PRESS
ick Shrimpton, of Metal Health Magazine, recently conducted an interview backstage with E.T.,
founding member and guitarist of One Louder, before the band's performance in Pasadena MD.
Some excerpts of the interview are included here:
Shrimpton: "It’s kind of chilly back here..."
E.T.: "Yeah (blowing on hands), but the stars look cool! Uh-oh – there’s a car coming
down the parking lot, watch out for that mud puddle.
Shrimpton: "Let's talk about the origin of Louder..."
E.T.: "Me and Smitty (Ed.note: Smitty was Louders' co-founder and original drummer) were
sitting in a bar drinking beer and we decided to start a band that played all our favorite
rock music from when we were growing up. We were throwing out prospective band names left
and right, and when I said 'One Louder', the band was born!"
Shrimpton: "Smitty left the band a couple years ago, didn’t he? What's he up to now?"
E.T.: "He still comes around sometimes. Last I heard, he was in Europe rocking out with
Earl Slick and Chris Slade and some other 80’s rock stars. One Louder is just a green
globule in his memory…"
Shrimpton: "Why did you guys decide to focus on older genres of music?"
E.T.: "We had been in another band together, that played a mix of some classics and the
newer nu-metal stuff. We had more fun with the older stuff, and the audiences seemed to
enjoy the old stuff better – especially the women, so for us it was a no-brainer. The music
of that day was all about having a good time. It wasn’t angry, and they weren’t preaching
politics. It was about having a good time, and escaping from life’s drama for the next three
and a half minutes."
Shrimpton: "So, 'Louder' was dedicated to classic rock. What happened next?"
E.T.: "Well, we did the usual thing – we put out ads in the local music papers, on the Internet, and
asked around for names. We put together a group of guys and went to work immediately.
In fact, we scheduled our debut performance before we had learned enough music to play
for a full night! That put some pressure on us to stay focused, and work hard, for a concrete
date. We rented out a local hall, sold tickets to everyone we knew, and worked our asses
off to get ready. It went off very well, and the One Louder train left the station. We’ve been
riding the twisting rails of rock-and-roll ever since!!"
Shrimpton: "It hasn’t been a smooth ride though. You’ve had some turnover..."
E.T.: "That’s true, but… you’ve got to understand that like in the world of rock and roll there are
certain changes that sometimes occur, and you’ve just got to, sort of, roll with them, you
know? I’m sure you know exactly how many people who have been in this band over the
years.11 people have been in this band over the years! Each of them has left his own
imprint on the group – none of them are forgotten, but we have no choice but to keep
going. We love this stuff."
Shrimpton: "If you had to describe the formula that seems to be making Louder successful, what would it be?"
E.T.: "Look Mick, here's how it works... people want to sing and dance to music they know. Hell,
some of these people were probably conceived to the music we play! That makes them feel
drawn to us, and they don't even know why!! (laughter all around) Anyway, the girls want to
dance and sing. Hell, they want to be part of the show! They want to dance on stage, and
have the entire bar looking at them! Sometimes we’re just stage props for their
performance (laughing, spills his drink)! You see, the guys come out to get the girls, and
the guys are the ones buying the drinks. The more girls that come out, the more guys that
come out. The more guys that come out, the more drinks that are sold. The more drinks that
are sold, the happier the bar owner is. The happier the bar owner is, the happier the band
is! It’s very simple, really."
founding member and guitarist of One Louder, before the band's performance in Pasadena MD.
Some excerpts of the interview are included here:
Shrimpton: "It’s kind of chilly back here..."
E.T.: "Yeah (blowing on hands), but the stars look cool! Uh-oh – there’s a car coming
down the parking lot, watch out for that mud puddle.
Shrimpton: "Let's talk about the origin of Louder..."
E.T.: "Me and Smitty (Ed.note: Smitty was Louders' co-founder and original drummer) were
sitting in a bar drinking beer and we decided to start a band that played all our favorite
rock music from when we were growing up. We were throwing out prospective band names left
and right, and when I said 'One Louder', the band was born!"
Shrimpton: "Smitty left the band a couple years ago, didn’t he? What's he up to now?"
E.T.: "He still comes around sometimes. Last I heard, he was in Europe rocking out with
Earl Slick and Chris Slade and some other 80’s rock stars. One Louder is just a green
globule in his memory…"
Shrimpton: "Why did you guys decide to focus on older genres of music?"
E.T.: "We had been in another band together, that played a mix of some classics and the
newer nu-metal stuff. We had more fun with the older stuff, and the audiences seemed to
enjoy the old stuff better – especially the women, so for us it was a no-brainer. The music
of that day was all about having a good time. It wasn’t angry, and they weren’t preaching
politics. It was about having a good time, and escaping from life’s drama for the next three
and a half minutes."
Shrimpton: "So, 'Louder' was dedicated to classic rock. What happened next?"
E.T.: "Well, we did the usual thing – we put out ads in the local music papers, on the Internet, and
asked around for names. We put together a group of guys and went to work immediately.
In fact, we scheduled our debut performance before we had learned enough music to play
for a full night! That put some pressure on us to stay focused, and work hard, for a concrete
date. We rented out a local hall, sold tickets to everyone we knew, and worked our asses
off to get ready. It went off very well, and the One Louder train left the station. We’ve been
riding the twisting rails of rock-and-roll ever since!!"
Shrimpton: "It hasn’t been a smooth ride though. You’ve had some turnover..."
E.T.: "That’s true, but… you’ve got to understand that like in the world of rock and roll there are
certain changes that sometimes occur, and you’ve just got to, sort of, roll with them, you
know? I’m sure you know exactly how many people who have been in this band over the
years.11 people have been in this band over the years! Each of them has left his own
imprint on the group – none of them are forgotten, but we have no choice but to keep
going. We love this stuff."
Shrimpton: "If you had to describe the formula that seems to be making Louder successful, what would it be?"
E.T.: "Look Mick, here's how it works... people want to sing and dance to music they know. Hell,
some of these people were probably conceived to the music we play! That makes them feel
drawn to us, and they don't even know why!! (laughter all around) Anyway, the girls want to
dance and sing. Hell, they want to be part of the show! They want to dance on stage, and
have the entire bar looking at them! Sometimes we’re just stage props for their
performance (laughing, spills his drink)! You see, the guys come out to get the girls, and
the guys are the ones buying the drinks. The more girls that come out, the more guys that
come out. The more guys that come out, the more drinks that are sold. The more drinks that
are sold, the happier the bar owner is. The happier the bar owner is, the happier the band
is! It’s very simple, really."
