This Is Pop Punk Promotions, with an exclusive interview featuring Stay Strong. Stay Strong is 4 piece Pop punk band from Eau Claire, Wisconsin. You can pick up their new Ep tomorrow on their bandcamp!
Josh (J), Zach (Z), Rad (R), Sam (S)
TIPPP- How long has Stay Strong been a band?
R: A little over a year, since December of 2012.
TIPPP- How’d you guys get the name Stay Strong ?
J: I had a (now former) best friend who was going through a lot of the same struggles I was and when we’d end a conversation or say goodbye for a period of time we’d always tell each other to “Stay Strong.” I brought it up to the other guys and they seemed to dig it so that’s what we went with.
R: It basically just symbolizes staying positive.
Z: STAY POSI (haha)
TIPPP- Where are you guys from?
J: Well I’m originally from Madison, Wisconsin, but I moved up to Eau Claire for school.
Z: I’m from Chippewa Falls just outside of Eau Claire.
R: I’m originally from Duluth, MN but moved here 3 years ago. All of us besides Zach currently live in Eau Claire, which is also where we practice.
TIPPP- How did Stay Strong come about as a band?
J: I met our original rhythm guitarist Chris Korman in the summer of 2012 and we hit it off right away. We were frustrated with the music coming out of Eau Claire at the time and we were really into bands like The Wonder Years, The Story So Far, Turnover etc. and wanted to start writing some more aggressive pop-punk. We started recruiting members shortly thereafter. I knew Zach from a previous band we were in together (he joined as our lead guitarist) and he enlisted the help of our former bass player Paul Rieck. Chris brought Rad in on drums and we kicked out 3 songs in the first 3 weeks of being a band. Rad approached us about two months after he started saying he had to leave the band.
R: I left the band for a few reasons, one was to take over more of a booking and managing aspect and the others were a number of personal reasons.
J: Shortly after that Adam Kirby joined us on drums and we kicked out 5 more songs and started playing shows.
TIPPP- How is the scene in your area?
Z: Eau Claire is a scene oversaturated with every genre of metal known to man, we kind of feel like the odd band out. Other than us, there really aren’t many other bands with a similar sound. The closest would be our good buds in Arms Aloft. There are quite a few venues in the area, unfortunately, not many are all ages venues, but we take what we can get. I’m just glad to see venues popping up willing to host shows and bring in outside touring acts. If you took a look at Eau Claire 5 years ago, there really was nothing going on. Bands came and went, but nothing was coming out of this area.
R: The scene here, truth be told, I feel is lacking. But like what Zach mentioned, we don’t have any other bands close to our genre or style. Its all death metal, which don’t get me wrong I love, but I wish we had more to work with here. But since we are kind of the odd band out, it makes us work 10 times harder. We all just have high hopes f0r this band and this scene.
J: The only other music than metal that really comes out of Eau Claire is indie or pop music and that’s not really our thing.
TIPPP- What would you guys say that makes your band different from every other band?
J: Pizza and Sparks (alcohol)! Just kidding haha I think we have a wider range of influences that shine through in our music. We’re definitely a band who is all about the music. We like to have fun, but for us, it’s not about excessive partying, popularity or impressing women. We just love to write songs.
TIPPP- How long have you guys been together?
J: With this current lineup (who recorded the EP)? Since October 2013.
TIPPP- So you guys are releasing a new Ep on February 28th, tell us about that!
R: The EP really puts how we all feel about life into music.
S: For me, this is my first experience recording in a professional environment so I’m pretty excited. Very fun, much wow. It was a good experience getting to travel with my good friends to Madison, Wi to write and record music we love.
Z: …and getting a honeymoon suite together…in a sketchy ass hotel!
J: This is really the first band, the first recordings, I’ve been truly proud of putting out as a musician. With all my other bands, my heart was never truly in the music. But this is everything to me, it’s all I had for so long.
TIPPP- Explain the writing/recording process of the new ep?
J: We went into the studio with all the songs basically written, so it was just sitting down and tracking out our individual parts. Working with our producer Jared Norton of Norton Studios was really a great experience. He did a fantastic job on the recordings.
S: I was nervous because it was my first experience, but Jared made it really easy.
J: What generally happens is, I’ll record a rough version of the full song, take it to the guys, and they’ll write their parts and make changes. Some songs, like “Worst Intentions,” Zach and Rad wrote live and I came in and finished it off with a few lead guitar suggestions and vocals.
