Getting To Know You: Detroit band Sail exclusive interview

Today’s feature is on up and coming rock band Sail, out of Detroit, MI. They have a ton of awesome covers featured on their Gigmor profile and we actually got to spotlight their “Limelight” cover on our “Gigmor’s Best 80’s Covers” blog post. We had the chance to sit down with their lead vocalist Anthony Fink and their drummer Tom Lowe. They weighed in on the band’s current state and a little bit about their beginnings.

 

Gigmor: Thanks for sitting down with us today guys. First question. What is each of your musical backgrounds? How did that lead you to Sail?

Anthony: I grew up classically trained in piano starting when I was about seven years old, then I got really into choir and eventually wanted to try it in college. I got into the Western School of Music, I really went for it when I wanted to. Then I decided to leave college to pursue gigging and that’s when I ran into them [Sail]. They like me, I like them, for about two years now we’ve been jamming out and it’s been great.

Tom: I started playing guitar in elementary school, then I started getting into drums in middle school. I kept with both of them for a while after. Aside from that, my first ever band experience was [playing with] a couple of my friends from church. We practiced a couple times a week and played some gigs. Now we’re here, doing Sail, and have two guitar players, a bassist, and a new female vocalist and have a ton of shows lined up.

 

Gigmor: How’s the songwriting process going so far for Sail?

Anthony: As every musician knows it’s a difficult process as well as a fun one. I actually have my solo EP out on iTunes– I’ve been writing since my freshmen year of high school. The other members are pretty into it too. As far as the band’s writing process it’s more about the collective sound. Each member kind of goes in different directions and eventually it all comes together.

Tom: We haven’t written that much music. We’re still working to perfect our four-hour set. Once we have time to put our own individual stuff on the table we’ll see what we come up with as a group.

 

Gigmor: Hit any speed bumps along the way?

Anthony: Creative differences obviously, people are going to want to express what they want to do. It’s never anything bad and always gets worked out. But it is imperative that everyone is on the same page in the end.

 

Gigmor: If you had to pick one, would you play only covers or only originals? Any personal favorites?

Anthony: Right now we want to do more originals, we’ll never not do covers. We love them too. We like to imitate the covers we play with a little bit of a modern flare to it. Some of my favorites personally are “Creep” by Radiohead and “House of the Rising Sun” by The Animals, the audience always loves “Limelight” by Rush.

Tom: I’d say originals. A cover band lets you make a living, but ideally I’d say originals. My favorite is probably…..”Soul To Squeeze” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

 

 

Gigmor: One selfish question real quick… How did you find out about Gigmor? How do you like it?

A: Our manager Cheri is very good at networking, your site seemed like it had a lot of action. We liked what we saw and just hopped in! The site looks great and is pretty easy to navigate.

 

G: On your Gigmor page we saw you said you were “Willing to Dress for Events”…any absurd requests?

A: Not yet! We would love to and are up for whatever!

T: Nothing weird, just suit and tie for weddings and stuff.

 

G: Okay, last question. What are the best and worst song requests an audience member has made?

A: There haven’t been many requests, we used to get “Freebird” all the time.

T: I can’t even think of a worst… well I guess it might have been “Radioactive” by Imagine Dragons. I think it just went bad because that song is pretty synthy and obviously we’re more acoustic. That was more like it didn’t go over well not really a bad request. One of the better requests we got was “Short Skirt Long Jacket” by Cake. I love that song.

 

G: Well thanks so much for taking the time to sit down with us and best of luck!

Check out the band’s website www.sailbandofficial.com and their Gigmor page as well as a couple of their cover videos below.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Written by Gigmor guest blogger: Ari Kapner

Best of the 80s: Cover Videos

Today I’m searching through Gigmor for the best cover videos of 80s classics. Every up and comer needs a couple cover songs under their belt that are sure to get the audience going and pump them up. Most of the bands on Gigmor are looking for more and more shows so this could be a great way to showcase your material!

 

First we have a great live rendition of Guns and Roses’ “Sweet Child of Mine” from the band April Calling. April Calling is a female led band from St. Petersburg, FL. They were formed in 2011. Check out their stellar cover below.

Next up is the Detroit rock band Sail. Sail is known for their energetic covers of Alt-Rock classics which you should check out on their page. The video I chose to highlight was their cover of Rush’s smash hit “Limelight.” Sail actually got a little glimpse of that limelight when they opened up for the popular rock band Everclear in 2015.

OK this one only kind of borders 80s but it’s one of my favorite songs of all time so I had to add it. Skyler Reed, an extremely talented vocalist, gives us an emotional performance of Lauryn Hill’s “Killing Me Softly,” which is another cover of Roberta Flack’s original. Fantastic vibes here. The Inglewood, CA aspiring songwriter/broadway talent crushes this one!

Written by Gigmor guest blogger: Ari Kapner

Best Cover Videos of the Week

We want to encourage Gigmor members to upload all sorts of videos. Whether it’s videos of you and your buddies jamming in your own home, a recording of your band playing a gig, an official music video, or even just you riffing out in front of your laptop camera. Gigmor wants to see what you’ve got! Today we’re releasing a list of our favorite users that make us say “Wow that was a hell of a cover!” Keep uploading videos and maybe you’ll be featured on our next list.

 

First, we have Juan Guajardo-Soberón, a multi-talented musician from Mission, TX. Juan has a ton of covers to choose from but the one that stood out was his drum cover of Green Day’s “Jesus of Suburbia.” Obviously this one is a little long (Green Day and their Damned Rock Opera Ballads…) but stick through it–this kid has skills.

 

 

Second, we have Trevor Robinson, a classically trained bassist from Dallas, TX. Trevor does a looping rendition of MGMT’s hit “Kids.” This is really impressive, as it’s all in one take. Check out Trevor’s other covers and originals on his Gigmor page.

 

 

Lastly, we have Paul Sullivan, better known to the music world as Mixed Media. Paul loves playing 70s and 80s classics down in Tampa and today we have a video that seriously showcases his talents. Paul Sullivan performs a massive medley of “Brown Eyed Girl,” “Dancing In The Moonlight,” “The Way,” and “Comfortably Numb.” Paul loves to play his covers, and it’s pretty apparent after crushing these four. Make sure you check out his Mixed Media page on Gigmor.

 

 

Written by Gigmor guest blogger: Ari Kapner