One to Watch for - Spread the Word and Sing it Loud: A Conversation with Pat Brown and Kieren Smith

Often, after you fall in love with a band, you go back and listen to their early recordings to see how far they’ve come. Most times this is an embarrassing trip down memory lane featuring screeching vocals, offbeat drums, and sloppy guitar work. With Sing It Loud, you will have no such laughs at their expense. Formed in April of 2007, Minnesota natives Sing It Loud released their self-titled EP four months later, selling over 500 copies in three weeks without any label support whatsoever. Instead of a limping foray into the pop rock world, the Sing It Loud EP is a self-assured debut that is turning heads. I sat down with guitarist/lead vocalist Pat Brown and guitarist/backup vocalist Kieren Smith to discuss the band’s growing popularity and future plans.

While less than a month after their first release, Sing It Loud has already gained a strong following. Coming from other well-known projects helped them get their name out and understand what it takes when it comes to running a band.

“When we first started, we posted bulletins from the Semester’s and Jamestown Story’s MySpace so it was like [we were getting] friend requests left and right. That was like an instant fan base,” explains Pat.

“I think being in successful bands before Sing It Loud helped us a lot more with getting off the ground,” Kieren elaborates. “It helped with the fan base, but more so with touring and just knowing the right things to do to get your band started. We knew exactly what we wanted, no question.”

“We’re also really good at portraying a really positive, feel-good image. So people get stoked when they listen to us or come to a show because they know it’s going to be a positive experience,” adds Pat.

However, you can’t discount the band’s work ethic contributing to Sing It Loud’s popularity.

“If you look at a newer band and think ‘They should be doing this and they should be doing that,’ well we put it all together and make sure we do every single one of them,” explains Pat.

“When I first started putting this band together I took a ‘don’t cut any corners’ kind of attitude. I pulled out all the stops,” adds Kieren.

Having top-notch recordings right out of the gate is another strong reason why the band has been turning heads. One reason their songs sound so professional is because of the help of producer Jordan Schmidt.

“He had just got back literally a week before from working with Matt Squire (Panic! At the Disco) out East, who has done basically everyone in the scene right now, so he had a lot of experience. It was good because when we went into the studio we had like two songs and he helped a lot with just getting everyone together on the same page and getting the songs to sound the way we wanted to,” Kieren explains. “I think that’s another reason why, as far as online presence and support goes, we’ve done so well; people get way more stoked about bands that appear professional. We came out of nowhere with a really solid CD and everything was really professional as if we had been doing it forever. We didn’t have crappy demos for people to cringe at.”

With their growing fame and rising popularity, the big question is if and when a label wisely snatches them up. The band however doesn’t see this as a free ticket to easy street.

“Labels, managers, and whatnot want to see a band that is ready to work their butts off and isn’t going slack in any department. Most bands think that when you reach the next level with a label that its free time and you get to do what you want. But, that’s just when you have to work ten times harder, and labels see that we are ready to work and it certainly helps,” Kieren points out.

“If you see this band [Sing it Loud] get signed I guarantee the work that we’re doing now is going to double, triple. We’re like a freight train,” proclaims Pat.

With their goal in sight, Sing It Loud recently headed out on a tour of the Midwest to let the middle third of the U.S. know who they are.

“I think we were really well received by the kids, because all the guys in our band are really personable,” explains Kieren.

“And I make sure that I do a good job onstage of making sure everyone is clapping along and getting everyone to the front. Everyone in the band knows what they need to do at a show and they do it,” says Pat. “You have to be assertive. You have to be like, ‘Hey, this is our band and this is why you’re gonna like us.’”

“There was a show where there were literally eleven people watching us. We just went into it with the mindset that we were going to play a sick show regardless,” tells Pat. “We did and we sold almost $100 of merch to those eleven people. You’ve got to play to three people like you would play to three-hundred.”

With their first tour under their belt, Sing It Loud is heading back into the studio to record a couple tracks to showcase their talent.

“We’re going into the studio the first week in October. Jordan Schmidt will be producing and mixing again. We’re trying to get another batch of songs to shop around,” says Kieren.

With that in mind, Sing It Loud certainly know what kind of sound they are aiming for.

“We want to be the catchiest, most picture perfect pop band while still being respectable,” says Kieren. “We still want to be original, especially with the newer stuff, we’re trying to be as original as possible while still remaining poppy and catchy. You see a lot of really good bands that are afraid of being poppy.”

“It’s not like we’re writing it [just] to catch people,” explains Pat. “I just write stuff that I wish another band would write, so I could listen to it.”

Thankfully, what Pat wants to listen to seems to be well aligned with many music fans’ tastes. Be sure to check out your new favorite band at Sing It Loud’s MySpace and don’t forget to order their new self-titled EP.