Shooting Blanks (Pop/Punk)

Shooting Blanks
Posted Sep 1, 2006.

www.shootingblanks.net/
www.myspace.com/shootingblanks

Matt Hoffman - vox/guitar
John Brey - guitar
Deech - bass/vox
Scotty Hero - drums

What is music to you?
LISTENING to music is a way for me to relax, get through the day, deal with problems, or give me inspiration. WRITING music gives me the opportunity to express anything on my mind that I wouldn't otherwise say. PLAYING music is a way for me to release any sort of pent-up energy, and to pull that same sort of energy from a crowd of people.

What is the best thing about music?
I like the interpretive nature of music. A song can mean something to one person, and can mean something completely different to someone else. The same song can have a deep and personal meaning to two different people who come from two totally different circumstances or backgrounds.

What is the worst thing about music?
Shooting Blanks. Oh wait - no. Fallout Boy.

What do you want to see happen thru music in the future?
I want to see a reversion back to the old days of balls-out ROCK'N'ROLL. No more of this sissy "industry" B.S. No more "business politics". And (above and beyond all else), no more image-whoring. Guys shouldn't be wearing mascara. Suburban kids who grew up in wealthy two-parent families shouldn't be dressing in all black, moping around, and singing pseudo-emotional songs about how "lost" they feel...

...I'd like to get back to the days of sex, drugs, and rock'n'roll. Purist rock. Groupies. Backstage antics. Back to a time when "fun" was a primary objective, and music could be pushed to the wayside occasionally. Basically, the glam-rock/old-school-metal days, but without having to wear makeup and spandex.

Are we doing anything to progress those ideas? I dunno - as much as we can, I suppose. The band started almost six years ago as a means to get free drinks from bars (we were always going to SEE bands and paying for drinks, so we figured why not just START a band and drink for free!). So, I guess that lays a good framework for our "mission". Unfortunately, despite our worldwide stardom and popularity, we don't make enough money to live the elaborate debaucherous lifestyles that we'd like to, but if we ever hit it big then it would most certainly be a mess!...

Does being involved in playing music make you miss out on anything?

Obviously the fact that we play almost every weekend and that we book shows months in advance causes us to miss out on a lot of "non-Shooting-Blanks" related activities with friends and stuff. But we're usualy missing those activites in order to drink for free and entertain crowds of people, so I'd hardly complain...

We also miss out on being able to afford anything, since - between recording, promotions, merchandising, touring, etc - this band costs quite a bit of money to properly maintain. Again, though - it's not worth complaining about, cuz we all have a great time doing what we do. If we didn't love it, we wouldn't have kept going for this long...

What other instruments can (each person) play (other than the ones they currently play in the band)?

I see that you're under the assumption that we each CAN play the instrument that we are assigned to in the band. Very flattering - thanks...

Other than guitar, I play drums in a side-band. I can also play bass, and I fiddle around with keyboards a bit. Oh - and I used to play trombone from 5th-8th grade. I was first chair. Oh Yea

Besides bass, Deech also plays guitar. I think he played drums like a decade ago too, maybe.

Brey's our guitarist. Sometimes he can play guitar.

I think all that Scotty plays is the drums. Oh - and the skinflute.

What do you guys do for work right now, other than playing music?

I do online development for a big company. "Working for the man" is what the kids these days are calling it, I think. That also defaults me to be the "website guy" in the band...

Deech is a professional graphic designer. He's good to have around not only for his good looks, but also because he does any sort of design work that we need (logos, t-shirts, cd art, etc). He's probably better at his job than the rest of us are at ours...

Brey is in the entertainment industry. Well, he's the projectionist at a movie theater, but that counts, right? He also does freelance videography, so he shoots all of our awesome music videos...

Scotty is an electrician. Sometimes. Most of the time he's unemployed, actually, because he seems to get laid-off every four months or so...

What were some of your favorite bands growing up?

I can only speak for myself here, but MY favorite bands growing up were a lot of the hair bands of the 80's (Poison, Motley Crue, Slaughter, etc). I also loved old-school rap music (Digital Underground, Rob Base, Kid'n'Play, etc). Other bands I've loved for years and years include Nirvana, Alkaline Trio, They Might Be Giants, Kajagoogoo, and Taco.

Did your parents like you playing music and the person you are today?

Well, those are two separate questions. First - did my parents like me playing music?...

I don't know if my parents LIKED me playing music, but they definitely SUPPORTED me. Back when I lived with them in high school and just out of college, my parent's house was our practice space. They also still come to a number of shows, so I'd say they're "Shooting Blanks fans". I dunno how the other guys' parents feel about them being in a band, but I know their parents have all come out to shows. In fact, all of our parents recently participated in our latest music video for our song "It's So Easy". Our fathers played older versions of us, and our mothers played audience members watching our fathers perform...

