Interview With IONINETYFOUR
March 2nd, 2009 by Stephanie Stevens
IONINETYFOUR is actually a band that was brought to my attention through Myspace. The band got my attention due to the fact they are in the Semi-finals to play Bamboozle this year and for any band that is a very exciting moment. The band hail from Long Island, NY and also are fronted by a female vocalist. So with three being the charm, these three facts really made me want to know more about the band.
Formed in late 2007 the guys have already released an EP and working on new material as we speak. The music is upbeat, personal poppy and driving rhythm.
I had the chance to drop the band some questions via email and as a group effort I got a lot of feedback about the band, some of there favorite bands and what music means to them.
THE BAND CURRENTLY INTERTWINES THE SOUND OF DANCE-POP WITH HARDCORE STYLINGS. HOW EASY IS IT TO INTERCHANGE THOSE TWO TYPES OF GENRES AND WHAT TYPE OF SOUND DO YOU FAVOR PREFERABLY?
Jon: All of us have had phases where we were into heavier music and also phases where we were into more contemporary music so it’s not that hard because we just take from our experiences with those different types of music and it just bonds well. Hardcore would definitely be my personal preference as it’s the music I’ve been able to relate most to.
Mike: Jon kind of summed it up there; before we were the band we are today we were once in a much poppier band. Now with that under our belts it was sort of an easy transition. We’ve all played in bands together before and have had a similar idea of where we wanted to go with our sound. In all honesty, I prefer neither of the two genres that we’ve been labeled as. I personally am into more of the Indie music but I do however have a soft spot for some hardcore bands. So I guess we’ll go with Hardcore as well.
Juan: I’m new to the band so I have yet been able to write with iOninetyfour. However, the two different styles of music were interesting and appealing to me. Once I begin to write with the band, I assume I will feel that it won’t be too hard to intertwine the two different styles because as a band we’re very determined to create something unique and interesting. I as well am into the heavier sound that is hardcore. However, I prefer the more punk side of the genre.
Sam- It’s pretty easy, I got to say. You’d think it’d be really hard to do, but once you’ve been working around that (or I guess any other) type of music for a while, it kind of becomes second-nature. Really I don’t think I prefer one sound over the other- I love how they sound when they’re mixed together- it’s awesome.
Dave- I find it’s much easier to write these types of songs if it’s written much more like a pop song, and then add the hardcore elements to that pop song which give it that awesome happy hardcore style such as the double bass and breakdowns, yet all still giving off a happy feel to the song.
HAVING A FEMALE AS A FRONT PERSON HOW DOES THAT AFFECT THE BAND IN A GOOD SENSE AND BAD?
Mike: Having a female vocalist definitely has its pros and cons. We find that having a female front our band definitely sets us apart from other bands in the pop-punk/hardcore scene. Some will think that it sounds awesome that we have a chick singing in this heavier sounding band but some will say that she just does not fit our style.
Jon: As Mike said, having Sam as our singer definitely sets us apart from other bands that play similar music. However, she comes from a different musical background than us thus made it more difficult to mold into our sound but by now, we’ve blended very well in my opinion and have a good chemistry.
Juan: So as everyone said already, it has its ups and downs. I like to think we’re the middle finger to the so called “standards” to the music we play. Unfortunately, with having a female vocalist, people tend to underestimate us from time to time.
Sam- Considering that I happen to be said… female, I’d say that it makes us totally and completely more awesome than anyone ever ….but no, in all seriousness- I think it brings a unique element to an otherwise male-based genre. I think its rad.
Dave- I love the fact that we have a female singer, because of the fact that we can branch out to so many more types of fans. Fans that listen to pop music such as All Time Low, The Maine, or Hey Monday would all probably enjoy our music, as well as the hardcore types of fans that enjoy A Day To Remember or Four Year Strong. iOninetyfour has room for everyone!!!
WHAT DOES THE BAND NAME REPRESENT AND WHAT IS ONE THING EVERYONE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT YOUR BAND GOING INTO BECOMING A FAN?
Mike: I can speak for all of us because it’s kind of silly for us to be explaining the same thing just reworded. Our band name was chosen in a McDonalds and was made up randomly even before we were a band. Like I said earlier, we played in a more dance pop band and we had some personal conflicts with our vocalist so we decided that since we all became such great friends we were going to part ways with him and continue on our endeavor. There’s a funny story behind the name, something that was a fun time for us but we won’t get too much into details. The name iOninetyfour actually means the playboy channel (94) on iO digital cable service. We generally keep a positive attitude; we’re all about having a great time and we love when our fans have a great time as well.
WHAT DOES YOUR SONGS DEAL WITH AND HOW DO YOU FEEL YOUR MUSIC CAN BE RELATED TO ALL AGES OF MUSIC FANS?
Jon: Our songs typically deal with us going through our everyday lives and what we encounter. As we said before we generally have a positive attitude, despite whatever may be happening around us, and we really like to have that show in our music. We feel that people of all ages, shapes, and sizes can relate to our music because it’s about regular everyday subjects, and how they should keep their head up and not let the bad things in life bring them down.
