night would hang out for it. It was a total waste, but we made the best of it and had a good time.  That has be the smallest crowd ever.

Our biggest crowd would have to be the Battle of Birdy’s finals. I think it was one of the biggest crowds that event has ever seen… it was a packed house.

You have a very polished, professional sound. It’s something that sets you apart from a lot of other bands. You guys haven’t been together all that long. How did you manage to get such a polished sound? Just hard work and lots of practice?

That’s exactly it. I knew from the word go that I wanted to deliver a show. I’ve seen too many bands that just go play and wing it and go with what happens. It doesn’t look like they put any thought into the performance side of things. I think we have a ways to go yet, but we rehearse our show down to the second so there isn’t a single moment of “nothing” happening, you know? Trying to keep your attention…

What can someone expect from seeing you perform live? What’s an Eyes On Fire show look like to the audience?

You can expect high energy and an engaging performance. We only stop moving to check on something or catch a quick breath. It can be a challenge to perfect a live show, especially when the stage/crowd is always different. The goal is to let the crowd see how much fun we’re having in the hope that they’re having fun too.

I know it’s a long time from now. But where do you see yourselves in five years?

In five years we will have recorded a couple of more albums, played countless more shows and tried like hell to get the show into the hands of someone who cares to take it to the next level. In the meantime, we plan to keep writing the music we love and performing it as long as people will come and see it. No one can know what the future holds, but this crew is definitely in it for the right reasons, which is to explore the love of making music and performing with the intent to take it seriously enough to make a move when the time comes, but keeping a realistic view of things so we don’t allow our personal lives to suffer too much and can keep enjoying all of what Eyes On Fire is.

When this is all said and done, what do you want to be remembered for? The band… what’s the Eyes On Fire legacy?

Most of all we want to be remembered for being cool, down to earth dudes who make rocking music. There’s definitely a message in the lyrics, a statement of how we feel about the states of things or personal moments. If you listen you can’t help but relate, even if what the song means to you is off base from its intended meaning.  There’s no legacy per se, just a strong desire to leave a good and lasting impression of cool people who write sweet music and put on a killer show.

We’re a heavy metal band… we’re not trying to change the world, but we will make a statement about it and try like hell to rock your face in the process.

In all of the interviews that I have done, I always let the artist get the last word. Go.

We’re super pumped for the entire music scene in Indianapolis to be experiencing the growth and movement that its seen lately compared to years passed and honored to be a part of it and a part of events like this. Huge thanks goes to the music fans out there that keep giving guys like me a reason to rock out on a Saturday night. Hopefully each and every band out there realizes how valuable you are and that there would be no show without you…

Click here to follow Eyes On Fire on Twitter.

Click here to “like” Eyes On Fire on Facebook.

Click here to watch Eyes On Fire on YouTube.

Dutch electronic music producer/DJ Chuckie has announced an upcoming North American Tour, bringing his uniquely urban approach to dance music to floors across the US. Highlighted by 12 stops on the Identity Festival, alongside Rusko, Steve Aoki, Skrillex, and DJ Shadow, the dates will cement Chuckie’s role as a player in the international dance scene that’s rapidly infiltrating America, this tour sees the Dirty Dutch CEO staking a serious claim in the stateside dance community.

“He is mixing the hip-hop vibe with House music like no one else!” – David Guetta

To further stoke anticipation for the performances, Chuckie has unveiled a brand new “Roll With Chuckie” competition with a prize for one lucky winner and a friend, allowing them a glimpse into the jet-setting life of an international DJ. To participate, fans are asked to engage the Fanrank Facebook application- users gain points by updating their Facebook status or Tweeting key words related to Chuckie. Chuckie will fly the fan with the most points and a friend from anywhere in the world to join him in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for his performance at the ID festival on Saturday 13th August 2011. After his set, the winners will be whisked off to Miami on a private jet with Chuckie to attend his show at the world renowned LIV Nightclub on Miami Beach. The package will include 2 nights accommodation at The Fontainebleu luxury hotel to ensure plenty of fun in the sun before returning home on Monday 15th August.

Click here to follow Chuckie on Twitter.

Click here to “like” Chuckie on Facebook

Interested in seeing Chuckie perform this summer? Check out a complete list of his tour dates below:

July 30 – Byblos, Porec, Croatia
July-30 with David Guetta – Split, Croatia
July-31 – Hard Rock Café, San Diego, CA
August-02 – Le Palais, Cannes, France
August-03 – VIP, St Tropez, France
August-04 – Coconuts Club, Rimini, Italy
August-05 – Radio 1, Space Ibiza, Spain
August-06 – Lollapalooza, Chicago, IL
August-06 – Navy Pier, Chicago, IL
August-07 – Hard Rock Hotel, San Diego, CA
August-07 – XIV West Hollywood, CA
August-07 – The Music Box, Los Angeles, CA
August-11 – Identity Festival, Noblesville, IN
August-12 – Identity Festival, Detroit, MI
August-12 – Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, NV
August-13 – Identity Festival, Burgettstown, PA
August-13 – LIV Miami Beach, FL
August-14 – Identity Festival, Holmdel, NJ
August-16 – Identity Festival, Charlotte, NC
August-18 – Identity Festival, Bristow, VA
August-19 – Identity Festival, Camden, NJ
August-20 – Identity Festival, Mansfield, AR
August-21 – Identity Festival, New York, NY
August-23 – Identity Festival, Atlanta, GA
August-24 – Identity Festival, Tampa, FL
August-25 – Identity Festival, Miami, FL
August-27 – Dirty Dutch @ Mysteryland, Amsterdam
August-27 – Versuz Hasselt, Belgium
August-28 – Aura Club, Kemer, Turkey
August-28 – Rixos Hotel, Kemer, Turkey
August-29 – Palm Beach, Alanya, Turkey
August-31 – Blue Marlin, Ibiza, Spain
August-31 – Subliminal Invasion, Pacha Ibiza, Spain
September-04 – Marquee, Las Vegas, NV
September-05 – Marquee, Las Vegas, NV
September-06 – Smash Boxx Phoenix, AZ
September-07 – LIV, Miami Beach, FL
September-08 – Lavo, New York, NY
September-09 – Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas, NV
September-12 – Playhouse, Los Angeles, CA
September-14 – Blue Marlin, Ibiza, Spain
September-14 – Subliminal Invasion, Pacha Ibiza, Spain
September-16 – Silver, Jonkoping, Sweden
September-17 – D Club, Lausanne, Switzerand
September-18 – Millesime Club, Montreux, Switzerland
September-24 – Theatro Marrakech, Morocco

