San Diego Serenade Interviews The Bloody Hollies
There's a little theory called the "pocket watch theory" that some crazy religious folks use to "prove" the existence of god. It pretty much goes like this: you wouldn't look at a pocket watch, with all its complicated gears and mechanics, and assume that that watch just came into being through pure chance. You would, of course, assume that some unknown master watch maker diligently crafted this perfectly functioning system. So therefore, God created life as we know it.
That jump in logic is intended for dramatic, and probably mocking, effect. But what I intend in all seriousness, is that San Diego may have its own retort for this crazy watch maker analogy. I will call it the Bloody Hollies Theorem, and it breaks down like this: take your ideal of what a rock song should be. Tight rhythm sections, killer guitar solos, a voice teetering on fraying any possible second, and enough spontaneous energy to power the amps they're playing with. You would, of course, assume that some band had diligently crafted this sound over the years, played together since the days of their parents garage and spent every possible free minute ensuring that their music was getting into as many people's stereos as possible. I mean, something that sounds this good couldn't have just come into being through pure chance, could it?
The Bloody Hollies may never be bigger than Jesus, but through the effortless rocking of their music, they very well may disprove the existence of god. Their records and live performances have an impassioned energy to them that leads one to believe the band is infused with an intense ethos and maniacal work ethic behind their records. When I talked with Bloody Hollies singer/guitarist Wesley Doyle, however, I found almost the exact opposite to be true. Through our conversation, as Doyle repeatedly brushed off through the milestones the band has achieved with a nonchalant "they just sort of happened," I found myself amazed and impressed. Here I was speaking to someone who has put out several records of terrific garage style rock and roll, toured Europe, and gotten enough press attention that the band eventually caught my eye, and the main impression I was getting from him was that, eh, a few things went right, a few things went wrong, and here we are. The strange thing is, despite his nonchalant attitude regarding breaking up and reforming his band, promoting it on the internet, or finding his footing in a new local music scene, when Doyle told me that he has no doubt the band is going to become a big band in San Diego, I believed him. It would be hard to think differently once you've heard the music.
What is also inarguable is that when Doyle packed up and moved from Buffalo, NY to San Diego a year ago, San Diego's music scene gained the kind of band that it's been sorely missing. As the Bloody Hollies gear up to start playing regular shows in the San Diego area towards the end of March, I talked with Doyle about the bands history, why they set up shop in San Diego, what it takes to move your band across the country, and how it feels to be so close to making the big time.
Bloody Hollies Singer/Guitarist Wesley Doyle
Doyle began by clearing up what had happened at a show a few weeks ago that was reported about in the CityBeat as one of the concerts of the week, (this was the original report that I found out about the band because of.) Evidently the Bloody Hollies drummer was friends with one of the members of Ramones tribute band "Pinhead," and had added the band onto Pinheadâs bill at Blind Melonâs in PB without bothering to find out details such as if the band knew about it, and whether or not the Bloody Hollies bassist was back in Buffalo, (he was.) The band found out about the CityBeat article, and figured that they might as well get together and play with out a bassist, but it ended up falling apart, and people such as me who ended up heading over to Blind Melonâs to see the Bloody Hollies were instead forced to settle for a Ramones tribute band with a singer whoâs a "Fat guy that doesnât even look like Joey Ramone" according to Doyle. (I decided to go home.)
San Diego Serenade: So what is something that the average San Diego Resident wouldnât know about Buffalo? Have any other bands ever come out of Buffalo?
Wesley Doyle: Well the Goo Goo Dollsâ¦Snapcaseâ¦.
(I pretend like Iâve heard of Snapcase)
WD: (Realizes Iâve never heard of Snapcase) Snapcase is pretty big in Buffalo, but they were an underground band. Thereâs lots of underground bands. Thatâs sort of the tough luck story of Buffalo. Thereâs lots of talent, but for bands that start out with the intention of doing music as a career, the odds are against you from the start. You have to go about things different ways, because thereâs no industry presence whatsoever. You have to start with the intention of getting the hell out of Buffalo. New York City is six hours away, so youâre not going to be playing showcases there every weekend.
