Interview with Real Friends

This is Pop Punk Promotions with a special interview with Real Friends, Real friends is a pop punk band from Chicago Illinois. Make sure to grab their music here! 

http://www.realfriends.bandcamp.com/

Interview by: Branden Whitehead

TIPPP- How long has real friends been a band and where are you guys from?

 Real Friends- We have been a band for about two and a half years and we're from the south suburbs of Chicago.

TIPPP- What was the inspiration for the band to start?

 Real Friends- We all came from different bands and just wanted something that was fun to do that we could take seriously, but not too serious.

TIPPP- How was the crowd response from warped?

 Real Friends- It was awesome. Way better than we had hoped. We played the west coast dates, which was great because we haven't been able to hit those areas as much as we'd like

TIPPP- Did you prefer playing warped or the opportunity to headline a tour?

 Real Friends- Both are a lot of fun, but I would say warped tour. There aren't any boundaries, any kind of band can play and any band that plays has the potential to play to all sorts of different kids that normally wouldn't see them. To me that's fucking awesome.

TIPPP- What was the response like for your new EP “Put yourself back together”?

 Real Friends- It's awesome. We are very lucky to have people that continue to support what we do. It means a lot to be establishing this relationship with our fanbase, we've been given a lot of great opportunities because of them.

TIPPP- What song as a group do you pride yourselves the most for writing?

 Real Friends- Personally, I think that the softer songs we do usually stand out more. We have one called Hebron and another called I've Given Up on You that are a lot different than what we normally write. I like that we're able to make songs like that.

TIPPP- In the past year you guys have made a ton of progress as a band, did you ever expect it to get this big so fast?

 Real Friends- The fact that anybody gives a shit about our music in the first place is awesome. None of us saw any of this coming, it's a very humbling experience

TIPPP- Any hints we can expect in the coming year, tours, new music, etc.?

 Real Friends- We just started writing for a full length and we will be announcing a fall tour soon. We also have a UK tour lined up in November with The Wonder Years and Neck Deep. Really excited for that.

TIPPP- What’s the bands favorite thing to do on off days?

 Real Friends- Depending on where we are we'll drive somewhere and meet up with other bands on the tour or we'll get coffee and people watch at a mall.

TIPPP- What's the best and worse show you have ever played?

 Real Friends- One of the best shows we've ever played was at a bowling alley in our area for the release of Put Yourself Back Together, great crowd and a night we definitely will never forget. As for the worst show, I don't even know. We played in Grand Rapids about two years ago at a place called Mixtape. Nobody showed up and I wasn't necessarily on top of my game at that show. Luckily whenever we play in Grand Rapids now it's a great time. I love Michigan.

TIPPP- Favorite place that you guys have visited on tour?

 Real Friends- I love Cambridge and Philly. San Francisco and San Diego are awesome too, same with Michigan.

TIPPP- What’s the weirdest thing that has ever happened to you guys on tour?

 Real Friends- The last time we played in Philly we were throwing dice behind the venue and some random homeless person showed up and asked to get in on the game and ended up winning about three to four games in a row and took all of our money.

TIPPP- What were your musical inspirations when the band first started?

 Real Friends- When the band started we had more of a pop rock influence in the music. We were listening to a lot of bands like You Me and Everyone We Know and Hellogoodbye.

TIPPP- How did all the members come together to start the band?

 Real Friends- We all used to play in other local bands and became friends so we thought we'd get together. Our old drummer quit after our first EP so we had Brian and Eric come play with us.

TIPPP- What are your favorite current bands?

 Real Friends- I've been listening to The Starting Line nonstop, but other than that I'm a huge fan of both Citizen's Youth and TWIABP's Whenever, If Ever. Our friends in Knuckle Puck also just finished recording a new EP that is killer.

TIPPP- What would each of you be doing if you were not in real friends today?

 Real Friends- We would all just be working our old shitty jobs and probably going to school, nothing too crazy.

TIPPP- Do you have any advice for small bands that are trying to “make it”?

 Real Friends- Work hard. Don't expect to make money. If you want something, you will have to make sacrifices for it. Nothing is ever handed to you.