Okay, part two of the question. Do our parents like the people we are today?...

I hope so. They really have no choice, since I'm their only child. So, if they don't like ME, then that means that they have no other kid to fall back on, so they would probably feel like failures as parents. Deech's parents probably like him because he's so attractive. Scotty's parents probably like him cuz he never works and he always cancels practice, so he's always around to hang out with them. And I'd imagine that Brey's parents like him too, cuz he's so big and cuddly.

Is there a venue or area you would like to play that you have not played before?

As far as the Chicagoland goes, three or four years ago I would have said The Metro in Chicago, just because it's "legendary" or whatever. Now, though - I don't care so much. In fact, I kinda don't even WANT to play there because they've completely lost their independent spirit over the years. The Metro can kiss my...

I'd enjoy getting back and playing out West again. I loved everywhere we played in California and Las Vegas. Of course I'd love to play sold-out arena shows with flame-cannons and giant JumboTrons too, but whatever.

What is your favorite venue or area to play shows?

As noted above, I had a great time in California. I liked Atlanta too, for some reason. I dunno - I really just enjoy touring ANYWHERE (preferably warm and sunny). Playing in places other than your hometown area is such a great feeling.

When, Where and how was your first show?

The first Shooting Blanks show was June 21st, 2001. I can't remember the birthdays of my parents, girlfriends, or friends, but I remember the date of our stupid band's first show. I'm an idiot...

It was at (the now closed-down) Rockhouse Cafe in Rolling Meadows, IL. We played our first (and only) show with our original drummer. It was terrible. I actually have a good-quality audio recording of it that I will only release if we ever get super famous. So, yeah - don't expect to be hearing that anytime soon...

We tried to do a cover of "Stutter" by Elastica. Our drummer had never heard the song, and I think we tried it for the first time ever just the day before. It was almost unrecognizable. We were also a three-piece band at that time. Brey played bass and also sang a few songs. Sweet Jesus, we were bad.

Where was your best show? Why?

Each of us has our own "best show" that we liked. Just this past weekend was a cool experience as we got a chance to play with one of our favorite bands for years, Local H. To add to the awesomeness of it, Local H's lead singer Scott Lucas came on stage during one of our songs and sang with us. Pretty sweet...

I personally like any outdoor/festival show. Nothing beats a long day of drinking in the nice weather and rock'n'roll...

What religion are you and does that have an effect on your music?

I was raised Catholic, but am not anything now. I think Scotty's the same way. I believe Deech was raised Methodist, but I don't think he does anything with it either...

...surprisingly, the most deviantly repulsive member of our band (Brey) is the most religious. He comes from a strong Catholic background and still practices to this day. If he practiced guitar with as much conviction as he practices Catholicism, we may be a decent band one day.

But no - religion has no impact on our music.

How did you come up with your band name and what does it means?

This is, far and away, the most commonly asked interview question (not just of us, but of ANY band). That being said, you would think that I would have made up with a funny anticdote to answer you with by now. Sadly, I have not...

...there really is no "story". Brey thought of the name, and it sounded fine to me. Honestly, at that time I never thought we'd be around long enough to where people would ever even hear the name! In hindsight, however, I think it captures the essence of our band well.

Did you have any previous band names? (with same band members)

Yeah - for a brief time we were called S.F.U. That ended abruptly when we found out that what it stood for was an old Nazi term. Obviously this was unbeknownst to us, so we changed it immediately.

What would you say to a kid who has no faith in himself?

Stop whining, sissy.

Who do you one day want to play a show with the most?

I'd love to play a show with local heroes Alkaline Trio. I think most of the band would concur with that.We have had the opportunity to open for a number of great bands that we're fans of, though, so that's cool. Taking Back Sunday, Bayside, The Lawrence Arms, Local H...

Why do you play music, what makes you strive to be heard?

I think I speak for all of us when I say that we play it for the fun of it. If you're in a band for ANY other reason than to have fun, you're setting yourself up for a world of disappointment...

...getting signed or whatever would be great, but it is by NO means something that we "look forward to". We'll keep this up until people stop coming to shows and stop buying our CDs. Until then, the madness continues.

why would anyone want to hear your music and what you are saying thru it?

Our music is a pick-me-up. Put it on if you want to have a good time. If you want some background music at a keg party. If you wanna bounce your head and jump up and down. That's what Shooting Blanks is for...

...we're not a band that's about "messages". We're not here to preach this-or-that to you. Do I have opinions? Sure - we all do. But our songs are not the place for those opinions.

How many people in the band right now are the original band members?

Just Brey and myself are the original members. We played in a cover band for like 4 years prior to this. It's a cover band that we started, but we also got kicked out of for being "too crazy". Go figure THAT one out. The rest is history...

