WMWC will be hosting our first annual Battle of the Bands Saturday October 16th in the Great Hall. The winners will be chosen partially by our judges, of which Dean Rucker will be one, and crowd participation so bring your friends to cheer on your favorite bands!

Get Excited!

To get ready for our biggest event of the semester, we will be posting interviews with all the bands performing. First up are the Hounds….

Ok, lets get the obvious questions out of the way first:

How did you come up with “The Hounds” as your band name?
A lot goes into coming up with a band name. We’ve had several over the span of how long we’ve been together. For a while we were totally against being another one of those “THE” bands but this one just seemed to fit our style of music, our personalities, and still gives off a vibe of three laid back guy with an edge. In the end the name really should describe your music, your personality, and still catch your eye…which is why we liked this one.

Describe your music for new fans.
Modern Rock with some British influenced overtones laced with our own style. Its hard to describe your music when you aim to be original so if you like catchy music then take a listen to us.

What are your major influences? What bands or styles do you try to emulate?
Our influences are all over the music spectrum but on a whole I think we all agree that bands we grew up listening to like Oasis, The Verve, The Strokes, The Vines…and the bands we’re currently finding such as 22-20s, The Whigs, BRMC, Trances Arc all play a huge role in shaping our sound.

Stepping it up a little now. . .

Favorite gig?
I’d like to say it was our first one. To finally get out there and show people what we have is an untouchable feeling. And to be embraced by the audience with the amount of applause and enthusiasm we got was great, but the show where we opened for The Whigs was amazing!

Weird preshow habits/rituals?
Some food and drinks before we hit the stage…just relaxing really.

Crazy fan experiences?
Well we haven’t had any weird stuff happen yet. We’re still fresh on the scene to a degree. We’ve had nothing but hospitality come from our fans and other bands we play with. I really enjoyed hanging with the boys in Midair after we played with them in their home town of Roanoke, VA. Had a nice little campfire back at their place which was cool.

Johnny Cash’s style of music has been compared to a train (slow, steady and powerful). What type of transportation (make/model optional) would you compare your band’s signature sound to?
A 67′ Mustang Shelby GT500…sleek and sexy look, with a roaring American sound that gives those overseas cars a run for their money.

This or that:

Broken guitar/bass strings -or- breakdown of the sound system during a show
Broken strings…we can always borrow gear or have back ups.

Uninterested audience -or- comically enthused fan at every show (think Mel from Flight of the Conchords)
We’d love to have Mel as a fan! This is an open invitation for any fanatics that need a band to latch on to! Come and get some! There’s nothing worse than an uninterested crowd though…

N*Sync -or- Backstreet Boys
Boys II Men?…If we have to choose, Backstreet Boys…they started it, and it was about the group, not just one guy (like N*Sync and Justin Timberlake).

What are you going to bring to Battle of the Bands that will set you apart?
Our set list. The music will speak for itself. We’re not big on intimidation, but we love playing our music for people, and it shows.

Anything to say to your competition?
Good luck, have fun, and enjoy the ride…win or lose, take it as a learning experience and get better for your next show…always.