Louie interview with Say It Back:
St. Louis is not known for its teen music scene, but Say it Back, the latest music sensation from South County, is trying to change that. Made up of Oakville graduates Kelsi Luck (lead singer), Jordon Winheim (guitar), Eric Kopsky (drums), and current sophomore, Joel Winheim (bass guitar), the band was riding high from a with All Star Weekend when I sat down to interview them.
Louie: How long have you been playing together?
Kelsi: We started forming about a year ago, but we didn’t get serious until we went to Chicago to start recording some songs in January. We used to not have a drummer, because Joel and Jordan both played guitar and Eric played bass, but three months ago, we were tired of looking for a drummer and Eric just picked up drums and played at our last show and did a pretty good job. So now Joel plays bass. It works out better that way. We are all in our tight little group and adding someone else would have just been hard.
Louie: What inspired you to start making music?
Kelsi: I grew up doing a lot of musical theater, so somehow when I write I am influenced by that, but also really poppy bands from the nineties.
Louie: What do you feel is your strongest song thus far?
Jordon: Either Wake Up or Toxic Love.
Kelsi: I think our fans like both, but the industry itself likes Toxic Love better.
Louie: Favorite bands? New bands?
Joel: The beach boys. And I like the Neon Trees a lot.
Jordon: Katy Perry. She’s my favorite.
Kelsi: Queen. Lately I have been listening to a lot of Lily Allen. I have been trying to listen to a lot more female singers.
Louie: If you could play a show with anyone, who would it be?
Kelsi: Probably Lady Gaga. I feel like she has the most fans. It’s a draw between she and Justin Bieber. But that’s alive. Dead, it would have to be the Beatles. They are iconic.
Louie: Any plans for the future?
Kelsi: We want to go to California. We have somebody in LA who will record a music video for us and so we want to get out there. And record more. Getting out there will help a lot. St. Louis really isn’t the best place for the music scene. We also really want to get out there and start touring soon, but we are just waiting for the right band. As we are writing more, I hope we evolve as a band and do something a little different.
Jordon: We have changed so much already. I don’t know if you can find our first stuff now, but we have made a huge jump.
Louie: If your band was stranded on an island who would you eat first?
All: Eric.
Kelsi: I lied, I think I would keep him to help me survive, because he is the manliest. If there were weird people on the island, he would defend me, whereas Joel and Jordon would probably run the other way.
Louie: With two brothers in the band is there every any sibiling rivalry?
Jordon: Yeah. I hate him.
Joel: Well, I love him.
Kelsi: They sometimes wrestle during practice and they are like “we are brothers we can fight” and Eric and I tell them to stop, but they keep punching each other. So we just have to let it go, ‘cause if we get in the middle of it they will just get mad.
Louie: How often do you practice?
Kelsi: During the summer we practiced everyday at 11, but now we are finding it is difficult because Joel gets out of school at 2:30 and Eric works at 4, so we just have an hour and a half window to practice in.
Jordon: We have a set that is about 15 minutes long, so we usually just play through that twice.
Louie: What do you want to do when you “grow up”?
Jordon: I will always try to be in a band or write music.
Joel: I want to be a tattoo artist.
Louie: What makes you different than other bands today?
Kelsi: They are so many good new bands out there right now but I think that we have the dedication, the drive and the work ethic to go out and make it happen. We are in it all the way, and we pay for it out of our own pockets. We followed Warped Tour and sold out CDs which we paid for to be made. I don’t know if our parents see it that way. Their dad says if you are a good band you will get noticed, but right now you have to really work for it, or have connections. Every time we play a show we make new connections and we learn something. We are stilling trying to learn what really sets us apart, because just having a girl isn’t different anymore.
After a little more conversation the band headed out to their van, named Charles, and drove off. To learn more about Say it Back, visit them at
www.myspace.com/sayitbackrock, look them up on face book or follow @SayItJordon, @SayItJoel, @SayItKelsi, and @SayItEric on Twitter. To listen to their music visit their Myspace, or look them up on iTunes.
