PEV President Richie Frieman really does love his old stomping grounds – The University of Maryland – so it’s suffice to say that the little guy is uber-pumped for our latest feature: recent winners of the UMD Battle of the Bands, Boxcar Collision! Ashlee Wilcox, Tom Van Veen, Yasir Al-Hassani and bing just took home the honor – even playing at the school’s recent homecoming. And for those of you not familiar with College Park at the University of Maryland… it’s friggin’ huge!

The band released a CD back in 2007 as they slowly took over the indy scene of Washington, DC with covers and original “alt-indy-pop-rock”. But as they find more and more success, Boxcar Collision has begun focusing on a more progressive sound. They say to expect “More edginess. More cohesive song writing.  More effective bass.  More instruments.” Ashlee continues, “We're about half way through writing the songs for the new album.  I think these new songs are more evolved, more sophisticated than the first album.  But then, that's the goal – that you've evolved with your new work; that you haven't just churned out more of the same.”

I’d like to end with what Tom has to say about continuing the Boxcar Collision dream – its good stuff: “Why stop dreaming?  Why stop pursuing the dream? Determined to make it happen? I'm determined to have fun being a musician and to learn how to be better at being that, as well as having fun at it... it is happening, so long as it being ‘a career’ isn't oriented on making money, and is oriented on growing as a musician.” Keep an eye out for the new work next year and the touring to follow. Dive into the XXQ’s for a whole lot more.

XXQs: Boxcar Collision
 
(PEV): What goes through your heads the minute you walk onto stage?
 
rVB: "Is my fly up?"  "Glad to be back."  "How does that new one go again?"

TV: "How can I not screw up too bad?"

AW: "Let's do this!!" Mostly I'm excited to see who's in the crowd, and the bigger the crowd the better.  I love performing and love to get people up and dancing, having a good time. I love when people dance at our shows.

YA:  "I hope I don't spontaneously combust.  Then again, that would make for quite a show!"

PEV: How did the band first come together and was it an instant connection?

rVB: It evolved from a vaguely purposed exploration of improvisation into a highly focused vocal machine, in something like an instant, especially if you consider a big bang, that is still going on after eons, is instantaneous.  On a less stellar emphasis, it wasn't what I'd term an instant connection, but while instant connections are great for improvisation, less instantaneous harmonies of existence definitely yield greater creativity through the resolution of conflict.  Yeah, yeah! That's the ticket!

AW: It was an instant connection. Tom was going to regular jams with Vince (bass) and our original drummer Cory Coffin (who now lives in Seattle).  Tom sort of prepped the boys with a song, while simultaneously prepping me, as I had expressed interest in going one day.  The day we all finally got together in the same room, the boys started playing the song... they were all amplified, but I don't think there was a mic set up for me.  Some girls have dreams of growing up and getting married, having a big wedding and babies... My dream was always to be a "rock star".  I used to sing in my room, on top of giant mulch piles in my driveway, anywhere I felt like I could "be a singer".  Funnily enough I was singing to my favorite cartoon "Jem" who was actually Britta Phillips of Luna (now Dean and Britta)... I've always loved to sing, and sang in choirs from the time I was in 5th grade through college...  Anyway, the boys started playing, and I just belted out my part -- no mic, no amplification, nothing.  I think they were trying to ease me into it.  But I was ready to get started!  I just remember the look of surprise on everyone's face.  Good surprise, like get this girl a mic!!

PEV: What is the story behind the name “Boxcar Collision”?

rVB:  After months consulting astrologists, astronomers, numerologists, zoologists, palm readers, and i-ching rune casters, the universe chose it for us. Why the universe wants to claim we are a train wreck in process, who knows?   Alternatively, it was the first of many, many, too many, name proposals that everyone in the band said they liked and I bought the URL www.boxcarcollision.com that very evening before anyone changed their mind/told the truth.  The short version: Ash did it (and I did buy it that night).

AW: I can take the blame for our name -- honestly, it's completely random and came from a stream of consciousness exercise I was doing at my desk at work one day.  We had been trying to come up with something, as we were starting to get gigs, and several other random names had been shot down.  I liked the sound of Boxcar Collision... the alliteration, the rhythm.  I remember it was raining outside, and I was focusing on the sound of the rain.  We unintentionally fulfilled the meaning of our name in the beginning... but it's not intended to have any sort of meaning.  Just a silly name.

