Let’s Get It (August 11, 2009)
Published by Rhea on September 20, 2009
Being the newest signings to Fearless Records, reality has yet to hit the guys of Let’s Get It. With touring and meeting some of their favorite bands to playing sold out shows, Let’s Get It has lots to learn, but now have their foot in the door. If you’re looking for a band that is pop-rock with a slight electro influence, Let’s Get It is for you. Either way, check them out! (This interview was done with singer Joe Gilford and Kevin Hammond on August 11, 2009 at House of Bricks in Des Moines, IA).
SDS: If you could first state who you are.
Joe: I’m Joe, I sing in a band Lets Get I.
SDS: What made you guys decide to name your band Lets Get It?
Joe: The phrase lets get it is just kind of like our motto. It’s not very original, but it’s still uniquely inspiration. I mean we listen to a lot of hip-hop and a lot of other types of music and it’s kind of a common things in a lot of hip-hop albums and we’re also big fans of Young Jeezy and he named a couple albums that and it’s a common phrase in that kind of structure which influences us.
SDS: How did the band first come to be?
Joe: Lets Get It came to be a clash in of two local Dayton, Ohio bands. We were always good friends me, the drummer Kevin, the guitarist/keyboardist Chris, we were in a band together. Tyler was the front man for another band, we’ve always played shows together and had really get relationships. Everyone in the scene in Dayton is pretty tight and when our bands fizzled out and people went to college, we kind of gravitated to each other. We came together kind of organically. Taylor shot both of our bands before and he was a common friend of the band. He wanted to get into playing music outside of his photography, so it’s really awesome. He’s pretty cool.
SDS: Who or what is your main inspiration?
Joe: Our main inspiration? Gosh, uh. I don’t know, that’s a really hard question to answer. We just really really love music and all types of music. We just have a ton of different influences and our reason for doing it is, what most bands would say, that we just love it so much. We love being expressive and getting to be creative and getting out and feel the same way we do.
SDS: As far as I know, you guys are the newest signings to Fearless…
Joe: Fearless Records *nods*
SDS: How does it feel to be a part of that family?
Joe: It’s amazing, I’d be lying if I said it was anything short of a dream come true, like literally when I was in the 7th grade I was on the Fearless Records street team, promoting bands like Sugar Cult and the first Punk Goes Acoustic and stuff and we look up to bands like At The Drive-In and Plain White Ts and to be even be considered, in like the same sense with any of those bands, it just blows my mind. Everyone there is very very friendly and the welcome us well. I guess it’s a dream come true. Their reputation is good. They are a really great company, they know what they are doing and they love music the same as we do.
SDS: On top of that idea, I do street team and stuff.
Joe: Awesome, thank you.
SDS: A week ago, August 4, you guys released your EP Digital Spaces…
Joe: Yeah
SDS: What has the reaction been like from fans?
Joe: They’ve been digging it. Again you know, we’re the newest signings to that label and honestly as far as I know, we’re the newest band. We’ve been a band just over a year now and so we’re just getting our feet wet. Not a lot of people knew who we were prior to so when they see us live, it’s usually the first taste they get. Everyone hits us back on myspace and we read all their views and stuff, it seems to be positive. There’s a lot of different types of genres going around right now and we’re getting a lot of flack as far as electro genres and stuff of that nature. Sometimes we get associated and clumped in with those sorts of acts and so from some markets, the cards are kind of stacked against us, but we’re really diverse and don’t like to categorize our selves as anything more than just a pop-rock band. We come at it from that angle and I think people are more pleasantly surprised. We’ve been getting that a lot from fans, and just the newer fans as well. It’s really cool, I’m proud of it, and I’m glad people can just gravitate to it.
SDS: How did you guys come up with the name Digital Spaces?
Joe: Digital Spaces… Um, it’s kind of like… It’s literally just the world we live in now a days. It’s the way our band came together and any sort of successes that we’ve had as far as what’s very much accredited to the “digital age”. You know, there’s a ton of myspace bands out there and I’d be lying if I said myspace didn’t play a huge role in what we do. Before we even toured, we had gotten so many thousands of plays on myspace and by some peoples standards shows some type of progression and success and reach out to people digitally and online this was us kind of playing up on that, the whole Digital Spaces thing is how we’re connected, it’s the way we live our lives, and it’s just forward thinking, it’s just modern and we like to think of our music that way as well.
SDS: What was it like recording under Fearless Records? Like recording your EP.