SDS: So how much of your getting signed [first to Sympathy for the Record Industry (White Stripes) then to Bomp (Black Keys, Brian Jonestown Massacre)] was dependent on your touring? How much time were you spending on the road?
WD: We definitely played more shows outside of Buffalo than in Buffalo. We were the kind of band that nobody back home paid attention to until they heard us on college radio and then realized that weâre from Buffalo. Buffalo is a very cliquey town, music-wise. If thereâs a band thatâs getting popular, you donât necessarily want to support them. Itâs easy for a backlash to happen because of jealousy.
SDS: How was the decision to move to San Diego become the next logical step in the bandâs progression?
WD: Well I had wanted to move here for a while. I had friends here, and used to visit a few times a year when I was in the Marine Corps. I sort of made my mind not to stick around Buffalo because of the band, which was the reason I was staying there. We are able to tour and sustain it without having to live there.
SDS: How did you convince the rest of the band to come to San Diego with you?
WD: Well, our drummer is marriedâ¦He was really excited about the new record coming out, but the reality of touring a lot made him realize that it wasnât really going to work out. So I found a new drummer and guitar player out here. And we recently parted ways with our bass player, who was still living in Buffalo.
SDS: How do you go about telling someone theyâre not in the band any longer?
WD: I had the drummer tell him. He was better friends with bass player anyways. He just didnât want to leave Buffalo. Liked the cold too much I guess.
SDS: So youâre sort of like the Axl Rose keeping the band alive from one iteration to the next.
WD: I guess⦠Having a member in Buffalo that was taking the time and spending the money flying out for every show was a lot of pressure. I like to do things naturally. I donât like to be in the position of having to make sure this guyâs taken care of while heâs here, or have to write songs by a certain date.
SDS: When has having new songs by a certain date be an issue?
WD: Well, some people in Europe, they wanted us to tour, but not with the same songs we toured with before. I donât want to make an EP of five songs, Iâd rather save those songs for an album.
SDS: What is your popularity like over in Europe?
WD: Europe is spotty, just like the US. Some shows are big, some shows are horrible. But theyâre buying records over there too, so youâve got to go play shows. It does seem like theyâre more willing to listen to stuff thatâs not on MTV. Over here it seems like itâs not cool to go see a band if theyâre not already rich and famous, which to meâ¦I just donât get the point of that.
The Band Performs in the Netherlands
SDS: When you move to a new city as a band, how do you go about setting yourself up in the local music scene?
WD: I didnât do anything really. I just kind of wanted to live out here and go on tour. We had booked a show here before the last US tour. Troy picked it up, we got on Fox Rox, more press like that CityBeat mention sort of just follow.
SDS: Where have you played around town so far?
WD: The Casbah, Zombie Lounge, Ken Club. First few shows at the Zombie Lounge were pretty insane. A few more low key shows. We had no bass player for some, so we didnât want to hype them too much.
SDS: How do you measure your success as a band? Obviously there are different levels of success over the course of a bands life, starting with your friends liking it, then strangers coming to your shows, people you donât know wanting to interview youâ¦And while you havenât achieved worldwide fame or anything, youâve still had some of the higher level milestones that other bands dream of, like European tours, Peel sessionsâ¦
WD: The John Peel thing wasnât that big of a deal. Itâs sort of the thing where he plays every band on your label. Weâre friends with Margaret Garrett of Mr. Airplane Man. She asked us, âDid you know that John Peel plays your record every week?â I was flattered, and we were in the middle of booking our first European tour, which was routed through London. So I casually emailed his producer. Unfortunately, John Peel died the week before we showed up.
SDS: Ouchâ¦
WD: We still did the recording session. It got played, someone in England told me they heard it.
SDS: So if something like a Peel session is ânot that big a deal,â what do you consider to be a big break?