TIPPP- Was it hard getting to the point in your career that you are now?

 Real Friends- I think so. We all worked shit jobs to pay for merch, recording, etc. and spent countless hours in Kyle's basement piecing together each song to make sure we give it our all.

TIPPP- What is your favorite fast food to eat while on the road?

 Real Friends-Taco Bell and Waffle House

TIPPP- What are 5 small local bands that you think should earn more recognition?

       Real Friends- Knuckle Puck, Droughts, Glaciers, She's alive, Ship captain crew

Interview with Hollow Tides

Hollow Tides is a melodic punk band from Tampa bay florida, check their tunes out here! http://hollowtides.bandcamp.com

This Is Pop Promotions with an interview with Hollow Tides
Interview by: Branden Whitehead

TIPPP- When did your band Hollow Tides first form and how long have you been a band?

Cody Travis (Vocals/Guitar) - "Early summer of 2013 is when we all got together to start learning songs and practicing together as a band. We released our first set of songs and played our first show in July of 2013"

TIPPP- Where are you guys located from?

CT - We're scattered throughout the 727/813 area... We just tell people we're from "Tampa Bay" even though that's technically a body of water lol

TIPPP- How has the release for your new EP Overly Honest gone so far?

Chris Evering (Bass/Vocals) - "We've been getting a lot of awesome feedback from everyone since we released the EP. Which is great because we didn't really know how people would react to our sound...it song lengths lol"

TIPPP- How would you describe the type of music you play as a band?

CT - "I think that's a hard question to answer, one of the things we really focus on is not trying to get stuck in one specific genre per say. Instead, we try to blend a multitude of different genres to create a sound that we think is unique to us and our band. To put it simply, we play rock music. We like to play fast, we like to play hard and we like people getting involved with the music (especially live) so we do our best to be energetic and driving."

TIPPP- What are your views on getting signed?

CT - "dude, fuck a record label...."

TIPPP- Also what are your views on the music scene lately?

CE - "The Florida scene has always been pretty sweet, and its only growing. A lot bands are coming out of the wood work and showing their worth in spades! We're definitely excited to be apart of it and to see where it goes from here."

TIPPP- What has Hollow Tides recently been up to (shows,tour,recording, etc.)?

CT - "Right now we're practicing to really polish our live set. We're promoting our first EP we just released, and also working on new material."

TIPPP- Should we expect anything upcoming from Hollow Tides in the next few months?

CT - "Even though we just released our debut EP a few weeks ago, we're already working on some new material. Also get ready for some sick merch. We're gonna first record the new songs acoustically so everyone can learn them and sing along, but we'll also be playing live versions of the songs at shows (non acoustic), so get ready for circle pits and stage dives!! We're currently in the market for a van so we can jump on the road and start making new friends in new cities across the US. We're extremely stoked with the amount of people who like our music because we had no idea how it would be received, and we want to continue to get people to hear our music."

TIPPP- What do you think sets Hollow Tides apart from most bands and makes you unique?

CT - "In my opinion what sets us apart from most bands is our unique blend of different musical influences. We're really hard working and also determined to get our music out and make an impression on as many people as possible. We're not worried about choreography or lame outfits like a lot of bands these days. The music being put out in the last few years has really taken a turn for the worst in my opinion and instead of being a way to relate and express your emotions, it's become something different entirely. It's sad to be honest, but we stand for what music should be...energy and emotion, it might not necessarily be what sets us apart from other bands, but it's what I feel separates us from most modern music in general."

TIPPP- Is there anything else you would like to add or mention?

CT - "I'd really like to take the time to say that it would mean a lot to all of us in the band if you could take the time out of your day to download our free EP(http://hollowtides.bandcamp.com). We put a lot of work and financial resources driving back and forth to Ocala to create an EP we felt we wanted people to hear. Thousands invested and now we're putting it out FOR FREE.... We had a great time recording the songs in the studio, and hopefully you as a listener can feel that energy in the recordings. We want to see you guys at our shows singing along and getting reckless because it shows us, as a band, that we've left our mark and you felt that you could share that particular experience with us. The best way to stay in the loop about shows is facebook.com/hollowtides. You could be anywhere, but you're here with us? That's badass

Interview with To The Floor

This is Pop Punk Promotions with an interview with To The FLoor

Interview by: Branden Whitehead

TIPPP- How would you describe the type of music you play?