Joe: Yeah, it was awesome. We demoed out the songs and we were stoked on that and got real excited. The label stepped in and we said “hey we want to do something for real with this. Let’s go back, let’s fine tune everything, let’s play with the stuff on there and see what we can do”. They were really really supportive the whole time and again, they love music and they happen to share our vision with where we want to be in the future and with where we are and they can see that progression and they know how it’s done, so they kind of kept us on track. Some of the guys flew out from California, we recorded in Indiana with Joey Sturgis at Foundation Recording Studios, amazing producer, and it was the first time he got to work with that label. You know, he’s worked with bands like The Devil Wears Prada and Attack Attack! on Rise Records and even he said that the relationship with Fearless is a really good one because they’re really hands-on, they want you to succeed, and they know how to get it done, so it was really cool.
SDS: Speaking of tour, what is one of the craziest things that has happened to you guys so far?
Joe: Craziest thing that has happened to us so far. There is a few. We hung out with a freaking pop music legend, one of the members of N’SYNC. Some how we stayed the night at his house, he was really awesome. No, I don’t know. He’s a super cool guy. Aw, I don’t know. *Yells to rest of the band sound checking* What is some of the crazy things that have happened besides that?
Voice: Besides the…
Joe: Besides the… We hung out, we went to an after party in Chicago with one of my favorite bands Passion Pit, I met the lead singer, The Plain White Ts, some of the guys were there, and the lead singer from The Killers was there…
SDS: Was that last night?
Joe: Yeah it was. No! It was two nights ago. It was after Lollapalooza, that was nuts. *To band* What else Chris, what else crazy happened?
Chris:
Bourbon Street
Joe: Bourbon Street we hung out in New Orleans. I don’t know, this tour’s just nuts. Nuts, nuts, every single night. I feel like I have a ton of stories, I don’t know how appropriate they are, but they’re fun.
SDS: So, have you guys gotten the chance to meet any of the other bands on Fearless?
Joe: Yeah, again, we’re one tour with Artist vs Poet, those guys are awesome, um… Who else specifically? In a round about way, the Plain White Ts. Oh we went and hung out at Warped Tour and got a chance to meet the guys in The Maine, we’re all really big fans of that band and it was awesome, love their music, I’ve always been a fan and they were really really cool people as well. I don’t know, we’re slowly… I don’t know, we’re really new obviously still. The more we get to hang out and tour different shows, the more bands we get to meet but The Maine I think is kind of the coolest one. I’m a fan boy I guess, very cool guys.
SDS: Out of all the songs that you songs have written, what is your favorite?
Joe: Wait, sorry, really fast. Actually, Eye Alaska. I don’t know why that slipped my mind.
SDS: *starts laughing* I love them
SDS (P): That band is awesome.
Joe: That band is so, so good, they’re new record freaking amazing, they’re EP is amazing, that band is awesome.
SDS (P): Those guys are good.
Joe: I’m sorry.
SDS: It’s cool, I interviewed them in November too.
Joe: Really? I love that band.
SDS: I’m also going to see them the 21st.
Joe: Is that with The Cab?
SDS: No. They’re just heading back home and stopping in Omaha.
Joe: That’s cool. I’m sorry.
SDS: No, it’s fine, it’s fine.
Joe: I’m sorry.
SDS (P): It’s cool when you just have this thought and you have to let it out.
SDS: Okay, out of all the songs that you guys have written, what is your favorite?
Joe: My favorite… *At Kevin who just stuck his arm around him* You can chime in also too. My favorite song is one called Shoot For Teams. We always have different formulas for our songs, and you know collectively as a group, and lyrics as well. Sometimes it will just be a story and other times it will be really really personal sometimes, I don’t know. I like to play with things sometimes and that song is one that my personal lyrical style from the same point in time is something really personal and I kind of transformed it to be a bit more universal, which is always cool
and I love the groove of it, I love the way it combines genres, the way that it is. I don’t know. When we write songs, it’s really really organic and I feel like that song more than the others for me personally shows that. *Turns to Kevin* What is your favorite song?
Kevin: My favorite song…
Joe: Kevin, drummer
Kevin: Hi guys, I just kind of barged in on this interview. My personal favorite is probably Do Not Disturb. I don’t know why. For me, that song seemed to come together the most effortless in a way. I think it translates really well. It’s the song that we play last and it’s super powerful, that’s my personal favorite.
SDS: Who in the band would you say is most picked on?
Joe: Gets the most picked on?
Kevin: Oh, that’s easy.
Joe: Chris Lairmore. He plays the keys…
Kevin: Christopher Lairmore
Joe: He plays the keys, he plays guitar…
*Everyone laughs*
Joe: He is our Benjamin Button, he gets younger everyday. He’s right there. *points to a guy in a green shirt with short black hair*
*Chris waves to the camera*
*Everyone laughs*
SDS (P): He doesn’t even know what we are talking about
Joe: He’s just a great guy and he’s fun to have fun with. We’ll say that
SDS: That’s my favorite question.
