Continuing on with our series of interviews with musicians who've had prior coverage here as an Artist Spotlight featured artist. This week, I present to you an artist right out of Boston called City of Squares. These guys were featured here on the blog this past September and have been playing at venues in the Boston area such as The Middle East Upstairs and Copperfield's, and have slowly been making their way through the reins of the local music scene and have been gaining more notice and traction as of recently as well! I just had the pleasure of interviewing frontwoman Jenna Paone and we touched up on the band's beginnings and their experiences of playing in the Boston area. Here is the transcript from that interview:
- Give me your names and what you do in the band?
Jenna Paone- Vocals/Keys
Jon Francis- Drums
Bill Ferri- Bass
- How did you come up with the name "City of Squares" for your band?
City of Squares is a very obscure name for Cambridge, MA
(because of Harvard Square, Central Square, Porter Square, etc.) We
originally used it as the name of a song, but we were looking for a new
band name at the time and this is the only name that everyone could
agree on. Since we had our first show in Cambridge, it seemed fitting.
- How did you guys all meet to ultimately form the band?
Jon and I met in a music
production class that Jon was teaching, and I finagled him into
agreeing to record my solo demo. Jon ended up really responding to my music, and brought longtime friend Bill Ferri on board to
collaborate on the project. The solo work eventually evolved into a
group effort, and over the years, the music has taken on a whole new
sound.
- What popular artists would you compare your music to?
We write high-energy rock-pop tunes, and
would describe our sound as Maroon 5 meets Fiona Apple, with a little
Coldplay thrown in. We place a great emphasis on writing catchy
melodies without sacrificing musical complexity, and do our best to
write everything from fun dance tunes to more contemplative pieces.
- What have your experiences been like getting the band started in the Boston area?
The great thing that we've experienced in Boston
is finding people who really respond to our music. We've gotten some
awesome positive feedback and have picked up new fans at every show
we've played. Also, as the music community is on the small-side, it's a
tight knit group and we've been lucky enough to have worked with some
fantastic and supportive bands, producers, etc. On the other hand, live
original music still seems to be an afterthought by a lot of club and
bar owners in the area. It would be great to see the Boston original
music scene expand into new venues beyond the most commonly known.
- What is it like performing in a live setting?
Playing a live show is like running on pure
adrenaline. It's a complete rush and it's really amazing to be on stage
in a loud, crowded bar and see the energy in the room change as you
play. Whether you're making people dance or getting them to take a
minute and listen closer, that relationship and interaction with the
audience is something that drives all of us in the band to give 100% at
ever performance. It's like having a very cool conversation with a
roomful of people...that might involve some fist-pumping and chest
bumping.
- What are some of your favorite songs to perform live?
- What do you and the band hope to achieve in the near future?
Being rich and famous! Seriously, though, we do hope to achieve success through our music. We'd love to have a few more albums under our belts, be touring on a national and international level, and, making a living doing what we love.
- What do you and the band like to do in your spare time?
In addition to being a professional musician, I serve on the executive board of a non-profit called Boston GLOW. We do programming for girls and women in the Boston area and run an essay contest and scholarship program called The Ignite Change Essay Contest, which is aimed at helping girls in the Boston area achieve their educational goals. More information can be found at www.bostonglow.org In my free time, I love working out. I'm a classically trained dancer, so I take ballet and jazz classes, and I run, practice yoga, kickbox, and go to the gym. I'm a huge sports fan (especially when to comes to the Patriots) and a beach bum in the summer. I also love to cook, paint and have a blast going to museums, plays, ballets, and live music shows.
Jon is an outdoor enthusiast. He runs, rockclimbs, camps, skis, hikes...pretty much if you name an outdoor activity, he does it. He also devotes a lot of time to his work as a sound engineer and producer, as well as playing for several other bands. He's a Boston sports teams fanatic, too.
Bill is a huge movie buff and loves a good glass of wine. He has many leather bound books and his furniture is made of rich mahogany.
- Are you and the band planning to record any new material in the near future?
We are currently recording a full length album, which we hope to release in late spring/early summer, and also have plans to increase the frequency and range our our touring. We'll have lots of updates posted on Facebook and our website.
- Lastly, what is the one thing you hope fans take away from your music?
At the end of the day, our goal is to make music that people can love. We try to capture particular moments in our songs, and hopefully that will speak to our audience. Whether it's a song that might help someone through a difficult time in their lives or a song that's going to get someone excited for a fun night out, we want to write songs to define and amplify these moments.
Thanks once again to Jenna from City of Squares for being so generous with her time in conducting this interview! Keep an eye out for more interviews with Artist Spotlight featured artists in the coming weeks.
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