Push Play brings power pop sound to Jammin' Java
By: Nancy Dunham
Special to The Examiner
November 23, 2009
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If you goPush Play and Emily Osment with Phil Bensen
Where: Jammin' Java, 227 Maple Ave. East, Vienna, Va.
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Info: $15; 703-255-1566; jamminjava.com
The four members of the pop/rock band Push Play may only be 19 years old, but they have very definite ideas about what they want to achieve in music.
Perhaps that's why they approach the music business more as eager-to-learn college students than some might expect.
"We work it like a full time job from the minute we wake up till we go to bed," drummer Derek Ries said. "We are definitely still staying grounded, though, keeping in touch with our families and friends, stuff like that."
Not that it wouldn't be easy to be somewhat swept away with the success they've had with "Midnight Romeo," the first single off their recently released album "Found." Combine that success with the band's constantly growing tour schedule and promotional obligations and you have the makings for a jam-packed schedule that could grow large egos.
Yet the Long Island-based band members seem to divide their time much as college students do mixing plenty of play into the downtimes on the road. But while Ries does talk a bit about how each member adds at least some time on a skateboard into his day, his mind is clearly on the business of the day.
"It just hit No. 2 on [Sirius] XM Hits," Ries said, talking about "Midnight Romeo" before switching to a discussion of the skateboarding members do during downtimes. "Plus the single sales are still climbing, which is really positive."
Ries seems determined to do his part to make sure those sales continue, studying drummers and their techniques for ways to improve his playing and incorporate extra flourishes into the band's live shows.
Now on tour with pop musician Emily Osment, Push Play treats audiences to most of the songs on their album plus some extras including a Christmas tune. Keeping the shows interesting and dynamic is a goal of the whole band, said Ries.
"I think the stage show comes with experience, years of doing it," he said. "We have done some cool things like we have [equipment] that when you jump on it, lights come on. Sort of like what Michael Jackson used when he danced on [the video for] "Billie Jean.""
Now on tour through the holidays, Ries said the band is eagerly awaiting the release of the second single on the album "My Everything," and soon will shoot a video to accompany the song.
"Everyone thinks we're an overnight success; snap your finger and you are a musician and band," he said. "So few people understand all the work that goes into being in a band. It's great, but it's work."
