Dating or a College Education?

Danny Mora Howard 

Photojournalism Story 

4/27/2015

Neither dating or earning a college education should be considered easy. 

But if young adults are trying to attempt both, they'll be surprised to learn that dating is not a serious priority for the majority of their peers.   

Eleven students at Valencia College were randomly selected to participate in a four question survey that specifically targeted the reasoning and beliefs behind why students are less focused on intimate relationships when they are attending college. 

The four questions in order are listed below:

• When planning to go to college was dating ever part of the thinking process?

• Did you ever think dating would get in the way of your school work?

• Can dating and school work be balanced?

• Would you choose your education first or make dating the priority if you couldn’t pick both?

The answers that were given to the first question resulted in a close match with six in favor of dating being on their minds while there were five against dating being a subject on their plates while planning to attend their first semester of Valencia. 

Surprisingly this was also the same estimate for the second question. Six agreed that dating would get in the way of their school work but five students did not believe it would cause them issues. 

Ashley Flores, 19, said concerning question two: “No, as long as you have time management.”

Reine Altidor also supported by saying: "No, dating is a part of life.”

Question three had an overwhelmingly positive result with 10 out of the 11 students agreeing that dating and their educational pursuits can be balanced. 

Willie Steadman was cautious about the kind of balance needed in order for a successful experience in both fields: “Depends. If both people have the same degree of preparation, then it can work out.” 

Esteban Eizarro, 19, specifically claimed the answer is in the relationship itself: “Yes, if you have a relationship that prioritizes school work.” Esteban, currently in a relationship himself, also stated that dating has not gotten in his way during his second semester at Valencia College. 

Whether these eleven students would decide on one over the other, it finally came down to nine choosing to focus solely on their education while the other two would make their relationship the absolute first priority if they could not pick both.

When answering the fourth question, Jason Shirk spoke for the minority when he said: “A relationship because it has more value than education.” 

Students have a massive amount of priorities to handle other than their education and dating experiences. The time spent in college should be focused on what is the most important in their lives. 

Whether that is a dating relationship or their education, one thing is for certain, it all comes down to the individual preference of young adults. 

Local acts adapt to changes at 2015 Florida Music Festival

The Florida Music Festival and Conference rid national headlining acts at this year's festival, allowing local unsigned musicians a chance to perform on the main stage.

The Florida Music Festival invaded downtown Orlando this past weekend and gave locals the opportunity to discover a wide range of various music acts, across some of downtown’s hottest clubs, pubs and music venues.

More than 150 artist gathered across the three day music festival and conference to showcase their talents, and, network with each other and those of the media and music industry. A various supply of industry reps from different states — New York, Los Angeles and Nashville — were on hand to mix and mingle, including reps from Atlantic Records, Superfly Entertainment, William Morris Entertainment, Working Group Management and more.

Unlike recent previous years, the Florida Music Festival (FMF) did not enlist in any national headliners, instead returning to its original mission of promoting unsigned acts. A move many of the local acts thought was a great idea.

"I love that you can network with industry professional. It's small enough to where they will talk to you," said Jonnie Morgan, lead vocalist for Orlando rock band The Jonnie Morgan Band. "South by Southwest is awesome, but it's really big. This is a little more personal. Five years ago we didn't make it so doing things like this is special for us. All of our fans love it and it's good for the community."

Morgan and his band headlined the opening night of FMF, Friday, April 16. While their show was originally scheduled to be outside, on the Wall Street Plaza Main Stage, it had to be moved into the smaller intimate Slide Show, just around the corner, due to a rainstorm. While the stage was not as big, and the crowd had less space to move and groove, Morgan states that the energy from the crowd was amazing and that he was happy that the seven-piece band could keep the party going despite things going as planned.

"Things happened and you got to go with the flow, it is what it is. I think it turned out better than it could have been. It was a little bit rainy last night, so when we moved inside people followed us in and it got crazy. We had people inside jumping up and down — we had people in the streets stopping to watch.

"It all worked out. Everything was amazing."

No stranger to FMF, Orlando's own indie-pop starlet Britt Daley made her fifth appearance as the festival. Daley would state that FMF's free approach is the right idea, because it doesn't force fans of local acts to debate whether or not to spend money to their favorite artist on a festival stage, when they can wait a week and see them inside at a venue for a cheaper price.

