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After some miscommunication and a little phone tag, Ronnie told us about touring life in the van, the anticipation for the release of "One Step Away", the 'art' of telemarketing, their independent release "Trippin' On Destiny", and a whole lot more.


How are you today?

I'm doing really good. How are you?

I'm doing pretty good.

Great.

Are you guys in Georgia tonight?

Yeah, we're doing Augusta tonight.

Cool. So, did you do anything for the 4th of July?

Actually, we had the 4th off. We were able to go down to Raleigh. Dave’s mother lives there, and my dad lives there. We went down there and had the 4th off. We had a big cookout and some rest and relaxation.

Well, that's cool.

Yeah. It was the first day off the road for a little bit and we were able to do that and get right back on the road again, but it was fun.

Nice to just kind of hang out?

Yeah.

So, how's touring been going with Finger Eleven?

It's going really, really good. They're just great guys. I don't know if you've ever seen them live or not, but they're just awesome performers and we've actually been big fans of theirs for a while now. Me, Dave, and Frank our bass player, were able to see their first show they did in America. It was actually in our hometown, Myrtle Beach, at our House of Blues. The first show they did in the U.S. was with Creed at our House of Blues and we were there for it before their first record ever came out. We were instantly hooked on their stuff and we’ve been big fans ever since. It’s been a great time being on the road with them and we feel so fortunate to be able to do that. The guys from Double Drive hooked up on the tour now, so they’re really cool too. They’re really great musicians and have become good friends of ours, so it’s been a lot of fun.

Very cool. How would you say fans have been reacting at the shows? Is everybody into you guys?

Yeah, it’s actually been really positive. I mean that’s what we hope for. We know like everywhere we go it’s almost like, you know, other people will come to our shows. We love it. Finger Eleven and Double Drive have got our backs. We’re trying to turn them onto some of our stuff and that’s definitely been working. We were on tour with 3 Doors Down and on this tour every time we’ve gone out there’s a really positive reaction.

So, are there any shows that have really stood out in your mind so far, for whatever reason it may be? The crowds, mishaps, etc.?

Any shows that stick out… With the 3 Doors Down Tour I think Hampton Beach, New Hampshire had some shows that stuck out. The crowd, they were really into it. Crazy. A great crowd. And I think recently Toledo, Ohio was a really good show, a really good crowd. We played a show last night in Jacksonville, North Carolina called Planet Rock. Oh, actually that was Raleigh the night before. That was a really, really good crowd there, a lot of people from home came up. They were about two hours away from us. They came up to rock out. It was the closest to Myrtle Beach on the tour, so it was good to see some people we knew and play Jacksonville before we go get a lot of people out to hear the songs. That was a good time, a good thing to do. That was a lot of fun.

Cool. Are there any bands in particular you would like to tour with?

That we’d like to tour with?

Yeah.

Oh, man. You know, obviously we’re all big Tool fans. It would be cool to tour with Tool. We’re big fans of Tool. If you would have asked me this a couple months ago before we knew about the Finger Eleven tour, I’d say with Finger Eleven. So, that’s really cool, we’ve done that. And, you know, being a part of shows with the guys from Good Charlotte, that was a truly awesome experience with them. We admire them. And, you know, bands like Puddle of Mudd coming out with their new record, that would be a great, great tour. Chevelle, that would be a fantastic tour, a lot of fun. We’d like to hang out with those guys too.

So, how’s traveling in the van working out for you?

The van?

Yeah.

It’s actually a lot more comfortable than what we used to have. We did have, if you can believe this, all of our gear and four or five guys packed into a Chevy conversion van with no trailer. [Laughing] That was like a can of sardines. And now, we have a 15-passenger van, and also we have a trailer. We’re pretty comfortable in here. We’ve got all the gear hauled in the trailer. In fact, this is a tour bus for us. [Laughing]

Alright, the album’s been done for quite a while and the release of ‘One Step Away’ is less than three weeks away. What’s the vibe in the Echo7 camp?

We’re just totally, totally excited. I mean, obviously we finished the record in January, the art, and finished the hard part in January, and fixed it up the first week of February. So, basically we’ve just been, you know, just hurry up and wait and it’s been almost excruciating waiting for this record to come out because we’re all really excited about it and can’t wait. We can’t wait until it hits stores so people can go out and get it. Everywhere we’ve played people ask ‘Is your CD out yet?’ or ‘Where can I get a CD?’ and I’ve said ‘July 29th’ until I’m blue in the face. We can’t wait. It’s anticipation that’s what’s coming out here, in the Echo7 camp right now…just anticipation and excitement.

The ‘One Step Away’ single has been getting a lot of attention on the radio across the country. Do you have any predictions on the public’s reaction to the rest of the disc?

I think…I’m hoping and I believe that the reaction is going to be really positive. I think people are going to really relate to the music that’s on the CD and ‘One Step Away’ is a great song on that CD. The CD has so much more to offer. We really varied our styles on the CD, you know, there’s an acoustic track on there, we’ve got a couple slower tunes, we’ve got some rockers, it really is a variation of different stuff that a lot of people are going to relate to and I think everybody’s going to take their own personal meaning for each song. We’ve found that a lot of people are really into our lyrics and I think it’s really going to get a positive reaction, at least we hope so.

