Getting to Know…Keep Up | Interview 🎤

Reading Time: 5 min read

For the magical 150^th interview in our Getting to Know… series, we gain insight into New York rock band, Keep Up.

Keep Up is “…not just our band name, but a way of life.” That’s awesome to say the least 🎙 Keep Up! The New York rock band serve as our interviewees on the 150^th Q&A in our ever growing Getting to Know… series. Call it what it is – a special band for a special occasion. Making matters even more alluring is the fact that we hear from the different members of the band: 🎙 DJ, 🎙 Ian Brown, and 🎙 Chris. So, enough needless chit-chat, let’s get right into this thing, shall we? Without further ado here’s Getting to Know… Vulgarithm: Interview #150.

Starting things off right, for those who may not be familiar with Keep Up, what would you say makes your band distinct or unique? How do you rock the audience’s socks off?

🎤 DJ: We are Keep Up. That’s not just our band name, but a way of life. We are all multi-talented musicians that love to play around on stage. The most unique part about Keep Up is that we switch instruments when performing LIVE. We love to test our audiences; can they keep up? With switching instruments mid song, our LIVE show allows people to stay engaged the entire time.

Okay, let’s explore some juicy backstories. How did your Keep Up form and what were some of the goals or the visions you had as a band early on?

🎤 DJ: Our band started in June 2018 when band member Chris and I had a talk regarding who’s going to take over for our former front man. Originally, I was the drummer and Chris played bass. We came up with the concept of joining forces with Ian Brown to leverage our skills with playing multiple instruments on stage. I have dedicated the last two years to learning more scales and chords on both guitar and bass. Chris was previously a drummer in his band, so it was natural for him to assume that position. Ian is a great bass player and guitar player. He’s currently striving to become the best drummer he can. He has two great drum teachers in his band and will soon be ready to hit the stage on drums too.

Let’s talk more about goals. Have your goals or your perspectives changed since first starting out? What do your aspirations or goals look like now?

🎤 Ian: First starting out, much like almost every other musician. Our goal was “make an album. Get signed!” And as the years progress you come to realize it doesn’t work that way. There’s so much more that goes into it. The entire process can be very costly just to be seen by X amount of people. But as far as goals go now, I think it’s more about having fun doing what you love and enjoy the process. We are very much a D.I.Y kind of band. So, I think with time and knowing the right people and taking the right steps, more success will come our way.

Everybody is influenced by somebody else. Who would you consider some of your biggest musical influences and how are they influential?

🎤 DJ: I think collectively, we are all cut from similar clothes. We all grew up with bands like Good Charlotte, Blink 182 and Sum 41. Today we are influenced by bands like Seaway, Our Last Night, Neck Deep and Stand Atlantic. All of these bands have high energy, head boppin’ tunes that are easy to the ears. We love to take bits and pieces from all of these artists to write our own aboriginal material.

Ah, the fun stuff. What’s your craziest tour story or the wackiest thing that’s happened during a performance? Feel free to be creative.

🎤 Ian: Craziest thing that’s happened on stage for me is just before a guitar solo I broke a string, it completely popped off. It was awkward when it happened because I wasn’t totally expecting it with a brand-new pair of strings. I ended up grabbing a second guitar I had prepped side-stage and again, I broke another string. Two in a row!

Up until this point in your career, what would you describe as your favorite song you’ve recorded or performed live? What makes that song special?

🎤 Chris: My favorite song is our first song. 🎵 “All This Time” off our 💿 self-titled EP. Back then, we were first starting out and that song was the first song we wrote together as a band and first song to be released.

Is there anything else awesome, cool, or left of center the world should know about you? Secret talents or surprising tidbits?

🎤 Ian: Anyone who follows Keep Up should know that we try not to take ourselves TOO seriously. We are always open to fun new ideas. We have more to come by the end of the year and looking forward to connecting with our fans more virtually. Fun fact: Keep Up is made up of a bartender, a cat-dad, and a skateboarder.

Closing things out, what is Keep Up currently working on, promoting that you can share with us or want us to know about? We love secrets, but there’s no pressure.

🎤 DJ: We are currently in the process of promoting our latest EP — 💿 Win Some Lose None — now available on iTunes and Spotify. To start from the top of the EP, 🎵 “Cigarette Lips” was a song written to showcase our energy with a story of a sour relationship gone south. 🎵 “Work Week” immediately follows as the second track on the EP with inspiration from our personal lives struggling to pay bills and barley getting by. Third track on the release is 🎵 “Preachers Daughter” which is our new take on our writing style with cheeky guitar and pop tones to showcase a forbidden love song. 🎵 “American Catastrophe” is what set the vibe for the release with the heartfelt music video of our attempt of portraying the families’ struggles don’t outweigh love. Last, but certainly not least we close the EP out with 🎵 “Makes Me Sick,” a heavy rendition of a song about a missed opportunity with a high school lover; the one that got away.