Interview with Philip Steadlur
If you haven't heard of Philip Steadlur and his band... Steadlur...yet, you will very soon. Like in 2 seconds when you keep reading. Actually these guys are a great new band that just signed with Roadrunner Records, and are heading out on tour to support their new single "Bumpin" - Take a look at what a good sport Philip Steadlur was, and then go buy the single, and some concert tickets if they're playing in your area. If they aren't playing in your area, it's time to book a trip to a place that they are playing, because you don't want to miss these fine young men.
FoundryMusicRob: Let's just get this out of the way, you look a lot like Chris Angel. Do you get that a lot?
Philip Steadlur: Haha! Never BUT! I do watch his show and Gene Simmon’s show on A & E.
FoundryMusicRob: I have to ask, with the way the music industry has been lately, labels consolidating, profits down for most bands, and YouTube being the way most people get their music, where does the motivation come from for a young band to dive right into this risky situation?
Philip Steadlur: I like to roll the dice, you only live once and having MySpace and YouTube is a great way to expose ones art plus it’s free!
FoundryMusicRob: You guys have your debut album out on Roadrunner Records, which is a well-known label with a long list of instantly recognizable artists on their current roster, as well as world-famous alumni. That aside though, what was it that made you go with Roadrunner, as opposed to any of the other labels that were no doubt trying to grab you up at the same time?
Philip Steadlur: Roadrunner has balls, they are more one on one like a family and it’s not a pop label that sign’s Katy Perry’s or any other pretty girl that can’t write her own songs but through auto-tune she’s an instant star haha…
FoundryMusicRob: You just recently did a Breast Cancer Benefit Show. I have to ask, most people that get breast cancer want it to go away, so why would you do a show to benefit breast cancer, shouldn't you do a show to stop breast cancer?
Philip Steadlur: Obviously we didn’t play a show to support cancer… It was to raise money for victims and to raise awareness of breast cancer. [I really hope nobody took me seriously here -FMR]
FoundryMusicRob: You guys are from Atlanta, which is not exactly known for having a lot of Rock bands come out of it. Yet you guys paid your dues like every other band did, playing high school shows, small bars, and the like. How hard was it to play small local venues in a place like Atlanta and actually earn the respect of a music community that typically looks the other way?
Philip Steadlur: We just kept on playing and writing… The majority of our local fanbase are from the suburbs- like high school kids. BUT! We still have haters that range from old “angry at the world” rocker dudes that run rehearsal rooms or bars for a living to the “bitter, Jaded hipsters” that are to cool for us they prefer following the crowd and listening to “artsy, indie-crap” which is fine…
FoundryMusicRob: Dallas has been quoted as saying "We can turn anything we do into a good time." Well, when was the last time you had a blast getting dental work done?
Philip Steadlur: There is nothing fun about the dentist unless she is really hot and you can score some free painkillers! I’ve been told more then once that I have pretty teeth and I never had brasses.
FoundryMusicRob: If at any point you feel like you're wasting your time with my goofy line of questioning, please feel free to tell me to go screw.
Philip Steadlur: No prob. Bob.
Steve C: Philip, I'm going to rummage through the band's porno collection (on your bus and on your hard drive). Before I call the authorities, what exactly could I find in your smut collection (titles, starlets, etc)
[NOTE: Thanks Steve, for paying such close attention to what I ALREADY ASKED HIM BELOW, that you had to ask it twice and make us look like idiots. I'm leaving it here to publicly shame you. - FMR]
Philip Steadlur: We are porn free my man…. I do enjoy my Fangoria Magazines, my huge collection of B-rated horror flicks and watching YouTube.
FoundryMusicRob: You guys seem like a genuinely fun group of dudes to party with, what's your most memorable moment tearing it up all night?
Philip Steadlur: I had a group of friends in a Hummer going 50 miles an hour down a hill drunk as hell, my brother Dallas jumps out right before I drive through a trench and jump it 7 feet off the ground. When we hit mid-air everything was in slow motion then we landed, the suspension broke along with the windshield but no one was hurt.
