April 17, 2009
Blueskyreality – Entire band

Cathy: For the record, can you state your name and what you do in the band?
John Chong: Our band name is Blueskyreality and I play the drums.
Jake Koops: I play guitar.
Nick Fronti: I also play guitar.
Philip Bloom: I play the bass.
Zak Stucchi: I sing and play the piano.

C: In one creatively produced sentence, how would you describe your music to someone who's never heard it before?
PB: I think we've come to call our style Soul-Rock. (Zak's voice brings the soul).

C: How did you get involved in music? What artists influenced you to pursue it as a career?
ZS: For me, it was my grandpa. He got me into country music and taught me to play guitar. The artists who pushed me to do music were Elvis, Thrice, and the Used.
NF: I fell into music in 5th grade when I snuck two CD's, Third Eye Blind and Sugar Ray. My mom caught me and made me throw them away. My influences would be Johnny Buckland of Coldplay and Greg Hill of MuteMath.
PB: In 3rd grade my brother played violin and I wanted to play football, but my dad said in order to play sports I had to pick up an instrument. I wanted to be in a band after seeing a local band called Tip Toe Charlie.
JK: My family played instruments, so it was inevitable for me to pick one up. Incubus pushed me to be in a band.
JC: Being Korean, parents usually force kids to pick up piano or violin, but in 4th grade I saw my school orchestra play and I wanted to voluntarily pick up violin. For me, Thrice pushed me to pursue the band life.

C: You were recently signed to Universal Motown records. Can you describe the process of getting signed? How did the whole ordeal come about, and was it a difficult choice to choose what label to sign with?
ZS: It was tedious, because we showcased about 3 times to different branches of the Universal Music Group. It was easy to pick Motown because they were passionate about us. We showcased in June, signed in December.

C: You're playing Rites of Spring this weekend in Nashville. How did this opportunity arise? Are you going to stick around for the whole weekend to see the other bands playing the festival? If so, who are you looking forward to seeing, and do you have anything else special planned during your stay in Nashville?
NF: Kelly Hughes, chair of Rites of Spring got us on here. I'm looking forward to The Flaming Lips tomorrow.
ZS: We're meeting with some producers and writers to collaborate during our stay.
JC: I'm going to get a lesson with JD Blair who drums for Victor Wooten and Shania Twain.

C: You're getting ready to do a small run of dates with Third Eye Blind at the end of the month. What are you most looking forward to on the upcoming tour?
JC: Unique food places that aren't available at home.
ZS: Playing on the same stage with Third Eye Blind.
PB: I look forward to the experience of touring.

C: What are your plans as a band for after you're done with the Third Eye Blind tour?
ZS: Getting into the studio to release some music to everyone.

C: You guys are all college aged. Are you in school? If so, how hard is it for you to balance school alongside the band?
JC: I'm the only one left in school out of the members in the band. It's really hard to balance school and the band. I had to change my priorities to make the band a bigger portion in my life. This tour forced me to get two incompletes out of my five classes, and I'm heading back the last week of school after missing three weeks. I have one more semester of classes left.

C: If you could have any animal be your band's mascot, what would you choose and why?
NF: A bearded zebra named Jimbo.

C: A couple weeks ago, John twittered (tweeted?) about you all writing a lot of haikus. Write us one. On the spot. Right now… Please.
All: Feed me the girdle
I am the Dolphin Trainer
Come hither my friend

C: If you were stuck on a deserted island with no food and no one but your band members, who would you eat first and why?
All: Our first choice was John cause he's eat healthy, but he knows survival stuff. Nick knows how to cook meat well, but since he's tender, he's going to be eaten first. Like a veal.

C: Closing statements?
All: "I like turtle!"