interview with Calm & Chaos
What´s the name of your band? Calm & Chaos
How was the band formed? We got together to play a benefit concert for a friend's wife who was battling cancer.
Can you tell about your band? We are a husband and wife plus two to three friends, depending on the situation.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? All the band members are from the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. Anne Marie Bannister is the singer, Demian Bannister plays guitar and sings harmonies, Jason Boaz plays drums, Steve Froberg plays bass, and sometimes Nick Malgieri plays guitars as well.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We just wanted to perform once, but had so much fun that we continued writing and booking shows.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Essentially we are a mellow mainstream rock band, but we listen to a lot of different kinds of music so there are elements of country, pop, and acoustic music that come through in our songs as well.
Where was your first gig? At The Raven Theater in Healdsburg, California
Where was the latest gig? The Firehouse 37 Bar in San Ramon, California
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Most of the songs are written by Demian Bannister, but Anne Marie has written full or partial lyrics to several songs.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? Definitely Anne Marie, although Jason can get goofy. Demian takes things too seriously most of the time.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? What's good with the band is that we have regular paying gigs, what's bad is that we're not rich & famous. We feel that we're mainstream rock.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We didn't really pick that style, it's just what comes out when we pick up instruments and start playing. Our songs tend to run on the depressing side, failed relationships and stuff. We joke that we would be a better band for a funeral than a wedding, although we also have songs about drinking and having a good time.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? When we play three hour gigs it's about half originals and half covers, but we would prefer to play mostly our own.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Yes, we released an album in July of 2011 called "Bad Decisions Make For Great Stories." It's available on iTunes and through our website www.calmandchaos.com.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes. We have a video for the song "Sicker", the link is here - http://youtu.be/gnso68tXyV0
How was the band formed? We got together to play a benefit concert for a friend's wife who was battling cancer.
Can you tell about your band? We are a husband and wife plus two to three friends, depending on the situation.
Where are all band members from?/Who does what in the band? All the band members are from the San Francisco Bay Area in the United States. Anne Marie Bannister is the singer, Demian Bannister plays guitar and sings harmonies, Jason Boaz plays drums, Steve Froberg plays bass, and sometimes Nick Malgieri plays guitars as well.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We just wanted to perform once, but had so much fun that we continued writing and booking shows.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? Essentially we are a mellow mainstream rock band, but we listen to a lot of different kinds of music so there are elements of country, pop, and acoustic music that come through in our songs as well.
Where was your first gig? At The Raven Theater in Healdsburg, California
Where was the latest gig? The Firehouse 37 Bar in San Ramon, California
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? Most of the songs are written by Demian Bannister, but Anne Marie has written full or partial lyrics to several songs.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? Definitely Anne Marie, although Jason can get goofy. Demian takes things too seriously most of the time.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? What's good with the band is that we have regular paying gigs, what's bad is that we're not rich & famous. We feel that we're mainstream rock.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We didn't really pick that style, it's just what comes out when we pick up instruments and start playing. Our songs tend to run on the depressing side, failed relationships and stuff. We joke that we would be a better band for a funeral than a wedding, although we also have songs about drinking and having a good time.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? When we play three hour gigs it's about half originals and half covers, but we would prefer to play mostly our own.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Yes, we released an album in July of 2011 called "Bad Decisions Make For Great Stories." It's available on iTunes and through our website www.calmandchaos.com.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes. We have a video for the song "Sicker", the link is here - http://youtu.be/gnso68tXyV0
We also have a live clip for the song "Hard Pill" - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=urPaKwixFXU
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are old enough to know better but too young to care. Demian got started in music to impress girls, Anne Marie got started in music because she was impressed by Demian's guitar playing, Steve needed to pay the bills, Nick heard you could get free booze, and Jason likes to bang on stuff.
At what age did you start playing? We were all about 13 or 14.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 15 or 16.
What year was the band started? 2009
Best/worst gig you've played? The best was probably opening up for an all female Led Zeppelin tribute band called Zeparella, the worst was playing an outdoor gig in the fall and none of the venues heat lamps worked. It was freezing.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Northern California
Where have you played from then till now? Pretty much Northern California
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Impossible to answer that, way too many great bands out there!!
Is it always the same songs live? No, it depends on our mood, the vibe of the crowd, and the amount of time we have to play.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? We had a gig last month where a guy promised to pick up our bar tab.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Not with this band but Jason, Demian, and Steve have done some national and international (Steve) tours with other bands.
How big crowds do you usually play for? Anywhere from nobody to a few hundred.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Try to get back in the studio and record some new material,
Where do you usually play? Bars/restaurants.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? A cold cocktail and a good crowd always helps
What are your goals with your music? To continue to write, record, and have fun. A licensing deal wouldn't be so bad either, I could see our music being used for film or commercials.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I still hear things with new bands that inspire me, but it's hard to beat the classics!
What are your sources of inspiration? Listening to music, playing around in the studio, or just random lyrical ideas or phrases that pop into my head.
What's the first step when making a new song? You have to get started! That's the hardest part.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I'm torn, because as a listener and as an artist, digital music is so easy and convenient, but I also still listen to actual vinyl records and I love the way they sound.
What would be your dreams for the band? To have a solid fan base that looks forward to new releases and is affected or at least really enjoys what we do.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? All of them, pretty much. Except smooth jazz. There is so much great music out there, but unfortunately there is just as much crap.
What do you hold most dear? Family and friends, the rest is just gravy.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? To go deaf and not be able to listen or play music.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Running up a bigger bar tab than what we're being paid.
What songs and what years were they released? The only songs we have released were on the "Bad Decisions" album in 2011. We have written others but they are pending release.
