Stickup Kid – Soul Drive

By starrymag | June 19, 2019

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) Melody driven alternative rock made by people with a punk background.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Saves The Day, Jimmy Eat World, Third Eye Blind, Lifetime, Modest Mouse, Local Natives, Metallica, Foo Fighters, Green Day and plenty of classic rock.

 

Q) Talk about the story behind your new song “Soul Drive.”

 

A) “Soul Drive” is a song about following your gut and seeing where that takes you. It’s about finding out who you really are and what’s most important.

 

Q) What do you think it is about the song that fans connect to?

 

A) I think everyone has moments in life where they need to do some soul searching and find themselves again. In this day and age, and with the technology we all possess, the world is getting smaller all the time and it can become overwhelming to take all of that in at once. It can be easy to keep looking outwards and forget to look inwards. I think everyone can relate to that.

 

Q) What was it about the track that also made you want it as the name of your new album?

 

A) Once the theme, both lyrically and musically, of letting your soul drive found its way into more of the songs it was really the only choice.

 

Q) What is your song writing process?

 

A) Bo [McDowell] or Tony [Geravesh] will bring a piece of music to the group (sometimes the skeleton of a whole song, sometimes just a riff or two) and then we hash it out until it feels right. Some songs come together in a night and some can take months to turn into what they were truly meant to be. Each song has its own needs and we are just trying to meet them as best we can.

 

Q) Do you need music before you can create lyrics? 

 

A) It can go either way. Really depends on the song.

 

Q) How much of hand do you have in the production of your music? 

 

A) A very heavy hand. Honestly, we can probably be pretty annoying to engineers, mixers and producers. [laughs] All five of us care deeply and all of us want to have input. No one is afraid to speak up when they don’t love how a song is turning out.

 

Q) You’re currently performing on the West Coast. What can fans expect from a live Stickup Kid performance?

 

A) An honest representation of who we are as a band, and who we are as individuals, as we present our work as best we can.

 

Q) What songs off Soul Drive are you looking forward to performing live?

 

A) After a six-year gap between records we are excited to play pretty much anything new. [laughs] I don’t think there is a single song on Soul Drive we wouldn’t want to play live.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from listening to your new album as a whole?

 

A) We hope they feel heard. We hope they feel that they aren’t alone. We hope that they feel understood. Hopefully, they also have a bunch of these melodies stuck in their head. [laughs]

 

Q) Where are some of your favorite places to perform and what makes those locations so significant to you? 

 

A) Chain Reaction and Gilman are always a pleasure because they have so much history within their scenes and on a personal level.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) We have only ever collaborated with people we consider friends. If I’m being honest, I’d like to keep it that way. So that being said, I’d love to become friends with Bill Stevenson and record an album with him.

 

Q) What album/band are you currently listening to and why do you dig them? 

 

A) I’m only listening to Master Volume by The Dirty Nil because they were sent here from heaven (or Canada) to save rock and roll baby.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) This band has always been about connecting with and making friends. Social media makes it possible to connect with friends all over and that’s pretty amazing. It also helps in growing the band. People want to root for a band filled with people they like and can relate to and social media gives bands a chance to showcase their personalities beyond just their instruments. It can give the next new friendship a jumpstart!

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who is a fan and supporter of you and your work?

 

A) If you’ve stuck with is us over the years then we can’t thank you enough. If you’re new here then welcome to the party pal!

 

 

 

All Questions Answered By Bassist Jon McMaster