Virus Who's all in the band? What do they do? And why are they in the band?
John Beasley Elliot Road is made up of 3 people. Me (John Beasley), Ryan VanFleet, and my brother Jim Beasley. I play the guitar, Ryan plays bass, and my brother plays drums. We all sing. On our recording's however, we all play different instruments to make the final product come together.
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Virus What does the name "Elliot Road" mean, and what significance does it have to the band? John Beasley When my Dad was growing up, he played in various bands. His first band was called "Elliot Rhode." Elliot Road is one of the main streets in Gilbert, Arizona where he and later our family grew up. We now reside in Wichita, Kansas. When my brother and I started learning music from my Dad, we started playing in various bands when we lived in Hookstown, Pennsylvania. "Elliot Road" had always stuck with me though. When my family moved to Kansas, my brother and I started playing in a band with our friend Ryan and we decided to name the band "Elliot Road," with the spelling different, as a sort of tribute to my Dad. City, where she started to play guiar and write songs. Virus What has been different between recording your EP, and your full length? Did you feel any different going into the full length? |
John Beasley We have always worked towards getting a full CD done, but with time constraints and deadlines, we decided to put seven of our songs on a CD in September of 2004 and call it our first EP. What we are doing with the full length album is taking those seven and polishing them up and adding about 5 more songs. When we are done with the album in January, we will have a full 12 song release of our best material.
Virus How and when did the band form?
John Beasley Elliot Road formed in the summer of 2001. My friend Ryan and I had just graduated from high school and my brother was in college. I knew Ryan played guitar and we all started practicing together that summer. We didn't really intend to start a band, but it just happened that way. We all really enjoy writing songs together. Whenever possible, we try to play shows in our hometown of Wichita.
Virus What are your songs generally about, and how do you come up with the music to go with the lyrics? Do you write the lyrics first, write the music, a combination?
John Beasley I think our songs are generally about our lives. We don't set out to make a statement, but we write what we know and feel. When we write a song, we usually start with a cool guitar riff. The words come later. We usually find a nice melody and then write the lyrics to fit that mold.
Virus What is it about the members that make the whole thing come together?
John Beasley We are all great friends and we have been through a lot together. We are able to write together which is really important in a band. Everyone brings something to the table. And in the end, we have a lot of fun playing too, because we all love music.
Virus What's the best part about being in Elliot Road?
John Beasley I think the best part about being in Elliot Road, is the fact that we can all come together and write songs and have fun. It's like being in a club or something. It has also made us a lot closer to each other.
Virus What inspires you?
John Beasley I think what inspires us the most is our everyday lives. The people we meet and the experiences everyday brings. That is where we get the inspiration for our songs. We are also really influenced by movies too, so that sometimes puts us in the mood to write.
Virus What is Elliot Road all about?
John Beasley We are about making good music that anybody can listen too. We want to spread the gift of music to our fans and if we affect atleast one person by our songs, than we have done our job.
Virus What is the scene like where you are? Is it generally accepting?
John Beasley Wichita's scene is not really that big. We have a few different kinds of music out here, but I'd say there are more heavy bands than anything else. We generally like playing acoustic shows at coffee shops and other venues like that, because that is usually our crowd. We have been accepted well everywhere we have played. The people that come out to the shows are a lot of fun to play for.