We were on TV and shit...
So June is looking to be a lot of fun...
We were just on Channel 8 News "Let's Talk Live" helping to promote our show on June 13th and Yelp Gets Lucky Party at the Torpedo Factory in Alexandria, VA!! The event is absolutely FREE with an RSVP!! Everything you need to know including our TV spot is below!!
More info on June 13th and RSVP here...http://bit.ly/yelpluck
Watch us on Channel 8's "Let's Talk Live" here...http://wj.la/1x8Zj8b
and lastly, Matt did an interview awhile ago with Robex Lundgren for his blog that just got put up...
What is the name of your band? Classified Frequency
What does the name "Classified Frequency" stand for? Came up with it using the idea of the frequencies our world scans to find extraterrestrial life.
What made you call the band "Classified Frequency"? The answer above was the idea and everyone I bounced it off of really liked the name so it stuck.
How was the band formed? I created .CF when I was in college. It was always the name to my solo stuff because I hated using my name and then I formed a band in College of friends which went nowhere and then I relaxed on it and recorded an EP by myself and then after years of playing for other people and meeting a ton of other musicians in the area, I got the bug again and put a new band together which is what we're doing right now!!
What made you form the band? I've always been a side man so I guess I wanted to go out on my own and play my music.
Can you briefly introduce your band and who you are?
Matthew Berry (Vocals and Guitars)
Rob Richmond (Bass and Vocals)
Andy Hamburger (Drums)
Where are all bandmembers from?/Who does what in the band?
I'm from Germantown, MD
Rob is from Charlottesville, VA
Andy is from Takoma Park, MD
What was the ambitions of the band when you started? To make this band my day job.
Could you explain your music to someone that haven't heard you? We are considered power pop which is typically very melodic, hooky songs, big choruses with a harder edge…think Cheap Trick and The Cars.
Where was your first gig? Our first gig with this lineup was at Luckie's Liqours in Baltimore, MD
Where was the latest gig? Our last gig was at Jammin' Java in Vienna, VA
Who writes your songs?/Who writes the music who writes lyrics? I (Matthew Berry) writes all the music and lyrics. Sometimes I get a little help but mainly it's all me.
Who has the best since of humor in the band? That's a good question…I'd have to say Rob.
What's good/bad with the band?/What genre do you feel you are? uh…I'd say we put on a great show and have a lot of fun…I think the only bad thing is we don't make any money…lol! We are of the power pop genre.
Why did you pick that particular style?/What are your songs about? I grew up listening to everything and I fixated a lot on Cheap Trick, Oasis, Michael Jackson, Bon Jovi, Marvelous 3, anything with hooky choruses and power so that became what I wrote!
Do you write your own material or mainly covers? We write our own material but we do some covers.
Have you made any albums?/If yes what are they? First release is "Heart Attack EP" from 2009 and in April we released a song called "Have A Nice Day" and in late November we'll be releasing another song called "Over You" and in 2014 we'll be releasing another EP.
Do you have any clips on YouTube? Yes. youtube.com/clsfiedfrequency
How old are you?/What got you started in music? I am 29…I grew up idolizing Michael Jackson and then I picked up a guitar because of Kurt Cobain.
At what age did you start playing? 10 or 11 maybe…can't remember.
How old were you guys when you first stood on stage? Not sure about the rest of the guys but I was 13 I think.
What year was the band started? Technically the name was made in 2004 and the first songs that actually stuck were written in 2004 as well. Didn't start the initial band until 2005 or so.
How old were you the first time you saw a liveband play? Can't remember actually…my first concert was Green Day on their Insomniac tour though…I remember that.
How old were you at your first gig? I think around 13.
Best/worst gig you've played?
Best gig we've played was probably at IOTA in September…Great crowd, one of my best friends was running sound and my producer and engineer showed up which absolutely made my night!!
Worst gig…lol…so many…I think the worst was probably at Fish Head Cantina in Baltimore last month…neat place but the other bands were absolutely horrible and no one was there and we ended up only allowed to play like 6 songs!
What places will you be playing in in the imidate future? Looks like we'll be at Fish Head again (hoping it's better this time) and we'll be in at The Camel in Richmond, VA with our good friends in Red States. Both in December!
Where have you played from then till now? We've played a lot…I have a list somewhere but we've played from NYC down to South Carolina and everywhere in between so a good chunk of the east coast.