Have you been in any other bands? Everybody but Anne Marie has played in other projects, including The Beach Boys, Charlie Musslewhite, The Dangs, The Caroline Movement, and numerous others.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? For a day job? Demian and Jason are firefighters, Anne Marie and Steve are rock stars, and Nick is a sound man and professional drinker.
What would you do if there was no music? I don't even want to think about that.
How important are your fans? We would still make music if we had no fans but it's always better to play for people and have people tell you that they can relate to a song of yours or were affected by it somehow.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Demian had a fan mail him an anonymous letter that said they should get married, with cut out letters from a magazine glued to a piece of paper. It was creepy.
How often do you rehearse? Usually only while trying out new material or getting ready for a larger show.
Where do you rehearse? Living rooms, garages, wherever!
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Bad Decisions and Real Bad
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Insanity and/or groupies.
Do you have any webpages? Yes, www.calmandchaos.com or search Calm & Chaos on Facebook. You can also follow us on Twitter we're #calmnchaosband.
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Don't make music that sucks, please!!
How do you view the musicindurty of today? It's a disaster. The "middle class" working bands are all but gone, there are your mega hit makers and your Calm & Chaos' and very few in between.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Apathy and video games.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Love having a bigger stage and sound, hate dealing with douchey club owners and jaded bookers.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? See our website for upcoming gigs, we play about 3-4 gigs a month. You should be at them because we always have a better time when you're there.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence: That place between calm and chaos where melodies, harmonies and guitar riffs meet for a drink.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? We never fight, it's always a big lovefest haha
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Drinking and tuning, in that order.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are old enough to know better but too young to care. Demian got started in music to impress girls, Anne Marie got started in music because she was impressed by Demian's guitar playing, Steve needed to pay the bills, Nick heard you could get free booze, and Jason likes to bang on stuff.
At what age did you start playing? We were all about 13 or 14.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? 15 or 16.
What year was the band started? 2009
Best/worst gig you've played? The best was probably opening up for an all female Led Zeppelin tribute band called Zeparella, the worst was playing an outdoor gig in the fall and none of the venues heat lamps worked. It was freezing.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Northern California
Where have you played from then till now? Pretty much Northern California
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? Impossible to answer that, way too many great bands out there!!
Is it always the same songs live? No, it depends on our mood, the vibe of the crowd, and the amount of time we have to play.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? We had a gig last month where a guy promised to pick up our bar tab.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? Not with this band but Jason, Demian, and Steve have done some national and international (Steve) tours with other bands.
How big crowds do you usually play for? Anywhere from nobody to a few hundred.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Try to get back in the studio and record some new material,
Where do you usually play? Bars/restaurants.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? A cold cocktail and a good crowd always helps
What are your goals with your music? To continue to write, record, and have fun. A licensing deal wouldn't be so bad either, I could see our music being used for film or commercials.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I still hear things with new bands that inspire me, but it's hard to beat the classics!
What are your sources of inspiration? Listening to music, playing around in the studio, or just random lyrical ideas or phrases that pop into my head.
What's the first step when making a new song? You have to get started! That's the hardest part.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? I'm torn, because as a listener and as an artist, digital music is so easy and convenient, but I also still listen to actual vinyl records and I love the way they sound.
What would be your dreams for the band? To have a solid fan base that looks forward to new releases and is affected or at least really enjoys what we do.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? All of them, pretty much. Except smooth jazz. There is so much great music out there, but unfortunately there is just as much crap.
What do you hold most dear? Family and friends, the rest is just gravy.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? To go deaf and not be able to listen or play music.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Running up a bigger bar tab than what we're being paid.
What songs and what years were they released? The only songs we have released were on the "Bad Decisions" album in 2011. We have written others but they are pending release.
Have you been in any other bands? Everybody but Anne Marie has played in other projects, including The Beach Boys, Charlie Musslewhite, The Dangs, The Caroline Movement, and numerous others.
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? For a day job? Demian and Jason are firefighters, Anne Marie and Steve are rock stars, and Nick is a sound man and professional drinker.
What would you do if there was no music? I don't even want to think about that.
How important are your fans? We would still make music if we had no fans but it's always better to play for people and have people tell you that they can relate to a song of yours or were affected by it somehow.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? Demian had a fan mail him an anonymous letter that said they should get married, with cut out letters from a magazine glued to a piece of paper. It was creepy.
How often do you rehearse? Usually only while trying out new material or getting ready for a larger show.
Where do you rehearse? Living rooms, garages, wherever!
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Bad Decisions and Real Bad
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Insanity and/or groupies.
Do you have any webpages? Yes, www.calmandchaos.com or search Calm & Chaos on Facebook. You can also follow us on Twitter we're #calmnchaosband.
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Don't make music that sucks, please!!
How do you view the musicindurty of today? It's a disaster. The "middle class" working bands are all but gone, there are your mega hit makers and your Calm & Chaos' and very few in between.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Apathy and video games.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Love having a bigger stage and sound, hate dealing with douchey club owners and jaded bookers.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? See our website for upcoming gigs, we play about 3-4 gigs a month. You should be at them because we always have a better time when you're there.
How would you describe your sound in one sentence: That place between calm and chaos where melodies, harmonies and guitar riffs meet for a drink.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? We never fight, it's always a big lovefest haha
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Drinking and tuning, in that order.
Would you like to add anything else? Thank you for taking the time to interview us and other bands,
Describe your show, visually and musically: We're easy on the eyes and we play in tune and sing on key. There are no fog machines or lasers. Yet....
Describe your show, visually and musically: We're easy on the eyes and we play in tune and sing on key. There are no fog machines or lasers. Yet....
Tack så mycket' :)