Accustomed to performing on the earlier days of the festival, Daley stated to me at an industry party, on Day 2, Friday, April 17 at the Aloft Hotel, that the anticipation for her performance on the final day was a bit "nerve-wracking," because she would be debuting new material for the first time and had no experience with how the new sound would go over with the crowd.

"In previous years my stuff was a little more uptempo and dancey," said Daley, explaining how she is no longer making records at 126 to 128 beats per minute. "I sort of gone in a different direction. My music is still electronic and indie-pop but it is definitely more chilled out. The new sound is cool, it's more downtempo and soulful."

With so many rising artist in the area, in addition a vast amount of headlining acts bringing their tour to Orlando, and not many stations focussing on local acts, the Florida Music Festival and Conference allows for music junkies to find out about great talent right in their hometown. The record breaking attendance at FMF2015 proved that there’s plenty of local talent out there making names for themselves, they just need a stage to showcase their talents.  

Perspective Is Everything

Mytho StVictor
Photo Journal Project
April 26, 2015

Pic 1

Pic 2

On a surprise trip home I had to make last week a saying that I had heard all my life, had finally made sense to me. Growing up we were always taught to not judge things that we do not know all angles and sides of the story too, for a slight change in perception could greatly alter the whole conception. What taught me this life story was two things; the first being a visit I made to the eye doctor, and the second was a set of photographs that I took. Before I booked an appointment to the eye doctor I was so sure that I had great vision and the perfect view on life, but boy was I wrong. One visit and a pair of contacts later and I felt like my whole world was different; these contacts made everything that was once blurry and obscure to me very clear and detailed. Everything around me seemed new because of the way that I was now capable of viewing and examining objects and people . In that similar fashion, a set of photos taken had the same effect. Before I took pictures for my Photo Journal Project I wanted to review the Cameras and Composition slides that I previously went over in my Integrated Media Production class, and I decided to apply some of these discussed in them to see the effect that they would have on an image and its overall perception.
"Pic 1" was the first picture captured with none of the techniques applied. It is a pretty clear picture, but it is busy with a lot of things to distract you and dive your attention. And "Pic 2" is the photo makes better use of the light, causing for a more saturated picture, and brighter colors. It is also a bit more clear although the angles and not much of anything else was changed.

Pic 3

But there is a feel of more depth, the defined lines of the palm trees show you far away the pool really is. If you look at "pic 3" it has a much darker tone. It blurs most of the background forcing you to focus more on the foreground. The ISO numbers of this photo is higher which made it more sensitive to light adding a good amount of noise to the picture. 

Pic 4

And the last one, "Pic 4" had a black and white filter applied while taking the picture. This gives the picture a very flat feel blending the lines, allowing for there to seem like there is no depth. Each of these four pictures were taken from the same very spot but they all have a different look or feel. A complete different vibe, identical to my life with contacts. A slight change in perspective makes a huge change to not only pictures as displayed here, but any situation in life as well.

Orlando Farmer's Market

Paula Villalon Ciena
Media Outlet Story
April 26, 2015

Ever wondered where to go to buy Florida grown products as well as other products all in one place?  The Orlando Farmer’s Market, located at Lake Eola Park, offers exactly that.  It is a cool family-driven event that takes place each Sunday from 10am to 4pm. 

The market first started in 1987, when the Downtown Development Board decided to provide the downtown residents a shopping opportunity.  It was first located under I-4 across from the Church Street Station.  However, due to an increase in construction downtown during the 90’s, it was relocated to the area known as Heritage Square, situated at Central Blvd. and Magnolia Ave.  And in 2004, it was moved again to its final destination at Lake Eola Park. 

The Orlando Farmer’s Market is not your ordinary market; it has many tents that cover the bridge and corner of Central Blvd. and Eola Dr. that offer different products from food to jewelry to dog accessories.  There are so many things for everybody.  They also have different shows for entertainment each week at the beer and wine garden from 12am to 4pm.

Amy Morris preparing corn cooked to steam.

Amy Morris and her husband, Jonathan, have participated in the Orlando Farmer’s Market for eight years.  Amy remembers that when they first started it was just a tiny market and it was “no fun”.  A few years ago it was taken over by Dana Brown and, according to Morris, “she made it into a place where people wanted to be”.  She stated that her overall experience has been great in this market and “it’s awesome compared to others where you just grab your stuff and go… It’s one of the best farmer’s markets I’ve been to”.  The Morris family has four farms that they all grow together.  “What we can’t grow here in Florida, we buy from other real farmers to sell their products here,” she said when interrupted by a customer that stated "They're great!"  While interviewing her, she keeps on counting what each customer owes her without fail.

