Exposed Vocals just interviewed Bosom Band! Why you have to expose yourself as who you are and what you love.
How did you hear about Exposed Vocals? What made you decide to sign up?
We heard about Exposed Vocals through other bands and the follow on twitter.
We decided to sign up because the private and personal messages were great, the website is easy and fun, and you exposed as though you were already a fan just not a company trying to get more pay to play artists. Thank you for that!!!
So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?
The boys in the band, Danny, Mike, and Eric all grew up in Philly. Monica grew up “down the shore” …Jersey Girl, but has lived in Fishtown, off and on, since 1992. Each member of Bosom Band has been playing and singing since they were very young. Monica’s father says, “She’s been singing since the womb!” Everyone’s been in every kind of band too: rock, metal, indie, folk, funk, classic rock cover. But at some point, each member came to the peak if you will, and decided to get back to basics…or “back to the egg” is what we like to say. We all love blues but dig all great music. We found each other, one by one and it was like magic. We write originals by the seat of our pants sometimes. Monica writes lyrics and humms a melody, Danny lays down a little walking bass, Mike picks it up on the drums, and then Eric magically fills and rips in with guitar leads. We have the Mojo!!! We all get along. We like to have “family” dinner together before a show or sometimes after practice. We ha
ve fun and we are like family!!None of us ever really decided we were going to be artists or a band…it just happened. And we are so grateful and happy that it did.
How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?
Monica came up with the name. “Bosom friends…is from the book “Anne of Green Gables” I loved that book as a kid and after I read it I began to write very heart felt poetry and lyrics at the age of around 12. Kindred spirits, souls perfectly matches…bosom friends. From the heart or I like to say now…from the breast of music….from the soul. Our music is from the heart, soul, and breast if you will. We connect as a band on a mystic and passionate level. If it wasn’t Bosom Band what else could it be. By the way… Kindred was already taken.” Monica Lynne Chase
What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?
We absolutely love online music and sharing. Not only for the band but to find other bands and music that otherwise we wouldn’t know existed. It’s awesome!!! We sell our music but also give tracks not mastered and studio blunders and fun stuff away for free. We also give away cds more than we sell them. We work for tips too…which now you can tip online on some sites. We do benefits and also sell music for donation too. If we were independently wealthy we could and would give it away all the time but we do need some money besides our “day jobs” But we play live for free…a lot!!! At the clubs, you might have to pay a little to get in but we almost never get any of that money. We play because we love it. We donate because others need the money more than we do. And we except money because fans want us to have it. You got to give to receive. It’s the way the universe works. We are all here in equal balance and we need to keep it that way.
Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?
You gotta get out there, on every avenue. You have to expose yourself as who you are and what you love. We have played neighborhood block parties, local festivals, every neighborhood bar and club that has a stage, and some that don’t. We go out and see other bands that need our support. We play benefits, small venues, big venues, and have jam sessions with other bands. We go to open mics and jump in when asked to play or sing at other people’s gigs. You have to give your music out for free too! Give to get. You have to get on social networks too…we are on all of them and we like and share our stuff as well as many many many others. Our advice: do what you love, talk about your passions, play live, do pod casts, share on the net, go to shows, show your support to others, and always remember you were a start up first. Humble yourself and build up from your positive energy.
Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?
Oh man, we make mistakes all the time. You wouldn’t know it and most people don’t because we gel so well together. Monica forgets words but just makes something up as she goes along until it clicks again….Danny plays too slow or fast at the start…but we just go with it. Mike will slow the beat or change the tempo ever so slightly….but its cool we just keep going…and Eric sometimes plays in the wrong key….but we just call it “the blue notes” and we get it back right away. We all make mistakes. We’re humans. But when you play live you have to be comfortable knowing you will always make mistakes and be prepared mentally and physically to adjust to whatever happens. Monica once sang the wrong song to a totally different one…and we just kept going. It was funny to us, we just had to skip it when we got to the right one in the set. If the band is comfortable with the fact that each member at some point is going to screw up it’s all good. No finger pointing, just keep the groov
e going and it will all be all right.
Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?
We haven’t toured yet. We all have young children and families and haven’t figured out how to do that yet. This spring we will be doing the spring and summer festivals all over the east coast so we are preparing at least to mini-tour. We like our own beds and to have dinner at home. We’ll keep you posted though, it won’t be long.
Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?
Our songs are about life and the lives we have lived or stories we’ve been told. The blues is something everyone can relate to because nobody’s life is perfect. Everyone has problems. Everyone. Mostly we just enjoy life, listen to music, jam, and then songs just happen. Monica has books and books filled with words, poems, lyrics. She sometimes just has a thought….sitting in her garden drinking coffee. She magically comes up with words and starts humming a tune. She then records the humming or acoustic guitar melody and her singing a basic lyrical poem…on her phone …and then sends it to Danny. He then figures out the key and writes a bass line. Then Mike and Eric listen to it and they all figure the structure out together. Danny and Eric also come up with riffs and loops that they just come up with by sitting around the house jamming or practicing on the guitar or bass or piano. Sometimes when your an artist, weather it be a musician, singer, painter, writer, dancer, practice i
sn’t a chore anymore. You just do what you love every time you have a free moment. When you do that, you get inspired. And when you are inspired amazing things happen. In our case…music happens. Songs just fall in our laps like a gift from a muse.
