By snoadmin
In the midst of juggling time between finals and traveling the U.S. to promote their band, the boys of Uh Oh! Explosion sat down with the Daily 49er to discuss their success, humbleness towards fans and, of course, their humorous music.
Brittany Woolsey: You’ve been recognized in AP Magazine. How does this feel and what did it take for you to get to that point?
Jon Bolin [vocals]: It feels really cool because we all read that magazine… A representative from AP messaged us and told us they wanted to put us in the “Hometown Heroes” section because our fans voted for us to be in it.
Woolsey: How has Uh Oh! Explosion progressed since its start?
Bolin: When we decided to become serious with [our music], we changed our band name to Uh Oh! Explosion. Our new c.d. is more musically serious and we are going for a more diverse sound. We’re going in the studio with Mike Patterson. He recorded Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac, so it’s going to be a lot of hip-hop but we also have another co-producer who does a lot of rock and roll stuff.
Woolsey: How did you get involved with Patterson?
Bolin: He’s in the same studio that we were recording at… Our guitarist talked to him and we set up to record with him through our management.
Woolsey: How did you meet and form Uh Oh! Explosion?
Brett Royal [guitar]: Jon and I already knew each other because we were neighbors, but Tyler and I were in an art class together and he told me he played drums. This was back when Jon used to drum and I told him he should sing because he had a different voice, rather than me sing. Tyler and I used to practice at lunch and come up with funny songs. We all got together and started jamming out.
Bolin: We got Justin after he rented our van out for the whole summer to follow Warped Tour with us. We got to get to know each other and became really close. When our old bassist flew back home from Boston, Justin was there and it was just the perfect fit.
Woolsey: Your songs tend to always have a certain humor in them. Is this on purpose?
Bolin: I think we are just naturally funny people… Our music sets us apart from other people. Serious music is needed as well but sometimes you just have to listen to songs that are happy, funny and puts a different perspective on life.
Woolsey: Do you ever write any songs that have a serious meaning to them?
Royal: We once had a song about a girl’s parents who got divorced and whether or not they were going to stay together. Generally, it was very serious but the response people gave back wasn’t what we necessarily wanted to receive back, so we just knew to go with a different direction.
Woolsey: How did you get MC Lars to do guest vocals on “Party Retarded?”
Royal: The other guitarist and I were friends with him. We performed some rap songs with him in the past and we messaged him and asked if he could perform on our track. He was on tour in Europe at the time, but he sent a track to us from overseas.
Bolin: I’ve never personally met him but he used “Abused” from our second album and rapped over it, so to return the favor he promised he’d do a track for us. It’s cool how the internet can be used in that way. You can never meet someone and still feature them on your album.
Woolsey: What can one expect from one of your shows?
Bolin: If you’re anywhere near the vicinity of us playing, you will be drenched in some of our sweat. Our performances are very high-energy and we always have a blast.
Woolsey: You go around promoting on tours and shows other than your own. Where’s the furthest you’ve gone?
Bolin: We drove all across the country this summer while following Warped Tour. We’re going to San Francisco this weekend to promote at a Lady Gaga show. We go to San Diego almost every weekend.
Justin Tyler [bass]: We just try to gather fans in all cities so we have a crowd when we play with fans who actually know our music. We always like to meet our fans face-to-face.
Woolsey: Jon, you’re a student at CSULB. What’s your major and what year are you?
Bolin: I’m a sophomore and I’ve changed my major a lot but now I’m thinking of becoming a geography major.
Woolsey: Is it hard to balance school and the band?
Bolin: We all go to school only on Tuesdays and Thursdays and usually go out on tours on the weekends. I wouldn’t say one thing has conflicted.
Woolsey: Do you have any new releases or shows coming up?
Royal: We have a show at DiPiazza’s on Jan. 10 and we’ll start recording sometime in January. Our album should be out in the spring. I think 2010 will be the year that stuff starts happening in a bigger spectrum for us.
Woolsey: What sets Uh Oh! Explosion apart from other bands?
Bolin: We’ve sold over 28,000 records and we’re still promoting. You can’t have a big ego as a band. The labels don’t do everything. We get at least 2,000 hits on our Myspace everyday and have a really strong fan base. We play baseball with our fans every Sunday at noon at Rossmoor Park. They buy your music and merchandise, so you should give something back to them. Our fans are like our family.
