photo by Greg Swam, PerfetPorridge.com

My recent conversation with Josh Ostrander of Eastern Conference Champions got me thinking. You see, if you know anything at all about ECC then you may already know the story of how it all began. With two of the members of the group having been in a different band that they founded earlier on, having landed a record deal and then walking away from that same deal....I wondered if I would have been able to make that same choice. How many people dream of being in a band, then learn to play or sing, actually start a band and achieve their goal of getting a record deal.....only to leave the label and start from scratch?
Then I remembered something I was taught early on in my life. What may seem crazy to one person couldn't be more sane to another.

Knowing what I do now about ECC, I'd have to say that Josh and drummer Grey Lyons definitely made the best decision they could have in that situation and it has turned out to be just what they needed. Rounding out the trio of Eastern Conference Champions is Vern Zaborowski on bass, and this lineup has found a great label to call home with Suretone Records. Their sound is unique, and for me a welcome change from some of the steadily churned out sounds that we so often hear on mainstream radio. Josh Ostrander took some time to fill me in on the evolution of ECC and where they are trying to go from here.

CHRISTINA AVINA: Hi Josh. Can you give me a quick background on ECC for the readers sake?

JOSH OSTRANDER: Greg and I were in a band called La Guardia maybe four or five years ago. We were signed to Universal Records and we put one record out. The label really didn't do anything. We toured nonstop on it and then we kind of just got sick of dealing with the label at that point, so we left the record deal and Greg and I left the band. Then we went back to working our day jobs. We started putting together some recordings in our home studio. We were planning on just doing an indie deal or just putting it out ourselves, just something that would keep us out on the road. That ended up being the EP that we put out through Suretone. Right after we put that out we got Vern who plays bass to join the band. It was kind of one of those things where the president of the label heard the EP and offered us a really great deal that we couldn't pass up, right on the spot. It was cool.

CA: That's very cool. How did you come across your drummer?

JO: We all grew up in the same town, Southhampton, Pennsylvania. He's a couple of years older than me, was always in bands. He was in this band called Trip 66. They were like the first band in town that were on a major label record deal. These guys were my heros and I would just hang out with them at their show. Greg and I really hit it off. That's when we started working together and that was a great moment for me, for sure.

CA: Pennsylvania has a great music scene that deserves a little more exposure I think.

JO: Yeah, it's cool. This town that we grew up in really came alive with some great bands. There's a band called The Cobbs that came out of there. They used to be called Mad Action, and they're just a great band. There's another band called Illinois that's out of there and they're doing really well.

CA: Have you ever heard of a band from the same area as Breaking Benjamin called Pan.a.ce.a?

JO: Yeah, I've heard of them. I don't know them personally. There's definitely something in the water out there though.

CA: There must be. I wanted to ask you....I've been listening to your CD since I received it from your publicist, and it's really great.

JO: Thank you.

CA: I want to let you know too, I wouldn't just say that if it weren't true. I get so many CDs sent to me, and some that I put in I will know after about 30 seconds whether or not I want to listen to it the whole way through. With yours, I've listened to it many times and truly enjoy it.

JO: That's cool, thanks.

CA: Your welcome. I usually have an instant reaction to music. For you guys, instantly I had a flashback to Smashing Pumpkins.

JO: Oh cool. Yeah, I get that a lot with my voice.

CA: I was just going to ask you if you hear that a lot.

JO: Yeah, we get that and the Radiohead thing a lot, which it's never a bad thing to hear that because they're two career bands that have put great records out.

CA: Do you consider that a compliment, or would you rather not be compared to anyone?

JO: No, that's fine. We in no way try to go after....when we record the record we don't listen to anything, we don't have cable TV. We wouldn't listen to the radio. We really try to make something that is completely our own thoughts. So it's tough to close ourselves off to that. When you get a comparison like that you can't get upset about it. It's like wow, that's great. Corgan is amazing.

CA: Of course. He definitely is. Your speaking voice now is night and day from your singing voice. When you first started singing how old were you, and did you develop this style? Or is this something that is very natural to you when you sing?

JO: It's pretty natural. It took me awhile. I started singing when I was 18 and then when I started in La Guardia it was kind of a crash course with that because we were on the road nonstop. It took awhile to find my range, where I can go and where I can't go, where my voice sounds good. Even stuff like whenever we put reverb on my vocals it just sounds horrible. It's really weird because a lot of the bands we love use reverb a lot in the hook, and it just does not work for us.

