10 Questions with ... Nothing More

Band Members:

• Jonny Hawkins - lead vocals
• Mark Vollelunga - guitar
• Daniel Oliver - bass
• Ben Anderson - drums

1) Where does this interview find the band right now?

Jonny: On the bus halfway between Texas and New York City.

2) Let's start at the beginning. The band has been around since 2003. Give us the scoop on where and how the band formed?

Mark: I met Jonny at a church camp when I was in 9th grade. He was in the praise band with Dan at the time. He heard me jamming Metallica songs at some point during camp and asked if I wanted to be in his band. I told him no because I just enjoyed playing other people's music ... I called him six months later when I came to my senses and told him I totally wanted to be in a band if he still needed a guitar player. We set up a jam session and I was going to sing and play guitar for us.

About four years later I finally convinced Dan to join our band even though we had another bass player at the time. The other bass player actually told me if we converted Dan to join that he would kill me ... fortunately, I didn't die and got Dan to join even though he wasn't sure we had enough groove for him to be a happy member!

So fast-forward three more years and picture Jonny being wasted in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. He told me he wanted to sing because we were all so tired of having to part ways with other singers. I told him I knew that he wanted to and that I believed in him and would have his back. A few months later we fired our singer and decided to have Jonny focus on singing.

So after five singers, four drummers, twp bass players, and one other guitar player, we met Ben. This was two years ago actually, and we're stoked to have him behind us on the skins. He is an excellent, diligent musician. Since we all immediately gelled so well together personally and musically, we decided to have him be a part of the writing of this record. He has been a huge asset creatively and logistically because he has a background in sound engineering. We have done our past three albums ourselves so it was perfect to have another DIY dude handy.

3) Who came up with the name Nothing More and what is the significance of the name?

Mark: One of our first names was actually Under Siege. We later decided that being associated with a Steven Seagal movie might not be the best choice of a band name...

So after much deliberation we joked about being called 'Nothing' and I remember a specific moment when Jonny was sitting on my stairs and said, "What if our band name was Nothing More?" He then talked about how important it was to us as fans to see a band we loved and see those same band members off stage be 'real' and kind to their fans. We both acknowledged that nothing's worse than seeing a band you love and finding out the band members are full of themselves or jerks to their fans. So based on that logic we thought it would be awesome to name ourselves Nothing More to push that message and be a reminder of where we came from.

4) Nothing More has a very unique sound. What bands have inspired you and you'd list as major influences?

Mark: It's our mantra to try and be sponges in all aspects of life. There is so much good out there to absorb, so we've always been open to try and put our own twist on rock by adding different elements to it from other genres. We're all very passionate about what we're putting out into the world and we all have a lot to say so we all take part in the lyric writing. It can be very difficult having so many cooks in the same kitchen, but we know that at the end of the day, four brains are better than one. Over the years we've been moved by philosophers like Alan Watts (whose voice you can hear on our last two albums), Carl Jung, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Dawkins & Sam Harris to name a few. Metallica, Tool, Rage Against Machine, Yes, Led Zeppelin, Peter Gabriel, Incubus, System Of A Down, Mudvayne, Blindside, Emery, Thrice, Creed, Our Lady Peace, Alanis Morissette, & Karnivool are some of the bands that we've been been inspired by.

5) Now let's talk about your latest album "The Stories We Tell Ourselves" which was just released. What can you tell us about this latest album?

Jonny: We all have our own sense of the truth, even of reality itself. Two people can share the exact same experience and yet have an entirely different story of that experience that they carry with them. Much of the lyrics on the album present either one side of the truth or reveal that there is often more than one truth.

6) Congrats on the success of your single "Go To War" which is a Top 10 song at Rock Radio. What can you tell us about the meaning behind that song?

Daniel: The meaning behind "Go To War" is the age-old irony that we often hurt the ones we love the most. It's more than that, though. Love is the continuous battle of two souls; not fighting with each other, but for each other. But even going after something with the purest heart, you still end up in conflict. The point of view that we took with the song is that the war should be expected and can even be a good thing. It's when you stop fighting that love goes bad. Any ambitious endeavor causes friction between you and your surroundings, and relationships are the same way. But rather than constructing a building you are constructing a safe place for two souls to become one.

7) I've caught your live show several times and am struck by the incredible stage energy. How much do you guys like playing live?

Daniel: We absolutely love playing live. When we were kids we dreamed of playing the kind of shows that we are playing now; and it's even sweeter than we thought it would be.

8) While we're on the subject of your live shows, tell us the story behind the origination of the Bassinator?

Daniel: We've always been a band with a heart for entertaining. We're all creatives, right? So why just stand on stage and play your music? That's always been our philosophy. I joined the band way back in 2005 and at the time Mark and I had a job working the graveyard shift for UPS at the airport. We would be on the tarmac between 3a and 7a loading and unloading the jets. I remember one morning we were crouched over in the belly of one of this plane waiting for the boxes and we started brainstorming the idea of a multi-person bass solo. We knew that the bass was physically large enough to be played by two grown men so Mark could stand beside me and play the low notes and I would have the bass on playing the high notes. We were also roommates at the time so when we got off work we ditched class and started writing out the music for it. The next band practice we showed it to the guys and Jonny thought that it was great but missing something so he ran and grabbed some sticks and started hammering the strings while Mark and I fretted the instrument. And that's how it all began.

The first actual Bassinator was constructed shortly after that. I thought it would be cool if Mark and I played the bass like a piano, so I made a very crude cradle out of a speaker tripod stand and a piece of wood. From there I got the idea for it to spin in the air and lock upside-down. I was so driven to make this idea that I went out and bought a cheap welder and started experimenting on what is now still to this day the original Bassinator. I don't consider myself overly talented when it comes to metal work, but it's definitely a passion for me.

9) What's your take on Rock Radio here in the States? Do you have any favorite on-air radio moments you can share with us?

Jonny: Even though there's a lot more options for people to discover music now, there's still no better way to reach a wide audience across the country. There's something special about that shared experience that only radio brings to a community. That being said, I do wish that radio took more chances on a wider variety of new music.

10) Finally, are there any "guilty pleasure" songs we might be surprised to find on your playlist?

Jonny: The Katy Perry MTV Unplugged record. It's actually really good!