Eyes Over Hollywood interview

e-Mo Magazine speaks to Eyes Over Hollywood frontman Kevin Stafford.

e-Mo: What have you guys been up to recently?

Kevin: We recorded our EP "With A Velvet Touch" at Track Six Studios in Cleveland with our producer Don DeBiase and engineer Brandon Youngs in March, and right now were just working out all the details with the pressing company and releasing it ourselves.

Also we've just been booking shows around our hometown of Cincinnati and a few out of town shows too. We're really excited to get this EP out and into peoples hands and start expanding our fan base.

e-Mo: How did the band get together?

Kevin: We got together Sepetember of 2007. Our drummer Matt Coffey knew Jeff and Nick from the victory records band Beneath the Sky, and they were playing a show in Cincinnati and Matt took me to see them. After the show, we all talked about jamming at their practice space for fun. We wrote a couple songs and saw potential, and the balls been rolling since.

e-Mo: Eyes Over Hollywood - interesting name. How did it come about?

Kevin: In the first couple months we had gone through a couple different names that we ended up not liking or it wasn't fitting for us. One day Jeff called me up with Eyes Over Hollywood, and initially I didn't want to use it but it really grew on me. To me, the meaning of the name is kind of symbolic to the fact that "Hollywood" i.e. the movie industry and stars and all that have come to represent success and happiness.

We watch movies sometimes to escape and see things like true love, and great things happening that we feel we can't obtain in our own lives. And the name represents just going for that feeling because I believe everyone can find it if you don't give up.

e-Mo: Who are your biggest musical influences and why?

Kevin: All of our musical tastes are a little different but mostly we like just about anything and everything. Matt's drumming is definately more punk rock based from bands like Pennywise and NOFX. Our music is influenced a lot by rock bands like Foo Fighters, Hit the Lights, Stone Temple Pilots, and Brand New.

e-Mo: Who writes the lyrics in the band?

Kevin: I write most of the lyrics because a lot of times my melodies come first and I put lyrics to them that way to fit the melody. Nick does some lyric writing and actually does the main vocals on one song on the EP called "See Through You"

e-Mo: Your EP "With A Velvet Touch" is being released soon. What can we expect from the record?

Kevin: Well we have 3 of the 6 songs on the MySpace so listeners can get a pretty good handle on what we're all about from there. We are, however, self-releasing the EP, and are not hooked up with a distributor so we will be selling it at shows and over the internet. We will also be getting an online digital download store on the MySpace in the near future.

e-Mo: What's your favourite track on the EP and why?

Kevin: Haha tough question. We're really proud of the way all six turned out. I think the fans will probably like "Last Time" the most. It's kind of our "slow ballad". There's also an acoustic track called "The Biggest Mistake of My Life" that gives the EP a little extra variety.

e-Mo: What's been your best and worst gig to date?

Kevin: Best gig we've had so far we played at the Mad Hatter in Covington, Kentucky with our good friends' band Close to Home, and there was a really good turnout and crowd reponse there. Our worst gig was our second show ever in Cleveland. We drove up in my Buick because our van was broken down so we had to cram our guitars, cables, heads, a drum set, and four people in my car for the ride up. The show itself was good, but after we played Nick was getting off stage and rolled his ankle really badly. That was not a fun car ride home for him.

e-Mo: Are you hoping to play some dates in the Europe at some point in the near future?

Kevin: Right now we're mainly booking in the U.S., but I know we'd love to play in Europe and eventually we will definately be headed out there.

e-Mo: When you become rich and famous, who do you reckon will be the biggest "diva" in the band?

Kevin: Haha I could see it happening to any or all of us. That will probably be a little ways down the road, so I guess we'll see when we get there.

e-Mo: Where do you see Eyes Over Hollywood in 5 years time?

Kevin: Playing as many shows as possible, and spreading our music to any person who likes to listen to it.

e-Mo: Finish this sentence: Eyes Over Hollywood sound like...

Kevin: ...Solid gold.

Eyes Over Hollywood are from Cincinnati, Ohio, and is comprised of Kevin Stafford on lead vocals and guitar, Jeff Nelson on guitar, Nick Scarberry on backing vocals and bass, and Matt Coffey on drums.

Check these guys out at www.myspace.com/eyesoverhollywood