PEV: What can fans expect from a live Boxcar Collision show?

rVB: Good music, consistently better in live performance than any recordings by us, with a few variations in addition to mere goofups thrown in here and there for the keen of ear.
The really keen ears might even be able to point out the difference, and we challenge them to come to all our shows to prove it.

AW:  Great songs!!!!  People who come to our shows, come to hear our songs and hear what we've "come up with now".  We write all original music and have been classified as "alt-indy-pop-rock".  (How's that for original?)

PEV: Tell us about your first live performance together as a band that we see now. Was it an instant connection?

rVB: With our brand new drummer Yasir, our first performance was last August.  It went quite well performance-wise.  Yasir deserves major props: I think it's possible he was tighter on BC's songs than the veteran members.  Instant connection?  Do you need to add water for something like that?  Going for the corny angle, I suspect it takes sweat, and hopefully not tears.  As a rhythm section, Yasir and I definitely click well, but we are still learning each others playing style.  On the bass and drum thing, there pretty much is an instant connection between most rhythm players every time in my experience - the rhythm has to be met and agreed upon in some fashion between the rhythm players.  Give and take.  If one can't give, the other has to. As for the gig itself and the crowd, there was definitely a lack of instant connection, but it was still a fun gig with quite a few cool people.  Liz at TeraTech ROCKS.

AW:  I think our first performance "as a band" was at an open mic in Manassass, at a place called Okras.  It was an interesting experience, and really still more of an experiment at that point.  I remember singing, and all of us on stage... We had folks' attention.  Afterwards, people came up to us and asked us when "our band" was playing again.  We thought it was so novel, people actually thought we were a band!  And I think that's the point we decided we needed to come up with a name.

YA: My first performance as BC's new drummer was this past August.  In a word, it was anticlimactic.  I don't mean that in a negative way, but rather to point out that our musical efforts produced a very expected result - a good show!  I believe that when four musicians can anticipate each other's individual musicianship on stage, it generates a mutual and collective confidence which is reflected by a quality performance.  If there are ever surprises and unexpected events on stage, I would think that is a result of not having gained the trust of your fellow band mates.  On the other hand, surprises and unexpected events are what the audience should always get!   

PEV: What can fans expect from your recent work?

rVB: More edginess. More cohesive song writing.  More effective bass.  More instruments.

TV: The next cd will have more instrumentation and varied sounds, the songs will be more polished and cohesive as a set.

AW: Wow.  Um... We've really pushed our limitations with these new songs.  Tom taught himself to play trumpet for one of the songs.  We've added some keyboard parts that I'm playing.  The songs themselves rock.  And rocking is the goal!

YA: Pyrotechnics.  But the rest of the band doesn't know it yet.

PEV: How is this album different from other albums out today?

rVB: The album that is currently out is different from all other albums today because it's us, not them, all thems people making those other albums, that is.  We don't precisely sound like anyone else.  The album that will be coming out in the beginning of 2010 is us recently, now and soon, which is definitely different than us then. So far it is looking more cohesively written, and edgier than the one current one made up of us from when we were then/them.

TV: Because it's us.

AW: We're about half way through writing the songs for the new album.  I think these new songs are more evolved, more sophisticated than the first album.  But then, that's the goal -- that you've evolved with your new work, that you haven't just churned out more of the same.

YA: I'm on it!  This will be a new collaboration, as I am a newly added member.

PEV: Having played many cities and many, many areas in Washington, DC, what is the
DC music scene like? How is it different than others you’ve played?

rVB:  In my experience, DC tends to have people caught up in scenes instead of what they are, or what the scene was about at one time.  As an example it sometimes seem to me like DC music hipsters are a bit too serious about their music scene and not serious enough about actually listening at performances.  In other places we've played, a music show is a party, and people are genuinely there to hear the band, no 'scene' necessary.  Though this is a general impression.  On a more real note, the connections we do make in DC are awesome ones every time.

AW:  The DC music scene is very competitive, but also thriving.  Good on both counts.  DC has its own sound, it's own "brand" of music, compared with NY and LA for example, which is great, because we stand out when we hit other cities, and the response is fantastic.  The crowd really appreciates something totally fresh.

