Jammin with 500 Miles To Memphis

EV: Introduce the band and tell us where your from.

500MTM: First off thank you for taking the time to interview us. We’ve never played the Eastside until Saturday at Rhino’s. We’ve been around for seven years touring the country and never made it to the eastside(my old stomping grounds). I’m Ryan Malott, the founder/lead singer of the band. I grew up in Bethel. Jeff Snyder(Bass) - Covington, KY. Kevin Hogle(Drums) - Bellevue, KY. David Rhodes Brown(Lap Steel) - Rabbit Hash, KY his dog is the mayor. Noah Sugarman(guitar) - Ft. Thomas, KY. Elaina Brown(backup vocals) - Mason, OH

EV: How did your unique brand of music come about?

500MTM: I started out with a love for punk rock and country at a young age. I moved to Dallas, TX and saw my first country band. After that I was hooked and knew I wanted to do this for a living. Upon my long drive back home to Cincy I saw a mile marker for Memphis. I was about ninety or so miles away. I thought to myself, “That’d be a pretty cool band name.” and just left it at that. Once I returned I immediately formed the band and started writing songs. At first mixing country and punk was a little awkward for me. I hadn’t hit my stride with songwriting. I was only nineteen at the time, but I kept at it. I never rested or gave up for anything. I wasn’t all that good of a player either. I didn’t care. My mind was made up and I found a couple of guys willing to put up with my out-of-pitch vocals. We started playing any club that would book us. At the time we were called Underclass Motto. Terrible name! Enough time passed, we got better and changed the band name to 500 Miles to Memphis. We released our first album with a local label called 3rd Silo Records and hit the road. We didn’t garner national attention until our release of “Sunshine In a Shot Glass” on Deep Elm Records. We received many awards, got songs on tv shows and started pulling decent sized crowds to most venues across the nation. Forty three band mates, three worn out vans and countless headaches later here we are.

EV: You shows consist of mostly original music, how long were you writing in order to be able to incorporate this many originals in your live performances?

500MTM: I’ve been writing songs for about ten years now. Once again, a lot of work. Nothing has ever come naturally or easy for this band.

EV: We blasted our copy of your CD “Sunshine In A Shot Glass” it rocks right proper! Is this the first 500 Miles To Memphis CD release?

500MTM: “Sunshine In a Shot Glass” is our second release. We are currently working on the third, which we’re hoping to release this February.

EV: Your schedule shows you play all over the country, are you being booked from a management company or doing it (bookings) all within the band?

500MTM: No management or agents here. I like to do it all myself. We control every aspect of the band. First off we save money by doing it ourselves and second if we’re in charge we know it will get done the right way. We’ve worked with booking agents before and nothing good has come from it. They’re either crooks or lazy and don’t do anything.

EV: If Eastside Vibe had a record label we would have already made efforts to sign you, have you had any contact with any labels yet?

500MTM: Yes. We’ve had contact with many labels. We’re currently signed to Deep Elm Records out of Charlotte, NC. Times are different in this industry. A band does not need a record label to “make it”. If you’re willing to work hard you can make a good name for yourself and draw large crowds to your shows. Once there, the labels will be contacting you.

EV: At the Rhinos show we noticed right away that many people were signing along with your originals, obviously you have many fans that follow the band. Tell us about your Cincinnati fan base support so far.
500MTM: I love Cincinnati. This town has been pretty great to us. I considered moving to a “music town”(Nashville, Austin, LA) many times, but there’s no real necessity for that. We tour enough that it doesn’t really matter. Plus our friends and families are here. It’s nice to be on the road for a long time and come home to that. Cincy has a great music scene too. There are soooo many talented bands and songwriters right in our back yard.

EV: We are impressed by the fact that the band plays so many originals, the CD is excellent and the video on your www.500mtm.com site “All My Friends Are Crazy” is CMT/MTV ready. We get really tired of hearing local bands say Cincinnati isn’t the place to play an all original show. Your Rhinos show proved that philosophy is dead wrong. Tell us (and other bands) you perspective on playing an (almost) all original show to crowds who have never even heard the band before.

500MTM: If you have good originals you’ll do well. Sorry to sound so obvious. People definitely like covers, but you’ll be surprised at how receptive folks can be. Everyone likes discovering new music that none of their friends have heard. Word of mouth is still the best promotion on the planet. That aside, we enjoy playing our originals more. It makes the show more fun for us and we don’t want to get labeled a cover band. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. We’re just not a cover band.

EV: You have your CD and debut video out, what’s next for 500 Miles To Memphis?

500MTM: We just got out of the studio recording a track for the video game rock band. Next is our new album. We hit the studio at the end of November. Hopefully we’ll get the album out in February. We plan on hitting the road for 250 dates next year.

EV: The band had literally just got off 275 after driving straight from a Nashville show (at the “Basement”) when you pulled in to play at Rhinos. No chance to even take break from a show in one state to the next in another, that’s rough but thats the name of the game. If you get hooked up with label (it’s bound to happen) are you guys looking forward to keeping up the break neck pace of a serious tour?

500MTM: Absolutely. Staying busy is great for us. We love playing. In ten years I’ve never been tired of playing. It’s why we do what we do. We have a genuine love for performing and making music. I’ll be doing this til the day I die.

EV: Thanks for sitting down with us and filling us in on the story behind your awesome band, in parting tell the EV readers where they can get the “Sunshine” CD, watch the new video and get all the upcoming show information.

500MTM: The best place to get our records and show info is 500MTM.com. We also sell everything at the shows. Can’t forget myspace either. myspace.com/500milestomemphis