Promise Game Interview

July 2022

Artist members/rolls?

Colin VanDenBerghe – Vocals

Adam Elverson – Rhythm Guitar & Vocals

Mark Elverson – Drums

Matt Eisenstadter – Bass

Eric Schneider – Synth/Piano

Mike Cochran – Lead Guitar

Sub-genera(s) of your music? 

Alternative Pop Punk

Favorite artist(s) (not yourself)?

Colin – Craig Owens, Michael Jackson, Justin Timberlake

Adam – Daphne Loves Derby, Hidden in Plain View, Silverstein, Bearings

Eric – Stand Atlantic

Mark – Knuckle Puck, Can’t Swim

Mike – Bob Weir

Matt – System of a Down

RTA: What was the story in forming the band?

PG: The PG “six pack” is made up of long-time friends all from the same group of alternative/pop punk music lovers. One day Colin and Eric were talking about how cool it’d be to start a band to play “punk goes pop” style covers for our friends to jam to. Colin had a pretty good idea of who he wanted to get involved on the project, knowing that the Elverson brothers and Matty were usually down for anything that had to do with music.

After getting together a handful of times in Colin’s basement playing pop punk covers of tracks from the Backstreet Boys, Oasis, Gin Blossoms and more – we realized we actually had a really cool sound and should think about doing this for real with our own music. It didn’t take long for us to start working on EP1 It Won’t be Long Now, even with the pandemic hitting basically right as this was all happening.

We just recently added our lead guitar player Mike Cochran to the team, another great friend of the group, to round out what is the new Promise Game.

RTA: What is the inspiration in your music? 

PG: We draw inspiration from many different bands within the alternative genre, but the main inspiration of our music comes from every day experiences – we want our listeners to feel like they’re hearing a story with our music, the best way for us to give that to them is to share real life inspirations drawn from our families, friends and moments we share.

RTA: Favorite movie(s)?

Colin – Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory & The Notebook

Adam – Dark Knight & Idiocracy

Eric – Interstellar

Matt – Inception

Mike – Clueless

Mark – Inception

RTA: Last album/EP/single release? 

PG: Horizon, EP released on May 13, 2022

RTA: What is a venue you always wanted to perform in? Why?

PG: I think all of us were smiling from ear to ear when we actually started setting up for our set at the Middle East Upstairs in Cambridge, MA. That’s a place where we’ve all seen some of our favorite band’s play, so it was pretty surreal to be playing a sold out show there with so many amazing bands for what was just the band’s 7th show.

RTA: What artist(s) would you want to tour with, big or small?

PG: Bearings, Point North, Grayscale, Silverstein, Man Overboard, Knuckle Puck, Boys of Fall, Chief State, Settle Your Scores, Belmont, Waterparks, Keep Flying, Aim High, Ruthcrest, Good Terms … the list could go on forever!

RTA: Dogs or cats?

PG: Both, we love all animals!

RTA: One story you’d like to share about the band?

PG: Our very first song released, the pop punk cover of Sheryl Crow’s “If It Makes You Happy”, was actually the first song we ever played together as a band. Our drummer Mark said he would only join the band if we covered that song – he was listening to a lot of pop punk cover tracks and saw that it really had never been done by a band in our genre. Now more than 2 years later, that is still a true PG fan favorite and is gaining for and more traction as people discover our music.

RTA: What is the song of yours that means the most to you?

PG: [Tough to answer with 6 of us, can we skip this one?]

RTA: What would be some advice you’d want to tell startup artists just entering the music industry?

PG: Network, network, network! Every single opportunity that has come our way is because we are active members of the music community. Don’t be afraid to reach out to other bands when you are releasing new music or looking to play shows – you never know what type of relationship can sprout from simply sending a message or talking to someone at a show.

RTA: What was your most memorable performance?

PG: No question about it, definitely our sold-out show at the Middle East Upstairs to close out our three-day weekender with Driveways, Goalkeeper and Cheer Up Dusty. It’s a very notable venue for New England music lovers, getting to play there was big enough – being a part of a sold-out show where we had our first mosh pit and crowd chants, being able to do it alongside some amazing new friends… it really was perfect and something we’ll never forget.

RTA: How fun is it to film music videos?

PG: We LOVE filming music videos, and the best way to prove that anyone is to have them watch the “Any Reason to Party” video on YouTube. That does all the explaining you’ll need!

RTA: That’s awesome, it’s always fun getting to know an artist/band. We wish you all the best in the years to come and look forward to hearing more from you, so hang a uey and head back our way soon. Can’t wait to hear what surprises you got cooked up for us fans. Have a wicked summer and always Rock on!