WD: My definition of a big breakâ¦I donât know. At one time we were doing a lot of showcases for Sire records. We were talking with [Sire president] Seymour Stein. He came to see us several times, we developed a brief friendship. Then when it looked like we might get to put a record out, label shakeups happen and Seymour Stein isnât in a position to sign us anymore. It seemed like there were lots of potential âBig Breaksâ like that right after our first album came out in the summer of 2002.
SDS: The Washington Post called your 2004 set at SXSW one of the highlights of the show. How far can an endorsement like that take you? Does it open more doors or just make things seem more tantalizingly close?
WD: Well that was âBig Break #2â as far as Iâm concerned. Itâs the kind of thing thatâ¦.I never want to give up. I like making music, itâs an outlet for creativity. But when something major like that draws you close, makes you believe that youâre pretty close to breaking outâ¦You get kind of used to those kind of âBig Breaksâ after a while. What means everything is selling records. You can get a million great reviews, draw 2,000 people to a show, but if youâre not selling records, youâre not going to have the industry behind your band. All the reviews and accolades are basically a feather in your hat. Itâs nice. It kind of validates what you do. But even a write up in a magazine as big as Rolling Stone wonât mean a thing for an artistâs career if they canât translate that into record sales.
SDS: You say that selling records is the key to a bands eventual success. What I had heard and read is that the way the bands make money is through selling merchandise and concert tickets and that CD sales are a very small percentage of what the band makesâ¦.
WD: Well selling records is still very important to the record label. Itâs the litmus test of how well youâre doing. Being a really big local band has is the kiss of death to a bandâs careeer. Itâs the most meaningless plateau there is. Everyone in your town will either already have bought your CD or youâll have given it to them. What you want is to be able to tour and draw large shows across the country, and youâre just not able to sustain that without record sales.
The newest record - If Footmen Tire You...
SDS: Your band has formed in an era when everybody has broadband internet connections and where Napster has come and gone and been reinvented countless times. Are you trying to harness any of the newer ways to promote your band?
WD: I havenât really ever gotten involved with creating media attention. Iâm not pushing a âproduct,â the âBloody Hollies Brand.â Weâve always been kind of lucky. The first record was just us really clowning around in the studio, and we got a really small label in Rochester to put it out. The next record came out on Sympathy, and that exposed us to the whole âGarage Sceneâ that was taking off then. The labels have always done a good job of getting the word out. My thing was concentrating on putting together a good band. So we have a website, thereâs not much else we can do. We donât even have any management these days. Having management was really just an excuse for us to be lazy. When you realize that that guy is lazy too, you sort of wonder âWhatâs the point?â
SDS: You say youâve gotten lucky, but at some point in time you have to acknowledge that youâve got a great sound and that the quality of the songs and the performance speak for themselves, no?
WD: Well, weâve had our share of bad luck, but weâve also created our own luck with the sound of the band. The day we finished the last album, we were sitting there with [Producer] Jim Diamond, and we knew that Sympathy wasnât going to put it out. Theyâre more focused on reissues and one shot records where if a band makes it big, he can make money off selling their first recordâ¦But John Diamond said, you can put this out on any label you want to. It would be stupid not to put it out. We contacted Bomp, sure enough, they put it out.
SDS: What are the plans for the band in the coming months? Gigs around town?
WD: Well we finally have a new bass player. He was in a band in Detroit, The Amino Acids. Our guitar player put an ad on Craigslist for a bass player, quite a few people responded. So now weâve got four guys in the band, and weâve got four guys on the same page. I have no doubt that weâll be a big band in San Diego within the next year. But weâre gonna get the ball rolling again, play San Diego, play LA, and play up the West coast until at least summer.
SDS: Are there any other local bands you can recommend?
WD: I donât see as much live music. Iâd rather hang out in a seedy bar.
The Bloody Hollies official site can be found at www.bloodyhollies.com
MP3 downloads: "Swing", "Downtown Revolver", "Cut It Loose."
Comments
sorry, that's weak that he doesn't even know any other local bands. i was wondering why i've never met any of the bloody hollies, or met anyone who has met them, guess i have my answer there.
Posted by: cat dirt | July 17, 2006 01:59 PM