1. If I knew absolutely nothing about The Willows,
how would you describe the group’s music to me?
-- Our music is a blend of Americana and alt-country
rock. Kind of Wilco meets the Faces meets T-Rex.
2. If I were to buy your new album See You Next
April,
what songs should I pay particular attention to and why?
-- Feature songs include See You Next April (album
title track), The Hardened Heart, Lead Me Home, and Sunset and a Smile.
I selected
these songs because they will provide you a good variety of our styles.
The songs writing styles are fairly eclectic. Usually I will
bring a song "idea" to the group and let them twist it and
shape it they way they feel. We end up with a better result in the
long run and everyone feels engaged. No single person is there to dominate
the creative direction of the band. This is what makes us work so well
together.
For example, lately our drummer Russell
has been able to really shape the feel and sound of new songs by suggesting
different
beats than what we may have been initially been accustomed with.
This new beat will drive a different bass and guitar pattern to create
something
completely different than the original idea - but for the better.
3. When and where did the band form, and where didthe
name come from? -- The band formed
from the remains of several Boston bands (The Vic Morrows - Randy Hopkins
and Jon Rosen, The Fables - Bill Grizzell, Troy's Bucket - Courtney Linehan,
Mr. Floods Party - Kevin Levesque). Each of these bands represent different
genre's making the mix a birth of something none of the members could have
done alone. In the early days (2002-2004) we started as a trio (Randy, Jon
and Courtney) playing mostly acoustic format at local coffee house type gigs.
The song writing style needed to expand so we added the bass and drums, and
eventually a lead guitarist. The full band format provides us a lot more
versatility. Since the songs originate on the acoustic guitar it is easy
to play them that way when we desire to do so, or if the venue calls for
it.
The band name came from a park in Salem, MA called
Salem Willows. Our singer Courtney grew up in that section of the city,
and as kids many of
the kids go to the park for the entertainment (skee ball, arcades, rides
like the tilta-whirl and roller coaster which are now defunct), outdoor
stage for live music which we now have played on twice - funny, as kids
you never
imagined you would be on the same stage as some of the Dixie-land jazz
guys from years past!). The park is a throw-back American theme park for
generations
of families in the Boston area. The park was built on top of old Fort Lee
which was originally built in the 1740's. Fort Lee protected Salem's sea
approaches during the war of 1812 and the Civil War.
4.
What was your worst on stage experience? What was your
best?
-- Worst was Courtney's on stage-falling into the
drums at the CD release party and almost sabotaging a tune. It didn't
even look cool. Best was probably the first cd release party at a local
club. The place was so packed with people it felt like a throw-back to
the days at The Rat in Boston. Hot, sweaty, fist pumping crowd which
really helps get the band going. That night we helped the club owner
pay off several back months rent $ (unfortunately we ended up seeing
very little of it!!!).
5. Do you think that the Internet (whether it be Internet
radio, legal downloading, MySpace, streaming audio, etc.) is a good tool
for musicians or is it a bad thing because it hinders profits?
-- Profits? Seriously though, as a band scarcely known
nationally as us these mediums work great to introduce people to our music.
**Bonus Question 1: Is The Willows paying the bills
yet?
We make pretty good $ for our gigs now and frankly we think it is about
time. We are certainly not a bunch of hacks as we have been doing this
for a long time working very hard along the way. We like to do occasional
benefit gigs, but when we play the clubs we do not expect to get short
changed. A few club owners have screwed us and we have refused to play
at their clubs again. We are not here to supplement a club for its faulty
business practices or to support someone's drug habit.
**Bonus Question 2: Any crazy witch related stories?
A witch girl our drummer Russell dated once gave him a magic bean. That was
about as wild as it got, witches are actually pretty low key.