That’s weird… because I also want to be a billionaire! When this single dropped, I was immediately hooked. Not sure if it’s Bruno Mars, but I love his voice. I don’t want to compare him to Michael Jackson, but a lot of folks do. The kid is young, and only has a few tunes to his name. Quite frankly his best work is with other artists, case in point. But that’s okay, because not only is Travie McCoy talented but this single is dope. (Do people still say “dope”?) The lyrics are well written, and they did a great job producing both an original version with profanity and then cleaning it up for the radio. The radio edit does not sound that bad… and sans a few word doesn’t sound much different.

Bruno Mars has since released an album called Doo-Wops & Hooligans. The question that I have is… would he really catch a grenade? Regardless, that’s a great single and a ton of DJs have remixed the track. “I’d jump in front of a train… for ya.”

The new Travie McCoy album is called Lazarus, and features a ton of talent; not just Bruno Mars. Cee Lo Green appears on the first track, and then it’s just one hit after another. The album is short… but it’s still packed with quality tunes.

The track listing for Lazrus includes:

1. Dr. Feel Good (feat. Cee Lo Green)
2. Superbad
3. Billionaire (feat. Bruno Mars)
4. Need You
5. Critical (feat. Tim Williams)
6. Akidagain
7. We’ll Be Alright
8. The Manual (feat. T-Pain & Young Cash)
9. After Midnight
10. Don’t Pretend (feat. Colin Munroe)

Lazarus was released on Tuesday, June 7th, 2010.

Click here to follow Travie McCoy on Twitter.

Click here to follow Bruno Mars on Twitter.

My birthday was last week. First off, I want to say thank you to everyone that wished me a happy birthday. It was funny… I went to bed late, around 1:30… when I woke up the next day, actually on my birthday, I had over 90 emails from Facebook alone… people wishing me happy birthday. I would end up getting over 300 wishes before the end of the day. So to each and every one of you… thank you. It means the world to me. (I actually went through every single comment and thanked each person individually. So if you wished me a happy birthday… thank you!)

I will keep this short… As we all know, Google is pretty much taking over the world. I have nothing more than opinions on this, but I wouldn’t be shocked if the point of Google+ was simply data collection. Imagine the power that Facebook has with all of that data… the marketing power if nothing else.

So I get to work on Friday (I worked from home by the way) and I went straight to Google. I wasn’t logged in yet, but I notice the Google icon. It was a custom logo… it was also interactive. I love those interactive logos. I proceeded to log into my Google account, and before I knew it I was back on the Google home page. But what’s that… the logo changed. It was now a birthday cake. Holy crap, how did Google know it was my birthday? I hovered over the logo and saw this…

Some of you might think that’s creepy… but I love it. That is one of the coolest thing I have ever seen. I am sure there is some algorithm behind the scenes that does this for everyone, but man… what a feeling. Anyway, I just wanted to share that with you. If you have a Google account, make sure you log in the next time you are celebrating a birthday. You might be served a happy birthday logo from the folks over at Google.

When is your birthday?

I am a BIG fan of the work that Grace@Arms is doing. Bastion, the lead singer, came to me thanks to a connection in Ryan Brewer. He and I met, talked, and one thing led to another. Then we were scheduling interviews and he was confirming his band to play on the next rickyleepotts.com presents six bands for six bucks. Once that was confirmed, the band literally took over the city promoting the show, shooting photos (both images used here are from a six for six photo shoot by the way) and have just continued to impress me with their marketing skills. These guys are also down to earth and are just a treat to be around. I have become friends with Bastion, and am really looking forward to seeing them perform on Saturday, August 6th. (But apparently I can catch them every Friday night at a drive-in movie theater in their hometown.) They write some incredible lyrics too… just an all around talented bunch of dudes. It’s my pleasure to introduce you to the guys in Grace@Arms.

Before we get too far into this… what’s the deal with the name? What’s the story behind Grace@Arms? Do you get mad when people spell it Grace at Arms?

(Laughs) I don’t mind, people can spell it however they want to spell it. The name of the band is almost… I guess… the purpose of the band, if you want to call it that. We found that as you get older, the things that you care about disappear, from friends to opportunities to interests and passions. If you want them to remain, then you have to work for them… fight for them. You need to keep them at arms.

We have all had plenty of bands that have failed in the past, as well as plenty of other projects that have fallen apart. We have found that our voices are mute unless we speak. Our grace is not enough… this is our grace at arms.

Where are you guys originally from?

We are all from New Castle, Indiana.

You guys were added to the rickyleepotts.com presents six bands for six bucks a little late in the game… when one of the bands backed out at the last minute. Are you excited to be on the bill for the next show?

We are extremely excited about the show. We are excited to promote the other local bands, and to be a part of an event like this. It’s our first major event for us. We handle all of our own promotions, all of our scheduling, and all of the things that management at a record label or a recording engineer would do… so while we achieve an awful lot for being so limited, getting an opportunity like this is always extremely exciting.

I LOVE your logo. Who designed that?

