Interview with Stromms
Have any of you played in other bands? " I personally have a little long sad career in failing as a musician"
How is it that you started playing music? "Piano lessons as a kid, but it was Elvis, Beatles and then Van Halen pushed me to practice guitar"
What are your names? / Who plays what? / How old are you?
guitar and vocals, banjo and mandolin, accordion, steel, fiddle, cello. bass. Old AF
Ashley Rushman - Drums
Have you had other previous members? "lane Boatler played Bass but he disappeared one day, never to be seen again.
Where are you from? I live in Dallas Tx, and my drummer is in the UK.
What year did the band form? "Started in the ninety six, never went anywhere and after playing in other bands and holding down a career in bullshit life I kicked it back up in 2014"
What's your style of genre? "I call it Celtic Cowpunk"
What inspires you? "Fresh air"
How often and where do you reherse? "Occasionally I rehearse in my living room, only doing occasional solo acoustic shows until I can find a band."
How have you developed since you started with the music? "In the past, I sort of mistakenly followed trends, but I finally learned to do whatever I feel."
Do you have other interests of work outside the band? "Architecture"
Are you looking for a booking agency, and what are your thoughts around that? "Well, touring is tough when no one knows who you are...and nearly impossible to support yourself, let alone a whole band and road crew. All you can hope for is some good exposure in the right areas to give your musical career a kickstart."
Are you looking for a label, and what are your thoughts around that? "Labels can work if they have your best interests at heart. Otherwise they are blood sucking band killers. Starting out you are better off going DIY, eventually you might build to way record labels have something to offer, otherwise, just go iTunes."
What made you decide to make this music? "I was listening to a such a mix of music and after playing guitar in some bands, I really wanted to do something I could call my own."
What are your songs about? "Very personal, stream of conscience experience type stuff"
Who does the composing and writes the lyrics? " I have been doing all of it on my own for now." Of course, Ash has really helped breath life into the beat with live drums, my drum machine demos were so flat sounding".
Do you start with the music or the lyrics? "I mix it up, but mostly the music first, and the lyrics slowly grow with the melody."
Do you compose in a certain inviroment? " typically in front of my computer".
Have you done any covers live? " I did a "Live album" where I covered some flogging Molly and mike ness of social distortion. Those two bands are sort of the road map for where I want to go with 'Celtic Cowpunk'.
What language do you sing in? English, although the album has a poorly google translated German title. My wife speaks fluent Spanish so maybe I'll be able to write something in Spanish".
What are the least and most people to attend one of your gigs? Least is 2, and the most is....2.
What ages are most of your concert attendants? Well, my mom is in her 70's and my daughter is 3. So median, 35-ish.
Do you always play the same songs live, or do you vary? " I try to mix it up. You want to be open to try new things but always have your staples in the bag of tricks at all times".
Do you have a regular place you play live often? "Maybe the garage"
What was your latest gig? "A solo gig at a record store"
Have you had to cancel a gig? "Always"
Where have you played live this year? "Just the record store"
Where do you plan to gig the comming year? "Probably the record store again, maybe coffee shops, open mic at a barbecue place..."
When did you start to sell merchandise, and what do you have for sale? "Just started at the beginning of this year, the debut CD, der Aufstieg Von Keltisches Ku Punk and t-shirts, stickers and stuff...
What do you think about people downloading music instead of buying records now a days? "There is a magic to opening the cellophane wrapper for the first time and reading the liner notes while you check the artwork and relax to new music, true music fans all know hat feeling".
How do you think the music industry have changed because of this? "The way it's changed is that the artists can be in control like they never have before, the downside is there is a market flooded with music every day and the industry is struggling to keep control, but the upside is music is getting sophisticated and intriguing like never before."
What do you think of my work? "impressive"
How do you think and know that this interview will help you in the music business? "Any exposure is good"
Do you have any role models or idols? "Dave Grohl and the foo fighters."
Why do you think that they exist? "It's apparent the DG loves music, has a honesty to his art this is unmatched, it was written in his DNA to exist."
Is it easier to find inspiration from older bands, or bands that are more active today? "Of course, everyone band inspires, some inspire me to make music, and some inspire me to not make music. Sometimes silence is the best art form".
How do you get psyched for a gig? I used to get so excited, but some of that magic has gone when you don't have a full band.
Do you have any new material? Yes, a sophomore follow up that is a complete 180 and then a 3rd album that is going to be crazy wierd.
What are your web sites? Www.stromms.com
How can people reach you? There or Facebook.
What are your plans for the future? To just exist.
Do you have something to add? Please wish me luck
