Ultrasonic
Interview With Chris Simmons By Chris
Ultrasonic are a great rock band with some great
songs.
Plus their self titled album rocks.
I wanted to know more
1.How did you get into music?
many members of my family were in country music bands when
i was younger. anytime the family would get together, it
would always involve a few of my cousins and uncles sitting
around and playing guitar and singing old country and
gospel/bluegrass. i really enjoyed it and wanted to
participate, but i really leaned more toward rock n roll.
when van halen’s “1984” came out, i went crazy and begged
my mom to get me an electric guitar until she finally did.
within a few months i was pretty comfortable with it. soon
after that i really got into AC/DC hardcore. hours upon
hours of jamming along with AC/DC really was the foundation
to my guitar playing and musical career.
2.What were your major influnces?
as i said before, AC/DC was a huge part of my formative
years musically. van halen lit the fire, so to speak. i
really got into ‘queen’ for awhile…then later i embraced
the earliest blues and found out where it all really came
from. robert johnson, muddy waters, freddy king etc. now i
am really into the songwriting side of things. i love to
hear a good song no matter what style it fits into. i think
that somewhere in my music, you can find traces of the
power of AC/DC, some of the intricacies of van halen, the
beautiful hugeness of queen and a little of the rawness of
the early bluesmen.
3.What do you think of the idol format?
you mean “american idol” and “pop idol” and “australian
idol” all the other various “idols” around the world? i
enjoy hearing the very bad singers and i also enjoy hearing
the really good singers. i find it entertaining as a
television show. as far as turning the winner into a
star….it reminds me of any other product development. it
proves that if you package it right and advertise it
correctly that you can sell anything to the masses. i
totally respect it as a business and wish all the winners
good fortune, but musically i don’t feel it or understand
it. i love to watch britney spears dance around and sing,
but it’s not because i like her music. i’m in the music
‘business’ because i want other people to feel my music and
understand it, not buy it because of the way i’m packaged
or advertised. much love to all who are successful and
happy.
4. Has there been much response about your music over
the web?
there has been some response. it hasn’t been crazy, but
there have been a few responses from various music lovers
from around the world such as the fine folks at
“parx-e”.
5. Where do you think you will be in 10 years?
i’ll be playing music somewhere… it’s hard to say. i hope
to be traveling the world and playing my songs for as many
people as possible. i can only be sure that i will be
enjoying music and writing and performing if i am
able.
6. What has been your best gig you have played so
far?
i have played a few that we’re memorable. i’ve played a few
shows with rock legends dokken and great white. that was
something i never thought i’d be doing when i was a kid
watching them on mtv. we played a show that was headlined
by ‘stone temple pilots’ that was great. i watched the stp
set from backstage and shook scott weiland’s hand and told
him i really enjoyed it. they have great songs.
7. What do you think of file sharing and the mp3
format?
i think sharing music is cool. it’s always been a part of
spreading the word about a band that you think is cool.
when you download a song for free it is stealing, but i
don’t think it has a very big impact at all. i think it may
even be helpful in some cases. i think it’s great the
someone like me can hear a band from australia in split
second and someone from there can hear my music. that’s the
wonderful world we live in today.
8. Would you come down to australia to play?
i definitely would. i’ve never been, but it looks very
beautiful and the people seem very friendly and open to
travelers. it also seems like there would be no problem
finding a party.
9. Who would most like to record a song with?
dave grohl from the foo fighters. his talent is immense and
wide ranging and it all seems to revolve around the song. i
totally understand that. i must mention that i would like
to write a few songs and play a few shows on guitar with
paul rodgers. his voice is so moving… it would be
bliss.
10. What would we find on your stereo at the
moment?
i have a local dallas, texas band called “the now” in there
right this minute. we played a show with them saturday
night. i listen to ben folds all the time. queens of the
stone age, foo fighters….and dolly parton’s greatest
hits.
11. What do you think of the intenet for a tool for
promoting music?
it’s so instant. no matter how slow your connection is,
it’s still faster than anything else we’ve ever seen.
almost everyone is on the internet. it’s vital tool. right
now it’s great because there is so much that is free and
that’s wonderful.
Thanks for your time any last words
thank you for your time and help spreading our music and
other music as well. please refer all to our website:
www.ultrasonicband.com. there is some free music that can
be accessed there. if you have any other questions at all,
just ask. “be kind to someone.” chris simmons,
ultrasonic
Special thanks to Chris Simmons of Ultrasonic for doing
it
