POZ Showcase: Survay Says!

Please list all of your band members and their roles in the band.
 Henry Menzel – Lead Vocals/Guitar Dennis “D.Jay” Menzel – 2nd Lead Vocals/Trombone Michael Fenton – Saxophone Ricky Coates – Trumpet Colin Keebler – Bass Guitar Brent Friedman – Drums/Vegan
   What’s your hometown (or what are your hometowns)?
 We’re based out of Blairstown, NJ, but, we have members from coast to coast. Ricky is from Buffalo, NY, Colin lives in East Norriton, PA, and Brent actually just moved all the way from Huntington Beach, CA, to Blairstown to record and tour full time!
   How did the band come together? How long has it been?
 We started in 2008 by Henry and I (D.Jay) up in our guestroom with an Ibanez Gio, a Tascam Portastudio, and a free mic from MusiciansFriend. I was 14 at the time, and we just covered songs we liked and put them up on Myspace. We grew up in a town with absolutely no local scene, just a couple bands that got together every year for the town festival. But that was enough to inspire us to write original music and play shows. We wrote our first record in summer of ‘08 and played our first show in January ‘09 at the Stone Pony with a reggae band called Echo Movement. From there, we knew that we found our passion!   How have you grown since you started?
 There’s been a lot of changes since our start. Our songwriting has improved, we’ve become better musicians, and we’ve experienced a lot more in life. Two years ago in April of 2012, Henry and I lost our father. It was an incredible impact to us and the band as a whole. Right then, we took a step forward. We took that negative experience and turned it into a positive, focusing on our tours and our writing more than ever. I think a lot of that will reflect in our new record.
   What sets you apart from other bands?
 We set ourselves apart from the crowd with our personalities and our energetic, entertaining stage show. We work as hard we can, within our means, to entertain any crowd we’re put in front of. We also set ourselves apart with our work ethic. Since our start, we’ve played over 550 shows. In 2011, played 101 shows. 149 in 2012, and 208 shows in 2013. All booked independently by Henry and now, with the help of Brent, we are on track to play over 200 shows this year. We want to be everywhere at once and show everyone what we’ve got!   What’s the best part about being in your band?
 There are so many things. I know for me, I love writing music. I love seeing the world and being in new places. I look forward to being on stage every day. But, I think the best part is making friends all around the country. Almost every show, it’s like meeting up with the group of friends you haven’t seen since high school, always catching up on life, getting dinner, and reminiscing about past shows. It’s so nice to feel at home when you’re 3000 miles from there.   More times than not, influences tend to bleed through. What bands are currently inspiring the music that you’re making?
 We take in a variety of influences. We’ve always had an eclectic taste in music that I think shows through in our writing. I know that as a whole we’re influenced by Less Than Jake, Set Your Goals, The Wonder Years, Reel Big Fish, and Big D and the Kids Table. But we also take influences from places you wouldn’t expect. We take a lot of lyrical inspiration from bands like The Academy Is…, All Time Low, The Promise Ring, to underground hip-hop like the Cunninlynguists, Tonedeff, and MF Doom. I know that Colin and Brent are super into black metal like Darkthrone, Mayhem, and Gorgorath. Ricky is the happiest guy you’ll meet but always puts on super depressing music in the van, i.e. La Dispute, Balance & Composure. And Mike likes… I don’t know. Probably Kenny G.


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Along with releasing our video today, we are featured on propertyofzack! Check it out!

Brent's new kit from SJC Custom Drums!

Photos of Survay Says!, 12/27/13 at the Sherman Theater in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.

Photos by Molly Louise Hudelson. More photos on Facebook here.

Interview with Survay Says!- 12/27/13

Interview by Molly Louise Hudelson.

In their five years as a band, New Jersey-based ska/pop-punk band Survay Says! has released three full-length records, played hundreds of shows, and completed a handful of cross-country tours- all DIY. I met up with guitarist/vocalist Henry Menzel after their set in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania last month for an interview.

Read on for the interview, where we talked about the realities of being in a touring band full-time, their local scene, and their upcoming record!

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