The Shrill made up of Seth Romano, Brandon Davar, Harry Ostrem, and Zak St. John are a hard rock band seemingly heavily influenced by ghosts of music past, akin to 80’s no holds barred tunes slightly peppered with a little 90’s grunged out metal.

Outside the Viper Room, right after they managed to weave their way through artist check in we got to catch up a little bit about why Sunset Strip Music Fest is so important, and not only their destination of choice to rock out to- it’s home.

BNB:  Been a little crazy today for The Shrill, eh?

TS:  Just a little bit…ha!

BNB:  You guys have a great sound- what are your main musical influences?

TS:  I’d say Zepellin- Led Zepellin for sure, The Beatles, Rush…

BNB:  Slappin’ the bass a little bit?

TS:  Slappin’ the bass!  No really, I’m the bass player.  But the cool thing about our band, I think, is that we all have very different influences that each one of listens too that the other guys don’t.

 

BNB:  So your necklace matches mine- way to jock my style with the key.

TS:  Ha!  Right!  You know, I’m from Montana and I found it in a tool box!

 

BNB:  Your album was just released last Spring right?

TS:  Yeah How Good We Had It was released last March- and we’ve been playing and touring in support of it up until this point!

 

BNB:  Sounds like The Shrill has been non-stop!  You ready to hop back in the studio yet or you going to take 5?

TS:  Ideas are ALWAYS coming- our producer is ready as well- we probably had like thirty songs written for this album and it’s kind of starting the whole process over again.

BNB:  Who’s responsible for the lyrics?

TS:  The lyrics?  Pretty much all of us- we’re really collaborative!

BNB:  You don’t hear that entirely too often!  Chalk it up to your personal experiences or random happenstance?

TS:  The lyrical content is more of a human experience type vibe- we’re very influenced by film & T.V., acting, and human behavior.  So it’s not necessarily specifics from the band or what we’ve gone through, it’s more about how humans react to different situations in life- materialism and money and the recession and how it affects relationships.

 

BNB:  If you guys could collaborate with another artist, who would be your number one candidate?

TS:  Wow, umm, personally I’d think Dave Grohl- he’s genius at songwriting and putting a song together, and he always seems to be on the cutting edge of the music world.

 

BNB:  You seem to have a lot of respect for him from an artistic standpoint- what did you think of Them Crooked Vultures?

TS:  Umm, I like them personally.  I mean- I’m a HUGE Led Zepellin fan- so seeing John Paul Jones on the same stage as Dave Grohl.

BNB:  Yeah pretty epic!

TS:  I would like to play Parcheesi with Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.  I don’t know if he’s available- but if we could make that happen, that would be great.

BNB:  Parcheesi, not twister!?

TS:  No let’s not rule out twister.  Once we get later into the night…

 

BNB:  Hold the phone- are you wearing a key also!?

TS:  Yeah we are just BROTHERS!

BNB:  Keys to each other’s hearts?

TS:  Yeah we are an interesting band- for sure!

BNB:  Well I match, I feel like I’m part of The Shrill!

TS:  Oh you are in!

 

BNB:  So we’re here at Sunset Strip Music Fest- what’s your favorite Sunset Strip venue to play?!

TS:  Man that’s hard to say- they’re all equally cool.

BNB:  Well that was a very diplomatic answer!

TS:  Our favorite is wherever we’re playing at the time- and how many tickets we have to sell on a given night!  You know sound-wise we enjoy the Key Club- and I think intimately-wise we enjoy the Viper Room and the Cat Club- it has you feeling like you’re really a part of the band’s experience whether you’re on or off stage.

 

BNB:  What’s your next show after today’s?

TS:  We’re in San Diego next- September 30- we’re going down to play at San Diego State University, and we have some other gigs lined up!

 

BNB:  Closing remarks?

TS:  Thank you for interviewing us!  I just want to say that these guys have keys on (necklaces) but I have a ring on- and IF I put it on all the way  I disappear.  I was actually in Lord Of The Rings.

BNB:  That’s super convenient in terms of avoiding the stalkarazzi!

TS:  I just want to say thank you guys for being a part of this- it’s pretty much the best weekend ever for original music as far as underground artists.

BNB:  Would you say this is better than Sunset Junction?

TS:  Umm, this is our scene- we play at the Cat Club all the time.

BNB:  So this is home to you!

TS:  This IS home.

The Shrill set off and running to amp up for their performance later that day, and after hearing them live it’s clear that just as Them Crooked Vultures- they are most definitely a live band.  Their CD is great, original, and chalk-full of fresh tracks with a vintage vibe, but watching them on stage and in their element- it’s no wonder these kids call Sunset Strip their scene.  They say home is where the heart is, and The Shrill’s is onstage somewhere along Sunset Strip.  You can see where to catch the boys next at www.theshrillband.com!