Sam- As lame and overused as this may sound, our songs all come from a part of us- they’re derived from our lives and the things we’ve dealt with both individually, and as a band (TEAM! – I like that word better.) I feel like people can relate to us because we don’t put up any fronts- what they’re hearing is coming from the heart, and it’s what we truly have to say.
YOU HAVE RELEASED AN EP AND NOW WORKING ON A FULL CD. HOW IS THAT GOING AND WHAT CHANGES AND GROWTHS HAVE YOU MADE AS A BAND SINCE THE EP RELEASE?
Mike: Well for starters, when we released the EP we had no idea what we were doing, we were barely a band. We kind of threw a bunch of songs together and they were really poorly written. Now speaking in the present, we have all improved in our abilities and also have learned how each member plays and writes and we’ve become better able to act upon that. We’re much wiser and more mature about writing our music now than we were a year and a half ago. If you were to listen to our EP, you’d probably laugh at how crude it sounds. We recorded that in Dave’s bedroom with little to no equipment. Yeah… It was pretty bad. I like to think we’ve gotten much better since then.
Sam- I will not- I repeat, WILL NOT- listen to that EP anymore hahaha, I feel like personally, it wasn’t my best effort, and I kind of have to cringe every time I listen to it. But that was the whole point of it- it was a learning experience, or a stepping stone. I think the way we record now is so much more effective- we put so much more time and thought into the process.
Dave- I didn’t find the EP to be THAT bad, but personally like Mike and Sam said the new CD is much better. The way we record and write now is much more efficient than the way we did when we were putting together the EP. During the EP process it was basically the contest on how fast we can put together an okay song. Now the songs undergo so many changes and processing before they are even put to a track. I think the work that we’ve put into some new songs have definitely paid off with how they have come out.
WHAT ONE MUSICIAN OR BAND REALLY INFLUENCES IN A WAY WHEN YOUR RECORDING OR WRITING AND WHY?
Mike & Jon: Four Year Strong. They’re probably the reason why we’re playing this kind of music today. They have such a big influence on our music as well as other bands but we would definitely say they have had the biggest impact on us. Dave is more knowledgeable about recording than us so he’ll be the one to talk about that. If you’ve ever listened to Four Year Strong, they carry one of the sweetest sounds around right now. They have such awesome tight music and carry all positive attitudes in their lyrics. So we like to emulate the same feeling but in our way.
Dave- I’d say that we write and record very much like All Time Low, we might not really sound like them at all but we have a lot of similar attributes in the studio. Such as the guitar parts that go into a song, having the doubled rhythm with a backing lead (high guitar part lower in the mix). But in terms of sound I would say probably most similar to Four Year Strong or Me VS. Hero like Mike and Jon said.
WHAT BAND GIVES YOU INSPIRATION WHEN YOU’RE DEALING WITH DOING A SET LIST AND PERFORMING ONSTAGE?
Jon: In terms of performing live, we definitely take influence from bands like Set Your Goals, The Movielife, Latterman, The Wonder Years, etc. They’re all so lively and mobile on stage, and seeing all of those bands definitely got us and everyone around us really pumped up. We do our best to get a similar reaction when we play live and we try to put ourselves up at the front and interact with the crowd as much as we can.
Dave- I totally agree with Jon about being up front and interacting with the crowd. It’s one thing to stand up there and move around and have the crowd stand still which is boring for the people watching but still a somewhat good performance. However it is a far greater performance if you are able to connect with the crowd mentally as well as physically and really get everything pumping. For me, my greatest influences live would probably be Set Your Goals and The Wonder Years.
YOU’RE IN THE CONTEST TO MAKE IT TO PLAY AT BAMBOOZLE 2009. HOW IS THAT GOING AND FANS AND NEW FANS GETTING INTO THE BAND HOW CAN THEY HELP YOU WITH THIS?
Mike: Well… It’s actually going a lot better than we all expected. We advanced into the semi-finals which take place around the second or third week in March. To be quite honest, playing a festival such as The Bamboozle would be an absolute honor to us all. I have gone practically every year since it started up and it would mean the world to us if we were given the opportunity to actually get to play. Our fans have been doing wonders for us as we advanced with the most votes in round. As for our newer fans, you will be able to vote for us on March 16th on a website called Showpopr.com. All you have to do is create an account with a valid e-mail address and then vote! We need all the help we can get as the competition progresses and bigger bands are entering which makes us a bit nervous seeing as that we don’t nearly have the type of fan base that they have. But, we’re doing the best we can and we’re crossing our fingers on this one.
MYSPACE HAS BEEN A HUGE HELP IN MANY BANDS CAREERS. WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS GAINED AS BEING A PART OF THAT?
ALL: Well if it wasn’t for myspace, we wouldn’t even be a band. Aside from Juan, Jon and I, Dave and Sam live in other towns and chances are we would have never met if it wasn’t for myspace. Myspace has blessed us with the opportunity to expand our fan base and reach our music out to the world.
SUM UP WHAT MUSIC MEANS TO YOU?
ALL: The World.
Dave- The Universe!
LAST COMMENTS?
Mike: “That’s all folks, myspace.com/ioninetyfour”
Jon: “It’s all about the garfield.”
Juan: “I mow lawns for a living. Yeaah dude.”
Sam- “You just lost the game.”
Dave- “I’m Juan’s boss.”
