About two weeks ago John from the band Curious Volume reached out to us and told us that they're the band is back and they're going to start playing shows again!
If you don't know, Curious Volume is a local Staten Island band that played heavily from 2006-2012 before changing their name to Everything Ever where they were active until 2015.
In a few weeks on Friday, December 23rd they're having their relaunch show with a special guest On Pink! It's going to be at Edgewater Hall (691 Bay St, Dock Street Upstairs). Doors will be at 7:30pm, so make sure you pull up for this super sick experience!!
When Curious Volume was active, I didn't know anything about the scene, and when they reached out to us I wanted to learn more about them and their music. I asked them if they'd be willing to answer a few questions so we can learn about them and hear about their journey until now. Below is Staten Island Local's written Interview with Curious Volume. I hope you enjoy!
Introduce yourselves! Who’s in the band?
Cole Rice is the drummer, from Great Kills, and he likes to skateboard.
Brian Buchanan is the keyboard/guitarist/singer from deep Tottenville and he is a high school physics teacher and creates radioplays.
John Trotta is the bassist/singer! He and his wife live in New Dorp but he grew up on the border of Great Kills/Eltingville, and he works in tech.
dNo’s full name is Andrew Paladino, he’s the lead singer/guitarist from Annadale and he likes to injure himself playing softball and basketball.
When was your band founded? And what’s your band’s journey been like from then until now?
We started at the St. Clare lunch table in 6th grade, which was 2003. From 2005 to 2011 we wrote albums, played awesome local shows, and went on tours. We broke up in college because we were idiot kids who didn’t know what to do next, and had begun to take for granted how special what we had was.
Some of us didn’t talk for years, some of us continued on together, but now we’re all back together like it’s the 6th grade lunch table again. dNo met Brian in high school and found a musical soulmate.
The journey has proven one thing to us and it’s that the 4 of us are brothers for life, and nothing is gonna ever compromise that.
What made you guys take a break? And what encouraged you guys to come back?
We changed our name to Everything Ever after Cole and Brian’s departure. Trotta and dNo went on to have some success touring and releasing a great record with that band, but it never fully felt like home the way it does when Cole and Brian are there.
In 2018, Dock Street asked us to get back together as Curious Volume to play a show for their 40th anniversary. We ended up having so much fun reconnecting over that show that we didn’t want to stop practicing together once the show was over. We had decided before the show even happened that we were gonna come back for good and write a new album and not tell anybody. And that’s what we’ve been doing!
Now that you’re starting up again, what things do you want to continue doing and what things are you guys changing?
We want to continue writing the best songs and performing them for the people who have been starving for them.
The thing that is changing from the last time we were an active band is the way we approach everything- we only do things that we know are going to be fun for us, first and foremost. So whenever you see us doing something, know that we are doing it on our terms, and we’re happier to be there than you can possibly imagine.
If your band’s music was a home cooked meal, what kind of food would it be?
A burrito. It’s got all the food groups and you will be full after you eat it. That’s not a very Staten Island answer, but if you want spaghetti and meatballs, you can listen to our older stuff.
What effect do you want your music to have on people?
That’s not our responsibility anymore. We can honestly say we just make the music that comes to us naturally and that we really wanna hear for ourselves. If you pay close attention to our music and lyrics, the messages and themes that will present themselves are probably really relatable but they’re being said and performed in a way nobody’s ever put together like this before. We have a unique perspective. For real. But we also don’t care if people get it or not.
Are there any fun behind the scenes stories or memories you can share with us that you can think of?
We literally turned from boys into men together, so you can imagine the type of experiences we’ve had. The only ones worth writing about are not fit to print in a family publication.
What was the most fun show your band has played?
The last show we played with Cole before the band started going through changes at the end of 2010, at the Muddy Cup or Full Cup or just The Cup. It was a Christmas show with bands that were all friends, and we were at the very top of our game.
We had bigger crowds than that, and more intense experiences of “firsts” onstage, but just because of how good we performed our awesome songs that night, that show stands out as the pinnacle of Curious Volume’s high school heyday.
How has Staten Island influenced the band and your music?
dNo has always written about Staten Island and his relationship to it, as well as just mundane interactions that involve Staten Island. But dNo takes it even further and writes about how he feels like he is Staten Island in human form.
Staten Island is a land of extremes- it’s the least heralded, most forgotten, least understood borough of the most famous and important city in the world. The way people look at Staten Island is extreme; nobody ever has a take-it-or-leave it opinion on anything having to do with Staten Island. And that’s kinda what we bring to the table as a band.
What’s your favorite place on Staten Island and why?
The fun bubble. IYKYK.
What is some advice that you can give to a band that’s just starting out?
When we met On Pink, we told them to quit school and jobs that weren’t music-related and go all-in on just being the best awesome young band. When you have that much talent, you can’t hamper it with any plan Bs and expect to reach your full potential. That’s the only advice that truly good bands need.
Be aggressively yourselves.
Don’t trust any stranger that is charging you a cheap price for a service that should cost a lot of money. Those shortcuts backfire. We learned this. Also, don’t leave expensive equipment in the van.
Do you have any shows coming up that people can go to?
Just December 23rd at Edgewater Hall for now, but we will certainly have more to come.
What’s the band’s goals for the future?
After this show, we will be focused on finishing our new record. We will also be playing some shows in places we used to play a lot in our previous phase, revisiting old friends and making new ones.
Where can people find you and your music on social media?
curiousvolume.band has everything.
Do aliens exist?
Yes if you look at the shape of dNo’s head when he was born it was diagnosed to be too conical to have originated in our solar system.
Thank you so much Curious Volume for talking to us about your journey and art! Make sure you follow them on Instagram, listen to them on Spotify, and come to their show on January 23rd 7:30pm at Edgewater Hall with On Pink. If you want to also follow On Pink, here's their Instagram and Spotify too!
First photo of the band was taken by Jahtiek Long. Follow him on Instagram!
Flyer for the Return of Curious Volume was created by Joe Cosentino. Follow him on Instagram!
Commenti