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M4M: CAN YOU TELL US HOW THE GROUP GOT STARTED?
Craig: We all worked at a music store (Mars Music, now defunct) and we all got together and formed the band.
M4M: THE TITLE TO YOUR DEBUT ALBUM IS QUITE INTERESTING. HOW WAS IT YOU CAME UP WITH THE TITLE
"THE MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES OF LAST WEEK AND NEXT YEAR"?
Craig: I started to realize about three months into the recording process that the songs were really divided between past
and future events and thoughts....they also were either good or bad. In other words, a good thing in your past could
come back as a bad thing in your future and vice versa.
M4M: WHAT WAS THE FOCUS FOR THIS ALBUM? DO YOU FEEL YOU ACHIEVED THAT?
Craig: The album didn't really have a specific focus in the sense of a concept album, but we did set out to not have any
throw away tunes....songs that we were kinda so-so about.
M4M: LISTENING TO THE ALBUM IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MIGHT BE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES THAT INFLUENCE
THE MUSIC. WOULD YOU AGREE TO THAT? ARE THERE ANY SONGS ON THIS ALBUM THAT MAY BRING
PERSONAL FEELINGS OF THE GROUP?
Craig: Every song on the album was written from a personal experience...some more detailed than others, but nothing
was an abstract idea or something third person.
M4M: "ONE BY ONE" IS YOUR FIRST SINGLE. WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE AS A GROUP WHEN YOU FIRST HEAR
YOUR SONG ON THE AIRWAVES? DID YOU ALL SIT AROUND AND WATCH THE ER EPISODE THE SONG WAS
FEATURED ON? IT HAS TO BE A GREAT FEELING.
Craig: It's very exciting and at the same time nerve racking....we all sat around the TV at my house and waiting for that
moment on ER and it felt like an eternity.
M4M: "AWAKE OR ALIVE" IS A KILLER TRACK! COULD THIS BE THE NEXT SINGLE WE HEAR? ARE THERE ANY
PLANS ON THE NEXT SINGLE?
Craig: Thank you very much! We're not sure what the next single will be....it's strange because it never turns out to be
the song you expect...people gravitate towards different songs for different reasons and sometimes it's a surprise.
M4M: THIS ALBUM IS LYRICALLY POWERFUL BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE INSTRUMENTALS ARE VERY WELL PUT
TOGETHER TO COMPLIMENT THOSE LYRICS. HOW DOES THE GROUP COME UP WITH THE RIFFS OR CHORDS?
IS THERE A SCIENCE TO IT OR DOES IT JUST HAPPEN?
Craig: Again, thank you so much for the kind words. For this album, I had written the songs over the course of a year
before we started recording. About a month before, I played the tunes for everyone and added the 'salt and pepper'
before we started working.
M4M: NOW YOU HAVE OPENED IN THE PAST FOR MATCHBOX TWENTY AND CURRENTLY HITTING YOUR LOCAL
SCENE. ARE THERE ANY PLANS ON A NATIONAL TOUR?
Craig: Yes...as soon as gas goes down :)
M4M: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE HARDEST ASPECT OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS? HOW DO YOU OVERCOME
THOSE OBSTACLES?
Craig: The hardest aspect is that it's a moving target. The music business is constantly changing and evolving, you can't
really overcome those obstacles, just have to constantly modify your plan and do everything you can.
M4M: NOW BEING UNSIGNED HAS THERE BEEN ANY INTEREST FROM LABELS? DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHEN
YOU MAY BE SIGNED?
Craig: There has been introductory talk with a few labels but nothing concrete as of now.
M4M: IS BEING UNSIGNED REALLY ALL THAT BAD NOW A DAY'S? WITH WEBSITES LIKE MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK
IT ALMOST SEEMS YOU CAN PROMOTE YOURSELF QUITE WELL. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING
SIGNED TO A MAJOR LABEL OVER INDEPENDENT RELEASES?
Craig: Being unsigned has pros and cons....cons...you don't really make any money but if you're in it for money, you're
in the wrong business....go to law school instead :) Pros are that we can do whatever we want, whenever we want and
not owe anything to a label.