Z: The sky is blue.
R: I went down there looking for one of the best experiences of my life; time to get away and play the music that I love.
TIPPP- If you don’t mind what are the lyrics about in the new Ep?
J: The lyrics are about where I’ve been for the past 4 years of my life. I’ve suffered from severe depression since I was 16 years old and once I moved to Eau Claire, away from my family and old friends, and with the added pressures of school, it got a whole lot worse. That’s what “Oh, Claire” deals with directly, the poor choices I made in regards to my drinking habits and addictions, the decline of a 4 year relationship and going completely broke. “Nothing to Come Home to,” even though it’s the first track, is dealing with the aftermath of the content in “Oh, Claire.” I basically took an inventory of my life and realized I was broke, relationship-less, and drinking way too much. I felt like I had nothing to come home to, literally, and also felt like I myself was nothing special for someone else to come home to either. That track is extremely honest, comprised of real conversations between my ex-girlfriend and myself, conversations with myself, and real life situations I found myself in. “Worst Intentions” is just me personifying my depression. I wrote it to sound like I was talking about a person, but it’s really just about how depression can creep up at any moment and put you in a vice grip, squeezing the life out of you.
TIPPP- Do you have any plans for the Ep? (Release show, Release tour, Music video?)
S: On the day of our release we’re having a listening party with some close friends.
R: We’re just really stoked to show all of our friends and family what we’ve been working on.
TIPPP- How have the shows you guys have played gone?
J: We haven’t played shows in almost 6 months because of some rebranding and restructuring we’ve been doing. But the shows we did play went extremely well and we got really positive responses.
TIPPP- What are your current favorite bands?
J: BAYSIDE BAYSIDE BAYSIDE. They’re definitely always first for me. Others include Motion City Soundtrack, Van Halen (odd one out I know), Alexisonfire, I Am the Avalanche and Glassjaw.
Z: Blink 182, Alkaline Trio, Sum 41, The Ghost Inside, Hundreth, The Wonder Years and The Story So Far
R: Comeback Kid, Story of the Year, The Wonder Years and A Day To Remember.
S: Into It. Over It., There/Their/They’re, The World is a Beautiful Place and I am No Longer Afraid to Die, Tiny Moving Parts.
TIPPP- What would your perfect show lineup be?
All: Bayside, Blink 182, Sunny Day Real Estate and The Wonder Years
TIPPP- What has Stay Strong been up to in the last couple of months? (Shows,tour,recording,ect.)
Z: writing, writing, writing.
S: also maybe some writing
J: and practicing what we write!
TIPPP- What does Stay Strong have planned for 2014? (Shows,tour,recording,ect.)
Z: Shows, and record a full length towards the end of the year.
J: and obviously releasing this EP “What the Hell Are We Doing?”
S: Work on moving to China, no for real, that’s my long term plan.
J: Any bassists out there wanna join?
TIPPP- What has been the craziest experience you’ve had on the road together?
All: “WE’RE NEVER GONNA MAKE IT HOME!”
J: Our old drummer Adam Kirby had some great quotable moments on the road, including that one from when we were driving in a severe storm on the highway.
TIPPP- What are your hobbies when you aren’t playing music?
J: Writing music
S: Studying international financial reporting standards!
R: I enjoy promoting a lot of shows and being a collector of KISS merchandise and horror films.
Z: Working on vehicles
TIPPP- What are your favorite movies?
J: The Godfather series or the Hannibal Lector series
S: A Clockwork Orange
R: SLC Punk, Evil Dead Trilogy
Z: Dragonball Z
TIPPP- How would you describe each member of the band personality wise? (weird, funny, awkward, nice, mean, grouchy,ect.)
Z: oh shit. Josh is extremely depressing to be around but we all love him. Rad is the old crazy drunk guy you see screaming at birds in the park, and Sam is the highly sophisticated scholar.
J: He’s not wrong.
R: I do hate birds…
S: Zach is the token fat kid. (We died when he said that hahaha)
TIPPP- What are our favoirte fast foods or any type of foods you guys like to eat?
All: Taco Bell, Kwik Trip (gas station food), Pizza Hut or Little Ceasars.
TIPPP- Anything else you would like to add or mention?
Z: I’m not that fat.
J: We also have tshirt preorders up at https://www.booster.com/
S: Check us out and follow us on twitter!
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