Interview with Broke City

Who: Broke City
What: In concert w/ Somewhere In the Middle, 2am Logic
When: Sunday, April 19, 2009. Doors 6:00 p.m., Music 7:00 p.m.
Where: Barrie's in the Westwood Mall, Pocatello ID - map
How Much: $10 at the door

I've known Broke City for some 3 years now, and they're one of my top four favorite bands ever. Their most recent full-length release, The Answer, is resident in my CD player pretty much 24/7. Ok, maybe 22/6, but you get the idea.

I caught up with Broke City: vocalist and songwriter Joel Pack and bassist Brad Verrier, about their upcoming shows in Idaho.

SLG: Can you describe your genre of music? Maybe list your three best crowd-pleasing songs? Can you explain in what way do you most appeal to your fans?

JP: We pretty much sound like a modern pop/rock band, although we get a lot of our influences from the old school ... bands like The Beatles, Queen, The Cure, Howard Jones, Peter Gabriel, etc.

It seems like our most popular songs lately have been "I Feel Alive", and "A Life You Won't Miss". A lot of our newer songs have a positive energy around both the music and the lyrics, and I think people really Identify with the honesty in these songs. We're not going after any kind of gimmick or cliche, and I think that our fans respond to that. They know that we're not trying to "pull one over" on them.

Brad Verrier
- Bass, Vocals

The Rob
- Drums, Vocals

Joel Pack
- Vocals, Guitar, Piano

JP: Although The Rob and I have been playing together for about 5 years, Brad joined about a year ago. We've invited our friend, (and singer of the band "Side Dish") Ryan Sanders, to play guitar live on this tour.

SLG: Tell us where you're from and currently based in what town?

JP: The band is based out of Salt Lake City, Utah, but started out in different places. The Rob grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho, and I was born and raised in Pontiac, Michigan.

BV: I was born and raised in Salt Lake City

SLG: Past shows or venues you'd like to brag about? Past or future shows in the Pocatello area?

JP: We recently played in London, England at the Scala. It was so great to soak in the culture and play with bands from all over the world in the Global Battle of the Bands, that we were taking place in. We won the title of "Best Unsigned and in the U.S.A.," which was a pretty big one for us!

Not as recently, we've had the pleasure of touring all over the U.S. and Canada on the Taste of Chaos tour, as well as with bands 30 Seconds to Mars and The Used.



SLG: Describe these particular shows? What can people expect if they come to this show?

JP: We used to play a lot of 21+ shows in Pocatello, which were always fun, but we've been playing more all ages venues there lately, and it's been great to meet all the new people! This show will be all ages, and we're excited to see some old faces, and hopefully meet some new fans.

BV: All show details can be found on our myspace profile, we can't really keep track of every show since we've got a few on our plate that all have different details so I would check that out first. But if they decide to come out to any of the shows, they'll probably have a blast!

SLG: I see you're also playing in Rexburg ID on Saturday, April 18. Locus Live, 7 p.m. Any comments about the local live music scene, the music industry in general? What do you think is the best way to get your music out there?

JP: We're trying something new this year. Instead of putting out one full length album over the course of 2-3 years, and touring and marketing for just that one album, we're going to release a collection of 5-6 songs every 6 months-year. That way we can keep fresh in the studio, as well as stay on the road so that our fans can keep up to date on what's going on with us all the time!

SLG: Recordings? Will you have CD's or more for sale at the show?

JP: We have BRAND NEW T-shirts for sale, as well as CD's featuring demo versions of songs that will be included on our next release this summer.

SLG: How can fans contact you? Myspace? or another website?

JP: www.myspace.com/brokecity is the best way to keep updated on what's going on as of now. We're working on a new website that will be super interactive and will be an experience all of it's own!