It’s cliché to call it fate, but the members of Ashville, North Carolina’s rock n’ soul band The Broadcast (Caitlin Krisko, Rich Brownstein, Matthew Davis, Aaron Austin, Tyler Housholder, Michael W. Davis) were meant to be together; originally from six different parts of the country, this “family” of musicians collided in one of the hippest up-and-coming cities on the east coast, sacrificing much in pursuit of the dream that is The Broadcast. The band has a new record out later this month titled Dodge the Arrow, and judging from works past (Days Like Dreams and their Live record), this collection is going to be one to own from start to finish.
We asked the group to tell us more about this latest effort – they said “The Broadcast’s sound is soulful rock & roll with influences from blues and southern classic rock. Rarely do you see bands with this type of energy fronted by a woman, so we realize having Caitlin as the lead singer in it of itself makes us unique…Dodge the Arrow is the first piece of work that we feel truly represents The Broadcast. It has been a long road for us finding the right line up and the right personalities to be able to not only handle, but enjoy the lifestyle that comes along with being a full time touring band. We set out to create a piece of work that was timeless while also giving homage to genres of music that have shaped the sounds of music today.” Dodge the Arrow arrives on Tuesday, September 24th, so prepare yourself by clicking to http://thebroadcastmusic.com/ to sample some tunes and locate some live shows. There’s still much to learn about The Broadcast, so read on for all the answers to the XXQs below.
XXQs: The Broadcast
PensEyeView.com (PEV): How would you describe your sound and what do you feel makes you stand out over others in your genre?
The Broadcast (TB): The Broadcast’s sound is soulful rock & roll with influences from blues and southern classic rock. Rarely do you see bands with this type of energy fronted by a woman, so we realize having Caitlin as the lead singer in it of itself makes us unique – but beyond that, there’s a connection emotionally that our listeners have with the lyrical content of our music.
PEV: Calling Asheville, North Carolina home, what kind of music were you all into growing up? Do you remember your first concert?
TB: We’re all originally from different parts of the country and grew up very differently from each other – we actually recently started creating band playlists on Spotify for our fans to get a sense of how eclectic our tastes are – we were all lucky enough to be raised on the greats: The Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, Aretha Franklin – all of the bands that were moving, rocking, and rolling their audiences both physically and emotionally.
PEV: What was it like trying to break into the music scene in your hometown, when you first started out as a band? What was your first show like together as a band?
TB: Breaking into the music scene in any town is a challenge. Sometimes you’ll play a city and by the second time you’re selling the venues out. Other times it can take years to build a following in particular markets. Asheville has always been incredibly supportive of The Broadcast and we owe a lot of our success to their support on both a local and regional level. The first show we played together in the line up that we have finalized now was actually in Gainesville, Florida at a “woodser”, which essentially is when a university literally buses out 500 college kids into the middle of the woods to a barn where they party til the sun rises. So yeah, our first gig as a band was on the back of a pickup truck bed in the middle of the woods in Florida with hundreds of rowdy college students.
PEV: What can fans expect from a live Broadcast show?
TB: The Broadcast is notorious for high energy live shows. We pride ourselves on offering 110% of our focus and passion to the audience when we tour. We want people leaving sweaty and joyful – inspired in some way because of our music. Caitlin is an emotionally driven performer known for her commitment to the lyrical content of our music. Often times you go out to see shows and you’ll see a singer just “stand there” or notice them “checking out” – those are things you’ll NEVER see at a Broadcast show.
PEV: What is the first thing that comes to mind when you step on stage?
TB: This is bigger than us and we are blessed to have the opportunity to build a community of people around our music – thank you for these continued moments.
PEV: How has playing in The Broadcast been different than working with other artists or projects in the past?
TB: The Broadcast is a family – we’ve sacrificed countless things in our personal lives for the continuation of a dream we all share together. Not many bands can say they’ve packed up a moving truck together to move halfway down the country to pursue a career as a touring band in 2013.
PEV: What is the underlining inspiration for your music? Where do you get your best ideas for songs?