I have a friend named Ben Sowards who lives in Springfield, Ohio. We met him a few years back, as we were founding Grace@Arms and working on the audio tracks for the new album. He was in the process of starting his own graphic design business, and we decided to help each other out. We gave Ben the basic ideas behind the band, and he came back to me with a few logo ideas. The logo that we went with, specifically the @ symbol, just stood out to us. It was clean, stark… and looks awesome in a lot of different contexts.

Speaking of design, I am really digging the album artwork for your latest release. Tell me a little bit more about Chrysalis. What was it like producing the album… what are your hopes and goals with this release?

I (Bastion) had written a lot of music over the course of years that had not been recorded, or had been recorded in demo form. Upon graduating from law school, I revamped my studio and recorded the way I like to rock. Milo called me a week later, to say, “Hey, I just bought a drum set.” So now we are either rock stars, or chumps. It was time to actually do something with all the music.

We started organizing the songs and worked on starting an album. The album was highly thematic. We decided no matter where we ended up, at least while no one knew who we were, no one was going to get a theme album, or hear some nameless album… we gathered up a set of songs that represented the different aspects of our sound and of our message.

Chrysalis hits each of the extremes of Grace@Arms music, and provides kind of an introduction to us. I recorded all of the instruments, besides the drums. We used Pat Gibbs, an audio recording major at Butler University. Milo and I were able to reserve time in the Butler sound studio. Milo recorded his drums, and I was able to record some of the acoustic guitars and a few vocal lines. The entire project, from conception to end, ended up taking a combined 2,500 hours. It also took a few hundred hours on Ben’s hours.

For the artwork and images, I worked both conceptually with Ben. I then contacted Josh Guibault and Jamin Mahoney. They helped do the programming and design elements for the website. The album was released on March 1^st. It’s available both digitally and hard copy. The presentation of the album as a whole is very important to the band, and as a result, a lot of time and effort went into making the artwork coherent and cohesive. That also helps to foreshadow some of our future albums, many of the songs for which are written and recorded.

For the record, all of the drum tracks were recorded, as a result of problematic schedules, in the Butler recording studio between the hours of 1:00 AM and 4:00 AM over the course of 2010-2011 winters. All of the other instruments were either recorded in those same time frames or in my basement studio.

Bastion, there is sort of a story behind your name… your real name is Sebastian. Tell me why you like to go to by Bastion.

I am an attorney, specifically a public defense attorney. For a large degree, it was for my clients. When we considered the idea of creating stage names, the decision to go by Bastion was obvious. I had always related to the child in the never-ending story, and this band in many ways is my never-ending story.

At first I had intended to take the name strictly in the context of the band. In the process of writing, recording, editing, and creating the album, and this band, it was so difficult and consuming it resulted in so much personal growth. By the time it was done, I really related more to Bastion than to the name on my birth certificate. Now I go by that name in the context of the law.

You are killing it with the social media efforts. You are on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube… heck, you guys are still on MySpace. Who is the one handling all of the social media efforts?

That would be me. I am a little obsessive compulsive when it comes to band efforts. Especially since the band only consisted of two of us, live shows were not an option for a long time. Social media was the only way to connect with the fans and for spreading the music. Each of the members of the band are very sociable people and have always had large groups of friends and have enjoyed interacting with them. Social media was a natural progression. It both matches my personality and is the most effective way to connect with people and to promote Grace@Arms.

Wait a second… let’s go back for a second. You’re a lawyer? No way. How does a rock star become a lawyer… or better yet, how does a lawyer become a rock star?

(Laughs) I think, actually, I am jealous of the words… but Milo said it best when he convinced me to start Grace@Arms. Or to realize Grace@Arms. He pointed out that being an attorney, or being an optometrist as he is doing, is hard. It’s a lot of work, but you can do it by closing your eyes and holding on to the collar of the person in front of you. We put so much effort into those things… they require so much effort to succeed in those programs. If we put that much energy into our hobbies, we could really see that blossom and success. Music is naturally us. We fit into the roles of our other professions well. This is what we do, we explore thoughts and ideas and come up with crazy things to do. We connect with people… this is hard work, but it’s easy work for us to commit to that work.

Brighter Days, a single off your new album, has been getting some airplay on X103. How cool is that, hearing your work on the radio?

I had to pull over so that I could get out of the car to jump up and down… because it wasn’t working while I was driving. People can buy Chrysalis on iTunes, Amazon, DigStation… and a wealth of other places.

When you set out to sell an album like that, are you the ones reaching out to these outlets or is there a process that bands follow?

We actually found a CD manufacturer called Oasis CD Manufacturing. Their publishing package included a membership to CD Baby, which is an online distributor with contact through the sites that you mentioned.

I want some Grace@Arms merchandise… where can I get a shirt with your faces on it? (Well, maybe your logo… not sure I want your face on my chest!)

You can “arm yourself” at graceatarms.com/arm. (If you are on the website, it’s the Arm Yourself tab.) You can find high quality vintage customizable shirts there from a company called screened.com. (We think it’s really cool where people can pick his or her own colors… it’s pretty unique. Our @ shirts are awesome.)

We will be updating Arm Yourself soon, but currently at our live shows you can pick up posters, physical CDs, download cards… etc. You can also order physical CDs from CDBaby.com. Of course, we will have plenty of merchandise available both at six for six and in the six six six ticket packages, which we are selling on our website.

Can I just say how impressed I am with your marketing efforts for the next six for six? You guys are killing it. What’s your motivation for that?

To get out there… to gain exposure. Grace@Arms is kind of everything that I am from my ideas to my attitude to the way that I understand the world and the way that I approach the world. It’s extremely important to me, the rest of us as well, to see this band grow and to become the best band that it can be. Any opportunity, large or small, is great to us. This is a great way to gain exposure, friends, and support the local music community. We are really excited to join the lineup for this six for six event… it’s really neat that through the efforts of rickyleepotts.com and local sponsors that this kind of show is even possible.

