Brandon Wronski

Very Special Show in LA...

It has been a really long time since we have played at home in CA, and we don’t have another show booked around here till after MAY… So today we are announcing a very special show, “Harmonies for Haiti” presented by my good friend Chelsea Staub. We will be playing with a full orchestra, Eye Alaska & The Aleutian Orchestra. Some our best friends in the world, The Summer Set, and Frank & Derol, will be joining us along with a bunch of others.

This event will be held at House of Blues on Sunset in LA on Feb 11th and WILL SELL OUT so please buy tickets now at houseofblues.com. They are $20 and every penny goes to help Haiti. There may be tickets at the door for $25 in the event the night doesn’t sell out in advance.

This is such an awesome way to help the people of Haiti in a big way. There are going to be tons of surprises and celebrity guests and it will definitely be a night to remember.

So again,

Eye Alaska & The Aleutian Orchestra

“Harmonies for Haiti”

Thursday, Feb 11th at The House of Blues LA on Sunset

$20 in advance. $25 at the door. All money goes to Haiti

w/The Summer SetTyler HiltonFrank & DerolDrake Bell Kristy Frank The Record Lifeand a ton more artists and celebrity guests

Interview Words

I have posted Eye Alaska as one of my favorite bands of 2009 and now I have been fortunate enough to have an interview with the lead singer Brandon thanks to a good friend of mine, D’ette Bolton. After the interview I realized how deep these guys really are. I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did and support them in anyway possible.

First of all what’s your full name and if you could live anywhere where would it be?

Brandon Wronski. If I could live anywhere, I’d want to live in the middle of nowhere.

Eye Alaska is a very unique name, where did you guys come up with it?

The name, in Aleutian, means ‘To look to those, that which the Sea breaks against.’

Your record Genesis Underground has a very special sound to it, how would you define your music or what type of genre would you put your music under?

I don’t think we really consider ourselves a band. We write whatever kind of songs we feel like and don’t confine ourselves to a box of a Genre. Eye Alaska is more like a music production group in that aspect. Bands don’t experiment anymore. Especially in the more underground, Warped Tour world. That world used to be a place for bands to try new things, and maybe stumble upon something great. Now mainstream radio is pushing more musical boundaries than that.

Who has influenced your music style?

Listening to everything around. Movie soundtracks, Country, Rap, Hip-Hop, Rock, Jazz, European Techno, Pop, World. There’s beauty and something that can be learned from everything. I’ve been working witha full orchestra doing a few songs and it sounds amazing. The power and emotion of those instruments alone is something powerful.

I was able to see you guys play in Palmdale at the veterans hall about 2 years ago, and even though it was not the greatest place for a show you guys gave it your all and put on a great show. What would you say, for you and the band, is your goal with your music?

Yea, that was awesome. We just set up on the floor and played.Ultimately, our goal is to use music as a platform to do bigger things inside, and outside the realm of the speakers. Music can provide a person with so many tools to help, and a stage to say whatever they want. And you’re telling me you’re using that gift to tell little girls poop jokes? That’s cool. People do what they do and I can respect that, and I’m happy that they get do something they love. Genesis Underground is a tiny, tiny, step in the direction of change. We still have a long way to go.

I know that life on tour is long, what helps keep you going?

Well being surrounded by people that you love makes it easy. When the guys and I, and Big Kevin, and Kid True are out on the road, it’s so much fun. That’s family and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

What is one thing that you have learned from your music journey thus far?

You really, really, can’t listen to what people say. If you know something deep down in your heart, you do it. All through high school kids made fun of my singing. Looking back, yes I sounded horrible, but I knew what I was going to do with my life. I locked myself up 8 hours a day, every day after school and practiced for years till I got good. Now those kids work at Guitar Center.

How do you want to influence others through your music? What do you want your fans to take away from it?

I don’t think there is any one thing. Eye Alaska is music, and a mindset, and a lifestyle. I want people to take away whatever piece of us works with them. Again, music is a just a piece. Living life is an influence. Breathing is an influence. I wish I could make everybody understand how small the world really is. Everything is attainable. People have been directly conditioned to tell you what you can’t do.You can have anything you want if it’s in your soul and you work hard enough to get it.

For the most part your fans know about your backpack and you still don’t tell anyone what is in it. Would you consider it a comfort item for you to wear on stage? If so, why.

It started out as a comfort item, but lately it has been the cause of discomfort. I keep things in it that remind me of where I came from. Sometimes I want to wear it, sometimes I don’t, but you can’t just take your past off…

What is one thing that you would say to someone that is trying to pursue their dreams?

I think I’ve said it multiple times in this interview, but I really feel that if you are going to ‘make it’ you already know deep down. There’s no guess work.

www.writingground.com

www.myspace.com/eyealaska

This is Real

If someone gave you a microphone and a stage, what would you say and what would you sing? Whether the crowd was 10 people or 10,000, what would you make with the moment?

I was going to write a letter to the frontmen—the folks who sing in bands. I was going to say that there should be a system or some classes where they would be reminded that music is a very special thing; something not unlike a miracle, rich with history and the potential to move people and change lives. They would learn about urgency and honesty, the value of a moment and a song’s unique ability to cause people to feel, to remind them that they’re alive and that life is worth living.

And it crossed my mind to say those things because lately, it seems like there’s been moments when everyone is forgetting. I’m bored with watching guys play to thousands of people and it feels like everyone says the same thing in saying nothing: “How you motherf****s doing?” is followed by a request for the world’s largest circle pit. Congratulations. You are the fourth band in a row to say the exact same thing.

Are you kidding me? You beat the odds by making it and they hand you this electronic thing that makes your voice louder and that’s the best you could come up with? That’s what you wanted to tell the world? The stage is sacred. It’s above the ground so that people can see the magic when it happens; so that people can see something bigger than the sum of its parts; something louder than the same dumb joke, brighter than the latest neon trend. Tell us your story. Show us your heart. Remind us of our own. Point to something. In the silence between songs, point to something that matters, some question or problem that steals your sleep at night. Invite us to be part of the solution.

But maybe the lessons are not just for the guys with microphones. Maybe this stuff applies to all of us. It’s been said that all the world’s a stage and that maybe we all have some kind of influence and opportunities to say real things and move people. The stage in front of the crowd is this obvious place where it happens, but maybe it’s true that we each have our songs to sing and venues to play. We each get a few people who listen and a few people to listen to. We each have our jobs and our schools and all the places where life happens. We live in a world filled with needs and opportunities. Every person has a story. There’s plenty of room for meaning, depth and change. Don’t buy the lie that says there’s only room for jokes and it’s cooler not to care about anything. The bar has been set way too low. There’s room for magic and inspiration. There’s room to live a better story.

-Jamie Tworkowski