Post-hardcore band Placeholder from Pennsylvania is making a name for themselves by writing music that is lyrically honest from personal experiences. Front man Brandon Gepfer and the rest of the band just got back home from a US tour. In May they are heading back out on another tour in the US and a couple dates in Canada. Next month the band will be opening for The Dangerous Summer in Philadelphia. In the interview Brandon talks about the formation of the band, how he started out by playing drums and important steps new bands should take to build a fan base.
Rob Marcacci: How did your band Placeholder form?
Brandon Gepfer: Basically Marco Florey, the drummer, and I were previously in a band together.
RM: The band Handguns?
BG: Yeah. After a year of leaving that band, Marco also left the band. We decided we wanted to do something a little darker and more punk. We got together and got people that we knew from other bands and formed our own.
RM: How did Handguns come together?
BG: Handguns was a band for a couple months before I joined. The singer left to join another band. It was a local band with all of us just wanting to go on tour a lot.
RM: What moment in your life did you realize you wanted music to be your career?
BG: When I was a kid in junior high I listened to Nirvana and Sonic Youth a lot. These nineties grunge bands were the first kind of bands that I got into besides the Top 40 music my parents made me listen to. I remember when I was younger the internet was much slower but you could see videos of Kurt Cobain jumping through a jump set and I knew that’s what I wanted to do. Probably around 12 years old was when I knew for sure.
RM: Did you take any music classes in junior high and high school?
BG: No, I never stayed in them. I actually got kicked out of my school band because I couldn’t keep rhythm. I tried to play drums and I couldn’t keep the exact time and wasn’t good enough for it.
RM: You started out playing drums?
BG: That was the instrument I wanted to play back in fifth grade. The first day that I went to the band at school they told me I couldn’t play because of my problem keeping rhythm.
RM: Is this what made you move towards singing and playing guitar?
BG: It all goes back to me wanting to be in a band where I saw these musicians playing guitars and throwing them around. When I was in tenth grade I got extra money for Christmas and I was able to get my guitar. Then I was able to write songs and perform them.
RM: Do you write the music in Placeholder?
BG: I write all the lyrics. The other guitar player, Evan Braswell, writes about sixty percent of the music and I chime in on different parts. We have a very complementary relationship where he has an idea and we can both flesh it out. It works the same way when I have an idea too.
RM: How did you get signed to Better Days Records?
BG: We recorded our album Nothing Is Pure and we were debating whether we wanted to self release it or not. A bunch of our mutual friends knew people at Better Days and our record got sent to them and they wanted to put it out. We decided this was the best choice for us.
RM: Do you think it would have been tougher if you guys were to self-release the album?
BG: It would have been much tougher financially. They paid for the record to be pressed onto a disc and other things as well. As a touring band to not have to worry about that financial burden it makes things much easier.
RM: You mentioned Nirvana and Sonic Youth, who are some of your other influences?
BG: My influence for ever being in a band is Nirvana first and foremost. Musically I would add Sunny Day Real Estate, Jawbreaker, Mineral, Texas Is The Reason. I like nineties emo bands and we don’t sound like them but we all listen to them. Vocally I feel I’m a little more punk and closer to hardcore with my thrashy voice.
RM: Who influences you lyrically?
BG: Elliot Smith. That is also how we got our band name. I think he one of the best singer songwriters to ever record music. Everything that he talks about are things going on in his life, like his reflections. I don’t want to tell stories about something I haven’t experienced. I always talk about something I am going through in someway or another.
RM: Have your friends and family been supportive?
BG: Yes. Especially my mom. She just wants me to be happy so she helps out in any way. Aside from that, my friends are supportive where if we play a show in our hometown they will come. But the most important person that is in my life musically and emotionally is my mother.
RM: How have you and the band built your fan base in order to get the music out there?
BG: We recorded our demo in May last year and didn’t really expect anything from it. We posted it on random blogs online. That picked up some speed and people wanted to see our band. Playing shows is the most important factor though. I didn’t sign up in a rock and roll band to make it big on Internet success. You have to go out there and try to play shows every weekend. We just got back from a three and a half week tour.
RM: How was the tour across the US?
BG: It was great. We did well in certain areas and some locations were a bummer. But when someone is singing all your lyrics out in California that makes everything all worth it.
RM: What was the best city on tour?
BG: There was a town in Iowa and there were a lot of people at that show. The crowd was really receptive to the music and that was great.
RM: That’s pretty sweet that people knew the lyrics across the country.
BG: For sure. We haven’t been a band for a full year yet and it was something really cool to see.
RM: Are you touring soon?
BG: We will be on tour in May and be out through July/August. July and August we will be out in the west coast, then back on the east. Then we have a couple shows in Canada. We are playing a festival in Montreal.
RM: Do you guys have a hand in booking your shows?
BG: Local shows, anything like Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey I will handle. Then my friend Tucker, who is at The Wildcat Agency, books all of our tours. They have bands like Wolves at Bay, Energy, Latin For Truth.
RM: What do you think is the most important factor in having a successful music career?
BG: I wouldn’t say I’m insanely successful by how many people would measure it. I think having fun and if you aren’t enjoying it you shouldn’t be doing it. I will never write music that will make me a million dollars and right now I have a blast going out playing music on tour. My meaning of success is being happy and that is equal to playing shows and staying active musically.
When you are on tour you can’t really have a day job. I had to quit my job to go on tour. I used to have to find different jobs when I got back from tour.
RM: Do you have any advice for kids starting out in a band?
BG: First off you have to be honest. The thing that annoys me are bands that fake it and just want to be The Wonders Years or A Day To Remember; these bands that have already done something. My personal advice to someone that is just starting to play in a band is to say what you are thinking. Don’t put something out there that isn’t your own.
RM: One of the trends I’ve seen lately are bands that think they have to have the biggest following on Twitter and Facebook.
BG: They think that once you get 6,000 friends you’re big. That’s not true. We’ve played with a couple bands that have 10.000 fans and there are still only three people that showed up to their show. The friend count doesn’t always matter at the end of the day. If you write decent, honest music people will get it. You just have to work hard at it.
RM: Are you excited about opening for The Dangerous Summer soon?
BG: Really excited about that. The guys that we recorded our record with used to do demo tracks for them when he was working in Baltimore. I think it will be a big show for us and they are a great band to play with.
RM: Thank you so much for your time. Anything else you would like to add?
BG: Being honest is the biggest thing. Mean everything that you are playing and pour your heart into it. I’m more responsive to someone who might be in a band I don’t musically like but they are giving it all their energy and very honest about it. The only advice I can give to someone is be yourself and do what you want to do.
Check out the video for Resent from their album Nothing Is Pure:
Purchase their album here.