Tell me about the drive-in… you guys play at a drive-in? I haven’t been to a drive-in for years! That’s called “Live at the Skyvue” right?

(Laughs) The first live performance that Grace@Arms did was an acoustic show for the annual benefit dinner for a local youth center. The owner of our local drive-in and his son were at that show. They grabbed two copies of the album, and our contact info… then invited us to come out and play. We don’t get paid outside of tips… well, they give us delicious burgers. The venue is small, but it’s easily our favorite venue. No matter how big we get, we will continue to come back and play both acoustic and electric performances. It’s a good place to bounce ideas off people and see their reaction. Also, huge thanks to Aaron Pierce for making that possible.

Some call you rock… some call you pop… what do YOU call yourselves?

I call us rock. It’s hard for us to put a label on our music, because frequently our genre matches our idea that we are conveying… like Zeppelin. You couldn’t give them a genre. They would go from heavy metal to bluegrass… it totally depends on the idea of the message you are trying to convey. We sometimes don’t know how a song will come out in the end. The song goes through a lot in the process and the development. It’s the diversity in the music, and the ways we can conceptualize each song.

I haven’t seen you live… yet. But what can someone expect from a live performance?

Melted faces… busted guts… Don’t type that! (Laughs) A lot of energy… a lot of passion. We are very guitar driven. Our live performance averages out to a rock sound a lot more… our music is better fit to the simple rock genre. It’s easier to categorize our songs when you hear them live. Everything is a little more intense, guitar driven, a little less pop… a little less country. It’s rock.

Who writes all of the lyrics? Where do you find inspiration for new tracks?

I write all the lyrics. I try to diversify both my inspirations and my approaches to songwriting. I have a lot of songs that started as a lyrical idea and grew from there. I have had plenty of them that started as an experience that I needed to say. I have had plenty that started with a guitar riff and demanded that it grow into something. The most common and most important reason why I write songs is to explore things that I don’t understand.

If I had to describe the most common theme in my lyrics, I would call it, “hope in the real world.”  I’m not interested in writing feel-good music.  It feels escapist and dishonest to me. I try to be honest in my lyrics. I try to find solutions and resolutions to the agonies and hardships of growing up. As a result, despite the diversity of themes and backstories for my songs, I’d have to say that growth, understanding, and hope are constant inspirations for me.

We try to mean what we say, and frequently we will end up saying what we didn’t realize we meant. In exploring the vocabulary, both linquistic and melodic, that goes into capturing an idea in a song, through that process, I find myself learning more about me… about life, hope, and ambition, and about the ideas that we are trying to explore.

Who have you been listening to lately? What’s on your iPod?

Lately some Mumford & Sons… been getting into the Avett Brothers. In Flames is a mainstay on my iPod. Old school Metallica… Rage Against the Machine… any classic rock. The Who, Beatles, Zeppelin… a lot of Smashing Pumpkins have resurfaced.

You guys have some pretty impressive photography on your Facebook page. (And on your website, for that matter.) Who took all those shots?

A lot of those shots are taken by Ben and myself. However, Dave Nance of Nance Photography has been exceedingly gracious to us and is responsible for all of the good-looking band photos. Particularly the Bastion and Milo album, available on our Flickr and the promotional photos for the six for six. I do all of the photo editing.

Wait a second… you blog too? That’s awesome! How often do you write, and what do you tend to write about?

Everything that I write tends to be somewhat towards motivation and self improvement. The topics per blog, however, range from all of my interests from social media to zombies, actually from music to zombies to body building conventions.

I have actually just started a six week series on Twitter on my observation of effective uses of Twitter and other social media networks. I also have a section of my blog, which will become almost a sister blog in time, in which I catalog my scotch/whisky tasting notes and occasionally notes on various beers. I am a malt enthusiast. I put a lot of time and research into the study and pursuit of scotch/whisky. There is no “e” in whisky.

In your opinion, how has the Internet changed the way people absorb music?

We could probably talk for hours about that. The two most basic changes are that music is infinitely easier to get heard by someone though it may be actually harder to be heard by everyone. You really have to put a lot into the quality of your work to make it exceptional. You really have to work to gain visibility. Everyone has a Facebook account. Everyone has a Twitter account. That’s part of the reason we are so sevant about our online presence. There isn’t a band on earth that doesn’t have a great sounding CD and a full social network for its members. It’s awesome that it’s easy now.

If you want to establish yourself, you have a lot of talent… you have to stand out from a whole lot of high quality talent. For you guys, it’s a lot easier… for us, it’s a lot harder. It’s our grassroots. We have to make friends with thousands of people, and create a different personal experience from thousands of people.

I know… I know, it’s a long time from now. But where do you see yourselves in five years?

I have written five albums for the specific Grace@Arms project. Hopefully, five years from now, we will be releasing our fifth and will be living in several homes across America and will be getting ready to go on an international tour. I want a bathroom we could play baseball in! (Laughs) On the other hand, we are doing this because we love this. We will still be playing music in five years. We fully intend to conquer Earth. (Laughs)

When this is all said and done, and Grace@Arms is no more, what do you want to be remembered for? What’s the Grace@Arms legacy?

For spreading hope and understanding. Our music explores a lot of real life themes, and isn’t afraid to be honest about the amount of pain and unhappiness around. But everything we do, we do with an eye towards self-improvement and hope. I just hope that we are able to make that available to people, and inspire people to spread it in their own lives.

Uplifting message aside, Cooper doesn’t want to be remembered as a slouch on the guitar. Cooper wants some hot licks on those albums.

In all of the interviews that I do, I always give the artist the last word. Go.

The exaggerated example of our message is currently our big project. I have a blog entry detailing the story behind it. Our current single is called A Song About You, and we are donating all of the proceeds from it to a charity organization called Direct Relief International. The story is in the blog!

Click here to follow Grace@Arms on Twitter.

