Okay, okay, I was going to save this for after the season finale of The Vampire Diaries, but I just can’t do it anymore. I interviewed the members of s.o.stereo, –the band that played on Episode 16, The House Guest. Perhaps better known as the episode CW ran before they left us hanging for over a month. One of the best things about that episode, aside from the climactic reveal of Caroline being a vampire to Matt, was being introduced to s.o.stereo. I became an instant fangirl, and was determined from that point onwards to snag an interview. Vampire oriented, of course, and fully focused on their experience on the show. S.O.S. has had a lot of attention since their appearance on the show, –at least, they better have. Bruce Irvine, the man behind the curtain, deserves a good mention, because he was nice enough to set this up, and offer for giveaway:
An Autographed Copy of S.O.STEREO’s EP!
The contest is easy, I’m choosing five people from my comments list at random. So be sure you use a -real- email address.
Good luck!
Before we check out the interview, check out my favorite songs. You’ll like ’em too, promise: I’ll Take the Bullet, from The House Guest episode, When a Heart Breaks, and Toe to Toe, which is a fave partly because of its awesome video.
S.O.Stereo Interview
Can you tell our readers a little more about yourselves and S.O.Stereo?
This is terribly small of me but (don’t all great interviews start off with that phrase?), the first thing I would like to tell everyone is how the name is written. This is purely aesthetic but I did go to school for visual art (it’s a curse), “s.o.stereo.” and/or “S.O.STEREO.” is when the name is at its best. Obviously, with S.O.S. meaning “save our souls” or “save our ship”, “s.o.stereo.” means “save our stereo.” Clearly, this is why our website is www.saveourstereo.com (Shameless plug). We are (in order of importance (of course I’m kidding)) bradleyCdavis (vocal, guitar), b.s.FURR (bass), Jimmy.James (drums, vocal) and john.C.phillips.jr (guitar, vocal). This is bradley by the way and if I had to describe s.o.stereo. it would simply be, “a band made up of my three best friends, who also happen to be the best musicians I know.”
As is the case with most bands, the music is important. If you asked (which you did) me to describe the music, I’d say “if the Killers were the light bulb, Coldplay is the fixture that makes it more than just a light bulb aesthetically, u2 is the hot wire, Third Eye Blind is the white wire and The Black Keys are the ground. Led Zeppelin is the light switch and s.o.stereo. is like the cover you put over the light switch to keep yourself from getting shocked when you turn the light on.” — .bless .boom .bradley
So, how did you guys end up being on the Vampire Diaries?
Chris Mollere, the music supervisor for the show, had our music placed on a couple of different shows that he works on including “Pretty Little Liars” “10 Things I Hate about You” and “Greek.” Not only that, he placed our music in a Season 1 episode of the “The Vampire Dairies” so he contacted our manager and presented us with this opportunity. To say the least, Chris is an amazing guy for giving us this opportunity and we will forever be in debt to him. — Jimmy.James
Did you get to meet many members of the cast? Which actors?
We met a lot of the cast, (“including but not limited to” (sorry I just really wanted to say that (love, bradley))) Nina, Candice, Zach, Sara and Randy were the one’s we spent the most time with. — Jimmy.James
Despite the way we looked on camera they actually did send us through hair and makeup (imagine how we must have looked when we showed up) and the first day of filming Candice showed up and was sitting in the chair beside me. She introduced herself to everyone and made mention of our scene together on stage. I told her how easy it would be for me to get in character seeing as how my last relationship actually ended because the girl I was dating turned out to be a vampire. — .bless .boom .bradley
Matt Damon. — b.s.FURR
No Brandon, Matt Damon wasn’t there. — .bless .boom .bradley
(I made up that dialog between Brandon and I meaning he didn’t really say that, however, I wouldn’t have been surprised.)
Did you witness any meltdowns, or bitch-fits? If not, who would you say was most likely to have one?