PEV:  With such a competitive music scene right now, how do you feel Boxcar Collision will stand out over the others?

rVB: Are we competing?  We'll be pretty tight, practicing once a week or more. And we will sound like us, not them.

TV: We don't compete...there's room for lots of bands, we just want to do what we do and we hope people like it.

AW: Well, there are some really fantastic bands coming out of DC right now -- The Courtesans, The Maple Band, Memphis 59....  Our goal is to just write good music and hope people enjoy it.  We don't do this to compete.  We do this because we love the music.  And the more good stuff out there, the better.  Having more great bands on the scene can only help the DC music scene grow.

YA: While competition is good for any industry, the music industry has become saturated with formulaic and forgettable acts.  While the road to riches may indeed be to emulate the glossy, teenage, cute-one-minute-angst-ridden-the-next, one-hit wonders, Boxcar Collision's goal is simply to make music that has wide appeal without sounding like everyone else.

PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about each member of the band?

rVB: Uhhhh…  That I'm actually NOT a hippy?

TV:  I really like kittens.

AW:   Hmmm...  Blackmail time.  I'm not sure there's anything anyone doesn't know about us! Sorry.

YA:  I don't really know how to play drums.  I've been faking it, and so far no one has said anything.

PEV: Was there a certain point in your lives when you knew that music was going to be a career for you and you were determined to make it happen?

rVB:  This happens on a semi-regular basis, actually.   Why stop dreaming?  Why stop pursuing the dream? Determined to make it happen? I'm determined to have fun being a musician and to learn how to be better at being that, as well as having fun at it... it is happening, so long as it being "a career" isn't oriented on making money, and is oriented on growing as a musician.

TV: I knew I wanted to be in a band the first time I played with Cory and Vince.

AW:  Well, playing music and a career can be mutually exclusive of one another, and often are...  We play music and play together because we love it.  We also all have regular jobs to support ourselves, as unglamorous as that may seem, it's the reality.  Of all the people in the world who do play music, only a fraction of them go on to resounding financial success.  There seem to be two camps of musicians who have actually been produced -- the produced and the self-produced.  We rely on being able to produce ourselves -- we're not waiting around for someone to "discover" us.  We'll be doing this whether or not there's money in it, and hopefully our music gets out, gets around, and people enjoy it, share it and come to shows.

YA:  My pivotal moment was when I heard Gerardo's "Rico Suave".  I knew then that if he could make it, then I could make it.  What?  He didn't make it after all?  Oh...

PEV: What one word best describes Boxcar Collision?

rVB:  Unonewordable.  Musical?

TV: non-defunct? Robots?

AW:  Trainwreck isn't enough for you?  Lol - just kidding...!  One word is tough.  How about three?  Different, but listenable.

YA:  Phat.  Has that been added to the dictionary yet?

PEV: Traveling is now a large part of your life now. How is life on the road for you? Best and worst parts? Any fun stories?

rVB: Heh.  We wish.  Life on the road was fun though, I even think we got along better on the road than in the rehearsal space. The most fun was definitely with the Pitchfork Militia out of upstate New York.  Check them out.  Killer fire-engine solo.

TV:   The best part for me was walking around NYC after the gig.

AW:  I love it, but it's exhausting!  I miss creature comforts, but have fun roughing it with the boys.  Many fun stories, but you should ask our roadie Peter Irish -- he'll tell you lots of dirt.  About him, mind you.  But good stuff.

PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your musical careers? What’s it like when you get to play at your hometown?

rVB:  Lots of support, though my dad recently implied he refuses to come to another show until I start singing.  Hometown gigs are a great time to catch up with people we don’t' get to see often enough.  I'm not sure how my singing will impact that...

AW:  I think my family always expected me to do something like this, and all of my friends think it's awesome I'm doing what I'm doing; I'm grateful for everyone's support.  My brother writes for TV in LA (he's on Fringe right now), and I think he's really proud of me for doing the band -- that means a lot to me.  I don't think anyone has any idea how much work goes into making the band successful... It's like having another full-time job where you don't get paid.  Just writing and playing the music makes it all worth it, but it's nice when your friends and family recognize the hard work you put into something you love and support you.  We still live in our hometowns, and play a show about every other month (when we're not writing new music).  The shows are great -- our friends and fans come out, and we get to meet new people.  Building our hometown fan base is really important to us.