Click here to “like” Grace@Arms on Facebook.

Click here to watch Grace@Arms on YouTube.

In recent years, Scotland’s Calvin Harris has established himself as the indisputable King of Electropop, and with huge international hits like Acceptable in the 80s, The Girls and I’m Not Alone, confirmed himself as one of the world’s most in-demand producers. Rocking the clubs and charts alike since his gold debut album “I Created Disco” was released in 2007, Calvin has collaborated with the likes of Rihanna, Dizzee Rascal and Kylie Minogue, and remixed Cut Copy, The Ting Tings, Groove Armada, Katy Perry and Kelis. His highly anticipated 3rd artist album is soon to be released, with singles Awooga, Bounce, and Feel So Close already exciting fans worldwide. Feel So Close also has a hot new video just released this month with already over 1.4 million views, and a selection of remixes by the likes of Nero, Benny Benassi, and Dillon Francis set for release on August 21st.

Calvin Harris will be at LAVO New York on Thursday, July 28th, 2011.

Click here to follow Calvin Harris on Twitter.

Click here to “like” Calvin Harris on Facebook.

Click here to watch Calvin Harris on YouTube.

Not too long ago, Sheryl and I decided to go on a diet together. We were both tired of being fat, and decided what better time to start a diet than now. We did a little research and decided that we were going to give Slim-Fast a shot. The program is already planned out for you, and they have a very intuitive solution online that helps you track calories and overall weight loss. The program is free to use (the online program that is), so that helps. Part of me going on a diet also involves my family history of heart problems. From heart attacks to heart disease, my dad’s side of the family is just a mess. One heart attack after another over there. The older I get, the more I worry about that stuff too.

Risk Factors of Heart Disease

There are actually several risk factors to heart disease:

1. High blood pressure – about one out of three adults living in the United States has high blood pressure. This is one of the most common heart disease risk factors.

2. High cholesterol – about one in every six adults in the U.S. has this. The higher your cholesterol the higher your risk of heart disease. (Funny how those two go hand in hand together.)

3. Obesity – nearly 70% of Americans are obese… Another reason for my diet. The more overweight you are, the greater your risk for heart disease.

4. Increasing age – men older than 45 and women over the age of 55 have a greater risk of heart disease. Not much we can do about that one…

5. Gender – men have a greater risk of heart disease than men. Men tend to die an average of ten years earlier than women.

6. Diabetes – people with diabetes are two to four times more likely to have heart disease.

7. Heredity – you are more likely to have heart disease if your mother, father, sister or brother have heart disease. (Great… Thanks Dad.)

Man… That’s just scary typing that. Looks like this diet wasn’t a bad idea. Yeah, it sucks not being able to eat what I want. But I would rather have a more enjoyable life in the future. I am no longer that once untouchable kid eating Chinese and killing gallons of ice cream. I need to take care of myself so that I don’t end up in the hospital with this very serious disease.

Do you, or anyone you are close to, have heart disease?

When I got an iPhone, I was excited to start downloading applications. From Netflix to alarm clocks, I am always amazing at the sheer number of apps that are available. When they say, “There’s an app for that,” they mean it! I have ever worked on an application. It’s a game, called Sorry, I’m Late and is an excuse generator. I worked with a local programmer to bring that concept to fruition. It hasn’t made me any money, but it gave me a whole new respect for developers.

As you may know, I travel a ton. It seems that I am always off to the airport to catch a flight. Whether I am traveling for business, or pleasure my cell phone is always close by. But what happens if there is an emergency? What if someone needs to use my phone to call someone… let’s say, my emergency contact? (It’s my mom on most forms, in case you ever need to call someone for me.) Assuming the people around you don’t have a phone, which I can hardly believe is the case, they could just use my phone. But I lock my phone for security purposes… that was until I found iLockScreen Maker app. This app, as it sounds, allows you to create your lock screen. The app is free to download, and can be purchased (they still call it that een though the app is free) from the iTunes store.

So what’s it do?

With the iLockScreen Maker I can share my emergency contacts on my lock screen, so no matter what the situation (barring a dead battery) people can see my emergency contacts even if my phone is locked. Granted, chances are the people around me will have a phone, but this is a security measure that some, especially travelers, might want to take note of. I know I am always looking for tips and tricks while traveling… and I say that as I download this awesome application. (The application is free.)

Who is your emergency contacnt? Do you leave your phone unlocked?

Click here to download iLockScreen Maker from the iTunes app store.

Don’t ask me where I met these guys… I have no idea. But they sort of fell into my lap recently, and I was immediately impressed. (They didn’t actually fall into my lap.) I had the chance to see them perform (without them knowing I was in the crowd of course), and was even more impressed with their live show. They were a blast to see perform, were fun and conversational on stage, and really got the crowd energized. That’s rare for a band these days, to engage with the crowd as much as they do. But after having heard them live, it made me even more excited to chat them. The conversation could have lasted for hours; they are a treat both on stage and in person. Regardless, I would later sit down with these guys for an exclusive artist interview. That all being said, it is my pleasure to introduce you to 3:1.

So I have to know… 3:1? Or… 3 to 1? What’s the deal with the name? How did you guys come up with that?

(Ranch) I came up with the name. I sat up in bed; we were trying to think of these names that had to do with the trip. Tonos Triad really jacked us up on that. But we like those guys. So I am looking through all this stuff, and we had been working on a Miles Davis song called So What. The form of that was 3:1. I sat up in bed, and thought that the ratio idea would look cool. It had various connotations to people. Some people thought Vegas. Some people thought it was a biblical reference. Some people thought it was 3 voices, 1 sound. It really is just insomnia.

And the Beatles… that was taken. Most names are taken, as you well know. We were going to do a cross between the Beatles and the Eagles, and be the Beagles. But we went with 3:1. The name also, you can do a lot of different iterations. We wanted people to think from the very beginning.