Jim Browne and Ken Wright assisting a customer.

It Makes Scents owners Jim Browne and Ken Wright have participated at this event for four years and say that it's "much more profitable” than the shops they've had over the course of 37 years.  Browne said that they sell from 80 to 100 bars a day on their best seller alone, which is the Black Soap.  He expressed that the only downsides would be “the extreme heat during the summer, the gusty winds, which knock the tents to the ground, and the thunderstorms”.  When asked why they decided to participate in the Orlando Farmer’s Market, Browne answered: “Because we love the people and the interaction with the people”.  To them, overall, it has been an “excellent experience… It’s easy to do, you just put your tent up and then take it down at the end of the day”.

The people at the farmer’s market are amazed at all the products they offer.  One can feel the good vibes the customers emit as they interact with each other even when they just met.  It is a good place to go with your family, your dog or even friends when you have nothing to do on a sunny Sunday.

Challenges of Technology in the Classroom

Challenges of Technology in the Classroom

Danny Mora Howard 
Elective Story 2
4/20/2015

Teaching U.S. Government at the college level is a challenge itself, but according to Scott Crosby, professor of U.S. Government at Valencia College, technology has become a distracting issue for students attending college. 

"Everyone's trying to grapple with it in their best way" said Professor Crosby concerning how college teachers have to handle phone-addicted students. 

"I have actually tried both extremes: Doing nothing about it, just kind of having an open policy of you know, if your in class using your phone um that's your business, I'm going to assume your taking notes or something on it. But I've also gone the opposite direction where I've said I don't want any electronic devices out for any reason unless I say." 

He continues: "I can tell you both extremes don't work very well, so there's got to be a happy medium, but I don't think anyone here, and I mean anyone that I've ever met here, has actually figured out the magic bullet to that."

Clearly handling the increased use of technology by students is a campus-wide issue for any professor because students constantly have the urge to check their phones for any update from social media or from the person they may have been texting prior to class. 

"It's what I call the power of distraction, and of course you know, there's going to be a lot of people 
who are in education who are going to say the reason why they're distracted is because they're not finding the class challenging or interesting or motivating them. And my answer to that is that is a big oversimplification of the issue."

Professor Crosby says it comes down to the student and how hard they're willing to work in a challenging course. "It takes two to tango in teaching. Your kind of like a stand up comedian or an 
actor in the sense that your only as good as your audience. If you go into to do a play or you go in to do a stand up comedy routine and the audience is distracted or disinterested in 
anything you had to say, then you're going to react the same way where you're going to lose interest and it starts to get into a tension."

Technology is the popular distraction that can occupy a student's attention during class, but Professor Crosby has other ways of keeping his audience focused.

"You know my class, I don't just lecture all day. I give you things to do, I have you work on problems, I try to put something in there where your actually working on something than just sitting there listening to me the whole time."

"But even then, the technology can be very distracting."

Soccer in the City Fundraiser

Chloe Lomelli

Elective Article
April 20, 2015

Orlando city soccer fundraiser

The Orlando City Foundation gives us another year of Soccer and the City. On the agenda this year: a fashion show. Players will strut their stuff down the runway in their new away uniforms. Yes, those in attendance will get a preview of the club’s new jersey kits, and get to enjoy the soccer players model fashions provided through Macy’s.

The fundraiser will take place at the Church Street Exchange, 101 S. Garland Ave. in downtown Orlando on March 3. The event begins at 6 p.m.

"If this year’s Soccer and the City is anything like last year, there will be a great turnout and incredible amounts of fun," Orlando City Foundation Founder and Community Relations Director Kay Rawlins said.

Hosting the event is Amy Kaufeldt of “Good Day Orlando” and Laura Diaz of “Johnny’s House Morning Show” on 106.7 FM.

“We couldn’t be more excited to be this close to the season opener and get to celebrate this milestone with Soccer and the City,” Rawlins added. “Our event last year was a tremendous success and we look forward to another very special evening with our supporters, our special hosts Amy and Laura, and of course our star athletes.”