Cool. You mentioned in another interview the possibility of using ‘Beneath the Surface’ as your next single. Is that still a primary choice, or do you really know?

You know what, when we wrote that we were like ‘Wow.’ We knew it was going to go on the record. We were like ‘We’ve got to get this song on the record.’ It was a sure thing and it got such a great reaction from the crowd that we knew that it needed to be included on the record. It’s a great song live. It goes over really well. When we recorded it and the label heard it they were really happy with the way it came out. They loved the tune and mentioned to us about the possibility of that being our next single, which as I know right now that’s still not set in stone. But, obviously we love the song already and if they came to us and said ‘Yeah, we’re definitely going to use that as a second single.’ We’d be cool with that. We’d definitely be very cool with that. The song gets a great reaction live, and I think it would be a really good follow through in a separate way.

One of my personal favorites on the disc is ‘Left Alone.’

Oh, great!

I’m glad you decided to put that on the record.

The acoustic track, that came about as a totally unplanned thing. We went through, like, thirty-some songs that we hadn’t narrowed down, so we had to narrow down to what we have now and we just wanted to do something that was a little bit different. We wanted to do something that was a little bit away from the norm that got away from the record, the CD a little bit. We were thinking, ‘Should we put that song on there. Should we put this song on there?’ and one day Pete, our producer, came up to us and said, ‘You know what? What if we did an acoustic track? Is there any stuff that you guys could break out acoustically?’ We had been talking about doing something like that and there was a song that I’d been working on that wasn’t finished yet, but that I thought had great potential and so did a couple of the other guys in the band. I played it for Pete and the other guys and we really believed in it and to tell you the truth it was unfinished, so the night before we recorded it, we wrote the middle part and pretty much finished the song the night before it went in.

Oh, wow!

Dave learned his guitar part. I got together with him and he put a guitar part to it and right up until the time to record we were working on it, so it was something that was a way last minute decision. I think it turned out really good. We’re really happy with the how it turned out; it was such a spur of the moment decision. So, that’s really cool that you liked that one.

Yeah, is there somebody on the piano in that song?

Yeah, there is.

Who is that?

It was a studio musician that Pete knew in Memphis. It was great stuff and actually we finished some of the writing of the song he heard, it was kind of his idea. He wanted to do something that I wanted. And we thought about it and we were like, ‘Yeah, yeah. We’ve got it really good.’ We’ve got the sounds stripped down, guitars, vocals and we thought that maybe if there was a piano in the background that would give it even more of the twist it needed. You know, to make it kind of what we heard in our heads and what we wanted it to be. And, he came in and he was just a total professional. He went through it a couple of times and we were able to write a part for it and put it down in an insane amount of time and we thought that what he put to it was really beautiful. It definitely added a lot of touch and made it what it is about. We’re really happy with it.

Definitely. Have you gotten the chance to hear ‘One Step Away’ on the radio yet?

Yeah, actually, we did. We’ve heard it a couple of times while we’re on the road with the radio stations. The first time I heard it was, we were actually in between tours with Three Doors Down. We were back at home and the radio stations were still picking it up and one of the stations that picked it up had just come out like a week earlier I believe, and the first time I’d heard it on the radio was on my hometown station. The first time I heard it they had a top 7 request countdown at 7 o’clock and we had broke in the top 7 that night for the first time, and that was the first time I heard it on the radio so it was kind of twice as sweet.

Cool. What do your families make of all of this?

Everybody’s really proud of me. All of our families are really proud of us. I think everybody knew that we’d been doing it for so long and even, we were in high school and before. Our lives are the music and they’ve watched us from the beginning, being in different bands and with all the musicians involved, and all the songwriters and I think there’s, now that we’re actually starting to live out in a professional aspect, our dream, I think everybody’s very, very proud of me. And especially since it’s no joke that given the opportunity to do this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing. To be able to do a record and put a single out and have the chance to make something of yourself at this level and that’s what we’re all shooting for. They watched us grow up and watched us get into it. I think everybody’s really, really proud that we’ve gotten to the point where we’re able to do it.

Alright. Going back, your bio mentions some of the former jobs you guys gave up for the band. Who was the telemarketer, and waiter?

Yeah. [Laughing] Yeah, we had some doozies. I was a telemarketer for, like, three years.

How was that?

Yeah, you know, I mean, would you like to buy something? I could sell it to you right now.

Sure. [Laughing]

Our drummer waited tables. Dave was a change juggler that managed a movie theater back in Myrtle Beach. Frank, you know, worked at Sam’s Club for awhile in retail. We’ve done pretty much, almost everything, meanwhile trying to do music. I think anything to us that’s not music is something that we don’t want to do but a lot of people are happy in those chosen fields, but they’re all just, everything was considered part-time next to music, but we were there. Telemarketing was not fun. [Laughing] So, yeah. We’ve had some doozies of day jobs. Definite winners.