PEV: What can we find each of you doing in your spare time, aside from performing?

rVB:  I just got back from a footbag (aka Hacky Sack) tournament, and am attempting to solve a Rubik's revenge for the 4th time.  I have 4 students in juggling currently.
And there is the day gig, I'm a technical expert/systems analyst at the Census Bureau.

TV:  Trying to keep the squirrels away from my tomatoes.

AW: Tom and I are full-time photographers.  Vince does something with computers.  And Yasir is an international energy trader.  That and the band keeps us all very busy!

YA:  After almost getting killed in a motorcycle crash a few years ago, I now spend much of my free time traveling and renovating old houses.

PEV: With such a great year, already you were recently crowned the winners of the first ever University of Maryland College Park Battle of the Bands and get to play at their homecoming. How did this opportunity come about and what was it like to find out you won?

rVB:  Yasir recently graduated from the University of Maryland and heard about the contest from the Alumni Association.   Finding out we won was fantastic; for weeks we had many people telling us they were voting daily, and asking us over the weekend before it was announced if we had won, so it was quite a great community experience for us and our fans.

AW:  Yasir heard about the contest and asked if we wanted to enter.  When we won we were just floored.  I think this is the first time we've ever entered a contest, so we didn't expect to win.  There were some other really great bands on there like Velvet - I love those guys.  So we were surprised.

YA: It was entirely a fluke that I found out about the contest.  I was simply checking UMD's athletics website to see if there were any home games at UMD so that I wouldn't get stuck in traffic.  Little did I know that our next stop would be Hollywood.  What?  This isn't "American Idol"?

PEV:  Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now? Why?

rVB:  Well, Us.  We are working on a new album and are hoping to playing out more regularly starting in February. Our favorite local bands to play with are Maple, and Amateur Hour.  Maple has some of the greatest musical energy of any band I know of, Amateur Hour is filled with DC musical pop essences.  They will remind you of a lot of other DC music while being their very own thing.  I've also been meaning to check out Memphis 59, as I hear they are making a break for bigger times and are likely to succeed.   Outside of DC, I became a huge fan of the verge bands Earl Greyhound and Heartless Bastards when we opened for them in 2008. And if you are ever get the chance definitely check out some live Pitchfork Militia.

TV:  Rumor has it that former Beulah frontman Miles Kurowsky will be releasing a new CD soon. It will be epic.

AW: Besides us?... Check out Treading Lemmings... those guys have a great sound.

YA:  Magneta Lane.  They rock.  And they're pretty to look at.  Am I allowed to say that here?

PEV: If playing/writing music was not your career goal, what would each of you most likely be doing?

rVB:  Well, we each have full time day gigs.  If I were to start over choosing a new career goal, it would probably be healing arts, or teaching.  And I'd still be playing music, anyway.

AW:  I'm doing everything I want to do right now... Singing, playing music in Boxcar Collision, and I have a busy career as a professional photographer. I'd just like to move those things to the next level.

YA:  I've always aspired to be like Fox Mulder. 

PEV: If we were to walk into your practice studio/space right now, what would we find?

rVB: A chill atmosphere, quite a few instruments, and cables, a recording studio setup,  and a Rubiks cube that is missing all the red stickers. Tom mixing our practice session, and me finishing up these questions. Oh wait. You're reading this in a different 'now'.... Scratch me writing these questions, the others are all still pretty likely.  Though Tom might be working on photo albums instead.

TV:  Enough cables to wire a space ship, and robots.

AW: It's a fun little space, colored lights, and the all important lava lamp. We love having people over when we practice -- it's a fun, intimate environment.

YA:  A big, black dog that likes lots of attention but hates loud noises. 

PEV: So, what is next for Boxcar Collision?

rVB:  Tonight?  Sleep!  After you read this? You, the generic reader?  Get you to check out our CDs, or us Live and In Person, or both.  We think it's worth it.  Better than stereo, even.  Planning? Lots of practice, 5 more new songs, a cd in January, but first, the Backyard Homecoming Bash, October 17th, 1-4pm on the University of Maryland campus.

TV:   Record CD #2.

AW:  Finishing up writing the songs for the next album, and getting those songs tight for performance.  Then recording, and eventually really playing out and promoting this album.