M4M: IS THERE ANYTHING WE MAY HAVE MISSED THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET ACROSS TO CURRENT FANS
AND FUTURE ONES?
Craig: Just that we enjoy playing live more than anything and we hope to see you at a show soon. Thank you so much
for the opportunity to talk with you!
M4M: WELL GUYS THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND HOPE TO CATCH YOU OUT ON THE ROAD. WE WISH YOU
GREAT SUCCESS.
Craig: We all worked at a music store (Mars Music, now defunct) and we all got together and formed the band.
M4M: THE TITLE TO YOUR DEBUT ALBUM IS QUITE INTERESTING. HOW WAS IT YOU CAME UP WITH THE TITLE
"THE MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES OF LAST WEEK AND NEXT YEAR"?
Craig: I started to realize about three months into the recording process that the songs were really divided between past
and future events and thoughts....they also were either good or bad. In other words, a good thing in your past could
come back as a bad thing in your future and vice versa.
M4M: WHAT WAS THE FOCUS FOR THIS ALBUM? DO YOU FEEL YOU ACHIEVED THAT?
Craig: The album didn't really have a specific focus in the sense of a concept album, but we did set out to not have any
throw away tunes....songs that we were kinda so-so about.
M4M: LISTENING TO THE ALBUM IT SOUNDS LIKE THERE MIGHT BE PERSONAL EXPERIENCES THAT INFLUENCE
THE MUSIC. WOULD YOU AGREE TO THAT? ARE THERE ANY SONGS ON THIS ALBUM THAT MAY BRING
PERSONAL FEELINGS OF THE GROUP?
Craig: Every song on the album was written from a personal experience...some more detailed than others, but nothing
was an abstract idea or something third person.
M4M: "ONE BY ONE" IS YOUR FIRST SINGLE. WHAT DOES IT FEEL LIKE AS A GROUP WHEN YOU FIRST HEAR
YOUR SONG ON THE AIRWAVES? DID YOU ALL SIT AROUND AND WATCH THE ER EPISODE THE SONG WAS
FEATURED ON? IT HAS TO BE A GREAT FEELING.
Craig: It's very exciting and at the same time nerve racking....we all sat around the TV at my house and waiting for that
moment on ER and it felt like an eternity.
M4M: "AWAKE OR ALIVE" IS A KILLER TRACK! COULD THIS BE THE NEXT SINGLE WE HEAR? ARE THERE ANY
PLANS ON THE NEXT SINGLE?
Craig: Thank you very much! We're not sure what the next single will be....it's strange because it never turns out to be
the song you expect...people gravitate towards different songs for different reasons and sometimes it's a surprise.
M4M: THIS ALBUM IS LYRICALLY POWERFUL BUT AT THE SAME TIME THE INSTRUMENTALS ARE VERY WELL PUT
TOGETHER TO COMPLIMENT THOSE LYRICS. HOW DOES THE GROUP COME UP WITH THE RIFFS OR CHORDS?
IS THERE A SCIENCE TO IT OR DOES IT JUST HAPPEN?
Craig: Again, thank you so much for the kind words. For this album, I had written the songs over the course of a year
before we started recording. About a month before, I played the tunes for everyone and added the 'salt and pepper'
before we started working.
M4M: NOW YOU HAVE OPENED IN THE PAST FOR MATCHBOX TWENTY AND CURRENTLY HITTING YOUR LOCAL
SCENE. ARE THERE ANY PLANS ON A NATIONAL TOUR?
Craig: Yes...as soon as gas goes down :)
M4M: WHAT WOULD YOU SAY IS THE HARDEST ASPECT OF THE MUSIC BUSINESS? HOW DO YOU OVERCOME
THOSE OBSTACLES?
Craig: The hardest aspect is that it's a moving target. The music business is constantly changing and evolving, you can't
really overcome those obstacles, just have to constantly modify your plan and do everything you can.
