Intoduction:
My name's Johnny and I'm the bassist/ singer/ songwriter (co-songwriter) for a band called The Hairlips.
The Start:
Last summer my friend and fellow prior bandmate (Eric) approached me after leaving a pop punk band I had myself left not too long before. Over the course of time we had played in the other bands together we realized that we both had an obsession for 1950's doo wop, rock and roll, and the greatest band ever: The Ramones. With our history and those musical ties, why not form something of our own? Thus began "The Hairlips". The band name came later. Him and I immediately began writing and recording (and drinking... sometimes too much) in my garage.
The Name:
The Hairlips: coming up with the name wasn't really something we worked at. We didn't make lists or anything like that. Writing material was our first priority. Actually, I think Eric's girlfriend may have come up with it? Anyway, it's a play on what Elvis did with his lip. We're weren't trying to offend anyone. Again, trying to relate to a 1950's theme... without being cliche.
Influences:
There's a bunch.
As for pop punk... like I said before, The Ramones are numero uno. Outside of them we're really into The Manges, Beatnik Termites, The Queers, Kung Fu Monkeys, The Riverdales, Teen Idols, The Lillingtons, Groovie Ghoulies...
I'm not sure how much of an "influence" those bands are on our music, but they're what we listen to. And obviously the "3 chord structure" is something we follow, though we do stray from it a bit.
As for 1950's stuff... we're into the classics. The Penguins, The Five Satins, The Capris, The Diamonds, The Chords, The Moonglows, The Platters, The Crests, The Skyliners,... the list goes on.
Most of our influence, at least for myself, comes from those. The lyrical content, trying to re-create the backups and harmonies... those groups had raw talent. That's something you almost never see in music nowadays.
The Illinois Punk Scene:
I can't say I'm all too familiar with it actually. I never really jumped on a "scene" bandwagon. 10 - 12 years ago I remember seeing bands like Screeching Weasel, 88 Fingers Louie, The Methadones, and The Blue Meanies out of Chicago... there was definitely a presence back then. There is a resurgence in pop punk throughout Illinois nowadays though. Bands like: Sore Subjects, Prepare To Die, Highball, The Fizzy Pops, The Old Comiskeys etc... Bands playing the music they love and trying to make Chicago a pop punk staple once more. That's definitely one of my goals as well. Filling the shoes of guys like Ben Weasel and Danny Vapid, guys that took their band(s), and made the rest of the country aware of Chicago pop punk.
Songwriting:
We have a few approaches to writing new tunes. Our biggest no-no is forcing a song. If you have to think too hard, put it aside and come back to it. Music should be felt, not just written. Of course there's always those few songs that may not have a definitive meaning, but there's always a reason it was written. We don't stick to an outline per se... writing music first, then melody, then lyrics. However it comes to us. I've woken up in the middle of the night and had a full song written in my mind. Other times, we'll record a songs music and I'll come back later and write all the lyrics. You have to feel it.
Releases:
We're currently putting together our debut album. Looking for a late summer/ early fall release. We do have a 5 song studio demo we did when we we're just a 3 piece. As well as having a song on the latest Cabana 1 Records compilation, "Where The Fun Never Sets". You can find those songs and some other recordings we did in my garage on our facebook page, reverbnation, blah, blah, blah. We're just now looking at a year of being together so it hasn't been a whole lot of time. Also hoping to release some 7 inches this year as well. Some are splits, we're still putting those together too. Busy, busy, busy.
Bands We've Played With:
Seeing as we're still relatively new, we've only played 2 shows. First show was in Plainfield with The Reaganomics. That was a blast. Big thanks to those guys and Samantha Gonzales a.k.a. Samanthat Gunz Booking (if you read this) for booking that. The last show was with The Kobanes, The Burninators, and BILL UR A DIK. Next one is this August. We'll be headlining with Prepare To Die, The Dewtons, and Highball at Pancho's in Chicago. All great bands.
Big or Small Venues:
That's a tough one actually. It never really has made a difference to me personally. I've played with other bands all across the U.S. And really, you can play a huge place that happens to be unorganized or not care the night you play and it's awful, or play a small place that other bands say is terrible and you put on the best show ever. It really boils down to how you want it to go and how well you communicate with those involved. We'll play, if you wanna listen.
Tour:
This band has yet to tour. Although it is in the cards. We want to get the album out and put together a good tour. Something that will make an impression.
Favorite Band to Play With:
As of this moment, we don't have one. But I think The Manges are on the top of our list right now for bands we hope to play with. I know they are on mine. Those guys are awesome, as a band and just as people.
Favorite Place to Play:
I can only speak personally. Again, we only have 2 shows under our belts. In Chicago, my favorite place to play is a toss up between The Double Door and The Beat Kitchen. Both have really good sound.
Future of The Hairlips:
I could shit in one hand and wish in the other... see which fills up first, right? Haha, kidding. Ya know, wherever the future takes us. We'll do our part to write great tunes and play great shows and hopefully, with enough exposure, hard work, and dedication to this band we can get somewhere bigger than my garage. We love music. That's the driving force right there.
Contacting The Hairlips:
Email: TheHairlips@gmail.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/The-Hairlips/131318933580839
Reverbnation: http://www.reverbnation.com/thehairlips
LastFM: http://www.last.fm/music/The+Hairlips/The+Hairlips
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