Here is all the fun from my Q&A with the guys from Burn the Ballroom...
From left to right: Tuomas Easton, Me, Alan Gant, Jackson Harar
Meet the guys from Burn the Ballroom:
Alan Gant - Lead Singer & Guitar - Age: Unknown (He's like 29 maybe 30 per Ginger Jack)- Current Relationship Status: Irrelevant
Sterling Pearson - Lead Guitar - Age: 29 - Current Relationship Status: Single
Tuomas Easton - Keyboard - Age: 26 - Current Relationship Status: In a relationship
Jackson Harar - Bass - Age: 29 - Current Relationship Status: In a relationship
Jack Ivins aka Ginger Jack - Drums - Age: 28 - Current Relationship Status: In a relationship
C:ockwise from bottom left.. Me, Ginger Jack, Alan, Jackson, and Tuomas
***Please note some answers are direct quotes and others are paraphrased answers from individuals and the group***
Q. How did you guys meet and form BTB?
A. Alan Gant - "Jackson and Alan knew each other in college and got together after Jackson came back from California." They knew Sterling for awhile. Then they met Ginger Jack while he was finishing school at George Mason University. Last year, they met Tuomas through Grinder and invited him to join last Summer in 2014.
Q. What makes you different from other bands?
A. Tuomas - Faces of savory keytar.
Alan - Songs are really diverse compared to other bands. They are fun and different for genre.
Tour with own light show. Mad man drummer.
Sterling - "Alan (is what makes us different). We have an amazing singer."
Sterling - "Alan (is what makes us different). We have an amazing singer."
Q. When is the new stuff you've been working on dropping?
A. This summer - No release date yet. New stuff is conceptual though and won't be released to the public.
Thoughts: Sorry MSG2L Readers... I think they should reconsider that because I'd love to hear it and I think ya'll might too. Maybe if we bug them they will change their minds.
Thoughts: Sorry MSG2L Readers... I think they should reconsider that because I'd love to hear it and I think ya'll might too. Maybe if we bug them they will change their minds.
Since your sound has evolved so much over the past couple years...
Q. How would you describe your current sound?
Q. How would you describe your current sound?
A. Eclectic, dramatic, and going more for traditional rock and roll.
Tuomas and Alan - "Like a freight train full of rhinoceroses smashing into a pillow factory with feathers and horns everywhere."
Q. What direction is the new stuff going in and how is it different?
A. Sterling "Remains to be seen. It's really up to Alan. He has to believe in what he's singing so he can be confident about it."
Crazy rock and roll, more stripped down. Just velvet underwear, tasty solos, and from Alan "colorful codpieces."
For those who don't know what a codpiece is then I suggest you brush up on your Shakespeare. Here is the definition though according to Wikipedia:
Crazy rock and roll, more stripped down. Just velvet underwear, tasty solos, and from Alan "colorful codpieces."
For those who don't know what a codpiece is then I suggest you brush up on your Shakespeare. Here is the definition though according to Wikipedia:
Q. Since some of you guys are also involved in other music projects/bands, tell me about them...
A. Alan does an acoustic solo project. "It's lots of fun and something different."
Ginger Jack is in 2 other bands as well, The Ivins with his brother Jim and also just joined another band called Nightsbridge.. Jack also guests in with some bands and does session work.
Sterling is also part of The Ivins and plays guitar for them at their live shows. He also guests on several other music projects.
Thoughts: I'm absolutely LOVING The Ivins just fyi btw and will be featuring them in a post at some point in the near future so stay tuned for that. Also, if you're looking for some dope musicians to guest in on your projects then I'd seriously highly suggest and recommend hitting these guys up because they are super talented.
Sterling is also part of The Ivins and plays guitar for them at their live shows. He also guests on several other music projects.
Thoughts: I'm absolutely LOVING The Ivins just fyi btw and will be featuring them in a post at some point in the near future so stay tuned for that. Also, if you're looking for some dope musicians to guest in on your projects then I'd seriously highly suggest and recommend hitting these guys up because they are super talented.
Q. What happens to them when BTB gets big and takes more time and does things like go on extended tours? Will you still continue with them or kill them to focus solely on BTB?
A. Alan with the other bandmates in agreement - Burn the Ballroom is their primary focus so they will put their other projects aside.