So you guys are a cover band. Do you play any of your own material? Do you even have any of your own material?

We do. It’s something that we are getting into, as we develop, and as we collaborate with other players in the area. As we do gigs, it’s just something we… are not pushing it, just letting it happen. So far it is pretty interesting. Thin Mint Jelly Bread is the instrumental original that we perform. Followed soon by Laundered Ninja. The three of us have done a lot of original music, in different context.

So is that one word, or two?

Well, it’s two. We were riding to Ohio one day, and Tom mentioned his stomach hurt from burning out on thin mint cookies on jelly bread. It didn’t take five minutes for me to put that right to this melody. It had been banging around in my head for years. That gave it a reason to come on out.

There are a TON of great cover bands in this city. Who is your favorite cover band to see perform?

We don’t go anywhere. (Laughs) We are always playing. I don’t go out unless we are playing anymore. My Yellow Rickshaw is a great cover band because they make you think, which is something we think is essential. I can turn on the radio at home…. or the Internet, or the Xbox, or my phone. There are a zillion kinds of media that will give me what the world thinks is cool. When someone takes a familiar song and does something different with it, it’s kind of cool. It’s what makes us do our thing to a good degree.

There are some great cover bands in town, but we just don’t make it out a lot. As far as pop/musicianship, we like The Flying Toasters. There are a lot of people that are bringing the music that you know to you, the way you know it. That’s just not us! That’s just not our thing.

You guys do parties, receptions… even corporate functions. Do you prefer playing one style of event to another?

I don’t think so. Parties are a lot more fun than bars. Bars are bars… and a lot of bars just don’t care. You have a bunch of drunk people sitting around wanting to hear the game. On the other side of that, we have played some bars that were a great time. I think it’s like anything in your life. You are going to get out of it what you put into it. It’s pretty cool when the other people go along with it.

Private events are when people usually cut loose. Plus, they are there just to party and to have fun. They aren’t there to drown their sorrows and get drunk.

If you go to a certain bar, say it’s a sports bar, and they have classic rock… there’s some constraints there as when you go into a party, or a function of some sorts… it’s a little more wide open. But we play all kinds of stuff. We would play a Chuck E. Cheese’s; do you have an opening?

So let’s say I want to book you for one of those private parties or corporate events. What sort of rate am I looking at here? What do you guys charge to play?

It depends. We are surprisingly affordable in the world of live music. Part of that comes from our ability to tailor our show to your needs. Acoustic, maybe acoustic duo… maybe you only want a couple of us. Maybe you want the acoustic show plus a sax player. We have a young kid that comes out and does stuff with us. We have Jon Martin that does stuff with us.

The core band is a trio, but we are like the Swiss army knife of local bands. We can be the right things for your thing; we just need to know what your thing is.

Before I start to assume… what’s the “ranch” for there Randy?

It… happened in the 80s. It really all goes back to a customer service story. I was bartending. A guy walked in, wanted ranch dressing. I had spandex shorts on, no wallet… I went to the store, stole it and had to come pay later. There might have been a dog collar involved. There are pictures online, but there’s Photoshop… so those images could have been doctored.

People tend to remember Ranch… it’s like Sting, just not near as good looking. Or talented. Or relevant. Or talented. Or good looking. (Laughs) I don’t have tantric anything.

I am sure you guys have an endless array of tunes you could play. When you decide to add a new song to your set list, how do you decide what songs make the cut?

Whatever is easiest to remember the words to! (Laughs) We have been coming up with ideas for a while, and just throwing them on a CD… throw stuff down on CD and hand them out. See what we think about… trying to be as diverse as possible. That’s one way.

Stuff that maybe the audience didn’t see coming. That’s something that’s kind of a cool thing. Stuff that’s maybe, fairly current, and make it something different than what they are used to.

Is there any one genre you refuse to cover? For instance, would you cover a rap song? What about a country song?

We cover some Merle Haggard and stuff like that in our set. I think that speed metal is really “not us”. I don’t see us spitting our rhymes, but I can bust a flow.

We tried a Michael Franti song, but Tom couldn’t feel the flow. It was a rap thing… and I understand that. But we can cover just about anything, whether we cover it well may be another interview all together.

Don’t be mad… but I got the chance to see you live last week at the Flatwater Restaurant in Broad Ripple. (I love that space, by the way.) I say don’t get mad because I didn’t tell you I was coming! I just wanted to see you perform before the interview. Having said that, what can someone expect from seeing you live? Tell the audience… not me. I have seen it!

What you saw… three geezers on a patio. Three old dudes sweating!

They can expect to see a lot of different instruments. They can expect to see all three of us play percussion at some point through the show. They can expect to see a mixture of electric and acoustic instruments. They can expect to see us doing what we would be doing even if we were not playing out. I believe that this band will be playing music, like other people are in a dart league or other people are in a bowling league… we get together and play cool versions of songs. We like making music together.

And like you saw, 10-15% of the songs we had never played before and just tried. We like to have fun with the crowd and have a rapport with the crowd. We don’t care if our hair is just right, or that we have the latest Ed Hardy fashion. We want the audience to get what they came for. And well worth the cover charge at Flatwater. The show you saw was an acoustic based set… we can be all electric too. It varies.

The Front Porch Swingers? I LOVE that name! Tell me more about that project, Tom.

That’s only two of the three of us… Tom and I started that band, actually. It was in April of last year. That one allows us to get our hippie on. We play a lot of jam band stuff. We have two drum kits. It’s more jam band; a different beast totally. It’s like a freight train coming at you… run away!

You know, the more of your tunes I listen to… you play some pretty obscure cover songs. Any particular reason?