C.J.: I think Ford would agree with me on this. We sort of mix the best elements of pop, pop-rock, pop-punk, and hardcore into our band. If you are a fan of any of these genres there is something for you to enjoy in our music. I think at our base we are a pop-punk band but it’s so much more explorative than that.

Ford: I would agree with that. You are correct.

Michael: We’re like an all you can eat buffet. We’ve recently been enjoying the Cici’s Pizza buffet and that really describes us a band. Except for the salad part because people who eat the salad at a Pizza buffet are not to be trusted (CJ).

TIPPP- Where is your hometown and how did To The Floor come together as a band?

C.J.: Well as a band we are pretty diverse in terms of where our members are from. The band’s hometown is definitely Gloucester, but I’m from Yorktown and J.T. (our drummer) is from Norfolk. Both Ford and Michael live in Gloucester though and we practice there so we consider it our home base so to speak.

Michael: A lot of our songs reference our home of Gloucester and its kind of become an inside joke at this point where everything we do is all about Gloucester or Fords house (Freeport).

Ford: Freeport is my turf yo.

TIPPP- How long has TTF been a band?

C.J.: It’s been about 6 months now.

Michael: Or 3 and a half dog years.

TIPPP- How have your past releases gone, for Calypso & This how we live?

Michael: Well this was slightly before I was in the band but we released them on Youtube and for Free download. They were met with positive reactions from people for the most part. We actually went and redid both songs recently with our new members. They sound even sicker now.

TIPPP- Should we be looking for anything upcoming from TTF in the next few months?

Michael: Our debut EP “FREep” will be coming out August 24th for Free download. We’ll also be shooting and releasing a music video in the coming months. We’re trying to set up a few mini tours in the coming months also. We’re just all around trying to accomplish as much as we can.

JT- We’ve also been trying to explore our ways to perform for people. We just started playing more quiet, personal acoustic sessions. We play a huge amount of cover songs (ranging from All Time Low to Poison) as well as our original songs. To this date, we’ve only had one of these performances but it went really well and it was a lot of fun.

Ford: More youtube covers!

TIPPP- There is a unique spin in your song Calypso when Big E comes in that most bands do not incorporate, what was the thought process behind this and the motive to place it in your song?

C.J.: I remember Ford coming to me and telling me that he thought it would be really cool to have a rapper in one of our songs. At the time we were recording Calypso and I thought it would be cool to see if we could pull it off. I made the samples for that part the same day Big E came into the studio.

Ford: I’ve known Big E since kindergarten and we’ve been talking about doing a song together since high school. I was literally walking through the halls at our college and it hit me that the time had come. As for the band, we wanted our first single to establish our genre, and then we wanted our second single to show how interestingly we can expand on that genre and push it to the limits. We want to always keep our listeners on their toes.

TIPPP- What has To The Floor been up to in the past few months (shows,tour,recording, etc.)

C.J.: Well we’ve initiated a series of videos we call “To The Floor Fridays” which I’m pretty stoked about, and we’ve been hard at work playing lots of local shows. The videos are really our way of getting into the YouTube market. We also have our first E.P. coming out relatively soon, and it’s my first E.P. ever so that’s really exciting.

Michael: We’ve basically been trying to develop our sound and live show as much as possible while still doing the online aspect as well. Its been crazy losing and gaining members and still maintaining momentum but somehow we’re managing to do that.

Ford: Definitely lots of pizza. Which means lots of shows.

TIPPP- What would you say puts your band aside from others that makes you unique?

C.J.: I mean I can’t speak for anyone else but I definitely don’t try to sound like anybody but me when I sing and write music. All of our music comes from experiences that we’ve had. It’s all homegrown, and I think that’s what makes us different.

Michael: We just wanna have fun and write the best possible music we can. We’re not looking to fit into a certain genre or have a specific look. We wanna be that band that even if you don’t really dig our music you can still have some fun with us. We have a little bit of something for everyone so it makes us stand apart from other bands.

