Could you give the readers a list of your lineup, what you guys do in the band, and your musical backgrounds as far as what bands you have come from?
Jered Youngbar: guitar.
Britain Weyent: guitar.
Jacob Dawson: drums.
Brandon Fingerman: bass/vocals.
Corey Highland: vocals/keyboards.
Myself (Corey) Jered and Brandon were three of the founding members of
the now defunct Aneirin. Jacob was in the Hagerstown metalcore band A New
Shade of This along with Britain and then he joined Aneirin after they
separated. Jered was in the touring band I, The Breather for their start and
debut album release and Britain was in the post A New Shade of This band
Judges. We’ve all been in bands and played shows with each other since we were
in high school and so the idea to put Twin Radio together was just sort of
natural at that point in our music careers.
How did the name Twin Radio come about? Was it something that has meaning
or that you just thought sounded cool and classic?
Twin Radio was one of the final choices for our the less than short lived
band that instead became Seaside Blues. Jacob and I came up with it simply
by each drawing out a word that we found interesting and then pairing them
together. But it wasn’t agreed upon by all members so we put it aside until
finally the project to be Twin Radio was dreamt up and brought into the
workshop.
What bands do you guys use as influences? With such a wide variety of
musical backgrounds I’d imagine you have a wide range of influences.
When we write our music we usually don’t go into it thinking “let’s make a
song that sounds like this band or that band” as we are each into such a
diverse array of bands and artists that we wouldn’t be able to decide and
agree upon a base source of influence for each piece. We simply let the
song run its own organic course and in the end look back and think “this
part kind of sounds like that band, and that other part there sounds like
this other band” and get excited at those kinds of notions.
With that being said, how would you categorize yourselves to give new
listeners an idea of what to expect?
We would call ourselves a rock band. Plain and simple. We haven’t fully
crystalized our “us” factor just yet but we have all been playing together
for so long in bands past that playing together just comes naturally, and
what bands have that element fully formed in just three months? So expect a
tightly knit, catchy, and passion-filled experience in our live show, our
music and our music to come.
Is it discouraging previously being in bands with a decent following only
to have to start again from scratch?
It very well could be if we let it get to us. We choose to look at our past
musical experience as just that, experience, and in doing so let it grow us
and take us to this next step. I know for me personally, I wouldn’t take
back the four years of touring that we did with our old band. It shaped us
as musicians and gave us an inside look and first hand experience of the
underground touring music scene and that’s just something you can’t simply
read in a magazine or see in a tour dvd. So to sum it up our old bands have
created the drive in us to start again at the bottom with Twin Radio and
we’re sure that the majority of our old fans will enjoy what more music we
create. We believe in it.
What is your number one goal you want to accomplish with Twin Radio?
We just want to play music. If I imagine a world in which none of us have
to work these dead end jobs or scrape together money through odd jobs on
the side just to have enough to buy equipment, merchandise and pay for the
fuel to fill our tank til the next show in the next state, a world in which
we don’t have to worry about anything but playing and writing music we love
for those who love it then that would be heaven to me!
Will you guys be playing any songs from previous projects like Seaside
Blues or are you strictly playing new material?
Twin Radio will be playing Twin Radio songs. Our new direction isn’t at all
in keeping with the sounds of any of the old bands. When you say we are
starting from scratch, we truly are starting from scratch. The songs
streaming on our facebook page and the songs that will be on our Demo (to
be available for download soon) are the first six songs that we have
written together. So in a way fans and listeners will be able to see our
band grow as material is released and played at shows because we really
aren’t leaving much out.
How does having previous experience with other bands help you guys with
Twin Radio? (I.e. booking shows, other connections, road experience)
In music it is definitely all about who you know and we will be and have
been utilizing our contact lists to book our first few shows as an unknown
new band.
I saw you guys have a few select shows coming up in the next few weeks, do
you have any tours in the works? Along with that, any summer plans?
We aren’t too quick to jump into the D.I.Y. touring circuit again. It’s not
that we don’t want to tour, because that is what we all love to do, we are
just trying to focus on our music first and then playing the shows and
weekend warrior stints that won’t exhaust us until we can develop a
presence and name for ourselves. We are hoping for label backing before we
embark on any tours.
I know you guys have a couple new tracks up on facebook, do you have any
plans to record an ep or full length any time in the near future?
We recorded a six song Demo that will be available for download soon.
How do you guys feel about the impact of Kickstarter on the music industry?
Some see it as a cheap way for bands to bum money off of their fans while
others see it as a opportunity for fans to help out their favorite bands.
Which side of the spectrum do you guys fall on?
We are not anti-Kickstarter by any means. I’m not sure that we will ever do
one ourselves, but who knows. We are just trying to focus on putting in as
much work as we need to to develop our standing as a band. But we have seen
Kickstarter help friends of ours when they couldn’t come up with the cash
to make records.
Speaking of Kickstarter, the Five Iron Frenzy campaign ended today. It
raised $207,980.00. What would you do with that kind of money if you could
use it for the band or anything else?
If we had that kind of money we would probably buy whatever extra gear we
needed to create the best music we could and then force ourselves forward
into the music world. And I would buy my mom a new car.
What would be a dream lineup for a show for you guys to play?
Twin Radio, Foo Fighters, U2. I’m dying just thinking of it. Shame on you
for asking haha.
What are you most excited for in 2012 in regards to Twin Radio, anything
else on the music side or in general?
We are excited to grow as a new band, but more than that we are excited to
share Twin Radio with everyone who will hear us! Twin Radio is a new band
but it was started out of long since dreamt ideas of mine and the other
four members’ so we are excited to finally make those ideas reality.
Any last words/thoughts for fans/potential listeners?
We hope you like what you’ve heard so far and invite you to stay tuned in
to Twin Radio for all that is to come!