Interview with Andrew Long of Once Upon A Time
Once Upon A Time is a six-piece pop-rock band from Phoenix, AZ. The band consists of Bryan Wong-bass (@bryan_ouat), Nate Ray-drums (@nateOUAT), Jamie DiCarlo-guitar (@jamieOUAT), Andrew Long-vocals (@andrewOUAT), Mark Miller-keys (@2markOUAT), and Keaton Leander-guitar (@keatonOUAT). They recently played two shows with Allstar Weekend on the All The Way Tour, and released their debut ep Open Your Eyes on February 14, 2012. Look for them opening for The Rocket Summer at the Martini Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ on June 9, 2012! And pick up their ep on itunes!
How did you choose your band name?
“It is just based on the idea of following your dreams and making your fairy tale a reality.”
How long have you guys known each other?
“Well it varies for each member. I have known Mark since 4th or 5th grade. I met Nate when he auditioned about 8 months ago. I met Keaton in high school, and Jamie through musical theater. Jamie knew Brian and Nate from school.”
What made you guys want to do music with each other?
“We all realized that playing music/performing is something that we all love to do. It puts us in a position to make a positive influence on others, and that is something that we all really wanted to be able to do.”
If you had to describe yourself, the band and your music in one word, what would it be?
“Passionate.”
Who are some of your biggest inspirations?
“So in general it’s pretty much everything, I would say God, family, friends, relationships, and pretty much just everyday life.”
What’s one band/musician (dead or alive) you wished you could play a show with? Write with?
“This isn’t going to be a very good answer, the other guys in the band would probably choose a band like The Beatles, but I would love to write with Derek Sanders from Mayday Parade or Brian Dales of The Summer Set.”
What is the hardest part about being in a band?
“Not a lot is hard, but the time commitment and the distance between me and the band make things a little difficult. I go to school in St. Louis and the rest of the band is in Arizona, so we do a lot of Skype band practices, and Skype writing sessions. There is also a lot of emailing files back and forth between members.”
How do you balance school and music?
“I don’t sleep. I’m so bad about it, usually I get like 4 or 5 hours of sleep a night during the week and then sleep all day on the weekends. We all spend a couple of hours a day to promote online, and reply to tweets and Facebook messages. So that takes a lot of time from sleeping. But my parents do say that being a student comes first.”
Do you think being unsigned is a disadvantage in the music industry?
“I think it goes both ways. It’s an advantage because you can do anything with your music. You can release it to whoever you want and wherever you want. You get full rights of your music. But conversely it is a disadvantage because with a label you get a financial backing. You get aided in promotion costs, and production costs. So I think that it’s a blessing and a curse.”
What is your favorite song(s) to perform live?
“I have two. The first one is “What Am I Looking For”, the band will probably disagree with me, but I think that it is really cool to play because it is one of our better known songs. And it is really cool to play to a crowd when they know the words, and are singing along. The second one is a cover song, “Your Love Is My Drug” by Ke$ha. I really like Ke$ha, and this song is a fun upbeat song that gets everyone dancing. It’s just a really fun song to play.”
Ideally, where do you see yourself in five years?
“Still together. If we are together in five years then we are doing something right! I would love to play out of state and on a couple of big tours. I think that in five years I would like to have hopefully played out of the country even. I want to release a full length album, and be best friends. We are pretty close right now, but I would love to be closer!”
Is there anything else that wasn’t mentioned that you would like to answer, or is there anything that you would like to say to your fans?
“First of all, thank you so much! I know we say it a log but we are SO grateful for all of the support you give us! We don’t know what we have done to deserve it, but we promise we will do our best to make everyone proud! And just continue the support, and know we are so thankful for each and every one of you!”
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Writes for – Music and PRHi, I’m Katy. I’m a cheerleader and music is my life! My favorite equation is the Quadratic Formula, but the Pythagorean Theorem is a close second. My biggest pet peeve is the improper use of you’re and your. And I truly believe that there is a way to find the good in every situation, no matter how bad it may look.For more posts by Katy, click here |