Sterling - "Nothing. The other projects don't really play a lot of shows and The Ivins only practice once before a show. None of them will conflict."
Q. How do you plan to succeed in today's music industry?
A. We tour. Sterling - "Get quality material out and be in front of faces. It's all about numbers. If you can average whatever percentage of this faces into fans then how many hundreds do you have to put stuff in front of to have 1,000 people come to your show?"
Q. What did it take to get where you are?
A.Blunt force trauma. Sterling - "Hours, years, gas money... A LOT of gas money."
Thoughts: Truth... Real quick though, I will make this note to all musicians who make money from their gigs because while some people may know this, other may not.. speaking from an Accounting standpoint (it's what I do for my day job) since this counts as a business even if it's a side thing, make sure you keep and track EVERYTHING for tax purposes. Keep a notebook in your car with a mileage log and keep ALL of your receipts. I would advise keeping both hard copies and electronic copies of everything saved to your computer and a backup drive. I actually maintain an Excel spreadsheet with quarterly expenses as well which is super helpful. If you make over a certain amount then you have to report that income on your tax return. But all your mileage, cost of your gear and maintenance including stuff like guitar strings and drum sticks, costs incurred for promo supplies down to the printer ink, depreciation on your printer, business cards, CD's for demos, etc., even those meals you get during your gigs (except adult beverages unless it is part of an expense of a business dinner within reason).. all of it counts as write-offs to reduce your taxable income. If you're like me and playing gigs is your side job that supplements your income then definitely sit down and do the math before you do your taxes. Deduct all those expenses from your gross income received for the year and if the net income is less than whatever the amount cut-off is then you may not have to report it at all.. especially if you got paid in cash under the table.. But if you get paid in checks then you don't have a choice on reporting because there is a financial trail and the IRS can and will nail your ass at some point because the venues report the checks they gave you in their tax stuff. Just thought I'd share that hopefully helpful tip.
Anyway.. Bygones... Back to the interview...
A.Blunt force trauma. Sterling - "Hours, years, gas money... A LOT of gas money."
Thoughts: Truth... Real quick though, I will make this note to all musicians who make money from their gigs because while some people may know this, other may not.. speaking from an Accounting standpoint (it's what I do for my day job) since this counts as a business even if it's a side thing, make sure you keep and track EVERYTHING for tax purposes. Keep a notebook in your car with a mileage log and keep ALL of your receipts. I would advise keeping both hard copies and electronic copies of everything saved to your computer and a backup drive. I actually maintain an Excel spreadsheet with quarterly expenses as well which is super helpful. If you make over a certain amount then you have to report that income on your tax return. But all your mileage, cost of your gear and maintenance including stuff like guitar strings and drum sticks, costs incurred for promo supplies down to the printer ink, depreciation on your printer, business cards, CD's for demos, etc., even those meals you get during your gigs (except adult beverages unless it is part of an expense of a business dinner within reason).. all of it counts as write-offs to reduce your taxable income. If you're like me and playing gigs is your side job that supplements your income then definitely sit down and do the math before you do your taxes. Deduct all those expenses from your gross income received for the year and if the net income is less than whatever the amount cut-off is then you may not have to report it at all.. especially if you got paid in cash under the table.. But if you get paid in checks then you don't have a choice on reporting because there is a financial trail and the IRS can and will nail your ass at some point because the venues report the checks they gave you in their tax stuff. Just thought I'd share that hopefully helpful tip.
Anyway.. Bygones... Back to the interview...
I'm looking for your take on how you guys see the present and future of your band and your scene...
Q. How do you see the present and future of your scene?
A. Sterling - "The scene is repairing itself and getting better."
Q. Care to elaborate?
A. Sterling "8-10 years ago a lot of venues got shut down. Fairfax County put pressure on a lot of places to close. A lot of bands were being mismanaged and extorted. Mark Bradley was one person putting on good shows and it wasn't about just harassing your friends to get them to come out."
Q. How do you see the present and future of your band?
A. Sterling - "The band is becoming a solid unit. We're more of a crew and becoming more efficient."
Only a matter of time until we dominate.
Q. What do you want new people who've never heard of BTB to know about you?
A. Sterling 'You can find our music on YouTube and Spotify."
Alan and Tuomas - "We're all incredible spooners... 4 big spoons, 1 little spoon.. We all sleep naked except..."
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