By: Dr Matt Warnock
New Jersey has long been fertile ground for growing rock bands such as Bruce Springsteen, Bon Jovi and the Misfits. With such a storied rock and roll history behind it, the Garden State can now add a new name to its list of pop-rock superstars, Status Green. The boys in Status Green have grown accustomed to national recognition ever since they opened for Bon Jovi just four short months after forming the band.
After garnering a ton of positive feedback locally, Status Green has moved on to rock regional and national stages, including the famed Stone Pony in Asbury Park, the Vans Warped Tour, Milwaukee’s Summerfest and Chicago’s Mobfest. The band has also been honored not once, but twice, by the NFL’s New York Giants when they choose both “Big Debut” and “New Start” to get the fans fired up during 2006 and 2008 home games.
Bringing a pop sensibility to the classic rock quartet, Status Green draws influence from bands like the Beatles, Elvis Costello and the Four Seasons as they meld rock grooves with catchy lyrics on songs like “Juggling Knives,” “Diana” and “Heaven I Think.” Possessing a unique versatility as songwriters, their songs can bring a crowd to the dance floor, or provide the perfect soundtrack for a cross country drive.
Guitarist and lead singer Lou Montesano sat down with Guitar International to let us in on the secrets of the bands early success.
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Matt Warnock: A lot of buzz has been circulating about the video you made for “Firebomb,” and the intro that you added before the song starts. Who came up with the idea to add the skit at the beginning of the video?
Lou Montesano: Long story short. On the road we’ve been on as a band, we’ve met a lot of industry people with blown up egos, you know the type. So I kind of put all of those people into one horrible character, under the label of capitalist records. Just kind of playing with the idea of “who do they think they are,” sort of thing.
Matt: Was that you playing the part of the sleazy executive?
Lou: Yeah. Normally I just sing and play guitar with the band, but it was fun to put a fake moustache on and try to become somebody else for few minutes. And people seem to like it.
Matt: What has been the reaction so far from people who’ve seen it online?
Lou: Most of them, especially people in bands, have loved it because they know exactly what we’re talking about with the character. Even people that aren’t in bands like the theatrics of it, they get a laugh out of it. It’s just an added touch to the music in the video.
Matt: It’s good to see you guys have a sense of humor with that side of the business. But, all humor aside, how does dealing with those people on that side of the music business affect you guys as a band?
Lou: I think of myself as a sensitive guy, so sometimes it bugs me. Especially when someone makes a promise and doesn’t follow up, like when they see a show and tell us we’re perfect for something they’re working on and they never follow up. Over the years I’ve gotten desensitized to that side of things, so I just focus on the music. It never really got under our skins to the point that it effected the music, but we’ve definitely come to realize that people are full of crap, so what are we gonna do? We’ll just keep writing good music and putting on great shows night after night.
Matt: Your first album was called Greatest Hits: Vol. 1, which again shows that tongue in cheek side of the band. How did you guys decide on the title of your debut album?
Lou: Ashbury Park, New Jersey, where we’re from has a great music scene, and we kind of dashed out of the gates a bit when we first started. So we just choose the album title as a bit of a joke, we thought people would get a laugh out of it. I know some people see that and think we’re smug, but that’s not what the title’s about. It’s just us making fun of ourselves.
Matt: Have you ever had agents or radio stations ask you to send them the CD’s that the greatest hits songs were drawn from? Has the title led to any funny misconceptions on the business side of things?
Lou: There have been a few misconceptions, which we didn’t think about when we came up with the title. So we’ve had to do some explaining here and there about the fact that it’s our first CD, but most people just laugh about it and it works out.
Matt: Last summer the band played the Warped Tour and opened up for some big-name acts like Nickelback. Do you have to approach those kinds of shows any differently in order to win over the crowds then when you’re headlining a show?
Lou: Whenever we get a big crowd, like when we open for a big-name band, I know the crowd isn’t necessarily there to see us, so it’s different than headlining. But I think that our sound is so versatile that people who are into rock, no matter what style or sub-genre of rock, can dig our sound and enjoy the show. Even if they aren’t there specifically to see us, or have even heard of us before. We’re nothing like Nickelback, but their fans can enjoy what we do, same thing for a band like Blink 182. We’d prefer to be headlining, but anytime we get a chance to play for a big audience we’ll take the opportunity to go out and put on a great show.
