ITS - So explain who The ViDOS is and how you came up with the name of the band?
Vidos- "Well, we is a rock and roll band with an indie-surf-lemon twist. Nolan Nielsen plays drums and sings vocal harmonies; Kirk Musfelt plays guitar, vibraslap, and sings backup vocals; and Brett Hornall plays bass guitar and sings lead vocals. We'd maybe say we're "grunge", but the whole thing with grunge is that you're not allowed to call yourself grunge. Everyone else has to call you it and you're not supposed to be happy about it, either. But we never really decided on a genre or even what our music was going to sound like, and that feels like it's a more free way of writing; you know, when you aren't trying to fit a specific mold. It's honest and pure that way. We know we love writing happy, melodic tunes just as much as we love throwing in strange guitar noises and odd lyrics. The two seem to come together rather nicely, and we're very happy with the way it all sounds."
"As for the origin of the band name, Kirk's grandpa (and our makeshift manager) kind of bears a resemblance to Don Vito from "Viva La Bam". We owe the nickname to Austin Mallar (from Servo)...he's got this uncanny knack for finding doppelgangers. We entered a battle of the bands and needed a band name, so we decided to go with "The Vitos". Somehow, somewhere along the lines the "t" was turned into a "d", and we thought it looked cool so we stuck with it! It's a made up word, and made up words are obviously cool as hell."
ITS - So this year you guys were in the Top 4 of The Cellar Launch project, what did this mean for the band?
Vidos- "It meant quite a lot! We're flattered to be considered Top 4 in really anything, but a contest like that is especially awesome. It's crazy. A whirlwind of emotion, lots of tears, candlelit baths and rose petals everywhere. The CLP Finale on April 12 is going to be a fantastic concert; the other bands we share the bill with are very good company! It's the hottest ticket in town, kidz!"
ITS - You recently signed a 10 show contract with Rednyne productions, how can this help the band expand?
Vidos - "Yeah! It's pretty cool, it gives us a lot of stability and comfort. Like a nurturing mother, Rednyne will allow us the room we need to grow ourselves, give us a few pearls of wisdom along the way, and, of course, bathe us. Having them behind us is great, we're very excited."
ITS - How would you explain the Vancouver music scene right now? And what do you think could be done to make positive changes?
Vidos- "The Vancouver indie music scene right now is just brimming with potential. We have several bright-tailed and bushy-eyed bands coming out of the 'burbs to join the mob in Van City, and it's just awesome. It's become this wet, wild wave of great high school bands that's sort of invaded the bar/nightclub scene in the last year or so, and it's such a cool thing to be a part of. In summation: it's just a tremendously exciting time to be a young musician in Vancouver."
ITS - All ages venues or 19+ venues?
Vidos - "This kind of ties in with the second half of question 4...the "positive changes" thing. The only downside, really, to playing in an underage band in the Vancouver scene is that there aren't many places to play in front of our underage friends.... There is, however, some cool stuff that happens at Astorino's, this ex-banquet hall-turned empty hall-turned concert hall in East Van. We did The Cut Losses' 1st Annual "Get Lei'd" show there with them and Northern Rain, and it was a blast. For a lot of our friends that was the first time they'd ever seen us live, which is nuts. There's this idea going around about raising money towards the erection of a permanent all-ages music venue downtown, so if that were to come about, it would really complete the package."
"19+ venues are a lot of fun though too, because you have a room that's stuffed full of 150 shameless drunk people, half of whom are girls that love to dance. There's just so much energy there. They also allow you to expand your audience, because the majority of the people who are at the bar were going to be there that night whether you were playing or not. If these people dig your energy, you've got yourself a few new fans! Which is always swell."
"The appropriate response to your question is, ultimately, "both!"
ITS - Final question - a fun question I like to throw in, what are some pre gig rituals you guys have to pump you up for a gig?
Vidos- "Hahaha, that's a good question! Actually, we each kind of have our own thing. Most of it happens purely by coincidence every time, but some of it we do now just out of superstition. Kirk starts a twenty-minute shower about five minutes before we're supposed to be leaving for the show; Don Vito gets angry about something hilarious; Nolan pounds back a Starbucks Pike Roast; and Brett eats one half of a grilled cheese sandwich."
"Right before we go onstage we vomit, do our top secret Vidos handshake, and, most importantly, put our equipment on the stage so we can play it."
http://instagram.com/thevidosband
twitter.com/thevidosband
facebook.com/thevidos
youtube.com/thevidosband
soundcloud.com/the-vidos
Check out their newest single "Horseshoes" here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wGmBQcoFLM&list=UU0BjhG1VUZrwUa8BoyMRcZw
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