BALLYHOO! INTERVIEW
Forming in Maryland way back in 1995, Ballyhoo! has certainly started to its make its mark on the music map, rocking it from one side of the country to the other. Now in the process of recording album #3, Ballyhoo! front man Howi, is taking a break and has given The Pier an inside word on what we can expect of the new album and his life in general with the popular four-piece band.
The Pier: So according to the latest news post on your web-site you guys are taking a little break now from touring and recording? Must be nice to have the chance to put the feet up? Howi: It’s actually really nice. Though we don’t know what to do with ourselves. At least I don’t anyway. Usually about this time I’d be in the shower before heading to one of the guy’s houses to meet up so we can jump in the van and go do a show. Now that’s not happening. We do have a couple of shows later this month though.
The Pier: So I guess the biggest news for Ballyhoo! at the moment is you have started recording a new album. Before we get to that, are you happy with how "Do It for the Money" was generally received? Howi: Definitely. It served its purpose. It took us two years to get that album recorded and finally out. It was neat seeing all the different textures and styles on there and there is something for everybody. It’s selling well. I mean we have sold something like 6,000 hard copies and about 4,000 on iTunes, Napster and Rhapsody and all that. For an indie release it’s safe to say I think it has done pretty well.
The Pier: It sure has. Did you ever try and shop the album to the major labels to begin with or was the plan to always put it out yourselves? Howi: Ultimately the goal is the same, so it doesn’t matter. Of course we are going to try and fish for labels and see if there is any interest at all, but we don’t let it stop us just because we think there may be some interest. We are still going to do it ourselves until we sign that contract. We would love to get signed and Do It for the Money has opened a lot of doors for us and got the music out there, letting people know who the band is. The next record is going to be the same, but that much bigger.
The Pier: What’s it been like working with producer Scotch Ralston (311 producer) on the new album? Did that come about because you got Chad Sexton (311 drummer) to mix the song Boner for the Sense Boardwear compilation? Howi: Actually no. It’s funny, we were on our way back from our spring break tour with Eleven Fifty Four and I got an e-mail on MySpace and it was from Scotch. He had hit us up from out of the blue. A 311 fan had one of our songs playing on his MySpace profile and Scotch wanted to know who that band was and the guy helped him check us out (shout out to Long Bong on that one).
So Scotch hit us up and so over a couple of months we talked and e-mailed. We discussed the deal and finally we got into it and started doing pre-production. We have banged out like 23 to 24 tracks already. Donald on the drums did all his drum tracks in just two days. It’s been great working with Scotch.
The Pier: So what can we expect on the new album? Any new sounds apart from the reggae rock style that Ballyhoo! has mastered? Howi: Oh yeah. It’s funny we kind of got involved in that whole reggae rock kind of scene and that’s totally cool. There are lots of loyal fans there and it really helps us spread the music a lot, but I’ve always written different kinds of songs. Whether it’s been reggae or rock, punk or some weird funky style or acoustic stuff. Basically, with this album we have decided that all that stuff is going to be on the record. It’s also going to be a little more of a rock record.
I am not going to lie. There’s a couple of songs that are really different for us and that are really poppy. That’s not because I think it’s going to get us signed if we play these kinds of songs, it is just how I felt that day when I wrote it. We are all about discovering new sounds and keeping fresh. We are not going to do another "Do it for the Money", this one is going to be better. Anyone who likes music is going to like this album I think.
The Pier: Sweet, I like music. As you say Ballyhoo! likes to mix it up with all those different styles. Does it ever get hard working out what you are going to focus on or include when going into record an album? Howi: Well the way we do it is we take all the songs and say screw it lets just record them all and see how they feel and turn out. I mean there was a few songs from the "Do it For the Money" sessions that we didn’t release because they didn’t turn out the way we wanted them to. We actually re-recorded a couple of them for this record.
Basically we are going to have around 25 songs to pick from and narrow down. With so many styles that’s the hard part trying to work out the sequencing for the album.
(Above: Scotch and Ballyhoo! drummer Donald in the studio)
The Pier: Are you ready to talk about any of the new songs specifically? Any favorites or ones that you will think will blow people’s minds? Howi: Scotch says it all the time ‘I’m trying to go through all the songs and see what might go on the back burner for now and what we should really concentrate on, but dude every time I hear something I think all the songs need to go on the album’.
There is a song I’m pretty excited about. It’s called ‘Cheers’ and it is a big thank you and acknowledgment to all the fans and friends we have met touring and for all the hospitality we have received. People let us sleep on their couches, eat their food and drink their beer and pretty much do anything we need when we are on the road. For a touring band it is hard and any help you can get is much appreciated. There have been a handful people that have been very good to us, so I thought I should write a thank you to the fans and now friends – just for them. The tentative title for it was ‘Irish Power Ballad’. The song feels exactly as that sounds. Just picture yourself with a mug of beer and you are swinging back and forth singing to an Irish drinking song and it’s also a power ballad. Very like – wearing leather pants, you’re on fire and there is thunder and lightning. If that makes any sense?