Ford: To me, the most unique thing about us is that we don’t let the poppy/heavy split limit us but instead use it to write songs limitations of “too heavy” or “too poppy”. We just write music that we hope will get everybody’s boogie shoes going hard.

TIPPP- Is there anything else you would like to add or mention?

Michael: We play rock and roll. We’re from Gloucester. And the new shredded chicken

smothered burrito from Taco Bell is amazing.

JT- Michael lies. The new burrito kills your liver, stomach, and digestive system. Don’t try it.

Ford: Don’t run. Don’t walk. Fly. Subscribe to tothefloorband on youtube!

Interview With Pretty Little Kennedy Curse

This Is Pop Punk Promotions with an interview featuring Pretty Little Kennedy Curse.

Interview done by: Branden Whitehead

Pretty Little Kennedy Curse is a Baltimore pop punk band, make sure to check out their music here! http://plkc.bandcamp.com/

TIPPP - Thanks for taking the time to talk to This is Pop Punk Promotions! When did you guys first originate as a band?

Eric Navarro- Sure thing, thanks for interviewing us! We all met through playing the card game Magic: the Gathering in late 2008, but didn’t start playing music until the Fall of 2011. At first, we’d just play a few songs- some stuff we wrote and some songs off Fall Out Boy’s album Take This to Your Grave, and then hang out all night in our drummer’s backyard around a firepit. Eventually some friends of ours in more established bands heard us and encouraged us to make an album and start playing shows, so that’s how we spent the first half of 2012.

TIPPP - Where is your hometown and how is your local scene?

Eric- We’re from Baltimore, Maryland. Our scene is great! There are lots of great places to play and some really good bands. One downside is that it’s not always easy to fill a club when there are so many shows that happen on any given night. But I guess that’s a good problem to have because it forces you to get better at making music, playing live, and promoting your music. Otherwise, you’ll just get lost in the shuffle.

TIPPP  - Has it been hard as a band getting to the current point in your career you are at now?

Eric- It’s been tough, but it’s also been a lot of fun. We’ve worked really hard to make music we’re proud of, and get to spread it to as many people as possible, all the while making friends and discovering bands we would have never heard about otherwise. Even if we don’t end up “making it” we’ll still have memories and friendships that last much longer than a band.

TIPPP - You guys recently just released a new single on an acoustic split EP with A Place In Time, titled ‘1963.’ How did PLKC come together with A Place In Time to collaborate on the split EP?

Eric- We were very particular about how we wrote and recorded the EP. Most splits consist of two bands just shoving a bunch of unrelated songs together and slapping both band’s names on it. A split is often made to save money on pressing or to promote two bands on the same label. Since none of that was important to us, we wanted to make a very cohesive split album.

The idea came when we were all hanging out after a show, jamming on an acoustic guitar campfire style. We decided to go into the same studio, at the same time, and record everything together over the course of a weekend. Each band chose a song from an earlier album to re-do as acoustic and to write a new song specifically for the EP. We also picked out two cover songs- ‘Sophomore Slump’ by Fall Out Boy and ‘The Harold Song’ by Ke$ha. The vocals of Sophomore Slump were done by 3 members of PLKC, 2 of APIT, and our producer Eric Taft.

The album comes out August 27th, but you can find some songs already up on the EP’s bandcamp acount (http://1963ep.bandcamp.com/). We also put a camera-phone video on youtube for Sophomore Slump (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXuwmF4PPuI).

TIPPP - How was the feedback on your full length The Sound Of Time Running Out?

Eric- It’s been great! Since we put it online it gets more and more downloads every day. We were fortunate that we are a do it yourself type of band and don’t have a label so we can just put it up and give it away for free on our bandcamp page (http://plkc.bandcamp.com/).

TIPPP - What has PLKC been up to recently the past few months (shows,tour,recording, etc.)?

Eric- We’ve recorded the first 2 songs for our follow up album, and we’re about to head out on our first East Coast tour. We’re using September and October to play a few shows and record a few more songs.

TIPPP - Is there anything your fans should be looking out for from you guys in the upcoming months?

