interview with The Means
How was the band formed? Rob (our singer/songwriter) moved to Detroit from Anchorage, AK and answered a craigslist ad looking for a singer.
Can you tell about your band? The Means are a three-piece band based out of Detroit, MI on a mission to create a Motown-inspired style of rock and roll that stands on its own without the need for qualifiers such as "pop", "alternative", "punk" or "indie".
Where are all band members from? Who does what in the band? Rob Zinck is our singer/guitarist, Dan Radlick is our bassist/backup vocalist and Alex Turczynski is our drummer.
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? We just wanted to write music we liked and share it with people.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? We're a rock band with lots of soul.
Where was your first gig? A crappy bar in Metro Detroit.
Where was the latest gig? Our latest gig was actually our EP release show at The Berkley Front in Metro Detroit.
Who writes your songs?/ who writes the music who writes lyrics? Rob writes the songs for the most part. It always starts with Rob bringing a basic song structure to the band and then we work together to expand on the idea and turn it into something that everyone agrees is best.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? I'd we all have a pretty good sense of humor. We're incredibly sarcastic.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? What's good? We've finally found our sound. What's bad? Nothing at this point. As for genre, again, I'd say we're soulful, Motown-inspired rock and roll.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? We play the style we do because it developed naturally after a year or so of playing together. The songs are about all sorts of different things. Usually it's just whatever happens to be on my mind when I'm working on a song.
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write all our own materials.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? Yes, we've released two EPs. Our first was called "You Were Right". The latest was released a few weeks ago in August and is title "Understand?". Both can be heard and/or purchased at wearethemeans.bandcamp.com
Do you have any clips on YouTube? No. We are not a very photogenic band.
How old are you?/What got you started in music? We are all between 24-26. Rob got started in music playing with his Dad's band. Dan and Alex got started because they had a passion for music early in life.
At what age did you start playing? Rob has been playing music all his life because of his father being a musician. Dan and Alex both got started at about 14 years old.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? Rob was 11 the first time he played a real gig. Dan and Alex were both about 15 when they first played.
What year was the band started? The band was formed in 2011.
Best/worst gig you've played? Best gig was probably our first EP release show. Worst gig was probably our first gig because the bar we played treated us terribly and stiffed us on payment.
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? We're booked right now at a few places around Metro Detroit and in Lansing, MI. We intend to start doing more shows outside of metro Detroit and outside of Michigan too.
Witch band is the best you´ve seen? ProConPro from Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Is it always the same songs live? No, we tend to switch stuff around in the set fairly often.
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? Well, playing in Kalamazoo is always really fun. Anytime we booked there we know it's going to be a good one.
Have you had any bigger tours from start to now? No, we're not really a touring band at this point.
How big crowds do you usually play for? Anywhere from 100-300 people. We like smaller, intimate shows.
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Our plans are to push the new EP really hard and gig as much as possible into 2015.
Where do you usually play? Lots of bars around Metro Detroit. Small's, The Berkley Front, PJ's Lagerhouse, Paycheck's Lounge, Corktown Tavern, etc.
How do you get psyched up for a gig? Whiskey.
What are your goals with your music? We just want to make music that we're proud of and share it with people.
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? Older, more season bands tend to have lots of wisdom to share. Younger, more modern bands tend to have new ideas to share.
What are your sources of inspiration? Anything and everything good and bad in the world.
What's the first step when making a new song? Usually Rob comes up with a guitar lick or a lyric and then things fall into place around that initial idea.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? Obviously, I'd prefer that people pay for a copy of our EP but if people like our music enough to pirate it online I'd be flattered, not angry.
What would be your dreams for the band? It'd be nice to make a comfortable living off the band but more realistically we'd be happy as long as the band can make enough money that it pays for itself.
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? Rob loves 80s punk rock and psychedelic music, Alex is a pop punk fanatic and Dan is a sucker for anything with a great drum and bass groove.
What do you hold most dear? Our friends and families.
What would be your greatest fears for the future? Super ebola. It's like regular ebola, but you know... super.
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? Being too drunk.
Have you been part of any other projects? Not currently.
What would you do if there was no music? Make some.
How important are your fans? Very. Without them we've got nothing.
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I think it's really funny when people ask us to sign things. They don't realize that our signatures actually make things worth LESS money.
How often do you rehearse? Twice a week.
Where do you rehearse? At our drummer's house.
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? "Off My Mind" and "Beast" are two of our favorites right now.
What do you feel is the best live band you've seen? Rob: Leftover Crack. They were INSANE! Dan: Muse. There's nothing seeing Muse in an arena. Alex: Blink-182. They just put on such a damn good show.
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? Well, we aren't making a living on it. We just like to make music and share it with people.
Do you have any webpages?
www.facebook.com/wearethemeanswww.
twitter.com/wearethemeanswearethemeans.bandcamp.com
www.soundcloud.com/wearethemeans
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? If it ever stops being fun, something is wrong. Figure out what it is and make a change; otherwise the music and your friendships will suffer.
Describe your show, visually and musically. We're a pretty straight-forward live band. We have fun onstage and play music for people to make them dance.
How do you view the music industry of today? Unfavorably.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Finding committed band members.
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Things got pretty tense during the making of this album but that's par for the course anytime you have to work in close proximity to two other people on something that everyone feels so passionately about.
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Whiskey.