So what do you do when you cant get through?
I had been prepping to speak to Call The Cops, suggested to me by Earshot Media and loving their myspace. To me they sounded like Innerparty System if Innerparty System didn’t take themselves so fucking seriously. Fun (theres that word again) popsters living the rock and roll dream thanks to Myspace Records.
I had a slight reservation that they would be semi bland, timid and have that ‘rockstar’ ego that comes with your first big break. What we found instead were two guys, who instantly won my heart.
As mentioned earlier do to some *cough* logistical issues we never got to see them live. Again, I cant express how pissed off this makes me. I was so looking forward to seeing their energy. I got the post coital calm of ‘job done’, as we spoke at the Webster tucked in a corner as I held the recorder between the 4 of us in a quasi intimate huddle of discomfort
With us tonight is literally the voices of Call The Cops- Justin Allen and Will Shuck.
Riding the wave of Take Action Tour, Call The Cops have embarked on their first ever nationwide tour. Not exactly living the dream yet, according to Justin its still ‘motel 6 and van with a trailer’, but we have never done anything on a scale like this before. “its so rad to play in front of thousands of people at once’ but taking it in stride as we attempt the interview outside a locked men’s room Allen exclaims ‘interviews in men’s rooms are even to VIP for us at this point”
“We have all been in bands before this one, but Will and i have been writing together for awhile and it just clicked’ Call The Cops has been together just over a year. This opening gig with Take Action is a precursor for their next go by at Warped Tour in July. It is without a doubt by the time I see these gentlemen again it will be much more difficult to get through their fans.
“look at my eye. but don’t make fun of it” interjects Will Shuck
gazing into his right eye i notice it is severely bloodshot, dilated and shiny.
What the hell happened?”
” I hit myself with a mic stand on stage- it was cool. I’m fine.. Ill be fine’
And so it begins..What started as a regulation hello how are you, turns into a more intimate (as I hold his eye open to see if there is any greater damage) conversation. Justin begins non stop texting his manager (graciously by the way not at all being dismissive) Once we determine hes going to be OK and I make the steadfast suggestion that he have a doctor at least look at it, we carry on.
Interestingly enough headliners We The Kings had toured with Call the Cops 5 years ago, ‘but back then they were called Broken Image and we were called The Horrible Ending’, back then on a much smaller scale they ventured out with the same dream they’ve had since childhood. Sighting other childhood dreams such as being firemen as ‘too dangerous’ Allen and Shuck claim music as their sole passion for as long as they can remember. Again explaining how ‘awesome it is to play in front of so many kids, meeting cool people and the other bands have been so supportive.” You cant help but think that’s a standard line but with Wills constant puppy dog stare its easy to get distracted.. I discover his sense of humor more contagious than dangerous.
With goals in place, but reality not so distant Justin sums it up “The minute you have to start to imagine —— inaudible——WHY? cuz someone opens an overhead door making Justins words inaudible, and bringing the reality of our somewhat bizarre accommodations into focus. After a laugh its continued as “when you start to imagine what it would be or could be like- you lose site of whats really important, what its really about- the music, the song writing, and the people you meet’
Pleased with their demographic of teen aged girls they find the loyalty unprecedented in this market. And if you think about it that demographic of the Myspace generation actually got them where they are. Out of 90 thousand bands Myspace judges narrowed it to 5, then with the help of a Internet widget of their song Room 410 the band was able to accumulate enough public votes to win not only Fender gear but a recording contract with myspace records. Reason enough to be loyal to a fan base that is Internet obsessed.
Guilty iPod pleasures?
For Justin its Roger Loves Vocal Warm up Techniques.
For Will “whats that WOO HOOO WEEE HOOOO No Doubt song? That one” (Thats Sweet Escape by Gwen Stefani)
For Helen its Call The Cops
DO NOT BE LATE FOR THE TAKE ACTION TOUR………go queue up now.