M4M: NOW BEING UNSIGNED HAS THERE BEEN ANY INTEREST FROM LABELS? DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF WHEN
YOU MAY BE SIGNED?
Craig: There has been introductory talk with a few labels but nothing concrete as of now.
M4M: IS BEING UNSIGNED REALLY ALL THAT BAD NOW A DAY'S? WITH WEBSITES LIKE MYSPACE AND FACEBOOK
IT ALMOST SEEMS YOU CAN PROMOTE YOURSELF QUITE WELL. WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF BEING
SIGNED TO A MAJOR LABEL OVER INDEPENDENT RELEASES?
Craig: Being unsigned has pros and cons....cons...you don't really make any money but if you're in it for money, you're
in the wrong business....go to law school instead :) Pros are that we can do whatever we want, whenever we want and
not owe anything to a label.
M4M: IS THERE ANYTHING WE MAY HAVE MISSED THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO GET ACROSS TO CURRENT FANS
AND FUTURE ONES?
Craig: Just that we enjoy playing live more than anything and we hope to see you at a show soon. Thank you so much
for the opportunity to talk with you!
M4M: WELL GUYS THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND HOPE TO CATCH YOU OUT ON THE ROAD. WE WISH YOU
GREAT SUCCESS.
| QUICK STEP JOHN LINKS |
Quick Step John came onto the Philadelphia scene in 2001 and since
then they have shared the stage with artists such as Matchbox 20,
Gavin DeGraw, Pat Monahan, Head Automatica and The Pat McGee
Band. A few years ago they released a 6 song EP ("The Life In Our
Years") and this October they released their full length debut album
("The Multiple Personalities of Last Week and Next Year").
Their songs are melodic with catchy songwriting, honest and
accessible lyrics and an energetic and unforgettable live experience.
They take classic themes like life, loss and love and twist them just
enough to make them unique and creative. The opening line, "All at
once, the shadows come, they're replacing what used to be" from their
new single "One by One" shows that lyricist, Craig Whitaker of Quick
Step John spends more time looking forward than in the past.
"Anything could hide in a shadow...something terrible, or something
terrific," says Whitaker, "either way, the future is so much more exciting
than last week or last year."
then they have shared the stage with artists such as Matchbox 20,
Gavin DeGraw, Pat Monahan, Head Automatica and The Pat McGee
Band. A few years ago they released a 6 song EP ("The Life In Our
Years") and this October they released their full length debut album
("The Multiple Personalities of Last Week and Next Year").
Their songs are melodic with catchy songwriting, honest and
accessible lyrics and an energetic and unforgettable live experience.
They take classic themes like life, loss and love and twist them just
enough to make them unique and creative. The opening line, "All at
once, the shadows come, they're replacing what used to be" from their
new single "One by One" shows that lyricist, Craig Whitaker of Quick
Step John spends more time looking forward than in the past.
"Anything could hide in a shadow...something terrible, or something
terrific," says Whitaker, "either way, the future is so much more exciting
than last week or last year."
The album shows the bands musical range with powerful songs, from the piano driven ballad "Sing" to the rock sound of "By Surprise" to
the eerie dark sound of "9.9". Their songwriting style has been compared to the Counting Crows and Ben Folds, combined with the
biographical lyrics of Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World, mixed with the guitars and pianos from U2 and Coldplay.
Since the release of their album the band has appeared on WSTW in Delaware, Radio 104.5 (WRFF) in Philadelphia, NBC Philadelphia 10!
Show and Jamnow.com. Their single "One By One" also was featured on NBC's ER (Thursday 11/08).
the eerie dark sound of "9.9". Their songwriting style has been compared to the Counting Crows and Ben Folds, combined with the
biographical lyrics of Dashboard Confessional and Jimmy Eat World, mixed with the guitars and pianos from U2 and Coldplay.
Since the release of their album the band has appeared on WSTW in Delaware, Radio 104.5 (WRFF) in Philadelphia, NBC Philadelphia 10!
Show and Jamnow.com. Their single "One By One" also was featured on NBC's ER (Thursday 11/08).