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The Auctioneers, a Thirsty Discovery, released their self-titled debut EP, Introducing The Auctioneers, on March 30, 2010. The album was produced by Aaron Julison and recorded at Detroit’s Rustbelt Studios where the group’s songwriters, EB Sollis and Erik Broberg, fine-tuned their sound. With the release of the EP, The Auctioneers have taken a big step in bringing their combination of hard rock, soul, blues and country to life as they head out on tour. Thirsty caught up with the band in New York to find out how each member felt at the beginning of their journey.
Erik Broberg - Guitar
(credit: Matt Hanlon)
Erik Broberg (Guitar)
THIRSTY: Who are your most important musical influences?
Erik: Jimmy Page for making a Les Paul look so cool, and his amazing song writing and visionary skills; Neil Young because he is the best lyricist of all time and makes you feel like you’re part of his songs; Duane Allman - the slide; Derek Trucks, the best guitar player of all time, who is better than anyone; North Mississippi Allstars - they were the first notable group that I ever got to open for…just so talented and true. Luther and Cody showed me how to approach slide guitar and exposed me to much of the blues music I love today. Luther remains one of my favorite guitarists along with Derek Trucks.
THIRSTY: You are at the beginning of a long musical journey with the release of your debut EP. What are your goals at this stage of your careers?
Erik: At this stage in our career, we need to get the word out, and the best way to do that is to play shows and tour. So, in short, touring.
THIRSTY: How do you plan to spread awareness of The Auctioneers for the remainder of 2010?
Erik: Through a strategic combination of management, PR, and marketing through regional radio play, touring to support the markets, as well as doing radio and media interviews. Basically connecting with every fan on a personal level.
THIRSTY: What is the primary feeling you want people to have when they see you perform live?
Erik: I simply want people to like, and hopefully love, what they hear to the point where they tell their friends about us. Getting chills would be nice as well.
Ryan Alexander Gregg - Piano
(credit Matt Hanlon)
THIRSTY: Which part of the process do you like best - writing and recording music or performing?
Erik: Writing can be a headache, but recording can be so experimental and rewarding allowing you to realize the writing process.... But to me, it's all about performing. I would have given up music a long time ago if I didn't love performing so much. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'd still write and record, but absolutely dependent on performing.
Ryan Alexander Gregg (Piano)
THIRSTY: Who are your most important musical influences?
Ryan: My most important music influences are B.B. King, Dr. John, and AC/DC. B.B. King because he taught me how to become one with my instrument; Dr. John because he taught me how to properly play my instrument; and, AC/DC for showing me how to properly rock out on my instrument.
THIRSTY: You are at the beginning of a long musical journey with the release of your debut EP. What are your goals at this stage of your careers?
Ryan: At this stage in our career, I think we should strive to reach an audience. I believe in the music we are playing, and I want to introduce it to as many people as we can.
THIRSTY: How do you plan to spread awareness of The Auctioneers for the remainder of 2010?
Ryan: The best way to spread awareness of the Auctioneers is through touring. Our biggest strength lies in our live performances. When people hear our music, there tends to be a positive response. But once they see us play, they are hooked.
THIRSTY: What is the primary feeling you want people to have when they see you perform live?
Ryan: I want people to have fun at our shows and also to have a feeling like they haven't seen anything quite like it. I want them to leave feeling like the show was for them, and they participated in creating the show as much as we did.
THIRSTY: Which part of the process do you like best - writing and recording music or performing?
EB Sollis - Vocals/Guitar
Ryan: Performing will always be my favorite part of the musical process. Nothing can compare to interacting and playing for a live audience.
EB Sollis (Vocals/Guitar)
THIRSTY: Who are your most important musical influences?
EB: Jack White, Keith Richards, and Charles Dickens.
THIRSTY: You are at the beginning of a long musical journey with the release of your debut EP. What are your goals at this stage of your careers?
EB: To make every show better and make every show different.
THIRSTY: How do you plan to spread awareness of The Auctioneers for the remainder of 2010?
EB: By keeping a few tricks up our sleeves.
THIRSTY: What is the primary feeling you want people to have when they see you perform live?
Donovan Pyle - Drums
EB: A show unlike they've ever seen...whether good or bad.
THIRSTY: Which part of the process do you like best - writing and recording music or performing?