Kevin: I’m trying to think of a good Chris-ism.
*Camera turns to watch Chris mess with guitar*
Kevin: I can’t think of one right off the bat.
Joe: We’ll go to malls. We’ll go to really big malls and everybody is really really stoked on going to the H&Ms the Louis Vuitton stores and if you can’t find Chris, he’s in the Lego Store.
*Everyone laughs*
Joe: You go to the Cheesecake Factory, you go to get a nice piece of cheesecake, I don’t know you go to a nice Italian restaurant and everyone’s getting the calamari or the this and that and Chris gets grilled cheese.
Kevin: And macaroni and cheese
Joe: And pepperoni pizza and that’s Chris and he’s awesome. I love him
SDS: And there he is *turns camera to face him messing with guitar cases*
SDS: What is one band other than yourselves that you think people should know about?
Joe: God. I want to say, I have to say more than one for sure. Callahan, this amazing band from Spring Field, Ohio, there just really really really really really great. Pierce the Veil, I mean they’re big name, but yeah.
Kevin: Miss May I, they’re from our hometown, they’re kind of metal gods in our area, they’re cool. Who else?
Joe: If you don’t listen to Passion Pit, you really really should.
Kevin: The Early November, they’re not really a band anymore, however they greatly influenced me and you should check them out. The Early November or Ace Enders and a million other people.
Joe: And uh, yeah. I’m trying to think. There’s a ton, we could probably go on for days, but those ones for sure. You’ve got to get them on your Ipod if you don’t have them yet, and Kid Cudi, he’s an Ohio guy, gotta represent. *Turns around, notices table is gone and makes a funny face*
SDS: They’re taking them away.
Joe: That’s kind of weird
SDS (P): So if they pick you up, you’ve got to run.
Joe: *pretends to be lifted and carried away*
SDS: My last question is, what is an interesting fact about you are the band that you think people should know about?
Joe: It could be about me or the band?
SDS: Yes.
Kevin: I’m thinking about you.
Joe: The band. All of us dropped out of college, Tyler has literally half a semester left, he’s an English major, he dropped out to do this. I grew up playing high school football, I don’t know.
Kevin: He was really good, I’ll speak for him because he’s kind of matched up. He was in our newspaper like every other week. He was football captain, he broke, how many school records?
Joe: I don’t know. Seven
Kevin: Seven school records
Joe: This is stupid we should stop.
Kevin: Hold on a second, we should talk about Joe. *walks over and rests his arm on him* Joe is a charismatic guy, super out going, he’s accomplished a lot in his life and I feel privileged that he’s a part of Let’s Get It and I’m glad he’s our lead singer because he’s done a lot.
Joe: Kevin plays a lot of World of Warcraft. I’m pretty sure he’s a level…
Kevin: Not anymore
Joe: He’s a level 80, which I’m pretty sure is the highest you can possibly be.
Kevin: That is true
Joe: He has really really really good gear. He is a math wizard, was an engineer major, he also dropped out of school to pursue his music career and he’s doing pretty well right now. Chris was a music, he knew everything about music theory, he’s really, he’s really smart.
*Camera moves to face him just standing there*
*Everyone laughs*
Kevin: He denies it.
Joe: He likes cheese, he likes plain pizza, he likes plain foods, he like diet coke. Taylor’s a really accomplished photographer, he’s really really good. He shoots for various magazines, I’m not going to name jobs. His photography’s terrible, don’t hire him, don’t go to taylorfoiles.com . I don’t know, and our band is really really really nerdy and we watch Star Wars
Kevin: We watched two episodes of Star Wars today.
Joe: We watched episodes 5 and 6 today. We watched Empire Strikes Back and The Return of the Jedi.
Kevin: I’d never seen them before
Joe: He’d never seen them before. We watch Star Wars and Lord of the Rings, those are our movies. And Back to the Future.
SDS: Those are all very good movies.
Joe: I could keep going actually. We actually like Ghost Busters a lot.
Kevin: *laughs* I actually like both of those
Joe: Mortal Combat 1 and Annihilation. We also like…
Kevin: We’re recently getting into Lia Nidus jokes
Joe: We’re getting into Lia Nidus jokes.
SDS: I have never heard of her.
Kevin: They’re not funny
Joe: They’re not funny at all. We’re not funny people… I’m going to stop there, but yeah. You should check us out because we’re Let’s Get It and we just had an album come out August 4th called Digital Spaces and it’s dope.
To view more pictures of Let’s Get It from their show, be sure to visit the gallery.
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