Hope you enjoy it!
(please give us the credit we deserve and do not copy+paste this article, instead direct link to it!)
Who is Bully?
Anita Ibanez - VocalsTeresa Huffman - Guitar/Vocals
Marty Randall - Bass/Vocals
Beverly Elliot - Drums
Interview:
What is your music background? Did you play instruments growing up?
Anita- I grew up in a musical family, my father was in the Air Force band, my mother was a singer and my brother is a musician, and my sis is just a great artist.
Marty-In high school, I took classical music, can play the violin, and bass. Bev-I grew up in a musical family, father plays in a band and has played ever since I was a baby
Teresa-I was a band geek from middle school through high school.
Growing up, how did music play a role in your childhood/adolescence?
When music is a part of your life growing up, it becomes second nature almost an instinct of destiny so to speak, it was a different experience for all of us, but the desire was the same.
What other activities / things do you enjoy doing when not playing music?
Anita-I like to draw, write, and hang out with my friends and family.
Marty-I run my own screen printing business so I am very busy with that, but when I do have time, I like to draw, write music and spend time with my family.
Bev-I spend time with my family and hang with my friends.
Teresa-I like to write music, spend time with my family and friends
Who are your favorite musicians?
Anita- there are so many for me, I love Mikael Akerfeld from Opeth, female vocalists of metal, nevermore, nightwish, leaves eyes, kataklysm, scar symmetry, I could really go on forever....
Marty-I love so many as well, just to name a few...Hell Yeah, Bloodsimple, Shadows Fall, Chimaira, Megadeth, Alice in Chains, and etc.
Bev-I have a wide range of favorites: Johnny Cash, Fall Out Boy, White Stripes, and the list does go on!
Teresa- Veruca Salt, The Ramones, Chevelle, Corrosion of Conformity, Judas Priest, AC/DC, Motograter, 10 Years, Ra, and Garbage.
How did the band start? Who had the idea and why?
Bev and Teresa, who both played in a band together previously, started BULLY with Jason Campen in 2003. They went looking for a bass player and vocalist. Teresa's husband worked with Marty at the time and kept asking her to try out for the band. But at the time, Marty was playing in another band. I had been in a band with Jason and Bev before and it just so happened they found me at the David Lee Roth/Sammy Hagar concert and asked me if I was interested. Marty and I went in to try out at the same time and joined. Jason soon left the band and we decided to remain 4 girls and go on from there. We started out kind of slow, but we got some songs together and had our first show three months later…history from there.
How would you describe your music to people?
Hard Rock/Metal, our music is a mixture of both. We have melodic vocals and at times very doomish guitar riffs. We write in our own style and try not to be so cookie cutter. Sometimes, people do not know what genre to put us in and that is awesome.
Bully is an all female band. What kind of reaction have you received from the local art community because you are a female band? Has there been any glass ceiling for you? Have you ever been treated differently because you are all women?
The first reaction we receive is always, "They are pop girly girls who don't know how to play hard". But every time we are done with our set, we get the same response, "You guys are so hard, and not what we expected at all". So we are usually greeted with reservation, especially from guys. We get the 'they are just groupies' and are trying to get a date and not serious musicians. Sometimes it pisses us off, but we know that it is just because we are women.
Have you lived in Virginia originally or did you move here? Why Virginia?
Anita-I moved here in 1994 after getting out of the Marines.
Marty-I moved here from Fairfax Virginia and after getting out of the Navy
Bev and Teresa- both grew up here in Hampton roads
Are you happy with the direction the band is going right now? What is the current goal of the band?
BULLY is constantly evolving and we like the direction we are going toward; which is more of a heavier style. We do quite a bit of traveling out of town to get more exposure and try to network with different bands.
How do you balance your music with your other parts of life (job, family)?
We know we have to maintain the family life and our day jobs, and we just work hard to make time for us.
If you could play a show with any band, past or present, who would it be? What music would you want them to perform?
It is different for all of us, but we would be honored to share the stage with any "National Recording Artist" who earned their place on the stage.
Where do you see the band in the next few years?
Hopefully, on a world tour and enjoying playing and writing music for the world.
How would you like to see the local music scene change?
Better treatment toward the bands. Just because we are local, does not mean we don't deserve some respect, all national acts were at one time local.
Do we need to have better venues? Better ways of booking shows?
YES, especially at the bigger venues, we should not have to sell tickets to play.
Which way do you find best to get fans to come out to shows? (word of mouth / internet / flyers)
These days it is the internet and Myspace, but we do flyers, emails and word of mouth.
Links:
Posts