EB: Performing, no question.
THIRSTY: Who are your most important musical influences?
Donovan Pyle (Drums)
Donovan: Floyd, Living Colour, and Wayne Shorter.
THIRSTY: You are at the beginning of a long musical journey with the release of your debut EP. What are your goals at this stage of your careers?
Donovan: The goal is to tour for the rest of the year and play in front of as many people as possible.
THIRSTY: How do you plan to spread awareness of The Auctioneers for the remainder of 2010?
Donovan: Touring.
THIRSTY: What is the primary feeling you want people to have when they see you perform live?
Chris "The Monster" Kapica
Bass/Vocals
(credit: Matt Hanlon)
Donovan: Happiness.
THIRSTY: Which part of the process do you like best - writing and recording music or performing?
Donovan: Performing.
Chris "The Monster" Kapica (Bass/Vocals)
THIRSTY: Who are your most important musical influences?
Chris: I tread many musical arenas, so I draw unquantifiable influence from all of them. I'm a classically-trained composer, so my teacher at Juilliard - Christopher Rouse - is arguably my most profound influence. His lessons revamped my understanding of the conception and orchestration of music, and he unlocked my compositional individuality and encouraged me to make no apologies for my methods of music-making. Rouse had me delve into the annals of concert music and study the intricacy and craftsmanship of masterworks throughout history - Stravinsky, most notably, resonated with me (as did countless other composers).
I was not the product of an artistic upbringing, so almost all the music I've heard is due to my own relentless research and insatiable curiosity. Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, Tower of Power, Van Halen, Earth Wind and Fire - all these musicians had monumental impacts on my sound. As a bassist/guitarist I am still awestruck by the innovations of Jimi Hendrix and Jaco Pastorius and the panache of guys like Marcus Miller. But I am constantly seeking out new sounds and players, and I constantly re-evaluate my own sound as I experience new sonic stimuli.
THIRSTY: You are at the beginning of a long musical journey with the release of your debut EP. What are your goals at this stage of your careers?
Chris: I don't wanna' be pigeonholed. I want to play with The Auctioneers and other groups and compose for various ensembles and multimedia and lecture about my personal ideologies on modern music, and ultimately be classified with adjectives instead of nouns (so I don't wanna' be a "this" or "that", I wanna' be ubiquitously associated with a vibe or philosophy). It's ambitious, but I'm up to the task.
THIRSTY: How do you plan to spread awareness of The Auctioneers for the remainder of 2010?
Chris: Social networking - talk to every goddamn person I know and force-feed it to them. By law of averages, someone's bound to dig it.
THIRSTY: What is the primary feeling you want people to have when they see you perform live?
Chris: I don't write music for it to exist on a score as an academic exercise in tune-smithing. I write music for it to be played live by people, for people. I write music to create a hermetically-sealed (but temporary) world for the audience. It transcends sound - it's a true performance, and a recording just won't cut the mustard.
THIRSTY: Which part of the process do you like best - writing and recording music or performing?
Introducing (2010)
Chris: I get so frustrated recording. Music being a time art (as opposed to visual art which exists in three dimensions and does not develop linearly like music or dance), is a transient experience. Recording only captures one interpretation of a piece of music; other parameters, such as the acoustics and design of the venue, demographics of the audience and the players' cognizance of these and other factors used to create a personal performance for those listeners, contribute to a unique delivery of that music each gig. I've never believed art to exist in a vacuum. Music's abstractness and lack of tangibility make it imperative for the performer to use his music to create more than an aural experience; therefore, it is only through live performance that I can assuredly manifest my music. I take improvised risks when I play and don't always execute perfectly - I'm human, and we all are This inexorable fallibility gives me nothing to lose onstage, so I strive to play the perfect parts for each audience knowing full well I won't - but the pursuit of such a lofty goal translates to the listener, and no recording can possibly produce that feeling.
I have a similar philosophy on writing. I'm a classically-trained composer, and I write music with all those previously-stated thoughts in mind. I consider nuances like the physicality of the playing of the music and its theatrical effect on the audience, expectations the listener has for the music based on the specific material and associations with various genres it evokes, textures of the music in a particular acoustical space and how badass and dramatic the music should be. But at the end of the day, the music isn't on pieces of paper - it comes out in performance.
Donovan Pyle - Drums