CA: What are some of the bands that you guys do love?

JO: We were lucky enough to tour with Black Rebel this year, which was great. Their new record is amazing. That was a treat. The new Wilco record....I mean, Wilco is probably my favorite band going right now. Their new record just blew me away. I just think they're amazing.

CA: There are just so many great bands to choose from. I've loved music ever since I can remember. I've always had my favorites, but until I started interviewing bands on a regular basis....you just don't realize how many great bands are out there unless you're in one or involved in the industry.

JO: No, it's true.

CA: They're endless.

JO: Especially when we're trying to book tours or set up the next couple of months we're always like, "There are so many bands out there,"

CA: I know what it's like on my end and I'm not involved half as much as the bands are involved in what they're trying to accomplish. For you guys to have had a record deal when you were with La Guardia, and to walk away from that, that must be a really tough thing to do because it must take a lot of effort just to get there in the first place.

JO: Yeah, that was a tough call. I just knew it was the right thing to do. You can relate it to being in a really bad relationship. You get to where it's like, you know what....fuck it. This is really not healthy.

CA: You have to do what's going to be good for you ultimately.

JO: Yeah, exactly, but that was a huge risk and it took a lot for Greg to agree to do it. Right afterwards we were back to working shit jobs. There was definitely patience involved on all parts, but in the long run it turned out to be the best thing we ever did, which was really rewarding when it came down to it.

CA: Absolutely. I think sometimes, what a lot of people don't realize, is that just being on a major doesn't necessarily mean you're in the best situation either.

JO: Oh no, absolutely not. There was an amazing band on Capitol this year, Ambulette. They recorded an amazing record. They worked with some of the top producers and the record came out amazing, and then two months before it comes out they get dropped.

CA: That's crazy.

JO: Yeah, and it's this great record that nobody's ever going to hear and it's a shame.

CA: That's very unfortunate, because I think really there's a market for everybody.

JO: No, I agree. Absolutely.

CA: Everyone loves different types of music across the board, and a lot of people have many different tastes just in their own repertoire of bands. That's just too bad. But Suretone seems like a great company to work with.

JO: Yeah, I definitely think we made the right choice. I have very little complaints with my situation there. They get it, they let us do what we want....they're completely there to facilitate anything that we need or need to get done. It's just great. They get the big picture too. There's no rush. They're being very patient with it. That's all you can hope for in the long run.

CA: Your record just came out when, in July?

JO: In July, yeah. We haven't even really started the push. We just wanted to get it out so we can start getting it to work. We're opening up for Frank Black on the whole west coast and stuff like that.

CA: That's very cool. I was going to ask you about the push, because I haven't really seen a whole lot of push yet with it. You've had some great comments made about the record by some of the big magazines and what not, which is fantastic. As far as a push though, are you anticipating doing a major push to get it out there more? What's the plan for the record overall?

JO: The plan for the record, as always, is going to be a slow build. Just because we signed a deal so quick and I had to write the record right away, which meant we couldn't go on the road because I needed to be home writing....we've been on the road for most of this year and then the record came out. Now we're just starting to build up, which usually takes two years for a band to do. We gotta get out there. The main thing right now is just to get the name of the band out there and play in front of people. The video has been done for about a month or so. I know we're trying to figure out what we're going to do with that. The video came out great. We have a lot of stuff up our sleeve and it's like, we're going to release something here and slowly every day it's building up a little bit more. It's great.

CA: Which song is the video for again?

JO: For the U.S. the single is 'The Box', which is the first song on the record. We go to radio in the U.K. in like six weeks I think. The single over there is going to be 'Single Sedative.'

CA: I love 'Single Sedative.' That's a really great song.

JO: Yeah, it came out really good. The feedback from the U.K. has been amazing on it, so we're really excited about it.

CA: You talked about building up slowly and it reminded me of another band I've interviewed a couple of times. They did the same thing. They came out with an amazing debut, but they really weren't pushing it so heavy. They just went out on the road and built up this huge following. Now their second CD just came out and it completely blew everything off the charts. Sometimes, not having a huge shove right away until the fans get to know the band, that could be a really good way to go.

JO: Yeah, that's what happened with La Guardia. They gave one initial push and what took, took. For the most part that was it. That's all they did. They did one initial push and then they were out.

