Formed by Massachusetts-native, Nick Santino (vocals/guitar), A Rocket to the Moon has proven to fans that the word “predictable” is not in their vocabulary. From crashing weddings to having songs range from pop to country, Nick, Eric (bass), Justin (guitar), and Andrew (drums) show that they have a lot of offer to their fans. Recently, I had the opportunity to talk to Eric “Halvo” Halvorsen about tour life, their CD “On Your Side”, and high school life.
- How was A Rocket to the Moon formed?
The band was formed by Nick. He started it in 2007, I think, and it was just him playing acoustic guitar, making beats and whatnot on his computer and then in spring of 2008, our old manager, Tim, was managing Nick and asked me if I wanted to join the band and also my friend, Loren. Justin was just filling in for us and we had a few other guitarists but in December of 2008, Justin officially joined the band. Then Loren, our original drummer, quit and we invited Andrew to come play with us.
- Tell me about touring. What’s a typical day like?
During a typical day on tour, we wake up in a hotel room, usually pretty early depending on if we have to drive or not, we get ready, grab some lunch, head to the venue, hang out with the other bands, do a sound check, if we have one, and then it’s a lot of hanging out and sitting around, and then we play, and then after that we usually hang out at the merch table and with friends, and then when the show is done and we’re done signing and hanging out with kids we either take off to drive for the night, or stay in a hotel.
- Tonight [April 6th] is the first night of the Motion City Soundtrack tour. Have you toured with any of the bands [Motion City Soundtrack, Fun, and Sing It Loud] before?
Not really. We toured with Sing It Loud before on Warped Tour. We did Warped Tour last summer for three weeks and they were on the whole tour, but for the most part everybody is fresh faces. Andrew and Justin have a few friends on tour in Motion City and Fun, though.
- What’s the first night of tour like, since you said you don’t really know anybody on the tour?
It’s kind of stressful, to be honest. It’s hard trying to move our stuff in and get set up inside is kind of hard because you have four bands and four crews and they have to meet everybody and it’s kind of difficult to remember names. The first week is basically playing name games. Usually it takes me three or four times to figure out someone’s name. But it’s exciting. It’s always good to get the first day over. Just going through your set and getting the anxiety out of the way is probably the best part.
- What’s the craziest thing that has happened to you, or the band, while touring?
Once we ran out of gas in the middle of the desert at night, and we’d try to see who could run the farthest in the dark in the desert, which was kind of scary. The same night we also crashed a wedding which was awesome. It’s one of those things that happens once in a lifetime that you’ll remember forever.
- How would you describe your sound on “On Your Side”? Is it different from the “Greetings From…” EP?
Yeah, I’d say so. I think “On Your Side” is more pop-orientated and is a more diverse record. There are some songs that are straight forward pop songs that you would hear on the radio with, like, Miley Cyrus and there are some songs that are little softer or have a country twang to them. It has all different kinds of music on it.
- What made you decide to become a musician?
When i was in 7th grade, I was hanging out with some friends and they said they were starting a band, and I was like “Oh, well I don’t play anything,” and their dad had a bass, and I was like, “Oh, well, I’ll try that out,” but, I didn’t know how to play so I just messed around for a day or two. This was right before Christmas, and I really wanted to play bass. So Christmas day comes around and I was so stoked and there was this big box underneath the tree. I obviously didn’t know what it was, so I start to unwrap it and it turns out my Mom accidentally bought me a guitar instead of a bass and I was like, “Oh, it’s not what I wanted, haha, but thanks!” So I ended up returning that and buying a bass. Growing up always with my Dad listening to music, my friends and whatnot, and me loving music only seemed fitting for me to start playing.
- What was your high school experience like?
It was okay, I guess, haha. I have this super tight-knit group of friends and it was always a group of 12 kids hanging out everyday. We never really tried to go out and party or meet girls. We were losers, haha. We had a band and kids hung out with us or whatever. I wasn’t really too outgoing. I was super small, too, and kind of awkward and I was really uncomfortable with everything, so high school was an awkward experience, for sure.
- Do you have any advice for high school students wanting to make it in the music industry?
Yeah, just work really hard. If you write good songs and are passionate about it and believe that you have something that’s worth putting time and effort into. Today you can get recognized solely off the internet. You have MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, and more outlets where people can hear you. And if you just push it, it’s only natural people will catch on.♫
No comments:
Post a Comment
any comments? any questions? type here!