HowWasTheShow Music Player (Beta):

This text will be replaced by the flash music player.

 
Latest posts in the Forum:

 
Please Visit Our Sponsors:

 

 

 

Verona Grove

Verona Grove is a power-pop band from Fond du Lac, WI. In this interview, singer/guitarist Tony Anders talks about being a child of the ‘90s, uprooting and moving to Los Angeles to record their debut album, and the struggles of being a new band in today’s musical landscape.

Tony Anders: I started playing guitar when I was 12 and singing when I was real young, like eight. I have always loved singing. I would annoy everyone at school with talk about music and sing the most annoying songs, I am sure, but I loved it! I was influenced by my guitar teacher for sure—he blows my mind to this day. My parents got me into the Beatles, and you could bet that every Saturday at my house growing up, my dad had Genesis or Paul Simon pumping.

 

In my high school years, Stevie Ray Vaughn was The Man. I wanted to play exactly like him, so that's what I went for. Obviously, that changed when I continued listening to ‘90s pop rock. I think that really had the strongest hold of my interest. Anything 90's, I still listen to it. I am like the dude from the ‘80s with the really bad mullet and the Camaro who thinks Poison is still the shit, but with the ‘90s -- and don't get me wrong, Poison is the shit!

 

Guitar was a main focus of mine until I started writing songs when I was like 17, and then I spent more time doing that than practicing guitar. Lately, I have been spending a lot of time honing my piano skills. I love writing on the piano—it gets me away from worrying about how I am playing the same chords in the same key on guitar and more into writing a good pop tune. The piano is also just a beautiful instrument to listen to.

TA: Well, I have to say that luck is the main reason we got to work with Pat. We teamed up with Justin Perkins, who was working at Smart Studios in Madison, Wisconsin because he had some cheap studio time, thanks to a band who cancelled due to a lack of funds. So we went into the studio in late 2005 and recorded what was the first draft of “Smalltown Celebrity.” Perkins was excited about how the songs turned out and decided he wanted to pass it on. He previously recorded Number One Fan out of Appleton, WI who were a part of PRC at the time. He emailed it out and I followed up with PRC a month later and they asked for more demos from us. After many phone conversations with the A&R guy there, Pat called me and asked if they could come and check us out in Oshkosh, WI. A couple of Pat's guys flew out and watched our set of half originals, half covers in Wisconsin! It is quite lucky, we would all agree!    

 

TA: We had no clue what to expect, but we were ready as hell! The label had told us in May when we signed that we were going to be moving to L.A. to write and record our album. We waited and waited and waited for them to tell us when. It was only like two months later, but it felt like forever. We were writing intensely at home, and had ideas for other songs for when we moved to L.A. When we got there, it seemed like a whole new world. Everything was busy, laid back and expensive, but the vibe was perfect. Every time I sat down to write, it seemed as if the first words out of my head were something about living out my dreams, and the rest of the band agreed.

 

We are looking to make it in this industry, and I think one day, we will be able to decide what “making it” means. If it's just happiness, if it's fame, whatever it is, we are all looking to find our dream and for us it is definitely playing music. Being in L.A. and writing/playing music was like a dream come true in itself, much less under the wing of one of the industry’s top dogs. It turned out that we had some hard times there, losing our original drummer, but it helped in that Charlie [Wilhelm] and I grew as people in a problem-solving situation and as musicians. We continued writing and recording demos throughout, and I feel as if the atmosphere of L.A. kept us striving for the best in our music.

 

When you are out there, you have to keep up with the Joneses. Everyone is talented and just going for it. I feel like that was a supporting factor in what The Story Thought Over is all about. Being away from home was not very hard. We made friends and were so focused that it never really bothered us. If anything, it gave us more to write about and more purpose to write. While we were living there, our support from our fans back home in Wisconsin was amazing. We received many rewarding emails and myspace messages/comments from people filled with encouragement. That was an amazing feeling.

 

 

TA: The first time I met Jamie, I spilled a table full of lunch all over the floor, so it could have only got better from that point on. I grew up listening to American Hi-Fi and I love their sound, so raw and college party! We approached him about producing us and when he listened to the demos, he thought a lot about adding some classic rock vibe to it. I can't say that it comes across as classic rock to the average ear, but if you listened to most bands in our genre, you may notice a sonic difference in the recordings as a whole. We were very modern thinking, and Jamie was there to say “What if we do it with a little more feeling and not so perfect?” I never thought of it that way. Jamie has become a great friend to us who we look up to in many ways. From guitar tones to song structures and drum beats, everything was thought about and I am confident in saying that I love how the record turned out.

 

Jamie also did some guitar playing on the record. Everything he did was for added texture to the song, and that made some of the songs. Adding an outside ear to your music is hard, but important. Coming from a power pop band as well, he could completely relate with us on our music, which made our ideas work so well together. He also installed the quality of patience in us. It is important to not force ideas and just let them come to you when putting the final touches on a song. Jamie really changed our state of mind and having worked with him, we feel very educated and fortunate for what he did with us.

TA: About a month into our stay in L.A., our original drummer of six years decided that it was not the lifestyle for him. We parted on good terms and then began the hunt. We worked with one other drummer before going into the studio and that did not work out either. Studio time came and we were fortunate to have Jason Sutter, a good friend of Jamie's and former American Hi-Fi drummer, play with us. We learned a ton from that experience as well.

 

When the album was complete, we talked with a drummer from back home in Wisconsin who was in a rival college band of ours. There was a bit of a competitive relationship between us in previous years. So we called Josh Helm back in Oshkosh, WI and said, "We need a drummer to play SXSW with us in two weeks.” He accepted the challenge, but assured us it was a one-time thing and that he was not interested in filling the spot permanently. A couple shows into it, he gave us his formal interest speech and we accepted. It has been a great relationship and we work very well with him. He adapted to our band so well and carries a lot of weight on the business end. You just never know who you are going to work with!

 

TA: Well, we have a lot to say for our position, but at the same time, it is difficult. Being with an indie label, there is not lots of money to be thrown out to promote our album. We spend a ton of time on myspace and even more time booking our own shows to where we play for limited crowds. The numbers are not very high for us on any spectrum, but we continue to do the DIY indie approach to everything. The label was great for funding the making of the record and they also hooked us up with a van, which helps us a ton.

 

Many of our fans will tell us what kind of tours we NEED to be on and I have to say that whatever they are thinking, we have covered 100 times and it's always a NO. It is difficult for any new band on a label to create enough momentum to get to those positions. Don't get me wrong, we are trying everything we can, and we are always working on our band. It is hard, but it's a lifestyle and a dream and you have to just go for it. Almost every band we know that are trying to make it are in debt, even the ones on labels. We are all in debt with ourselves, not just with the label. Boo!

 

I think there will definitely be a difference in the approach. I think there already is. As I continue to write and as we continue to talk about future recordings, we point out things we like and things we need to get away from, as well as better business decisions that will save us on the money end of things. Stylistically, I have been doing some writing that is not so much Verona Grove, but just whatever comes to mind. As we shape the next record, I think we are going to have fun exploring some new ground as well as some old ground—it's exciting! As for when we plan on doing this, we don't have plans. We are still comfortable with the record at hand and we are still looking to push it harder, and when the right time comes to record the next record, we will know and then we will begin.

 

TA: Come check out a show, take a listen to our myspace, and tell your friends if you like it. Music is our life and that is why we do it!