At that time did you ever imagine getting signed to a label, or did you think you’d be a telemarketer for a few years?

I think that if you don’t believe it’s going to happen then it won’t. I think we’ve all had a very positive attitude, you know, all our lives, the changes in the band, we’ve all had the drive to make it, we’ve all had the confidence that we can. If we don’t have that confidence then I think it hinders your progress. We all have to look around, we have to realize that there’s one in a million chance that you might be able to do it, but if you don’t believe it’s going to happen, I don’t think we would have stuck with it this far.

Rockstar2k helped to land your record deal. Was there a certain song that really grabbed their attention or was it all of them?

Well, we had gone to the studio and set stuff up with Pete Matthews. We were currently doing showcases in New York and he had talked to Bill McGathy, who manages friends of ours: Three Doors Down, Chevelle, and he called us and told us we were to the point where he wanted to work on a promotional basis through Rockstar2k. I think that it was probably a mixture of all the songs that really got his attention, but obviously ‘One Step Away’ is the song that always stood out in the forefront for Rockstar2k and Bill and, you know, all the guys down there. It became our first single so he heard that and a lot of stuff on our independent release, he may have heard that as well, so I really couldn’t give you a straight answer, if there was one song that turned his head, if that’s the song that made him interested. I think it was probably a combination of a lot of stuff he had heard from us at the showcasing and just the word around town, as they say, in the industry. I think we just caught his ear with some of the demo stuff we had done. I’m not sure. I’ll have to ask him one day if there was more than one song that made it happen. I think it was pretty much just a combination of stuff that he heard from us.

‘Trippin’ on Destiny,’ that was just an independent release you did?

Yeah. We were at a point where we didn’t have management. We wanted to be able to get out there and promote ourselves the best we could. We knew that we had to have the best demo possible. We were definitely strapped for cash, but we knew we had to get in the studio with a producer and not stop until we had something that was the best quality we could make it for our budget and we did that. We went in and we recorded ‘Trippin’ on Destiny’ so we could have something to shop ourselves with and to get our music to the public. So, that’s basically what that was for. We didn’t have a product, we didn’t have anything to show people this is Echo7 and we wanted to start touring and find management, we wanted to take that next step in our careers, and to be able to do that obviously you have to have music. So, that’s why we went in there and did that. Ford Daley, our producer at the time did a really good job with it, took a lot of time with us and we hadn’t stopped until it was something that we wanted. It definitely helped us. We got a lot of gigs out of that, we got our management through that record and that pretty much started to get things on a roll with that record.

Are any of you in any other side-projects besides Echo7?

No, no. It’s just us. We don’t have time for anything else right now, so, we’re on the road together doing the tour and doing the record, there’s nothing else going on. It’s just, everybody’s putting all their energy in their heart and mind and everything into this project and I don’t think any of us could possibly think of doing a side-project at this point. There’s no time for it. I don’t think anybody wants to. We’re having a blast. This is what we all want to do. This is it for us.

Do you have any advice for up-coming bands that are maybe ‘one step away’ from getting that record deal?

Ahh, nicely put. [Laughing] No pun intended, I’m sure!

No, no. [Laughing]

Oh. Yeah, well, you know, I think the most important thing is to keep writing, always writing. Write as much as you can. Write as much music as you can and record everything whether it be a cheap recording or expensive recording, record it all and never stop writing. It’s all about the songs. The more you write the better the songs are and keep some sort of documentation of the music and let as many people hear it as you can and have drive and determination. Don’t be afraid to talk to people, don’t be afraid to do anything when it comes to promoting yourself, your music. That’s how people are going to hear you. You can’t be shy. That’s my advice. Write, record and don’t give up.

Alright. Do you know what your plans are after the Finger Eleven tour or should I say the ‘7-11’ tour is over?

[Laughing] I love that! We’re headed for a few big things actually. We don’t know what we’re going to land on with the record coming out July 29th. They’re definitely not going to send us home, that’s for sure. We haven’t landed on something yet that they’ve told us that is concrete, we do have some things in the works, but we don’t know what it’s going to be. They’ve mentioned Chevelle, they’ve mentioned Puddle of Mudd, they’ve mentioned different things, but we haven’t landed on anything for sure yet. The only thing we have right now after the Finger 11 tour which is over in the first week of August, so after that we are booked on an August 21st show at Verizon Amphitheater in Northfolk, Virginia with Korn, Chevelle, and Sevendust, and a few other good bands. That should be fun. Other than that, there are a few things going on, we just don’t know what’s confirmed yet.

Okay. So, have you guys given any thought to Locobazooka?

Well, we did Locobazooka last year, actually, one show in North Carolina. I haven’t heard anything about this year’s.

Well, I think that’s about it for us. Any closing words?

Closing words…enjoy the record and come see us on tour and go to the website. Go to the website A LOT. [Laughing]

Well, that’s it for us. Thanks for doing the interview.

Alright. Have a good one!

Interview By: Gabby and Nicole