Eric- Pick up ‘1963’ August 27th, and check our facebook (https://www.facebook.com/PLKCmusic) for tour dates, videos, and new music.

TIPPP - Is there anything else you guys would like to add or say?

Eric- Thanks for helping us get the word out! To all your readers- go to a local show! It’ll mean more than you know.

Interview with Times New Roman

This is Pop Punk Promotions with an interview with Times New Roman.

Interview by: Branden Whitehead

Times New Roman is a pop punk band from Christianburg Virginia, you can grab their tunes here http://timesnewromanva.bandcamp.com/  

TIPPP- How long has Times New Roman been a band?

TNR- A little over 4 years.

TIPPP- When did TNR form and what is your hometown?

TNR- Billy and I (Elliott) started forming this band in the Spring of 2009 looking for a sound that resembled bands like I See Stars and Attack Attack in a little town called Christiansburg, VA. Brandon Deacon joined on as Bass, and Luke joined on playing the “Elmo Toy” (electronics?). But, then we decided to start playing Pop Punk. Luke moved to synth and we picked up Glen for a second guitarist. We played our first show August 2009.

TIPPP- How would you describe the type of music Times New Roman plays and what sets it apart from other bands and makes it unique?

TNR- We would say Pop-Punk, but there are so many different sub genres these days that it’s hard to explain, so we would recommend to just give it a listen and see what you think. I’m not really sure how to answer how we are different from other bands in our genre, but I do believe our sound is a lot different from most bands. On our latest release, we tried our best not to fall victim to music trends, which we feel guilty of in parts of our previous releases. Instead we write music we think is “Times New Roman.”

TIPPP- How has the release gone for your album A Place To Rest Your Head?

TNR-  Extremely positive! We’ve gotten many comments from those who support our band saying that we really “stepped up” on this EP. People have said we took a mature, positive step, and still kept it “Times New Roman”, which is what we were going for.

TIPPP- What has TNR been up to in the past few months (tour,shows,recording,etc.)?

Shows on shows on shows. We’ve done a good amount of touring pushing our new release A Place To Rest Your Head. We did a CD release tour with our good buddies in Bottom of the Ninth and a short run with our buds in I Time Bomb. We just recently played Songs of the South Fest in Greensboro, NC and it was AWESOME. Huge shout out to the Clockwise Collective. They did a great job with the entire event.

TIPPP- What’s the worst show and best show you’ve ever played before?

TNR-  WORST SHOW: Roanoke, VA at Happy’s flea market. We played to a new set of ears, played TERRIBLY, and Elliott did a guitar swing that almost killed Billy, who was our drummer/singer at the time. Elliott’s guitar simply flew behind him and missed Billy’s face by inches. We laugh now, but we were so embarrassed.  

BEST SHOW: Songs of the South fest 2013 FOR SURE! It’s extremely humbling to see people sing the words to our songs who we have never met before. Not only that, it was the largest amount of people we have ever played for, and we had our first stage divers. Most excellent!

TIPPP- What’s the favorite place you’ve ever played before?

Glen, Elliott, Matt, Billy : The Blind Tiger in Greensboro, NC

TIPPP- Where was your favorite place you’ve ever visited while on the road?

Elliott: New York City. I had never been there before. It was absolutely breathtaking

Glen: Broadway in Nashville, TN. I’m not the biggest country music fan, but I thought it was rad to see almost every single bar on that road (which seemed to be every other building) had a country act playing. Also, the street performers were creepy, but entertaining.

Brandon: Wawa.

Luke: Going to Sandy Hook beach in NJ at the end of tour last summer was rad.

Matt: Time Square in NYC

Billy: Sandy Hook beach was definitely awesome. Great way to end our tour last summer.

TIPPP-What has been the craziest thing to happen to you guys on the road?

Glen: Well I got Bottom of the Ninth’s trailer stuck between the ceiling and floor of a parking garage. That was fun...NOT.