It’s what we like. I think you have to sell something you are willing to buy. It’s just playing something because it reached. There are a lot of people doing that. Part of our motivation for doing what we do, is if a member of our audience decides on Monday morning after seeing a 3:1 show, that maybe he’s going to download something jazz… and he doesn’t own any other jazz, that if he only spends $1 in that direction he is thinking about something different than he gets in his musical diet every other day… then our thing is coming home to roost a little bit.

If the country fan that would never think about buying a Little Feet album, and seeing the connection and they “get it” then I think it was well worth the $0 that they paid to get in. It’s about making people to think a little bit outside of their musical box that they operate in every day.

There are people falling over each other to give them that. A lot of it, a lot of people like the same types of bands. We don’t like to cover the same songs other people in the scene are coming. We try to pick things that are a little deeper. People can still recognize it, and like it… but it’s not the hits. You don’t have to play the Brown Eyed Girls. One of my friends recently called us the Lords of Vinyl. I thought that was kind of cool. We always hear, “That’s a great song… I haven’t heard that in a long time. And I like the way you did it.”

Are there any legal issues with playing cover songs? Do you need to get permission to play covers?

The venue pays dues to BMI and ASCAP; I think it’s mostly BMI. They pay a fee to them to be able to play cover songs both by cover bands and by their music system. Just when you release a recorded piece, if we would release a disc of covers, then we would have to pay royalties to those artists. You then have to get permission. We don’t know who did the CD that’s in here! (Laughs)

Places like Locals Only and Birdy’s Bar & Grill, that don’t pay those fees, you have to do all original music. Radio Radio is that way.

Do you guys have jobs outside of music? If so, what do you do for a living?

I stay at home. One of us works at Monon Food Company in Broad Ripple. The other guys are just musicians.

Randy, you have performed in rock bands, country bands… you have even done gospel. Why can’t you just pick a genre and go with it?

I am not very smart. From as far back as I can remember, I liked a lot of different types of music and I never really just jumped into one thing and said, “This is me.” Even when I was a kid, I might listen to Chet Atkins and KISS and the Stones in the same evening. It was a thing that appealed to me. Music, not just one particular style. I think it would be like just reading one kind… only reading poetry or fiction. I only do addition, not subtraction. Its good to experience a little bit of all of it. It’s one of the things that I really love about this band.

Who are some of your biggest influences, in both life and in music?

(Randy) Johnny Cash… Glen Campbell. I remember watching those TV shows when I was a kid, and just being in awe of those guys. In real life, I would say Abraham Lincoln. I am actually writing an Abraham Lincoln musical. It’s actually more about John Wilkes Booth, and making choices… pop culture. John Wilkes Booth was Johnny Depp in 1963. Other people for me include Martin Luther King Jr.

(Tom) I was always a big Beatles freak. The Allman Brothers, Grateful Dead… the AM hits of the 70s. Influence… I don’t know. Go around the table; I have to look at the menu.

(Joe) Musical influences, for me, Buddy Rich… big band music for me. I was listening to big band when I was young. Buddy Rich and Mickey from the Grateful Dead. Babatunde Olatunji, he’s pretty much the father of hand drumming in the United States. He’s from Africa, recorded a record in 1959 and pretty much brought that African hand drumming to the US. He was a big influence. I am into a lot of world beat music, and hand drumming.

You guys have a ton of shows coming up this summer. Do you always play that much? Do you ever get the chance to play outside of the Circle City?

Some… luckily we will be doing more of it in the fall and winter. We recently did a private event in the Chicago area. We have some gigs, actually playing in Muncie and in Peru here in the Hoosier state. We have done some shows in Kentucky. That was a big dream of Tom’s. (Laughs)

You guys look like you have a ton of fun up there on stage. What’s your motivation night after night?

The groove… the groove. I think that’s one of the things about this band that separates us from the other bands, we play very soulfully. We focus a lot on the feel.

I think hooking up with that groove, and the people in the room… the people at the gig. If you see three 3:1 shows in a week, and pick one of our songs that we do in one of those shows… the people in the room are reacting differently. Every night is something different. We play the same songs different. It will be fast, slow, country… We are kind of bipolar, musically.

Let’s say I want to request a song… say, Sweet Home Alabama. Do you guys take requests?

Absolutely. We are not one of those snobby bands. If we can get anywhere close to it, if we can pull it off without falling on our face… we’ll do it. People are there to have fun, and without the people, we wouldn’t have much to do. We are competing with HBO, the Internet; my phone does more stuff than my first computer ever did. I can be entertained. This thing can entertain me. If we are competing with that entire media, we probably need to do what the people ask us to do.

At the same time, we also need to bring something to them that they are going to be open to receiving that they are going to take out of there with them. That’s just another part about being interactive with the crowd. If we have something new, we try it… if it sucks, then everyone laughs about it. If they write it on a $50 and put that in the tip jar… it’s the next song. The more requests we get, the better just because it’s fun. Anyone can memorize a song, but to go out there and stretch your neck out like that is a gas. The people dig it, even if you don’t do it perfectly. Even if it sucks, people laugh and throw stuff at us… maybe not to take you too serious. There is a time to be serious and a time to have fun.

Being a cover band, I bet you play a ton of long sets. What’s the longest set you have ever played? Have you ever played a set so long you did the same song twice in the same show?

In this band, or in general? We have an awful lot of songs. We have done a couple three-hour shows, straight, but never repeated any songs. There might be a reprise… you might have a song that is early in the set and then we will finish that song finally, after 7-8 songs. Putting songs together in medleys that wouldn’t be next to each other on the jukebox is fun to do too.

Do you ever forget the words to the songs?

Pretty much every other song! (Laughs) We do forget the words, sometimes. I don’t like to read lyrics on stage. I don’t wear shorts on stage. I don’t read lyrics. Doesn’t seem very rock and roll. It’s because I am into fashion! Not a barista, but a fashionista! We digress.

Joe, tell me a little bit more about Clang!

