Interviews: Count Me In

In this new occassion we have had the opportunity to interview the Pop Punk band Count Me In from Canada. Check out the interview and this band on their FACEBOOK PAGE.

1.Where did you get the idea for the band name, you planned it or came out just like that? 

The band has actually been around for a while, but with different songs and members. Jason and Alex, our 2 vocalists/guitar and bassists have been the core members of the band for about 6 years. We have been friends for years and I had always wanted to redo one of their songs that I really liked. When myself and Ryan, our drummer, had some free musical time from our other full time band Shreddy Krueger, we joined forces with Jason and Alex. When we restarted the band and kept writing new songs with this sound, we were going to change the band name, but realistically couldn't think of anything better... so we just kept it! It's actually from the All Time Low song "Dear Maria, Count Me In". AND it doubles as a super lame pun every time we make plans to do something. "You can Count Me In... DUR HUR HUR". 

2.Why did you want to play this genre? 

Pop punk, and this late 90's early-ish 2000's style of it, is what got all 4 of us playing and being interested in music in the first place. Jasona nd I both started playing when we were 13, just having sleepovers listening to blink, and Sum 41, and New Found Glory on repeat while attempting to play along or playing PS2 and SNES. Ryan had started a few years before and played in a pop punk band called Rice Rocket. And Alex was always musical but really got into it when this style started coming around when we were growing up.  

3. Did you know each other before the band was formed? 

We did! Jason and I have been best friends since we were about 5 years old. Both him and I met Alex in highschool and have been buddies ever since. Ryan is a few years older and played in the big band in our town called Stutterfly that was on a major label and living the dream. We were still in school when he was doing that and we'd all go to the shows and sing along and be in the mosh pit. I become friends with him later since we worked at the same place, and I ended up joining the band Secret and Whisper with him and a bunch of other friends. We did that for a few years, then him and I and 1 other guy from that band started a new one called Shreddy Krueger. Those bands both released a few records on some different labels and toured around the world!  

4. Each band member favourite band? 

My favourite would have to be blink 182, with Jimmy Eat World coming in at a close second. I love pop punk and a ton of heavy and technical metal and death metal stuff too. Jason echoes the same blink 182 favouritism as well. Ryan is super into that band as well, but favourite spreads to some other genre groups like Mew or Deftones. As for Alex, blink is up there but he's a huge Mayday Parade fan. Realistically I think Count Me In is his favourite band, it's all he listens to! 

5. Who or what inspires you to write songs? 

We just want to write "hits". Good songs that we enjoy and stuff true to our sound. We've been able to define exactly what we want to sound like, and understand how to grow... we don't want to write that same song over and over. Especially with the many years of Ryan and Myself playing in different genres and bands, we have our approach to song writing, jamming, demo'ing, record, etc pretty locked tight. Be in the studio is my favourite part of being in a band, so writing means we get to go in there and have fun! 

6. Where was your last gig? 

That would've just been in our hometown of Kelowna BC Canada. Shortly after we finished recording the album I moved away and haven't been back yet. I'll be back though and we'll be able to take these songs a little further away! 

7. Where would you like to perform? 

I'd like to perform in Iceland, since that's where I'm living now and I want the band to come visit me at the same time! There's an awesome music scene in Reykjavik and it'd be super cool to show off my band from back home to everyone I know here.  

8. Whom would you like to perform with? 

The list could go on and on and on... top bands would be blink, Yellowcard, Eternal Boy, Houston Calls, All Time Low. Anyone that would be a great pairing for the genre and get us in front of some new ears. 

9. Whom not? 

Probably anyone in a scary metal band where the fans would just call us pansies haha! 

10. Any of you has ever suffered from stage fright? Any tip for beginners on how to beat that? 

Definitely, I think you'd have to be a little numb to no have it at least once! I got over my stage fright with 1 simple perspective... Even if we are awesome and play the best show of our lives, or completely suck, this person paid to be here and has to sit through it. Once my bands started gaining some traction and we actually had people there for us, that support alone made it way more about having fun, playing well, and putting on a good performance, that you didn't even have time to get scared. In the eternal words of Kevin McAllister... "This is it, don't get scared now". 

11. What bands have inspired you the most? 

The list really doesn't differ from the bands listed above. Lots of things from other genres though. Some French Canadian Death Metal like Despised Icon and Beneath the Massacre really inspired me technically. Protest the Hero as well. Lot's of random pop and rock to learn more and more tricks for structuring and songwriting and composing. Basically anything that has a new technique or idea that can be put into the bank to write our own stuff! 

12. What's the weirdest thing a fan has ever asked you for? 

Maybe not exactly for, but one that sticks out that I always thought was funny was in one of my last bands, Secret and Whisper. We had flown down to Pomona California to play a festival with P.O.D for about 10,000 people. We just finished playing and were signing stuff at the merch booth and someone asked me where we were playing next. I told them we were flying home the next day because we had to be back at work on Monday. The look on this persons face when they heard we all had jobs was unbelievable. They followed it up with "WORK?! Aren't you guys like rich and famous?! Driving nice cars living in giant houses?!" They were convinced we were just ball'n rich from being in a band. Unfortunately we weren't, but it would've been pretty cool! I was like 21 and still lived with my parents haha! 

13. What do you think of your fans? 

Top tier 11/10 good boys! But really though, our fans are the reason anything happens and we do this for them just as much as us... realistically, more.  

14. What do you think of our site? 

It's super sick! It's rad that you give an outlet for bands of all sizes and help get smaller bands out there on more ears. Not everyone starts at the top and any extra eyes and ears that sites like yours can get music to is better for the longevity of keeping the music scene alive! 

15. Something to add? 

I just sincerely hope that everyone enjoys what they hear from our band and that they have as much fun listening to it as we did making it. This album was something we've all wanted to make for about 15 years, and we couldn't be anymore proud of how it turned out. Now time to write more songs!  Zona de los archivos adjuntos