Six musicians make up Class 6. They are a hard rock/ hip hop
hybrid that has far more class than any of the rap/rock bands
that surged in the late 90's, infact it's something refreshingly
new. Danny Says sat down with the recently victorious winners of
the Philly Showdown to find out a little more.
DS: Congratulations on winning the Philly Showdown!
Can you tell me what you guys plan on doing with the
$5,000 that you won?
C6: First off, we would like to thank Jersey Shows for the
opportunity to participate in this competition, along with the
countless other events they have involved us in. We plan on using
the $5000 to get back in the studio and record new material. We
also plan on getting some new t-shirts, stickers, and various
other merchandise made up. So be on the lookout!
DS: How long have you guys been playing together for?
C6: Kyle (synth) and Chris (vocals) were previously in a Black Eyed
Peas-esque hip hop group before meeting up with James (guitar)
and Harry (bass/vocals) to take a different musical direction.
This collaboration happened in late 2007, and Dan (drums) was on
board by early 2008. That was the birth of Class 6, but we
weren't complete until Tony (piano) joined us in early 2009.
DS: You guys seem to have a wide reach playing all over NJ, PA,
and DE, what are some of the venues you have played?
C6: We've played at the Trocadero several times, including
Concerts First's Next Big Thing competition in September of 2008,
in which we came in 1st place. We've also played at JC Dobbs,
Starland Ballroom, Alexander's, and countless coffee houses,
churches and fire halls throughout the tri-state area.
DS: I can remember seeing you over a year ago at Starland
Ballroom and you played a song about Michael Jackson less than
about 2 weeks after he died which incorporated an original song
into some Jackson 5/MJ riffs, if I'm right I believe that song
became "Nostalgia" can you tell me about how your wrote that
song so quickly and how developed it into the song it is now?
C6: 'Nostalgia' was actually one of our earlier songs from our
first collection of original music that we decided to revamp.
After the death of Michael Jackson, we wanted to pay tribute in
some way. 'Nostalgia' was the perfect song for the job because
it's all about reminiscing on pop culture and what was "big" in
past years. A few days before Starland, we decided to integrate
some elements of Jackson 5 into our song and it just seemed to
fit.
DS: What is your writing process like in general, do you often
freestyle at practices and develop them into songs?
C6: Each song has a different story behind it. Our earlier songs
were loose interpretations of instrumentals Kyle (synth) had made
himself, with him and Chris writing lyrics. Now, we often start
with original ideas that any one of us will bring to the table,
whether it be entire songs or just lyrics or a rough instrumental.
We'll all listen to it and add our own touch in different areas.
Our new song 'Inertia', for example, was an entire song that James
(guitar) had wrote, with Chris adding a 2nd verse and Harry (bass)
and Dan (drums) tweaking their parts. An inspired idea can come from
any one of us individually or collectively, so we try to be keep as
much diversity in our music as possible by exploring different sounds
and vibes.
DS: What does Class 6 have in store for the future?
C6: We plan on continually writing and recording new material and
broadening our fan base by reaching as many listeners as possible.
Just continuing to grow as overall musicians and performers, while
putting out eclectic music that everyone can enjoy.
Check them out at myspace.com/class6live