Clang! is an educational project… it’s an all percussion group. There are four of us, and we do school programs. It’s based around getting kids to play instruments that are handmade, homemade, found instruments… found things. That educational program is built around that. We also can show them what playing professional instruments is all about.

The performance side of it is all-improvisational. Normally we will have coffee prior, and discuss some themes. It’s just an all improv group. We are doing a show in September at the Clowes Library downtown. That’s on September 25^th. It’s real fun.

The educational side, with the economy right now, has been tough.

What’s the biggest crowd you have ever played for? The smallest?

I know I have played for 18,000 before… Played for a couple bartenders in my day too. We all have. That’s just part of it.

Where do you see yourselves in five years?

(Tom) I try not to look that far ahead. It always seems to fail when I try to play out past the next day. Hopefully doing the same thing, only better on a bigger scale.

(Randy) I think in five years we will be stretching out and doing even more genres of music and brining more more tunes to people that they either haven’t heard or haven’t heard the way they are bringing them. We want people to continue to think outside the musical dialect. We are like the fiber in your musical diet.

(Joe) I see us being successful… playing more original music on a festival circuitry. There is that other leg, that other thing we haven’t really scratched much yet. That’s the leg that we haven’t scratched.

Success, for us, is to just keep looking forward to doing it. Success is just being happy for doing what we’re doing.

When this is all said and done, and 3:1 has come to an end… what’s your legacy? What do you want to be remembered for when this is all over?

They just didn’t know any better… they were a happy bunch. Just didn’t know any better. I would like to think that we made people smile and have a good time. That, and that nobody got hurt. Nobody gets hurt with 3:1… remember those guys? They seemed to be pretty happy, and no one got hurt!

In all of the interviews that I do (I have done more than 300 of them to date) I always let the artist get the last word. Go.

Just try something different… try something different from what the world tells you is the thing to do. That, and be true to yourself.

Click here to visit the official 3:1 website.

Since I started working out, I have found an excuse to read. I am able to read while spending time on the treadmill. Think of it as killing two birds with one stone. So as a motivation to read more, and to work out more, I picked up a book at Half Price Books. I grabbed a novel from John Grisham called Playing for Pizza. It’s a story of a washed up NFL quarterback and his chance at glory… in Italy.

Also, since I am writing movie reviews, I will try to write book reviews as well. I do tend to review the books I read on LinkedIn, and even utilize that as a way to track what I have read and am reading. But with an outlet like this, why not also blog about them?

Truly Enjoying Rick Dockery

John Grisham is not known for writings novels like this, which made this one even more interesting. That, and it was only $1 at Half Price Books. I love that store for this very reason, allowing me to buy books at a very reasonable rate. I usually go into Half Price Books with a budget in mind, and tend to shop mainly in the clearance section.

The main character in Playing for Pizza is Rick Dockery, often referred to as Ricky or Reek. They call him Reek because he spends most of his time in Italy, playing for the Parma Panthers. Football in Italy is not as popular as it is here in the United States, with soccer being the main focus over there. But the team still brings out some fans, as tickets are free. Imagine that… watching professional football for free!

“Fans of John Grisham live for his legal thrillers. But now and then he serves up something unexpected. That’s exactly what he does, with great success, in Playing For Pizza.” – USA Today

The book starts out with Rick throwing away (literally) the AFC Championship game. From there he finds himself on his way to Italy to play for the Parma Panthers. Each team is allowed three players from the USA. Rick is the only American player on the team, and his reputation follows him all the way overseas. American players are also the only ones who are paid to play. Rick is also provided a place to stay and a car, a Fiat that proves to be a challenge for him. He can’t drive a stick, kills the car nearly everywhere he goes, and finds it nearly impossible to park on the busy Italian streets. There are actually several parts of the book that focus on the car, and his inability to drive a stick shift.

Italian Culture Shock

When Rick first gets to Italy, he is greeted with open arms and is shown the true sense of what it means to be Italian. He gets to try new food, sample new wines, and is even taken to the opera. (Let’s just say Rick isn’t the type of guy to appreciate the opera. But he does get down on the food. The drinks too… several scenes you find Rick either drunk or experiencing a hangover.)

“Enthralling.” – People

Rick quickly becomes comfortable, and ends up falling in love with the lifestyle. Compared to the way he was treated in the States, these changes are welcome. He does, throughout the book, tend to fall “in love” with several women. He isn’t whoring himself around like you’d expect an NFL quarterback to do, but he does wake up in the bed of a stranger a few times.

When he really does fall in love, it’s with a woman singing in the opera. They date for a few chapters, and when she finally stands him up toward the end of the book, he quickly replaces her with an American college student. Not many people speak English, and it was always refreshing for him to find someone who does. (There is a lot of drama wrapped around this Jane Doe toward the end of the book, but nothing that doesn’t eventually sort itself out.)

Isn’t the point of this book football?

Yes, Rick is a football player, and a lot of this book details his passion for the game. But the Parma Panthers only play a handful of games each season, before the Super Bowl. Yes, they call it that over in Italy too! His team would have its ups and downs, and its fair share of roster changes, but by the end of the book what the Panthers had hoped for came true. (I can’t tell you if they won or lost the final game… but let’s just say the book ends on a high note.)

Rick ends up staying in Italy, and by the time I finished the final page I wanted to learn more about Rick. I hate it when I get hooked on a book like this, but I guess that’s what keeps me turning the page. I finished this book in less than a week and am excited to start my next read.

Have you read Playing for Pizza? Speaking of pizza… what are some of your favorite toppings?

At the end of the book, you learn that not only are the Parma Panthers real, but also John Grisham actually spent some time in Parma. The places are real, and while the names are completely fictional, the city of Parma does have a team in the NFL Italy, an actual professional football organization.

Click here to buy Playing for Pizza.

*A main selection of Book-of-the-Month Club, The Literary Guild, Doubleday Book Club, and The Mystery Guild.