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Who: Stereos
What: artist Q&A
Written by: Samantha Payne

Stereos
http://www.myspace.com/stereos

by: Samantha Payne

Fresh from their disBAND days on Much Music, the boys from Stereos are becoming a speeding freight train with no plans of slowing down any time soon. Stereos' first album is set to be released on October 20 and already their first single "Summer Girl" has hit the number one spot on iTunes in Canada.

I had the chance to chat, via email, with lead singer Pat Kordyback about the bands beginnings, their success and what is next for them.

How did you guy come together as a band in your early stages? We all met through the Edmonton music scene being in other bands and met as those other bands broke up.

Your band use to be under another name. Why the change?  It was suggested we change it and it was definitely the right call, our name now fits our style much better.

How did you get the opportunity to be on Much Music's DisBAND?  We had been sending Greig Nori demos for months before the show came up, trying to come out to Toronto and just work on music, so when the show approached him for possible bands, we were suggested. Things have gone crazy for us since Disband aired.  We consider ourselves super lucky to have all the opportunities we've been given and it still hasn't really sunk in.

Had you guys not had the opportunity to be on DisBAND, how hard do you think it would have been to break into the music industry? Do you feel you would have got into it at all? We were always so used to the struggle and definitely wouldn't have given up.  We know we're supposed to play music and would have kept doing it one way or another. We knew once we were given a real shot we could deliver but just getting that shot is probably the hardest part.

What was the most exciting part about signing your record deal?  Being able to say we were right all along that what we were doing was worth giving all our efforts to.

Who have been your biggest influences, both in your own lives and when it comes to other artists? We definitely wouldn't have been able to do it without the support of our parents and close friends.  Musically we're really influenced by 50s and 60s doo wop as well as modern pop and r&b. Anything from R Kelly, The Dream to Sam Cooke, The Supremes or even Rancid.

You guys have a very unique style to your music. Is there any way to explain it? We call it "crunk rock", our own mix of pop, r&b, hip hop, and rock.

Does being  a Canadian band mean anything to you? I don't think we ever really think about it.  We're definitely proud to be Canadian but we've also never really compared ourselves to just other Canadian artists, we've always tried to be as good as we can up against anyone else out there.

So you guys are on tour? What's the best thing about being on the road?  We're constantly out playing shows and there's nothing we love more.  Meeting all our fans and seeing kids really love seeing our show, singing along, etc is the best.

If someone came to your show, what would a typical experience be? The show is always high energy and we love involving the crowd as much possible.

A lot of bands face labels and stereotypes. Have you had to deal with any yet?  I think trying to break free from the image that everything has been handed to us because all a lot of people know about us is what they've seen on the tv show has been tough.  They don't really know how many years we had to work so hard just to be able to deliver once we were given the shot. 

At the end of the day, what do you want your fans to get from you?  We just want our fans to enjoy what we do as much as we do. So far it's definitely worked out that way and we can't wait to just continue that.

 

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