3 Years Hollow singer Jose Urquiza: “When you realize your music and your band are THAT important to someone, even one person, you have a renewed faith and passion for everything you’re doing.”
Midwestern-based hard rockers 3 Years Hollow will be releasing their new album, “The Cracks”, February 11th via Imagen Records, produced by Sevendust’s Clint Lowery (Sevendust drummer Morgan Rose’s is also the label’s VP of A&R). The band are ready for another year of touring to support the new stuff and 3 Years Hollow has earned a reputation for their live shows which have seen the band sharing the stage with acts like Lacuna Coil and Buckcherry. Lead singer Jose Urquiza took a few minutes out for me during their tour with Saving Abel to talk about his band; read on…..
LRI: Thanks for talking with us Jose. To begin with can you tell us how things have gone with your new label Imagen since signing and what you feel some of their strengths are?
Jose: We couldn’t be any happier that we signed with Imagen Records. They have supported us in every way and they have an amazing team behind the scenes pushing our music. It’s really amazing to see how much a great team can really make a difference. We can tell that their passion for this is just as strong as ours.
LRI: Your new album, “The Cracks” is due out this Feb and features some cool artwork and of course your bands logo, how important are the cover art and visuals to you guys as a band?
Jose: To me it is a representation of everything we’re conveying with our music. That visual side is definitely something we care about. The story of a song is expanded with a video, just like the story of an album can be told through the cover art.
LRI: You have had support from Sirius Xm for your music before and are already getting a nice reaction to your leadoff single from The Cracks.
People sometimes forget how big radio still can be despite social media…Do you hear from a lot of fans that have gotten into Three Years Hollow as a result of radio appearances and airplay?
Jose: We definitely have. Radio really propelled us nationally and combining that with a couple national tours at the right time is a great plan for a band trying to survive out here.
LRI: You have done a lot of shows with established acts like Lacuna Coil and Sevendust among others and seen how they do business as well as treat their fan base. What is one of the most important things you’ve learned from working with bands on that level?
Jose: I think it’s the same anytime we play with a very established band. We learn respect and what it really takes to get to the levels they’ve reached. Years of sacrifice, failures, success, it’s all really about what your fans take away. If you build a solid foundation everything on top will be stronger, and even if it does all crumble, you still have that foundation, the fans, to rebuild on.
LRI: I am from Illinois and realize that sometimes it seems like people remember Chicago but forget about Rockford, Moline, Springfield etc. Were there any particular challenges or advantages to being a band from Quad Cities?
Jose: I think mainly our biggest disadvantage was not knowing what to do. We’re sitting here in the Quad Cities and were 2 hours away from Chicago, 3 from Milwaukee, 3 from Des Moines, 4 from St. Louis and Indianapolis. We’re central to these major cities and we could have better used that to our advantage in the past. So we’re really in a great area to reach these major markets, that’s an advantage for sure.
LRI: As the singer of the band how many different influences do you feel like you’ve had growing up and what do you feel your “job” is?
Jose: My influences range from Maynard of Tool/A Perfect Circle, Brandon Boyd, Lajon Witherspoon, Pete of Chevelle, to old school R&B like Boyz II Men. I know that might sound funny but I loved to sing my whole life and the harmony they had was amazing.
I like to just show that what we’re doing is real, whether or not that’s what people want, I’m not sure but it’s what this band believes in. We write based on experience and try to deliver performances that fans will remember and appreciate or maybe even be inspired the same way we were by our favorite bands growing up. And it’s about the music for us. We want to write music we love and hope that the fans appreciate it as much as we do. That’s really the ultimate prize.
LRI: Was there anything different about your approach to recording the new album as opposed to previous recordings?
Jose: Not really. This time we basically just had an outside producer come in with Clint. We still recorded most of it in our own studio on our low budget, but we had Clint Lowery to really guide us and bring out the best in us; that made a huge difference and I hope fans can hear that on this album.
LRI: What is the greatest thing you’ve witnessed from your fans? Traveling long distances to gigs, tattoos, have you guys got those kind of fans?
Jose: Yes. I would say the long distances and the tattoos are pretty mind blowing. We had a fan travel from Arizona to Illinois for one show. When you realize your music and your band are THAT important to someone, even one person, you have a renewed faith and passion for everything you’re doing. Same thing with body art. Fans show us their new 3YH tattoos all of the time and we’re very honored they believe in us that much.
LRI: If someone had never heard of your band or if you met someone at the grocery store who asked you what to expect from your band or your shows what would you say to them?
Jose: (laughs) I’m not sure. I’m pretty quiet and reserved usually so I probably wouldn’t say much but I’d tell them the musicians I get to play with are amazing and so much fun to watch. We’re still learning a lot about ourselves as musicians and as a band and hopefully they like what they hear. I usually try to let everyone form their own opinion on our live show or the album.
LRI: Thanks again for talking to us Jose, is there anything else that you wanna let readers know about that I may have missed??
Jose: I don’t think so man. Thank you so much for taking the time for us. We truly appreciate the support and the help in spreading our music.
Tour Dates with Saving Abel:
Wed Feb 12 Appleton, WI Luna Lounge
Thu Feb 13 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
Fri Feb 14 Cherry Valley, IL Take 20
Sat Feb 15 Rochester, MN Wicked Moose
Sun Feb 16 Fargo, ND Windbreak
Tue Feb 18 Grand Forks, ND Shotgun Sallys
Wed Feb 19 Minot, ND Original Bar
Thu Feb 20 Williston, ND DK’s Lounge
Fri Feb 21 Bismarck, ND O.N.E.
Sat Feb 22 Jamestown, ND Jamestown Civic Center
Sun Feb 23 Spearfish, SD Czar Bar
Wed Feb 26 Manhattan, KS RC McGraws
Thu Feb 27 Salina, KS Muse Ballroom
Mon Mar 3 Phoenix, AZ Joe’s Grotto
Tue Mar 4 Gallup , NM Gallup Inn
Fri Mar 7 El Paso, TX Garage Tequila Bar
Fri Mar 14 Corpus Christi, TX Theos Sat
Sat Mar 15 Houston, TX BFE Rock Club
Sun Mar 16 OKC, OK Chameleon Room
Category: Interviews
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