Players currently scheduled to attend Soccer and the City include Kaká, Luke Boden, Aurélien Collin, Brek Shea, Darwin Cerén, Kevin Molino, Cyle Larin, Tommy Redding, Bryan Róchez, Amobi Okugo, Harrison Heath, Conor Donovan and Tyler Turner. Also

​General admission tickets are $50; VIP tickets are $150. Proceeds will go to the Orlando City Foundation and ticket purchases to Soccer and the City include admission to the opener game March 8. Visit https://www.facebook.com/events/785687288182782/ for more information on the event and tickets.

For more information on all Orlando City SC Kickoff Week please visithttp://www.orlandocitysc.com/ockickoff.

Fiesta in the Park

Paula Villalon Ciena

Elective Article
April 20, 2015

Fiesta in the Park is an annual event that gives vendors, especially artists, the opportunity to expand their clientele.  “We’re not promoters, but our motto is creating community through art.” stated Betilee Sansone, who is the event coordinator.  They give out many awards to the artists and food vendors, like Best of Show and 1^st, 2^nd, and 3^rd place in every category.  “In both shows, we purchase the best of show and in the fall we donate the piece to the Orange County Public Library System and in the spring we donate the piece to the new Lake Eola House,” added Sansone, “[…] it is a community driven event.”  There are many activities for everyone, from kids to dogs to adults.  “We have a huge children’s area… free bounce houses with a lot of fun activities there.  We have a huge food court… We also have entertainment in the food court by Steve Moore and on Sunday afternoon at the west end of Robinson we have Fiddler Sherran Heartman join us” she said.  They are also big on giving and helping out in the community.  “All our profit that we generate from Fiesta in the Park we give to the Orlando Community Youth Trust Fund. […] All of our food vendors partner with a non-profit of their choice, so we probably touch about 40 non-profits throughout the community” said Sansone.  This year they celebrated its 26^th anniversary and are definitely celebrating many more in the future.

Valencia Spring Dance Concert

Paula Villalon Ciena

Campus Article

March 30, 2015

Modern dance has never had boundaries when it comes to dancers expressing what they want.  The Valencia Spring Dance Concert showed just that.  The event took place on March 27 and March 28, 2015 at the Performing Arts Center in the East Campus.  It showed how hard each of the dancers have worked to get to where they are.  There was a mixture of many feelings and cultures.  You could see the flow of the dancers and how they connected to each other and the music they danced to.

When interviewed, Dr. Suzanne Salapa, Chair of the Dance Department, was happy to share information about the rehearsal period for the last choreography that was performed. "Friday, November 21st they had spring concert auditions for the performance... As soon as finals are done, they all pile in their cars and go to this amazing artisan place near New Smyrna Beach and they're in residency that whole weekend," she said, "From all day Friday, all day Saturday and all day Sunday they rehearse and they learn the piece there... so they learned that piece in that quick weekend."

Suzanne Salapa, Head of Dance Department

The concert was divided into four parts, each one divided by a short intermission and choreographed by a guest artist and Valencia dance faculty.  The first was full of life; the dancers flowed across the stage with a mixture of different Latin rhythms.  The boys were very masculine yet flirtatious with the audience and other dancers.  The girls were coquettish, moving their hips in a Latin manner while still maintaining that modern dance feel.  Derrick Minter, a guest artist, who has performed with many recognized artists like Aretha Franklin and Maya and George Benson, choreographed this amazing ensemble piece.

After the first intermission, the dancers filled the stage while performing extraordinary lifts and creating different shapes with their bodies.  The piece was named Kaleidescape and the dancers each represented the loose colored objects that a kaleidoscope has inside of it.  The dancers worked together to make the audience feel as if they were looking through a kaleidoscope and looking at remarkable images.  They seemed to be connected when they repeated the same moves simultaneously while creating the images.  The performance was choreographed by Jun Kuribashi, who was a part of Pilobolus for ten years, and by the dancers themselves.  There was a short pause in between that signaled the next presentation was going to start.  The next presentation, named Rise Above, was a short solo piece also choreographed by Derrick Minter.  It was emotionally captivating, with a single spotlight on the dancer, who was surrounded by gentle clouds of smoke.  

The fourth piece that followed the second intermission was divided into seven parts, all of which were danced to country music.  The opening was hillbilly; it gave the audience the feeling of being in a small town in the south where everyone knew each other.  Following that was a country-western kind of dance, and it radiated a Texan feel and was extremely playful.  After all the excitement of the first two parts, the character of the southern belle was introduced in a solo piece danced by the student Daylan Sleva.  Her movements were smooth and innocent, while accompanied by a song about a mother singing her baby girl to sleep.  

