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 TeenSpot recently got a chance to ask Joe, the bassist of the high powered rock band, BlameShift, a few questions about touring with the Everlasting Sound Tour, the band's beginnings, unique sound, and more! Read on! TeenSpot: Where are you guys from? How long have you been together? Tell us a bit about the formation of your band. Joe of BlameShift: We live on Long Island, in the great state of New York. Tim, the guitarist, is originally from New Jersey, but we don't talk about it. Just kidding - New Jersey is a second home for us figuratively and literally (we stay at Tim's parent's and sister's houses all the time). BlameShift: We have been together collectively for a little over 4 years, and the current line up for about 2 years.It all began when Tim met James through a mutual friend at a party on the Island. Tim had graduated from Hofstra University, and was playing in and around the island and the city with a project of his own when he met James, who had been around theLong Island hardcore music scene for so many years he lost count. They hit it off,and while looking for a house to rehearse in, found Jenny via their landlord. The landlord was Jenny's neighbor, and knew she'd been performing and singing off Broadway for most of her life. Jenny came down, and sang along, and they liked what they heard. We've been through a string of bass players, when they finally happened upon me through the miracle that is MySpace.I was looking for an out from my previous band, and placed a "bassist available" personal ad in the on-line classifieds. Tim found it, called me, and we've all been together ever since. TS: How'd you come up with the name "Blameshift?" BlameShift: It really was a random thing. The band had been rehearsing for a few months, and when they scored their first gig, they realized they needed a name, and quick. We almost called ourselves "Negative James", inspired mostly by our drummer's formerly ill-disposition on life at the time. James soon came upon the name Blameshift by chance, and the name stuck. At the time, it may not have made much sense, but believe me when I tell you now - you will never meet another band who lives more up to their namesake than we do! TS: For someone who's never heard your music before, how would you describe your sound? BlameShift: I would tell them that we are a positive, up-tempo hard-rock/metal/pop band. You can jump around and get crazy to our music, you could mosh to it, you can sing along to it and even just plain dance around. I like to say we're a little something for everyone. Our music appeals to a wide audience - the metal heads, the pop rockers, the emo kids, your parents -everyone. TS: So you've been touring across the country with the Everlasting Sound Tour...any interesting stories from the road? BlameShift: Always ! Without giving away too much (and keeping it PG), we had just driven cross-country about 3 weeks from New York to California to start the official tour. We booked ourselves a handful of dates to get ourselves out there. 3 days into the start of the tour, we lose the transmission to our bus while heading north east on Interstate 80 en route to Salt Lake City. We coast the bus to the side of the road, and call for a tow. The truck comes, and takes the bus, but leaves the trailer. Fortunately, a great friend and Street Teamer lived 10 minutes away with her parents. I called and asked if she knew someone who could tow a trailer to where the bus was, and her Dad came by with a pick-up truck. After they dropped the trailer with the bus at the shop, they opened their home to us for 2 days while the bus was repaired. Incredibly, the bus was repaired in 36 hours, and we said our goodbyes to Karina and her wonderful parents. We missed two shows and had to drive 12 hours south again to catch the next show in Arizona. TS: Who are a few of your influences/favorite artists? BlameShift: Oh my, well I could try and name everyone in the band's favorite bands, but I know I'm going to catch heat for that if I get one wrong, so I'll just name some bands that we all collectively enjoy without pulling one another's hair out - Guns 'n Roses, Motley Crue, Killswitch Engage, Linkin Park, Thrice, 30 Seconds to Mars, Coheed and Cambria and other assorted 80's hair metal =) TS: Who would you most like to collaborate or tour with? BlameShift: I would love to share a stage every night with a band like Story of the Year, or Linkin Park, or My Chemical Romance. These guys in these bands are great players with some great songs and they also put on a great live show. We pride ourselves in our live performance and showmanship, and to have a little friendly competition every night would be cool.  BlameShift: James, Tim, and I write the music, and Tim and Jenny write melodies to the music, or vice versa. But its definitely a group effort. Recently I've started writing melodies of my own first, and then writing music to a melody. Hopefully, some of those melodies and songs will make it to the next record. TS: On your Myspace, you mention your involvement with Music Saves Lives. How'd you get involved with this organization? BlameShift: Our PR Team were helping us look for sponsors to help support the tour, and came across Russel and his Music Saves Lives Program. We'd heard of and seen the booth at the Vans Warped Tour, and we thought it would be a great cause to get behind. They were looking for more tour exposure during the fall, and liked what we had lined up already, so they joined up. Since then, we've done video spots for Music Saves Lives, and attended and performed at a conference for The New Jersey Blood Services (See, I told you we have love for Jersey !). There we learned more about the importance of donating, and what we can do to get more involved. The beautiful part of Music Saves Lives, and donating blood in general, is that you're giving the gift of life - it's not a monetary donation. You don't worry about money exchanging hands or never getting to it's intended recipients. And you really do make a difference in people's lives. TS: If we were to take a look at your MP3 player, what would we find in the most played category? BlameShift: Lately, I've really been into The Receiving End of Sirens. Since their break-up, I've really been listening to them over and over again. They have two albums,and they are very different sounding. The songwriting and production has a complexity to it that I really appreciate, and the lyrical content is very insightful. I've also been listening to a variety of older music from the 60's and 70's lately. Bands like The Beatles, Dire Straights, Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Hendrix. Yeah, I know-I was a bit of a late bloomer getting into those bands. TS: Do you guys have anything you want to say to the fans? BlameShift: I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Blameshift fans are the best fans on this planet. Heck with that, in this Solar System ! They bring us home-made treats and food,soap,pickles,and let us park our bus and trailer in their driveways and plug-in our A/C at night. Every night we play a show, I am truly humbled by the people who come out and support and buy all of our new t-shirts and CD's and stickers,even if they already have like 8 of everything already. They share their stories with us, and we've made and maintained some solid friendships with people all over the country. And big props to my Street Team guys and girls who help promote the band and the shows and come out religiously to every show, every tour. We love you all, and can't wait to come and visit in the spring and summer! Interviewed by Brenton Ellis Audio: BlameShift's Purevolume Page
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