Matt: With all of the pop music that’s dominating the charts lately, especially the American Idol winners and similar acts, how do you go about making a name for yourself as a rock act? Is it difficult because the current trend is leaning towards pop singers, or is it easier because you’re not getting on board the pop star bandwagon
Lou: I think there’s a variety of things that make it hard to make it as a rock band these days. Even without competition from American Idol, there’s a myriad of other obstacles out there that a band needs to cross before they can make it. We knew that it would be tough when we started the band, but it does seem like it’s overly hard to get a band off the ground these days.
With the internet, and the abundance of social networking sites, it’s easier than ever for a good band to get their stuff on the market and heard by people all over the world. At the same time, it also allows a ton of bad bands to get there stuff out to the same people. So, solid bands and artists can sometimes get lost in the sea of information that’s flooding the marketplace these days.
We’ve had some great opportunities open up for us and we took advantage, which has really helped. I think if a band can follow up their talk with a great CD and live show, then they’ll hopefully get the attention they deserve from fans and critics.
Matt: When you’re writing new tunes, or putting a set list together for a show, do you think about doing something that’ll make you stand apart from other bands, or is it just about developing your own sound and so be it?
Lou: I just write the music I want to write. I’m the main songwriter for the band so I do most of the writing. I’m influenced by really good songs and songwriters. If I hear a great song I try and capture that feeling, try and write a song that makes me feel the way I did when I first heard my favorite tune, or artist. I’m not trying to rewrite something I’ve already heard, but there are certain qualities that great songs have, in any genre. I try and tap into those emotions and energies when I’m writing a new song for the band.
Matt: Do you finish writing songs before you bring them to the rest of the band, or do you bring in small ideas and then jam them out until they get to where you want them?
Lou: That’s the Status Green formula right there, jamming things out. I might have a verse, chorus or bridge worked out, or sometimes all three, but it’s not until we get together and beat on it until it starts to shape into a song that we’ll take on stage or record. I write the songs, but the band as a unit arranges them.
Matt: A couple of your songs were picked up by the New York Giants and used during their games. Was that a big deal for you or are you not a big Giants fan?
Lou: Growing up, my family were all huge Giants fans, though I was never really into football. When we got our music picked up by the Giants we started playing outside the stadium at tailgate parties, so it was cool to be able to be a part of something that my family was into.
As a band, it was just a huge honor to have our songs picked by the team, it was pretty amazing. During the half-time show we looked up and there was a highlight reel running to one of our songs. It was just great to be able to have that happen.
Matt: Aside from being picked up by the Giants, you’ve also sold out CBGB’s in New York and opened for Bon Jovi, to name a few of the bands accomplishments. Are you ever worried about running into the burnout that some bands have when they’ve had a lot of success early in their careers?
Lou: Naw, we just go full steam ahead. We’ve had some dry spells but then things pick up. We’ll have a few months of down time, but then it’ll get crazy busy for a while. When things get a bit slow we’ll focus on writing new material and doing promotion for the band, but otherwise it’s full steam ahead. I couldn’t see us doing it any other way.
Matt: Musically speaking how has the band grown since you formed four years ago. Have you noticed much change in your musicality as a result of doing so many gigs and receiving the attention that you’ve been getting?
Lou: We’ve always had great chemistry right from the beginning, and thank God, because it’s made things really easy for us to get along, as musicians and as people. We’ve really grown in our songwriting and arranging over that time. We’ll pretty much know how a small idea is going to grow even before we get in the rehearsal space and work it out. There are always surprises along the way, but we’re getting good at recognizing a solid idea and working on it, as well as knowing when to move on from an idea that’s not working out so we don’t take focus away from the good material.
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Links
http://www.myspace.com/statusgreen
http://www.statusgreenmusic.com/
Status Green Greatest Hits Volume 1 on Amazon
