What are your names?
Brian Gandy (vocals/guitar), John Hakala (vocals/bass guitar), Adam Mahoney (drums)
What is the band’s name? Small Town Sindrome
How did you come up with the band’s name?
Everything else we came up with was taken!!! Kidding aside, the name is a play on “small town syndrome”, a sort of group-think thing where people have lived in a small town for so long that they have very self-centered, myopic views of things…we thought this same narrow-mindedness is sort of rampant throughout the world these days so it might make for a cool band name (we used SIN to be unique)!
What is your genre of music?
Not really sure what we are…..maybe a mix of alternative rock, pop-punk…even some classic rock influences thrown in.
Give us a little bio about you as a band:
Brian and Adam are step-dad and step-son, respectively. They started out just jamming together as a way to bond, and one led to the next. They recruited one of Adam’s buddies (John) to join up as the bass player and now the band has two studio albums.
What made you go into music?
Brian: was a drummer in school, but picked up the guitar at about age 15 and the rest is history…instant addiction. Always loved a variety of music from old-school punk rock like the Ramones, to Motown, blues, and R & B.
Who are your influences?
Brian: so many to name….Rivers Cuomo of Weezer, Kurt Cobain, Johnny Ramone, Billie Joe Armstrong……The Bouncing Souls….even Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains
Are you signed?
No, we are on our own record label, JAB Records.
You are set to release your new album ‘It Only Gets Worse’, tell us more about the album:
After our debut album was released in 2019, we definitely wanted to put out something that was a little more polished. Some of the songs on the album have been in our live set list for the last couple of years, and some we wrote recently. We want every one of our albums to appeal to a broad spectrum of people, so hopefully everyone will find a little something on there that they dig.
What is the meaning behind the album?
John, our bass player, walked into band practice one night with a brand new tat that said “It Only Gets Worse”….we thought that pretty much summed up 2020/21 with the pandemic and everything else going on in the world. We have a picture of his tat on our social media.
What was the writing and recording process like?
We had the fortune of being able to record the album with one of Brian’s influences, Pete Steinkopf of the Bouncing Souls (we recorded at his Little Eden studio in New Jersey). Pete was great to work with behind the control board and did an awesome job mixing our tracks!
Describe each track in two words:
It Only Gets Worse: modern life
To Nothing at All: unrequited love
Too Far Gone: about survival
Pretending: get real
Insomnia: brain buzz
On My Own: my way
Tell Me Why: always confused
Who did you work with on the album?
Pete Steinkopf of The Bouncing Souls.
Will we see a Music Video for any of the tracks and if so what can we expect?
YES!!!! We film the video for “It Only Gets Worse” on Saturday……our first video where we have actors including a female lead!!
Will we see any live shows coming up with the album release coming soon and if so where will you be heading?
Will hopefully be a busy spring and summer in 2022! A US and a UK tour is in the planning stages!!!!
What else can we expect in 2021?
Our focus right now is getting the album launched on October 29th so the world can hear it!!! Lots of new merch coming related to the album!!
Where do you see yourself now in 5 Years?
Hope to have put out 4-5 more albums, and have played shows on all continents!!!!!
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Brian’s favorite quote from Kurt Cobain – “I’d rather be hated for who I am, than loved for who I am not.”
When you are at a gig, what are 5 things you cannot forget?
Guitars, guitar picks, drums, drum sticks, and set list!!!!
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Facebook, Twitter, and our website are the primary social media platforms that we use.