CA: I personally don't think that works for a band who doesn't have that whole "radio friendly" thing going on.

JO: Yeah, exactly.

CA: If you have a pop rock kind of band who has that immediate MTV playing sound, then that's one thing.

JO: That would be a disaster.

CA: Your sound is totally unique.

JO: Thank you.

CA: That's a good thing.

JO: We feel really good about it, but we have really low expectations as well. As long as we pay our rent then we're happy.

CA: As long as you're doing what you like, right?

JO: Yeah, absolutely. It's the best job. That's what I always say. This is the best job I'll ever have.

CA: I couldn't agree more. I don't get paid to do this, but I enjoy it.

JO: Well, you have to.

CA: You're going to be doing the west coast tour, and after that are you going to the U.K.?

JO: Yeah, from October 1st through the 16th we're with Frank Black. Then we have two weeks off to regroup and then our first show is in London on November 1st. We're supposed to be there for two and a half weeks, but we might be there longer. They're trying to book something else. That would be great, but we'll find out.

CA: It would be nice if you hit the east coast when you come back around.

JO: Yeah, that would be nice. We've been trying to book something on the east coast. It's just tough.

CA: Who would you like to play with? If you had a band that you could really see being a good match for you to go out on the road with when you come back, who would that be?

JO: Oh man, I would love to go out with....we opened up for Interpol one time and their crowd was really receptive to us. We would love to get that tour. That would be amazing. At the same time, we pride ourselves with being able to open up for anybody and being able to win over the crowd. As long as somebody's there we put on a good show, hopefully.

CA: That's cool. I hope I get to see you play live sometime. Let me finish up with just a few random questions. Do you remember what your best review has been since your album was released?

JO: For Ameritown? Yeah, actually there was this one review where....we put out this little EP with songs from the record before the record came out. This guy did this review of this one song, 'Navy Man', which didn't make the record that the band really fought for but it just didn't happen. The review was so great for this one song, and it felt good because the band really did fight hard to get it on the record, and everybody else was just like, "This isn't going to work."

CA: That's a bummer.

JO: Yeah, but when that review came out I forwarded it to everybody.

CA: Now I'm going to have to go look for that because I'm dying to hear it.

JO: I think we're going to release it as a B side in the U.K., so I think we'll put it up on our Myspace and our website, when the website is done.

CA: With that in mind, was there a really bad review that sticks in your mind? Have you had any bad reviews come across your desk?

JO: Yeah, there's been a couple with Ameritown. For the most part the Ameritown reviews have been 99% great, which has been really uplifting. I do remember a La Guardia review we got one time in a Blender issue and it said, "If Tom York was to make you a philly cheesesteak it would probably suck, as does this band." That was like my first big review in a magazine, you know? I was all excited and everybody knew it was coming out. Then we got it and read it and was like, "Oh my God."

CA: Wow, that sucks. That's alright though, because that's the one you keep in mind when you guys start really rolling. Then you don't ever give that guy an interview.

JO: (laughing) Yeah, exactly.

CA: If you had one day left on the planet and enough time to do three last things, what would they be?

JO: Oh man. Sushi, Starbucks and going to see a movie.

CA: That's great. I love that.

JO: Any day that I get to do any one of those three things is a good day.

CA: What's your favorite all time movie, since you like movies so much?

JO: Um, probably anything Wes Anderson has ever done. 'Rushmore' is probably my favorite movie.

CA: Great movie. Okay, I'm going to give you a chance to turn the tables and you get to ask me a question.

JO: Okay. What's your worst review of the year so far.

CA: Wow, that's hard. What's the name of that band? That's how bad it was...it was completely forgettable. It was one of the many EPs I got sent. It was so bad that I put it in my CD player and I couldn't get it out fast enough. Even the quality of the recording was so poor, it sounded like I could have recorded it on my 1970 cassette recorder. I don't remember the name of the band, but if I do remember it I'll send it to your publicist. It was definitely a good example of how NOT to make a record and send it in for review. Do you have anything you want to say to your fans?

JO: Just check out the record, and please buy it. That would be really helping us out.

CA: Thanks for the time Josh. I really appreciate it.

JO: Awesome, thank you so much.

Be sure to check out Eastern Conference Champions on Myspace and their official website.

ECC on Myspace

ECC Official Site