Elliott: What Glen said, but one time in Johnson City, TN I placed our trailer lock where you couldn’t get the key in to unlock it. We panicked, but our buddy Shane who plays in the band Playtime Revenue, and our drummer Matt Wade beat the crap out of the lock with a baseball bat to make the lock accessible to unlock. We were afraid all of our equipment would be locked in there for quite some time. What a great way to start a tour!

TIPPP- Do you guys have any particular influences and favorite bands?

Glen: It’s hard to say what influences me today, but back in middle school and early high school, I took a lot of influence from bands like Underoath, Silverstein, Story of the Year, etc. I could go on forever. My favorite band always changes, but over the past year or two, I’ve really been digging The Story So Far.

Elliott: Influences usually change for me year to year, but Relient K and The Wonder Years have always been huge influences of mine. Band’s that have influenced me over the past year are With The Punches, Last Call, American Scene, Fireworks and The Early November.

Brandon: Recently.. Rotting Out, Modern Baseball, Prawn, Gorilla Biscuits, Mixtapes, The Front Bottoms.

Matt: Influences would be The Wonder Years, Four Year Strong, New Found Glory. Favorite bands The Story So Far, Citizen, Four Year Strong, and Emarosa

Billy: Citizen, Balance and Composure, Fireworks, Such Gold, old Fall Out Boy, Into It. Over It., Owen and probably a ton more that I can’t think of at the moment!

TIPPP- What’s your favorite fast food?

Glen: Cookout faaaa shhhhhhooooooo! Or Chipotle

Elliott: Definitely Cookout or Zaxby’s

Luke: Are you kidding? Bojangles!

Matt: Subway without a doubt!

Billy: It’s a tie between Sheetz and Cookout!

TIPPP- What are all of your hobbies to do outside of music?

Elliott: Facebook or watching Digimon. I’m lame.

Glen: I enjoy playing Fifa ...a lot. Also, pick up soccer with my friends.

Brandon: I dabble in Pokemon from time to time.

Luke: Does school count as a hobby? I like school.

Matt: Skateboarding, slaying dragons, video games, and taming wild unicorns

Billy: I enjoy creating art. Primarily in the area of screen printing.

TIPPP- What is your favorite movie/ tv show?

Glen: Billy Madison......”STOP LOOKING AT ME SWAN!”/The Big Bang Theory

Elliott: Favorite Shows are NCIS (Mark Harmon rules) and Community. Favorite Movies are definitely Billy Madison, Pineapple Express, and 21 Jump Street.

Brandon: LOST. WATCH LOST.

Luke: Movie: The Princess Bride, TV Show: Community (except the 4th season blows)

Matt: Movie: Pulp Fiction, TV Show: Adventure Time

Billy: Movie: I have no idea so I’ll just say Kill Bill for now, TV Show: Game of Thrones!!!

TIPPP- Have you guys been touring? If so hows it been, and how are touring experiences?

TNR- Yes we have! It can be rough at times, but overall we’ve had a blast and had some really good experiences. It’s great to visit places we have never been, to make new friends, and to see friends we don’t get to see as often as we would like.

TIPPP- What do you recommend to smaller bands trying to establish themselves?

Glen: Take your time with writing.  Make sure it is something you are proud of. Nothing is worse than recording and releasing a song/songs that you later regret releasing. Also, do not settle on cheap recordings. Save up the money and go to a professional. The rawness of your songs can be great, but certain recordings can kill it. Record with someone who knows what they’re doing and understands your genre.

Elliott: Make sure you’re playing lots of local shows at first. Make sure your local scene knows who you are, that way you have a support group. From there expand by playing shows out of town. Make sure you advertise your band through any media outlet you can. It takes time, but it’s worth it.

TIPPP- Was getting to where you are now in your career difficult?

TNR- The first two or three years of the band we took somewhat slow and mainly played in our hometown. The past year or so we have really started to make a serious effort in playing out of our area. In all of the traveling we have done, there have definitely been some bumps in the road, but rewarding nonetheless. The main point we can make is that being in a band isn’t always easy, yet it is still our passion and we have a lot of fun with it.

TIPPP- What's next for Times New Roman as a band?

TNR- We’re are continuing to play out of our area and plan to keep doing so to push our band more and more. We will also most likely begin the writing stages in the near future for new material.