TB: Caitlin writes all the lyrics to our songs. She is drawn to the detailed moments in life – the understated ideas and thoughts that float through her head – ideas and feelings she hopes others share and through the art of music can relate to.
PEV: Thinking back to when you first started out, do you ever look back on your career and think about your earlier days and how you’ve arrived where you are today?
TB: We laugh a lot about how much different this journey has been than we originally thought. There’s so much more to being in a touring band than people could ever begin to explain. Maybe that’s why when bands meet each other, they often have such a strong connection. We’re the modern day circus gypsies of America – all of us – giving up family life, friends, social circles all in order to bring entertainment and a sense of light to people who otherwise wouldn’t be exposed to these sounds and songs. We’re incredibly blessed, but we also work very hard every day to continue having the ability to do this for our fans.
PEV: What’s one thing we’d be surprised to hear about the members of The Broadcast?
TB: Aaron, our guitarist trains in Parkour, Tyler our percussionist is a furniture and woodworking designer, Caitlin manages and books all of the shows for the band, Matt our bassist literally slipped on a banana peel once, Rich used to run a music venue in NYC, and Michael our drummer is one of the most popular jazz drummers in Western North Carolina.
PEV: Tell us about your latest release, your sophomore album Dodge The Arrow, due out on September 24. What can fans expect from this work? What is the story behind the title?
TB: Dodge the Arrow is the first piece of work that we feel truly represents The Broadcast. It has been a long road for us finding the right line up, the right personalities to be able to not only handle but enjoy the lifestyle that comes along with being a full time touring 
band. We set out to create a piece of work that was timeless while also giving homage to genres of music that have shaped the sounds of music today. We’re incredibly proud of Dodge the Arrow and can’t wait to get it into people’s hands.
The story behind the title is one that we’d like to leave to the listener – a lot of clues and ideas can be found in the track’s lyrics.
PEV: What is the feeling you get after an album like this is complete and you can sit back and listen to it in full?
TB: It’s our version of adding a member to our family. It’s an offering to our listeners and we hope they love it as much as we loved making it for them.
PEV: What is the feeling you get after a song is complete and you can sit back and listen to it being played the way you envisioned?
TB: Songs never really feel complete. Even after they’re finished when you’re touring on the road, part of what makes live music so exciting is the malleability of creating it. They’re always growing and expanding and changing. Laying a track down on record is only one version of many different translations of a universal idea.
PEV: With all your traveling, is there one area you wish you could travel around and play that you have not yet?
TB: We really want to get out to Colorado and Missouri – we’ve heard the live music communities out there are incredible. Of course we’re itching to get out to New Orleans and California, and Caitlin really wants to take the guys to the Motown Museum in Detroit.
PEV: How have all your friends and family reacted to your career? What’s it like when you get to play in your hometown?
TB: We’re all very blessed to have families that have continuously supported our artistic endeavors. Our ability to do this as adults is a direct result of their encouragement throughout our youth.
PEV: What can we find each of you doing in your spare time, aside from playing/writing music?
TB: We’re on the road a lot so there’s not a ton of time for personal activities but when we get the chance, we try to take advantage of the mountains of Asheville – we try to stay physically active since road life is not exactly the healthiest life at times – balances things out.
PEV: Name one present and past artist or group that would be your dream collaboration. Why?
TB: Stevie Wonder – he’s a gift to the world.
PEV: Is there an up and coming band or artist you think we should all be looking out for now?
TB: Asheville artists are on the map and on the move – we love the community of artists that live in this little mountain town in the south – big shout outs and love to Toubab Krewe, Zansa, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Stephaniesid, The Fritz, Tiny Boxes, Moses Atwood, and if we forgot to mention your name, we love you too.
PEV: If playing music wasn’t your life (or life’s goal), what do you think each of you would be doing for a career?
TB: We have all been so in love with the idea of the life we are now starting to live, it’s impossible to imagine a life without it. Even more than that, who would want to imagine a life without it?
PEV: So, what is next for The Broadcast?
TB: One million fans. That’s all we want. One million beautiful committed fans that will share this life with us. If you’ve got that – you don’t need anything else.