(explain new members)

Brey originally played bass. At that time we had another guitarist named Matt and a drummer named Dave. Matt was from our old cover band, and after about two practices with Shooting Blanks, he said that we'd never play a show because we were terrible, so he quit. He was right about us being terrible, but we played our first show a few months later and haven't stopped booking since...

We told the first drummer, Dave, that the band broke up, but really we just got my cousin, Mike, to drum. With Mike, Brey, and myself, we recorded our first studio EP, "Nuclear Family". After that, Brey's hand hurt from playing bass, so he moved to 2nd guitar, and Deech came on board to play bass. I knew Deech from college and he was the bassist in my old highschool/college band, Diaper Fetish...

The foursome of Deech, Brey, Mike, and myself recorded about half of the "Wasted Time" album before heading on tour out East. Mike got upset at me for repeatedly waking him up with drunken phonecalls in the middle of the night while we were playing in Virginia, so he quit on the spot. This caused us to drive directly back home from Virginia and cancel our remaining shows on tour. Awesome...

We found our next drummer, Dan, on the internet, and he finished recording the rest of the tracks on "Wasted Time" - our first full-length studio release. He also stuck around to record all the tracks on our latest full-length release, "The Sticky Album". Dan went on tour with us too, but quit in early 2005 because of Shooting Blanks' busy schedule. No bad blood there, and we still see Dan regularly...

Scotty was a drummer in another local band that we were friends with, and they had recently broken up, so he jumped on board with us. He toured with us and has already recorded a couple tracks for our upcoming full-length release that should be finished up in October and released in November of this year...

What brought your band together?

A common interest in drinking, being loud, and being stupid.

Any funny or interesting stories?

There's very few ShootingBlanks-related stories that are NOT funny. If you wanna hear any sordid tales of Shooting Blanks tomfoolery, feel free to come to a show and we'll talk your ear off...

How long have you been a band?

About six years.

What do you wish for your band to be in 5 years?

Still not paying for drinks. Still selling CDs. Still touring. It would be nice if someone ELSE were paying for all of it instead of us, though!...

What is the best thing about being a band?

I personally like the social aspect. We've met so many great people (and bands) as a direct result of putting ourselves out there and playing in front of people. I've made friends just through the music scene that I'm sure will FAR outlast this band, and that's pretty cool...

When was your band formed?

Late 2000/early 2001, maybe?...

How old were each of you when starting to play instruments?

I started playing trombone in 5th grade, but didn't pick up a guitar until my sop#re year in high school. I taught myelf how to play, then I taught Brey how to play...

I think Deech has been playing instruments since he was a kid as well. Not sure about Scotty. I know he started playing drums just so that he could be in his old band Ratbag Hero (the one before our band), so that was probably 5 or 6 years ago, maybe. He is also self-taught...

As a band still in highschool what kind of respect or disrespect do you guys get?

We're still in high school? Sweet.

Where have you been playing lately and how has your response been?

We play all over. Seriously. We're shameless promotional STICKs. Responses totally vary from show-to-show and from place-to-place. We've played shows to hundreds of people and we've played shows to handfuls of people. Either way, we rock the balls off the place and try to play like every show is our last, so we hope that the audience enjoys it...

What inspires each of you to play?

Again - we just love doing it. It's not for the money, cuz we don't make any. It's not for the fame or recognition, cuz we don't have that either. We just enjoy it performing and making people's heads bob to our music and watching people sing along to original songs that we wrote...

Have you ever been on tour, how many and how did you go?

We're been on a few tours. Out East, out West, and down South. Every one of them has been FULL of crazy stories and experiences. We keep a pretty entertaining tour diary on our website of our past tours, so it's worth the read...

...I think it's safe to say that every member of the band agrees that being on tour is probably the thing that we all look forward to most as a band. We'll be heading out East again this Spring to promote the new CD.


Your your latest cd, what do you guys think about it and what did your fans say about it?

Our "latest" CD isn't really that new anymore. It was released in November of 2004, and the reason for the long break is that we had to transition a new drummer into the band. We're all EXTREMELY antsy to finish up this new disc and have it out in November. The new songs that we've been writing/recording with Scotty are really good, and we think that fans of the band will be very satisfied with what we're putting out there...

Our first EP, "Nuclear Family", was kind of an experiment for us. We were a new band and jumped right into the studio. The sound quality is good, but the songwriting is definitely the work of a beginner band. Our next release (and first full-length) "Wasted Time" has a lot of our fans' favorite songs on it. It's our "fun" album. Lots of bouncy, poppy, goof-off songs. After that we released what is currently our most recent full-length, "The Sticky Album". This CD most certainly has the best songwriting of anything we've released thus far, but probably isn't as "playful" as the other CDs. Although still a fun poppy disc, if you're more into "listening to music", then the "The Sticky Album" is for you. If you just wanna bounce around and have some music as background for your party, then pop on "Wasted Time"...