What songs are in your live set's? We typically play the Heart Attack EP and Have A Nice Day…a bunch of new songs that no one has heard and we do a couple covers…some nobody knows and some that are very familiar.
Is it always the same set's live? Right now, yes…mainly because I like having a rehearsed show and everywhere we play is typically all new people that have never heard us before!!
What has been the best/most promising gig so far? That IOTA show in september was really promising…we got a lot of press and notoriety from it.
Have you had any bigger tours from start till now? No…I would love to though!!
How big crowds do you usually play for? Usually around the 20 to 30 range…not much!!
What are the plans for the rest of the year? Gigging some more…trying to get up to Philly and NYC again, and Finishing our next EP!!
Where do you usually play? Northern Virginia mainly!
How do you get psyched up for a gig? Usually I just listen to some Marvelous 3, Tickertape Parade or The Stereo…get's me ready to rock!!
What are your goals with your music? I would like to be doing this 24/7 and making a living doing it. Records, Tours, Recognition…all that stuff.
When did you decide to go all in for the music? I played as a side man for almost 8 years I guess and just grew sick of playing covers and other people's songs for their dreams. I had to stop and go out on my own!!
Is it easier to get your inspiration from older bands or from bands more modern? I get inspiration from everything but I typically go back. Couple new things going on that are cool but I still hold on to the records and music that influenced me as a student.
What are your sources of inspiration? Anywhere from Nirvana, The Stereo, Superdrag, Cheap Trick, The Cure, Fall Out Boy, Slipknot to John Coltrane, James Carter, Clifford Brown, Michel Camillo, Beethoven, Wagner, Mahler, Bach…It's all good!!
What's the first step when making a new song? For me I typically immediately come up with a chorus and write everything around that but sometimes I experiment.
How do you feel about the downloading of music instead of buying albums? It's weird…I think it's convenient but I have so many fond memories of going to record store and buying the record and going home to listen to it on my stereo while reading the booklet!
What would be your dreams for the band? Hit Record and a successful world tour would be awesome!!
Besides your own music, what genres and bands do you listen to? I answered that above but anything from Rock, pop to Metal, Jazz and Classical
What do you hold most dear? My dog
What would be your greatest fears for the future? Failure
When you are on stage, what do you fear most then? No one is paying attention.
What songs and what years were they released?
Heart Attack EP (2009)
Have A Nice Day (2013)
What do you work with outside of the band and the music? I teach guitar and bass privately but no real day job or anything like that.
How important are your fans? fans are the only thing that keeps us going…most important
What's the funniest/most memorable thing a fan has done for you? I think for me and Rob it was meeting a guy at a show who told us he listened to our music and came out to see us without knowing anything about us…it took both of us by surprise because no one had ever done that for us before!! Usually they're a friend of someone or knows someone in the other band...
Where do you rehearse? If we do rehearse, we do it at Andy's house or Rob's Studio
Name 2 of your own songs you like at the moment? Um…the newest ones I guess (Have A Nice Day and Over You)
What do you feel is the best liveband you've seen? I was blown away when I saw Oasis on their Be Here Now tour and Butch Walker is always an amazing show!
What drives a band that isn't all that famous and renowned to try to make a living on their music and to keep playing? Being your own boss and doing what you believe in I think.
Do you have any webpages? classifiedfrequency.com and we're all over social media.
Any pearls of wisdom for all other bands out there? Find your own voice and don't be dicks to other bands.
Describe your show, visually and musically Fast paced, driving, energetic.
How do you view the musicindurty of today? Not sure…we'll see!! we're definitely in a weird transition period where the old model has collapsed and the new model is blurred by American Idol bull shit and people taking the music they love so much for granted in my opinion!
What advice would you like to give other bands? I think I already answered that.
What are the biggest obstacles for a band? Getting people to notice you.
What is best/worst with playing the clubs? Free food and beer is great…some sound guys can be idiots.
Tell us about upcomming gigs and why we should be at them? We'll be at The Camel in Richmond on Dec. 11th and it's a great venue and we're going to put on our high energy, fun rock show with some friends and it's going to be a good time!
What is your favorite crappy instrument? Old stand up pianos
What was one of the most quarrelsome times for you in the band? Probably firing people…you never want to do it and they never take it well!!
Whats your Pre-show ritual? Jameson
Did you get all that?? Thanx so much to Robex, Yelp and Channel 8 News "Let's Talk Live!!"
See you guys soon!