You’ve seen their flyers up all around school, but have you seen them around the halls? The Northerner has rounded up three local bands whose reputations range from being mentioned in Rolling Stone to Cincinnati Cammy nominees. Each was asked questions about Northern’s music scene and what it is like to be a group at Northern Kentucky University.
Northerner: What is the name of your band what type of music do you play?
Shae Hornback: My band’s name is Eightfeet, and it has always been called power pop, or alt rock, garage pop, stuff like that.
Rich Shivener: I was in Hello Shelby; we decided to disband in June due to personal creative differences. We were considered “emocore” but we were all branching out from that style. Currently I am working on a solo project, and a band with the drummer from Hello Shelby. It’s very different from Hello Shelby, not hardcore at all. It’s a whole different style. Look out for them.
Justin Hackett: We are called Messerly and Ewing, and we play roots rock. I am also working on a punk project that’s kind of like punk, emo, and metal.
N: What’s it like going to NKU and being in a band at the same time?
SH: It’s cool sometimes; sometimes its not. It’s really cool to meet people in classes, get them to come out to your shows, and then get their money. It’s not cool if you invite out certain people you don’t know, and that particular show they come out to ends up being a bad show where you’ve screwed up a lot.
RS: Well sometimes it can be hard to juggle because my band practices really late at night. But its really not too difficult.
JH: When you’re gone for a weekend at a time it can make it kind of hard. If you have a test on Monday or Tuesday and you’re gone all weekend on a tour, the last thing you want to do is study. When you have five guys crammed in a car, the last thing you are going to do is crack open a book and start studying.
N: What are the struggles of being a student? Do they get in the way?
SH: Being in music, most of the times, yes. If that’s what you want to do with your life though, you try to perfect that, and it’s what you end up doing most of your time. You can handle it if you have good time management. When I was younger and just started, I realized this is what I wanted to do for the rest of my life, I put it [school] second to practicing shows and acting like a rock star.
RS: Struggles of being a student? Well, you have to worry about your shows; if you are a touring band, it’s a lot harder. One time, we got home at 5:00 am, and I had class at 10:00 am. So the real struggle is time management. Do you want to go out, or stay in and study for an hour before you play a show? Do you want to study and skip your band practice? It’s tough to make that decision, especially if it’s a hobby of yours and something you dream of doing all your life.
JH: It takes away from study time; I used to be in a band that practiced from 10:00 pm to 2:00 am two or three times a week. I had nine o’clock classes, and I’d show up to school with just a few hours of sleep.
N: Are there any benefits to going to NKU and being in a band?
SH: It’s easy to get a good crowd out, and our music is what college students seem to listen to-at least sometimes. It makes it easy to get new people out from NKU, because even if you can’t get the people from your classes, you can still hang up stuff around campus and people see the flyers. They see it’s something to do, something to get off campus.
RS: There is access to pianos a minute from my room, which helps with song writing and making cool sounds. I haven’t played any other colleges, but everyone on campus is supportive of coming to shows. It’s kind of like an activity, and it’s good music. I like how this year, the Greeks or any kind of APB or RHA people are really cool about supporting local music and getting it out.
JH: The biggest benefit I’ve had from NKU is that its size allows you to be a one on one basis with the teachers. So, if I play really late on a Sunday night, I make arrangements beforehand. I can just tell them I have a show this weekend, and I have to play in Detroit. Because you’re on a one to one basis, you can tell them ahead of time. If someone goes to a bigger school, the teachers just don’t really care.