Absolutely not, everyone was super cool. It was crazy to see the actors film a heated (pun intended) scene and then, as soon as the filming ends, return to their calm, goofy nature. — Jimmy.James
.bless .boom .bradley: The only meltdown was when we first got there and Jimmy started crying. John is the type that once someone else starts crying he can’t help himself and Brandon had been crying the whole way down to Atlanta. It was a rough few hours but thankfully the room service FINALLY brought Jimmy olives with “the red parts” in them and he stopped weeping. He didn’t like the toilet [t]issue but he had said his peace. Brandon gets sleepy after he pouts and John focused on his studies. I knew going into it that Jimmy would be the most likely. (And yes, I knew that you were asking about the cast but I couldn’t think of any other way to make it look like Jimmy, John and Brandon all started crying. For some reason, I really wanted to do that. In my head it was very funny.) [Success! -ed.]
“Yesterday was Thursday,
Today, it is Friday.
Tomorrow is Saturday,
And Sunday, comes afterwards.”
— b.s.FURR
John, do you want to say anything?
Nope.
Signed, John.
Was Caroline’s vampire-eye-whammy all that it’s cracked up to be?
You know, I honestly don’t remember. Now that I think about it, I’m not so sure that isn’t one of the side effects of being “compelled.” That, and dizziness, dry mouth, constipation, liver failure and strokes. It is not for women who are nursing, pregnant or may become pregnant. Ask your doctor if your heart is healthy enough to be “compelled.” Call your doctor right away should you experience an erection lasting longer than 4 hours. Try “compelled,” “the best time you won’t remember.”
On the real tip, they shot that scene 50 times, every single one of Candice’s takes was money but, they didn’t have enough film to wait on me to get it right. I did the best I could. By far one of the highlights of the trip. — .bless .boom .bradley
What did you think of the actors you met? Be honest!
I have been enjoying myself at the expense of others throughout this interview but I want to get serious for a minute and say this because this is actually very near and dear to my heart. The cast of The Vampire Diaries is absolutely amazing. Watching them work, watching them act, I mean it literally blew my mind. The level of talent on that set made me extremely nervous. I felt like the weakest link and I was about to get voted off the island. I had fully prepared myself to show up the second day and hear “why are you here?” I mean, not only did Candice kill “Eternal Flame” vocally but the acting, her and everyone else on that cast are incredible and to watch them work made me proud to be a small part of it. Absolutely awesome. — .bless .boom .bradley
What was your best experience on the show? Worst?
Best experience? The food! Haha. Just kidding. It would be the overall welcoming feeling the entire cast and crew gave us the whole time we were on set. It was amazing. The worst experience would be the fact that it ended and we all had to return to our daily routines. — Jimmy.James
Are you guys fans of vampires in general? What do you think of the huge response to moody metrosexual Twilight vampires?
Woah, woah, woah. Isn’t there like an East coast West coast hip-hop battle going on between The Vampire Diaries and Twilight? I’m pretty sure there is. No comment. I love Vampire Diaries.
Signed, John.
Is s.o.stereo. closer to being signed now that you’ve had more exposure?
That’s really hard to answer. Being on Vampire Diaries was amazing, no doubt, but to be perfectly honest, we have to count on our fans to help us make some serious noise. Now is a very important time for s.o.stereo. in that we have to prove to record labels that we’re worth the risk. I do however feel like The Vampire Diaries gave us the opportunity of a lifetime and we just now have to run with it. We just need everyone who likes s.o.stereo. to run with us and tell everyone they know that “life is dangerous, listen to s.o.stereo.” In other words, we have to show a record company that if they put us in front of people, people will take notice. That’s easier said than done.
Signed, John
And it’s really not even that easily said. — .bless .boom .bradley
What is your favorite vampire movie, and why?
The original “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.” — Jimmy.James
I want you to know how quickly Jimmy answered that question. It’s almost as if he was waiting for you to ask that… hilarious. — .bless .boom .bradley
If you were to compare yourself with any famous vampire, who would it be and why?
Count Chocula. He seems so nice.
Signed, John.
Matt Damon. — b.s.FURR
Can we count you as new fans of Vampires.com?
No, we’ve been fans of Vampires.com for quite some time now. You can count us as simply, fans. — .bless .boom .bradley
i’m a fan girl too!!!
I’m definitely a fan !
Hey, these guys rock! Love Vampire Diaries and S.O.Stereo music is great, I liked their performance on VD episode, kisses from Spain :D
Yeah! This Band Rocks!
I’ve selected my winners, –if you still want to participate though, feel free to send more comments on S.O.STEREO, because there’s always a chance we might not get ahold of someone.