FEATURED ARTISTS OF SPRING 2008 - Push Play
JOBROMANCE MAG: First off, why don’t you boys tell us a little about each one of yourselves?
CJ: I’m lead singer, rhythm guitar, keyboards, and producer of our new CD ‘Deserted’.
STEVE: I’m lead guitarist and keyboards.
NICK: Bass guitar here!
DEREK:I’m known as D-Rock and I’m the drummer.
JOBROMANCE MAG: When and how did you four start the band “Push Play”?
NICK: A year and a half ago. CJ and I were in CJ’s band called ‘Kaution’, which had broken up and we were looking for a new lead guitarist and drummer. The recording engineer at ‘Cloud 9′ introduced us to Derek and Steve and history was in the making!
JOBROMANCE MAG: What made you guys pick the name “Push Play”?
DEREK: We were in my new car at the time and we were trying to get the CD player to work and CJ said just push play. He (CJ) then said, “Hey that’s a great name for the band!”
JOBROMANCE: If Myspace.com didn’t exist to spread the word of mouth about the band, do you think all of you would still be band?
CJ: Absolutely! We have a very large local following which is one of the reasons we have sold out Irving Plaza for our CD release this Saturday (December 22nd, 2007).
JOBROMANCE: What else would you each be doing right now?
STEVE: Well, we are all pretty committed to going to school.
I applied early action to go to Fordham University, CJ applied to NYU, Fordham and Baruch, Nick applied to Post and Derek is already a freshman at Baruch College.
But we want to make it so badly that we are willing to do whatever is necessary to give our band the best shot.
JOBROMANCE: Can you tell us more about your new CD, how would you describe it?
CJ: Well it’s ALL US! We wrote it and I produced it with the help of Robert “Void” Caprio, who was initially our sound engineer, but we bumped up to producer.He is awesome and has taught me so much. The songs are all very dancy and poppy but with an edge. Not like something you’ve heard lately.
JOBROMANCE: What were some of the inspirations and stories to some of these songs?
DEREK: Well, a lot is our own personal experiences. CJ and I had a some stalkers so ‘Stop Starin’ kind of is about that.
NICK: ‘Here Without You’ is CJ’s inspiration song about his long distance relationship with Mandy, although they see each other practically every weekend.
STEVE: ‘Situation’ is just about all of us not wanting to have boundaries set by anyone. We just want to be able to be free and ‘move to the tides’ without any conditions.
CJ: ‘There She Goes Again’ is about a girl that is constantly cheating and leaves her fiance at the altar. We took this another step but all of us have had experiences with people cheating on us, except Steve.
NICK: ‘The Life’ represents our experiences right now which are totally awesome.
DEREK: ‘FFB’ is a personal thing and one that we really don’t want to talk about.
ALL: Yeah, we can go on and on but that’s enough for now.
JOBROMANCE: Who are you guys’ musical influences and admirers?
CJ: I love Fall Out Boy and Panic at the Disco.
STEVE: Metallica is big with me along with Maroon 5.
NICK: There are so many bands that inspire me that to pinpoint one or two would be an injustice.
DEREK: Gym Class Heroes are pretty cool now but I also have a slew of bands from many eras back to now and the list would go on forever.
JOBROMANCE: So we have heard you guys knew the Jonas Brothers. Can you tell us what you four think about them and how would you describe each one of them?
CJ: We don’t really know them at all. Derek and I first met them after their CD release concert in NY in August (2007) and hung out with them at their hotel for a few hours. That’s it.
JOBROMANCE: Would you guys ever take the offer if the Jonas Brothers asked you to tour with them in their summer 2008 concert tour or record a song with them?
ALL: Absolutely. We all think that it would be a good fit!
JOBROMANCE: For fans out there, as the burning question as many would want to know, is there a “special someone” in your guys’ love lives?
DEREK: CJ is dating Mandy now for over 5 months, Steve has been with Brittany for over 5 years, and Nick and I are single.
JOBROMANCE: Where do you guys see yourselves in five years from now and 10 years from now?
ALL: We see ourselves as accomplished performers.
CJ: I see myself heavily into performing and producing our work and to covering all aspects of the entertainment/music/film business.
STEVE: I see myself as broadening my musical side into learning a variety of instruments.
NICK: I see myself as playing bass my whole life but if it doesn’t work out I have a back up plan to be a special education teacher.
DEREK: I want this experience to last forever and get to the point where we are filling arenas but if it doesn’t happen my back up is to be an investment banker.
JOBROMANCE: What would each one of guys want to say to the readers of Jobromance Magazine and to all your fans/supporters?
CJ: I love all of your support over the past few months and am totally touched by your constant approval. It makes me want to always give every aspect of this business my all and to never let you down.
Thank you for making us reach new heights!
STEVE: I really appreciate everyone’s zeal when we perform. It is what turns me on and makes me want to jump higher, swing my head faster and play the best that I can.
I love every moment that I can make a fan happy and am so thrilled that we finally are reaching a point where we feel comfortable with our audience, who are now our friends since we chat with them so much on myspace.
NICK: You fans are the best in the world! I never expected to feel such love. It’s great! Thank you.
DEREK: Wildness! I’ve never felt the beat so much! You fans are the best! Thanks!
