We caught up
with Born Loser and the Hangers On and spoke to Chelsey Louise, the lead
vocalist. Find out what the funny and talented singer had to say about the band
and learn some things you never knew about them.
GTG: How did you come up with the
name Born Loser and the Hangers On?
BLATHO: One day, as I was strolling through
the thick shrubbery of North Scottsdale, a hipster ran me over with a fixie,
and I landed flat on my back staring into the vast Arizona sky. SUDDENLY AND
WITHOUT WARNING, the clouds parted and this tiny, spinster, old lady (who had
many cats) was all, "Sup." And I was like, "Sup."
And then I
went home and my dad suggested it because he didn't use it in the 60s.
GTG: How and why did you get started
in music?
BLATHO: Well, I got started in music at a
young age, when my mother would plop me down in front of the T.V. and made me
watch "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and danced with me to "Love
Shack." I also did musical theatre for 8 years, and that's why our stage
performance is a bit theatrical. We call our genre "theatrical rock"
because we all come from different backgrounds to create music that a lot of
people call "unique" and "interesting." Jenny is a
classically trained pianist, and has been playing for 15 years. Benny is a
metal guitarist, Robert plays bass now, but he started playing guitar because
of Dave Matthews, so his style is very jammy. And Adam, our drummer, is more
punk inspired.
GTG: Tell me about the song you
entered into the contest and why you chose that song.
BLATHO: We entered with "The MosquitoSong," which is the single off of our debut EP "BLATHO"
(available for free download at www.BLATHO.com). The album is recorded with our
old line-up (different drummer and bassist) by Michael Beck at Sound Vision
Recording (www.soundvisionrecording.com). The song is really pop-influenced,
and has been featured on KISS 103.9FM and KWSS 106.7FM. We also did a music
video with Ber Co Productions (www.bercoproductions.com), and it has gotten a
lot of good public response. Our sound is not entirely genre specific, so this
song doesn't really sound like what we usually play. We think this song has a
mass appeal, and it's so much fun to play a show and see our fans singing the
words in the audience!
GTG: Who is your biggest influence
when it comes to music and song writing?
BLATHO: We are all influenced by different
bands. I am very influenced by musical theatre, and Nirvana and Queen. The
stage presence of Kurt Cobain and Freddy Mercury are incredible and of course I
hope to inspire and be as out there as they were. Jenny, the pianist, is
inspired by Regina Spektor, who is very folksy and lyric-oriented. She writes a
lot of the songs. Benny, the guitarist, is inspired by metal, like Trivium and
Metallica. Robert, the bassist, is all about Dave Matthews Band, and their
chill, jam style. Adam, the drummer, likes Led Zeppelin and Blink 182. He just
set his drum set up like Travis Barker, even! We always try and find bands that
we "sound like," but it is really difficult. People have said: The
Cranberries, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead.. But I think we sound just like Born
Loser and the Hangers On!
GTG: What would you say to Don Was if
he were sitting next to you?
BLATHO: Honestly, I'm a bit socially
awkward, so I'd probably start off with something like, "How do you feel
about grilled cheese and ranch dressing?" and then continue the
conversation from there. Of course, his life must be full of amazing stories,
but I can imagine he would get bored of people asking what Bob Dylan was like
in person. I'd ask about our music. What could we do to make us better? How
does he feel about our songs? How do we look and present ourselves on stage?
GTG: Can you tell us something
interesting about yourself that your fans would never know about?
BLATHO: 1) I can't play anything on the
piano except Moonlight Sonata by Beethoven, and the beginning of the
Entertainer. But nothing else. No scales or anything. Weird, I know. 2) We all
live together, except our drummer. 3) We support the GLBT community through our
"I'm A Loser" Campaign (www.imaloser.org).
GTG: What other talents besides music
do you have?
BLATHO: I can speed cup-stack (www.speedstacks.com)
and I'm an actor/dancer.
Benny
(guitarist) can do parkour (free-running). Robert (bassist) is an amazing
oil-painter (http://ciucacreations.jimdo.com).
Jenny
(pianist) writes fiction and poetry (she was a Fiction major at SUNY Purchase
in New York).
Adam (drummer)
has an uncanny knack for remaining. After jumping out of 2 planes, plummeting
off a 100 foot cliff, and being in nearly a dozen car accidents, he still
remains.
Thanks for taking the time to speak with us guys! All BLATHO fans, make sure you vote for them on Gimme The Gig.
No comments:
Post a Comment