Vintage Powersource

Vintage Powersource is a band from the Chicago area (Ottawa, to be exact). They are a six-piece mixture of flavors ranging from.. well, everything. Dave gave us answers to some of our most pressing questions.

Who are your band members and what do they do?
Hiya. I'm Dave and I play guitar and sing. There's also Mikey who plays the bass, Christopher who plays guitar and sings better than I do, Ryan who does the main vocals, Scottie who plays the keyboard and occasionally sings, and then Greg who plays the drums and sings background vocals.

What genre do you consider yourselves? You seem like a mixture of
things, then again, what's life without variety?
Ah, the inevitable genre question. We have a ton of different influences; everything from progressive death metal to the softest, simplest folk music. Our lead vocalist is a poet rather than a singer, so I can only imagine he's influenced by, like, the things poets are influenced by or something. . . ? Essentially we're an indie rock band though. I think that's as specific as we can get.

How did you all meet?
We all met years ago in high school. We've been playing together for years and years in different bands around the area, and eventually we started doing this thing. Well, that is excluding Scottie, who was purchased by accident in a used car lot. Apparently there was a "Buy a van, get a keyboardist!" deal that we were unfamiliar with, but we're getting used to him being around.

Where do you guys draw all of your inspiration from? Is it an equal,
general input? Or does everyone kind of go on their own journey?
We are inspired by all sorts of things. Like I said, we're into a LOT of different kinds of music which plays a role in what we do, but personal experiences play probably the biggest role in our song writing process. When we write, it's a collective effort. Everyone puts in their two cents, which gives us twelve cents, which usually helps with the tip when we go to IHOP, or like Denny's or something.

The Chicago "scene" seems to be having a lot coming out of it and is
becoming one of the more prominent areas in the US, what do you think
about that?
I think it's great that the Midwest is finally being noticed. There are a lot of really great bands that are finally getting discovered, and I think this whole Chicago scene blow-up thing has something to do with it. I mean, well, obviously. We're actually from a rural town about an hour outside Chicago, but we play the general area as consistently as possible, and I think it gives a little hope to a band like us.

What do you think is the greatest thing about being in a band? What
are you most grateful for?
Though I'd love to say something like, "The chicks," or something ridiculous and rockstar-ish, I really can't because it'd be a huge unbelievable lie. We don't really get chicks. But honestly, I think for me the best part of being in a band is being able to present our ideas and our art to an audience who is receptive to what we love to do. There are occasions where kids will tell us that they understand and appreciate what we do, and to me that makes everything worth while.

Would you do anything differently, given the chance?
Like related to the band? I'd make Scottie sing more because he has a pretty voice and he doesn't sing enough. But like, unrelated to the band I'd probably eat less Pasta Roni, as it probably isn't very healthy to eat as much as I do.

You guys have written material for an album, when can your fans expect
it to come out?
Our first EP, "Seasons," is actually being pressed right now. It'll be out ASAP and we'll be selling it at our shows, and hopefully in some stores who are actually gullible enough to stock it. So look for that! We've also got a complete album's worth of new material that we'll be demo-ing over the next few weeks. These new songs will be on the internet very soon.

How interesting does it get onstage with six guys? It can't be too
safe or easy to move around, right?
You are absolutely correct. I think it's safe to say that Vintage Powersource is a very, VERY clumsy band, which adds to the unsafe nature of our live show. I fall down regularly, as do the other guys, and in a cramped atmosphere that comes with a six-piece, it always makes for a delightful disaster. There have to be videos on Youtube or something of us falling. It seriously happens all the time.

Any words of wisdom for those starting out in a band or thinking about
it?
Communicate. If you are in a band, you have to be regular friends with your band. Otherwise, you will be mad at each other all the time, and someone will eventually punch someone, which makes rehearsal really awkward. Oh, and practice singing in harmony. You never know when you can use that.

What can we expect in the near future?
In the future, like I said, we have the EP coming out, as well as some new shirts and stuff that we'll be playing out to support. You know, more for the CD, but the shirts are kind of fun to have too. We'll be all over the place. In the near future, Vintage Powersource will regulate.

Check out their music at http://www.myspace.com/vintagepowersource

- Sara “Barack Obama better not pick Hillary as his running mate” Garcia