With our first ever House of Blues New Music Nights less than a month away, we’re getting our pre-show groove on and checking out the top 9 bands. And as a treat to all of you, we wanted to get the inside scoop from this year’s Sonicbids artists hitting the House of Blues stages to see how they’re preparing for this huge event. We recently caught up with Dela of Open Source Rebellion, Mike of Cannoneers, and Brian of Brian Buckley Band to chat about their pre-show rituals and what it means to play on such a huge stage.
How’d the band get started? How long have you been together?
Dela, Open Source Rebellion: Erock and I met several years ago while recording an album for Black Diamond Love. I was the lead guitarist of that band and Erock a young recording engineer assigned to them by West Lake Studios. BDL didn't remain together for much longer, but Erock and myself had become close friends and shared common interests in lots of bands like The Refused, Queens of the Stone Age, Jimi Hendrix, Pink Floyd - but we also shared an interest in the new Electro sounds emerging from France and the rest of Europe. Several months after the BDL breakup I brought E demos of songs that would later become the BETA EP. We agreed to form a rock band that was centered around the convergence of Stoner Rock and Electro sounds.
The band has been together for 2 years. OSR has gone through a few drummers, including Matt Becks; who played drums on the BETA EP. Matt is in another band with his cousin Antoine (formerly of Second Sun). Their brand new act CB7 has been touring the US and Europe with 30 Seconds to Mars - so Matt had to bow out of the project. OSR then met another incredible drummer Cosmo Jones who heard what Matt had done with OSR and basically said "I'm in" instantly. Cosmo, a multi instrumentalist and a life long student of music has brought a tremendous amount of talent to the band and had a huge impact on the new EP OSR is working on right now.
Mike, Cannoneers: We’ve been together for just under two years. Robert and I met a few years back for the first time sharing a van to SXSW with our prior bands, The Beautiful and Damned (Tim and Robert) and The Pacific (Mike). We actually made everyone else sit in the back and captained the ship all the way to TX, chain smoking, listening to the one cassette tape we had, Led Zeppelin III. The van didn’t have a CD player. A trip that included Robert having a busted up nose from a swan dive into the shallow end of the pool in Arizona during one of the stops, a blown out tire on Route 10 in West Texas during a severe thunderstorm and a 7 hour wait on the highway with rattlesnake skins some 20’ long all along the freeway. Let’s say we had our memorable beginnings.
Brian, Brian Buckley Band: I started playing music at a very early age. But didn't began writing songs until college. Getting sick of covering music and having something to say became priority one. Meeting Jared Padalecki and having him offer to produce my first record was an incredible moment, one I turned down until my best friend of 20 years committed suicide. Which promptly made me rethink my decision. I called Jared and accepted and began work on 'for her'. I met Mike McGraw (electric guitar) through another band and he and I shared an immediate connection while jamming. Dan Bodeman (bass, keys) was a childhood friend and a musical mind if I had ever met one. And Albert Estiamba Jr. (drums) our heartbeat was introduced to us through Arthur Barrow (Frank Zappa, Diana Ross) my first producer. We have been playing together for almost 6 years now and those years have gone by in a flash. Every rehearsal I am reminded how lucky we all are.
What originally made you want to submit to the House of Blues New Music Nights program?
Dela, Open Source Rebellion: HoB is a gorgeous venue; we'd already played there many times in the past (in other bands), but never on the main stage. Previously we had done smaller gigs upstairs in the Foundation Room. Very cool scene, but not quite as magic as we imagine the HoB main stage to be. Also, these things are good benchmarks for the band. Being selected for something makes everybody feel like the band is on the right path. Every time a door opens two more appear.
Mike, Cannoneers: House of Blues is one of those venues that we’ve all seen great acts play, so when the opportunity to play the club came up, we were thrilled to be asked to do the show.
Brian, Brian Buckley Band: We originally submitted to the House Of Blues music night because we had played HOB main stage in Los Angeles and had the most incredible time. Not only is it a staple for the city, but a truly adored musical haven for the bands that have to make it in an industry that is crumbling around technology and electronics. The sound is second to none, the staff - cordial, and the bookers, truly supportive. When we found out about the new music nights. We jumped aboard. Which is rare for us, because we aren't normally attracted to voting.
Do you have any band pre-show rituals? A secret handshake? A super long band practice?
Dela, Open Source Rebellion: There's some disagreement about whether or not OSR should practice the day before shows, some think its bad luck, and others sort of demand it. I tend to hum a lot immediately before the start of the set. There's sort of a band wide, no getting drunk/drinking before the show rule. We're relatively tame sorts anyways. The band is definitely interested in supporting the scene at large; generally showing up early and staying till after all the other bands have played. Sometimes other bands have no one really there to support them, and there's a ton of amazing talent out there. "You get what you give, so give good vibes" is sort of a band mantra.
Mike, Cannoneers: Robert typically shaves his dog to look like a lion. Tim heads out to Ashley Schafer car dealership for a showdown. I take long baths in lavender. Joe typically chugs yards of Sam Adams.
Brian, Brian Buckley Band: We absolutely do! We get in a circle. Jump up and down. Remind ourselves to allow the moment to come to us as opposed to forcing it. Breath and shut down any pre-conceived notions we might have about how we want the set to play out. We think of our music as a prayer. With a kick drum. Therapy with a snare.
What does playing the House of Blues mean to you and your career?
Dela, Open Source Rebellion: I don't really know the answer to that question. Live Nation puts on fantastic shows all over the nation, featuring some of OSR's all time favorite bands. I can't even tell you how many shows the band has been to that had the words Live Nation stamped all over it. So way back there in our imaginations we'd like to think that someone from over there would see OSR play at HoB, think we have a dope new sound, and want to give us some dates opening for someone awesome like the Dead Weather or Queens of the Stone Age… or even Does it Offend You, Yeah? or Klaxons or Neon Trees or something. You know? But… reality is a bit less optimistic than that. It's a tough music world and everyone wants those same things, most bands don't have it, and the powers that be are waiting for you to get a song in a TV show or sell 40,000 units on your own. That's the kind of thing that really matters. What it does give us for sure is a show on a Sunday that's reasonably priced at a gorgeous venue with great sound, good food, and classy environs. So I think more people than usual will want to come out and see us there and that will be a ton of fun - which is the main point of all this rock & roll stuff.
Mike, Cannoneers: Well, I guess we’ll find out after we play the show. We’re thrilled to play a place we’ve seen so many great shows. To actually play the stage where we’ve seen people like Ian Brown, Paul Weller, Oasis, Prince is a pretty cool opportunity for us.
Brian, Brian Buckley Band: Playing HOB is an honor. It is an attraction in each city it is in because it offers real musicians, not just national acts that are popular at that particular moment, but acts that are working in those cities proper. Which means one helluva lot. Everyone loves going there and the artists love playing there. We have yet to hear a bad review. We are proud to have won this competition and excited to play amongst the other finalists.
Be sure to check out these three amazing acts at the LA House of Blues on July 12th!