There is another song called ‘All I Want’, which is kind of poppy. It has got a different kind of hook to it, kind of doo-wop, a real homage to the 50s stuff there. Though there are a lot of songs we are real stoked about.
The Pier: One comment I tend to always get when I expose someone new to Ballyhoo! is ‘what a great voice you have’. When did you know you could sing really well? Howi: Well I have never had any classes or done any vocal training. When we started the band I just knew I was going to be the front man and each person in the band has to represent. For me I knew I was going to have practice every day, as there a couple of things about being in band that are really important. You need to have a strong drummer because if you have a bad drummer right away it sounds like shit honestly. The other one is, you need to have a powerful singer and so I have tried to really craft and hone my voice over the past 5-6 years. I try to take the soulfulness of Brad Nowell and forge it with the sweetness of Brandon Boyd from Incubus.
I am a huge Green Day fan so when we first started out, we sounded like a Green Day cover band. I was 14 years old and I wanted to be Billie Joe Armstong. Though as we grow we develop our own styles and now I want people to say ‘man you have got a great voice’.
The Pier: So has it been smooth sailing with the recording of this album so far? Who out of Ballyhoo! can be the most difficult to work with in the studio? Howi: You are always going to have some frustration when you are in the studio. We play these songs a million times, but when you go in there to lay them down and maybe that day you just can’t seem to get a take. With the guitar solos sometime I have so much trouble just trying to get it right.
The drums are usually the hardest because Donald’s a great drummer and he knows what he wants to hear and have it perfect. But he will always get them in 2-3 takes, so no one is extra difficult to work with. It’s generally a pleasant experience.
The Pier: You have been doing Ballyhoo! for a long time now (since July 1995). What keeps you going and motivated with continuing with the band? Howi: I know for me Ballyhoo! is so important and I feel like it’s in my blood. I have been doing it for so long and it has been such a huge part of my life. The band is like family and I feel that everything we have done has been worth the effort. I have so much faith in our music and there have been too many people that have said ‘you guys rock why aren’t you signed’ for us to stop.
I just think when we are on tour and we are out in Texas, Colorado or somewhere. Why would I be here if I didn’t really want this? Why waste the time, the effort and the money? Why waste that sweat and blood if I’m going to just drop the band and go work at the supermarket or something. I just feel this band is worth so much and the potential is there to do great things. If the band ever stopped or broke up I wouldn’t know what to with myself. It would be a bad day for me.
The Pier: So you have played the East and West Coast? Any difference in the shows? Let’s be honest who rocks harder? Howi: Honestly, we have had a lot of fun in the middle of the country. Places you wouldn’t even think of. Manhattan, Kansas, that place rocked us. It’s a little college town and it has just been nuts. We have played there twice and the second time was even bigger. Pueblo, Colorado, this little town in the middle of the mountains just loves us. We sold the place out the second time we played there. There were over 200 people and it was insane. Cali and Florida are awesome places and we have had such great times there, it just amazes me all the places in the middle of the country that dig us just like that.
The Pier: After 12 years of playing do you have one show that stands out in your mind? Good or bad and why? Howi: The one show I will never forget is the HFStival, it was in DC back in 2001. They used to have it every year. It was our first time playing it and we opened up the show on one of the side stages and it was amazing. We were so happy to do it because it’s such a legendary event around DC and Baltimore and on the main stage you had Green Day, Incubus, Staind and Linkin Park. It was huge for us to play it and it was such an accomplishment. I will never forget that day.
The Pier: Who would you love the opportunity to tour with then? Howi: Green Day. I don’t know if they would like us that much though, because we do the reggae/ska thing. It would break my heart if Billie Joe didn’t like our band. Also 311, I love that band.
The Pier: I saw there was quiet an extensive campaign on the 311 Bulletin Board for Ballyhoo! to open for 311. Did you get to see that? Howi: Oh yeah that was crazy. There were over 50 pages of posts. It was amazing and I didn’t even start it. Thanks to all the 311 bb’s for trying to make that happen. I’ve heard little rumors of possibly next year. I don’t want to say anything else, that’s all I know.
The Pier: Lastly here is a question I’m planning to ask everyone The Pier interviews. Do you have a favorite beach and why? Howi: I think the best beach I have ever been on was Siesta Key in Florida. I took my water bottle that was empty and put a whole bunch of sand in it cause it was just so white powdery and soft. It is so beautiful out there; we watched the sunset last time we were there. I think it is listed as one of the top 10 beaches in America or something. It’s insane. Huntington Beach is also really good out there in Cali, but Siesta Key is probably my favorite.
Thanks Howi for spending some time at the Pier.
Check out:
Do it for the Money can be purchased online here