‘We were moving away from bar band covers to doing our own songs. So shouting “Ho hey!” from the stage got people’s attention. We were doing it to be heard. Then suddenly everyone started listening’After growing up in Ramsey, a small town in New Jersey, we moved to New York to try to make it in music but found it a very difficult circuit to break into. Bars would let you play because they wanted your friends to buy drinks, but then they’d kick everybody out to get the next group in. Whenever I would meet people, I’d tell them, “I’m a waiter but I play music,” and they’d go, “Yeah, so does my cousin.” The prospect of playing somewhere like the [iconic New York venue] Mercury Lounge felt about as likely as playing a stadium. Continue reading...