There are many reasons why “band x” will never make it; laziness, pretention, selfishness. However, when I received an e-mail from guitarist and vocalist Mathew David Barletta of Hollywood Lies it was a breath of fresh air. Here was a musician who knew he needed to work hard, but at the same time wasn’t making music for the sake of being signed to a major label and making it big. This is actually exactly what Hollywood Lies is not about. Their name stems from the absurdity and fake lifestyles that make up Hollywood today, and our irrational obsession with them. The guys in Hollywood Lies -- a pop-punk trio made up of Barletta, bassist Mikey Matthews, and drummer Johnny Barbas -- are making music because they love making music and they want you to join the party. There are no over-inflated egos here; the band makes it a point to refer to their listeners as “friends” rather than “fans”. I talked to my friend Mathew recently to discuss the truth about Hollywood Lies.
Although their MySpace may have you thinking otherwise, the “party photos” inside limos with drinks and women are definitely tongue-in-cheek.
“I don't want to be a rockstar,” Mathew explains. “I hate the term ‘rockstar’. We’re not going to be those guys who sleep with people who are into our band - that's just not who we are. We don't have drug problems, we're not alcoholics. We're just people. And a few people have said things like, ‘Don't forget about us when you're famous!’ That's so amazing to hear. The whole band name revolves around the fact that fame is kind of a joke. How could we ever forget anyone who cared about us when nobody would listen? That's just obscene.”
Staying true to their decidedly un-rockstar ideals, Hollywood Lies know that their fans – *ahem* -- friends, are what it’s really all about.
“I think it's kind of degrading to call people who are in to what we do ‘fans’”, says Mathew. “I want a bunch of friends! I want to just hang and have a good time and play the show, and then after, go out and talk and eat pizza, or do something silly with good company.”
This isn’t a too-good-to-be-true ploy to sell more albums as Barletta explains,
“I mean, a few of our friends have messaged us about things that are bothering them, and I always take the time out to give them my two cents. ‘Friends’ doesn't mean, ‘I'll talk to you as long as you keep buying our records or playing us on MySpace.’” Mathew further proves his dedication by stating, “If somebody comes up at a show and goes, ‘I really like your music, but I don't have the money to buy a CD’, I'd just take down their email address and send it to them. If people really want the music, they can have it. In a way, it's more theirs than ours.”
While it may appear that Hollywood Lies has a laid back approach to the band, this isn’t necessarily true in all aspects. When it comes to their Saves the Day and early Fall Out Boy influenced tunes, the Massachusetts based band of only a year is as serious as it gets. The band makes sure that nothing they do comes off as looking or sounding half-assed. For the band’s upcoming (independent) release Building an Empire, the band didn’t just have their best friend record them; they sought out Casey Crescenzo (The Dear Hunter, ex-The Receiving End of Sirens) to produce it.
“Recording with Casey helped us to realize how to go about writing better songs,” states Mathew. “It wasn't as if he was coming in and writing parts, it was more about going, ‘Well, this part is cool, but how does that compliment the song?’ Casey helped out a lot in terms of how the songs were arranged so we can get them to flow better, and getting the best performances out of us as musicians.” Barletta continues, “He would also show us different ways to go about achieving the feel we were going for besides the most obvious ways that bands use. The only thing he didn't like was that, since I'm a big fan of pop-influenced music, I'd always throw out these lame ideas like, ‘Hey man! How about some finger-snaps here! Or how about some group claps here?’ [laughs]. He wasn't down with that. But, at the end of the day, they're our songs, and we have to do what we feel is right with them.”
Not a band to carelessly name their work, Building An Empire had a definite meaning behind it.
“It comes from building yourself from the inside out as a person, and just being confident in who you are,” Mathew explains. “I think confidence is the most attractive quality in a person, bar none. And if you can build yourself up to be an outstanding person and member of society, people will look up to you and respect you a lot more. But it's also about the fact that I really want to play music for the rest of my life. I would love to get involved in a million facets -- I'd love to book bands, I'd love to manage bands, start a clothing line, start a record label, and just build this empire and network so that all my friends and I can do music and hang out and have fun for the rest of our lives. I won't work in a cubicle. I would rather be dirt poor doing something I love, than be filthy rich being an accountant or something.”
In order to keep doing what they love, Hollywood Lies has already built an impressive resume. In addition to working with Casey, the band will be featured on the main page of Purevolume.com for five days in January, have a music video for their song “Southbound Train”, and will also be doing an interview on iDobi Radio’s The Gunz Show.
The New Englanders know that they will have to do more than “the right things” to make it. They will also have to invest gallons of their own sweat and elbow grease to be successful.
“It's a daunting task, but we can't wait to get out on tour to play for people. We're not under the assumption that we're going to be spoon-fed everything,” Barletta insists. “Yes, we're going to sleep in the van most nights. Yes, we're going to have long drives and not make much money. Yes, we know we're probably not going to shower every single day. But you've got to make sacrifices to get what you want. And my ‘motto’, so to speak, even though it sounds cheesy is that, with anything in life, if you want it bad enough you'll find a way to make it happen. So I think through a series of fortunate, as well as unfortunate events, we're finding a way to realize our dreams and make that happen.”
Keep your eyes peeled for Hollywood Lies' Building An Empire, hitting stores and the interweb this January. If you can’t wait that long, head on over to myspace.com/hollywoodlies or purevolume.com/hollywoodlies and stalk the hell out of your new favorite trio.