There was another time when we totally trashed a presidential suite at a hotel in Buckhead... My brother knocked a guy through a glass door, the cops swarmed the building took him to jail that night and luckily the rest of us didn't go to jail because there was cocaine everywhere in the suite.
FoundryMusicRob: Since your music has a get-up-and-rally-the-bar kind of party feel to it, what do you think most people would be the most surprised to find out about your song and lyrical content? Are there any hidden personal messages in there that might not be so clear to the average Joe?
Philip Steadlur: The record is a little half and half split between heart felt songs about love or life and then there are songs about the party animal within all of us. There are no hidden messages. We are pretty clear and all about leaving our music open to interpretation. The beauty of art is when anyone can find his or her own personal message in it.
FoundryMusicRob: Image is one thing, but attitude is another. You guys clearly enjoy what you do and have fun doing it, how do you feel about the kinds of artists out there that are so busy being tough guys, or singing about death and destruction, that they never even crack a smile at a crowd of fans when playing live?
Philip Steadlur: They take themselves waaaaaaaay to seriously, its funny yet sad to me! I think it makes them feel good about themselves when they can get an entire crowd to dwell in their own personal misery I think that’s what they get off on.
FoundryMusicRob: At the same time, writing upbeat, ambiguous lyrics can be challenging to some. How do you keep your music relatable to anyone and everyone while still keeping a definite shape and vibe to what you're creating?
Philip Steadlur: I don’t put myself on a pedestal I realize that we are all the same…. I just let the music and lyrics come out. You will find that anyone can relate to our songs. We are all about bringing a good time to a show instead of playing a set of depressing “I want to kill-myself look at me songs”… I would rather take people away from their pain for 30 minutes instead of throwing it in their face.
FoundryMusicRob: While your sound and image is your own, are you at all afraid of people lumping you into the "Party Rock" scene with bands like Hinder and Buckcherry, and possibly pigeonholing you in the long run?
Philip Steadlur: I’m not scared of anything like that…. Those kinds of things are inevitable we will just keep on being us and doing what we do.
FoundryMusicRob: If we didn't ask this question, we wouldn't be FoundryMusic.com (and my boss would probably just be asking me why I didn't include it): If we were to rummage through your porno collection, what kind of titles might we find?
Philip Steadlur: No porn for us…. But a porn star chick confronted me on my flight back from LA that gave me her movie for free and asked for my autograph. She was a little crazy haha she told me she lived on an all-nude colony.
A long time ago in a land far away, I did come across a home made video tape of a couple of us with 3 or more girls, doing things that I’ll leave up to your imagination, haha. I burned the tape.
FoundryMusicRob: If a tree falls in the forest, and nobody is there to hear it, does anyone really care at all?
Philip Steadlur: Sure… All the little furry animals or those people that are into having sex with trees what are they called again?
Steve C: Please describe, if you would, the most perfect sandwich (and yes, we do mean FOOD, not lesbians)
Philip Steadlur: A roast beef ah jus cooked homemade by my beautiful woman!
Steve C: Hypothetical situation: You're walking down a busy New York City street near the financial district one day, and a twenty-something year-old guy in a suit rolls up to you in his new BMW and says "Dude! I just downloaded the new STEADLUR disc (and we don't mean on iTunes or through any money-generating means). You guys ROCK!"... What's your reaction to this guy (someone who can obviously afford to buy it) lifting the music you worked hard to create?
Philip Steadlur: I’d ask him if he could spare some change?
FoundryMusicRob: Thanks Phil, for tolerating my big batch of stupid, if there's anything you'd like to add that I didn't ask you about (tour dates, bank account PIN numbers, blood type, etc) feel free to plaster it right here.
Philip Steadlur: There is no such thing as a dumb question Rob. PEACE OUT!
So there you have it, once again, you should buy the new single "Bumpin" and then keep your eyes open for the new album when it releases. Don't forget to buy some tickets to support these guys live, since that's the only way for a band to make money these days.
CHECK OUT STEADLUR ON MYSPACE