Do you have a band website? Do you have a Facebook or Twitter? Do you use Bandcamp, Spotify, ExposedVocals or SoundCloud to share your music?
We use it all. Monica is addicted to twitter right now though. You can find us everywhere…you can google: Bosom Band or Monica Lynne Chase and like 100 sites will come up. Our official website is:
www.bosomband.com all the social network links can be found on our page but here they are
www.myspace.com/bosomband
www.reverbnation.com/bosomband
www.bosomband.bandcamp.com
we are on twitter @bosomband
every member of the band is on facebook and we have a facebook music page
and yes we are on exposedvocals.com, spotify.com, indieonthemove.com
Yes pretty much every network …so google us …please
watch our videos on youtube
Share us…join us…come see us…download our music…message us or email us
[email protected]
What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?
Oh boy…well we listen to everything. The nastiest…songs to make you blush and hide your face are from Lucille Bogan are on Eric’s , Monica loves 80s alternative….Danny loves 60s and 70s pop…Mike…maybe a bit of Disney radio? We aren’t embarrassed though. We love what we love. Music should make you laugh, cry, sad, happy…that’s what it’s supposed to do. Get you through the day and make you feel good.
If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it?
Buy a warehouse and convert it into a studio and living playroom with a bar, full kitchen and bath. We could do it ourselves. We could make it so the kids could come and hang out and drink soda and watch tv or play video games while we wrote an epic lp. Soundproof the whole place so we could do whatever at whatever time of day without the neighbors throwing a fit. Gotta have a full kitchen because we love to eat. A year off would give us enough time to convert and write. That would be amazing!!! Where do we sign up for that!
Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
We need things…don’t we all. No real plan to upgrade but yes we could always use something else or something new. We are grateful for what we have though. Right now we are recording our next album called “Rolling Organic” We just finished our Christmas EP “Hoosegow Holiday” and now we are in the recording studio 3-4 days a week laying tracks for a 15+ song long one. Monica’s got all the words now its getting everybody in to lay individual recordings down. Also on this one we’re getting some friends to contribute on harmonica and piano. It’s very exciting!!!!
How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?
Facebook, Myspace, and Twitter are crucial for promoting. But we also have flyers and posters up everywhere. www.jethrocreative.comdoes all of our creative services. He takes all our video, pictures, designed and maintains our website, and creates all of our merch and flyers and posters.
Monica runs around the city a few weeks before the shows with a stapler gun and the boys in the band always have flyers or business cards in their pocket. We promote ourselves on a daily basis too. Monica keep the social networks updated daily and is always on twitter and facebook. We talk to people, we send emails, we ask owners if we can play…It’s a full time job sometimes but it is totally worth it.
If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?
New York City subway station with The Beatles. A front porch in New Orleans with Big Mamma Thorton. A crossroads with Robert Johnson. A train ride with Janis Joplin. Someone’s house with The Grateful Dead. Anywhere with: Elvis, Madonna, Micheal Jackson, Etta James, Billy Holiday, geeze there are so many. Why? Because they are all legends. They all had that magic. The Mojo. The passion.
So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?
What’s next is what’s always going on. We are always playing somewhere live and in between we are at band practice every Sunday afternoon and then in the studio recording during the week after work. Our next round of shows include 12/7 @ The Legendary Dobbs
12/21 @ The Rusty Nail
1/3 @ Voltage Lounge
more information about or upcoming show is at our website www.bosomband.com
If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?
Music is what we do. It’s what we have always done. However we also do so may other things. Drywall, carpentry, tile work, painting, writing, restaurant work, bartending, coffee slinger. We do what we do and more. Gotta keep going. “Never give up. Never surrender.”
Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?
Monica: The Go-Go’s Talk Show “I was thinking….oh my god I can’t wait to get home and play this”
my mother was shopping at The Rio Mall and trying on clothes in The Deb Shop and I was so antzy because I wanted her to hurry up so I could get home and play this record!!!
Danny: The Beatles “Love Me Do “I was obsessed with The Beatles and still am. I played this one and many more on my 45”
Mike: The Yardbirds Over Under Sideways “I bought it for the song …Heart full of Soul but soon found that the rest of the album was so good. Clapton was the guitar player before anyone knew his name, and I was a guitar player then…before I became a drummer.”
Eric: ReoSpeedWagon “And I was pissed because my mom bought it for me and I really wanted Pink Floyd or Kiss. I did like it after I finally listened to it. But I’m still mad! HAhahaha”
The first one I bought though was Donnie and Marie or maybe The Chipmunks …wow
How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?
We love life, no matter what it brings us. We all have families, jobs, and friends outside of the band. We appreciate all that we have and we are master jugglers when it comes to handling all the aspects of our life if it means we get to make and play music. It’s what we life for. Passion is a really strong working force when you have it. We are all crazy passionate about this band and we make things happen. We move around schedules. We shift into other gears to be in the band and play on the regular. We love music and have so much fun as we forge ahead. Nothing in life can slow us down.
What should fans look forward too for the rest of 2015 and beyond?
The rest of 2015 we are playing all over Philadelphia…our Christmas album is ready for downloads and our ep “Autumn Comes” is also available. You can check us out on youtube…videos go up all the time and you can check out some great pictures from live shows on facebook. Find us on your favorite social network and please email us a personal message. We can’t push forward with out fans so please…find us, like us, share us, and write to us. [email protected]
