DJ interviws: B Side Story

 How'd you get started in music?

I (Don) started out playing drums as a young kid and then got into chorus in middle school.  I sang in a few different hair metal bands in the late 80's (back when I actually had hair) and then like many morphed into the "Grunge" scene in the 90's.  I got out of music for a long time doing the "real life" thing.  About 7 years ago, I got the itch again and decided to learn the bass guitar and start singing again.  Since then, I have been playing in a couple of original music bands.  Currently, I play bass for the Richmond, VA pop-punk band, Everybody Gets One and just recently kick started B-Side Story.  We are an "all over the place" alt. rock band and are currently writing, recording and releasing songs as they are completed.  We hope to start playing live in early 2022.

Who are your inspirations or influences?

My inspirations and influences are all over the place, kind of like our sound.  Vocally, my inspirations and influences are vocalists like, Layne Staley, Scott Weiland, Aaron Lewis, and Scully from Godsmack.  I have also started to try to add a little scream to my style to mix with clean vocals like Chester Bennington, Mattew Tuck (BFVM), etc.  

Bass influences and inspirations are guys like Mike Dirnt, Jeff Ament, Robert Trujillo, and guys like John Cooper (Skillet) and Sting who keep it fairly simple but memorable.

What advice would you offer aspiring performers?

Do what you love and do it because you love it.  Work on your craft and be the best you want to be, not what others think you should be.  

How do you set yourselves apart from other bands or singers?

What sets us apart as a band is the fact that we have so many different influences and this makes our sound or style hard to pinpoint.  Are we grunge, alt. rock, pop rock, metal?  The answer is...YES, we are all of that.  As a singer, I just try to find ways to make the vocals compliment the music.

Any new gigs or albums in the future?

We are currently laying down the vocals for the final track of our debut EP.  The song is called, "Drowning" and the EP is titled "4 On The Floor".   We are also writing for another EP.  I (Don) have completed writing six songs for that EP and once we get "Drowning" finished and released, we will start recording the newest songs.  We are tentatively considering calling the next EP, "B-Side Ourselves" .

No shows booked right now, but we will be out booking a few shows early next year once we complete the recordings.