The next part was a very playful and child-like all girl piece.  They all seemed to represent different living organisms that lived in harmony on the mountains, only to be thrown out of their home when man started the mountaintop removal.  The fifth part consisted of a solo piece performed by student Brittany Ortner.  Ortner’s movements imitated a person not in control of her body which went well with the song she danced to, “Crazy” by Patsy Cline, about a woman crazy in love with a man who doesn’t want her anymore.  Overall, the girls danced like cowgirls after a rodeo and were playful with the boys.  Valencia dance instructor Lesley Brasseux Rodgers assisted by Forrest Hershey and Brittany Ortner choreographed this whole piece.

The whole event was full of life and wonderful choreographies.  While watching the pieces, one could easily tell that the dancers were having fun and doing what they loved, which is a huge part of a performance itself.

Fan Feels "Stronger" After Singing With Kelly Clarkson

Kelly Clarkson (left) performing live at Universal Orlando Mardi Gras with fan Elizabeth Scherff, in Orlando, Florida on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. (Ty Wright) 

Kelly Clarkson invited a fan on stage after spotting her poster during a one-off concert date in Orlando, Fla. on Saturday, Feb. 21.

Clarkson, who had just returned from an eight-day promotional tour in London for her upcoming release “Piece by Piece,” made Universal Orlando’s Mardi Gras event her first stop back in the states and did not let jet lag get the best of her. Paying close attention to everything happening in the crowd, the American Idol winner noticed Elizabeth Scherff’s “My life goal is to sing on stage with Kelly Clarkson” sign and invited her up on stage to for a performance of “Stronger.” Something Scherff is still surprised about.

“My mind went blank for a second right after she agreed to bring me up on stage,” said the Scherff. “I wasn't too sure what to think. When I made the sign earlier in the day, I didn't think she would read, let alone actually bring me on stage.”

As the show came to an end, many wondered if Clarkson would keep her promise, as the Grammy Award winning artist did not invite the 21-year-old Cocoa Beach resident up onto the stage until the finale of her hour-long set. Scherff on the other hand had no worries: “I started to wonder if she wouldn't, but I've been to enough Kelly concerts to know that she has an encore. Once she sang the second to last song, it dawned on me that she was going to bring me up for the finale,” she explained.

Scherff admits that being on stage with Clarkson was such a rush but once she started singing and Clarkson announced to the pack crowd that she was a good singer, all anxiety disappeared.

“I was incredibly nervous. So many thoughts ran through my head: like "What if I screw up the lyrics," or "What if she doesn't like my voice," and even "What if the crowds hates it and boo me off stage?" Once I started singing, my nerves disappeared and it felt like I was just singing karaoke with a friend and it just happened to be in front of thousands of people.

“When she told me I can sing, I couldn't believe it. Kelly has been my favorite singer since I was 9-years-old and I've always looked up to her vocally. So when she told me I can sing I was so shocked that she actually liked my voice. It made me incredibly happy and it gave me such a confidence boost.”

Once the two got backstage, Scherff stated that the two joked around and that Clarkson thanked her for actually staying on key during the performance. While singing professionally would be an ideal situation for Scherff, right now she will just continue to do it for fun. But don’t count her out she says, you never know what the future holds.

Video courtesy of Elizabeth Scherff's YouTube channel.

(Originally written for Valencia Voice)

William Hehir of Misterwives talk mtvU Woodie Awards, SXSW, debut album, first headlining tour, more

The members of MisterWives, from left: Will Hehir, Etienne Bowler, Mandy Lee, Jesse Blum and Marc Campbell. (Devin Doyle)

The annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference kicked off yesterday and New York-based indie pop band Misterwives are heading to Austin, Texas to join in on the fun. 

The upbeat band announced yesterday via their social media accounts that they will be playing a set on Wednesday at the Republic Showcase, and two sets on Thursday; at the Photo Finish Day Party and the Spotify House.

While Misterwives was fortunate enough to play the festival last year, the band’s bassist, William Hehir, states there are no words to describe what SXSW is, let alone a way to psychology prepare yourselves for what you will endure there.

“Its just one of the craziest experiences of all times,” Hehir says in a recent conference call. “You got kids walking with bass amps over their head, getting from one show to the next, and I think that’s what's awesome. Everyone is extremely humbling and on their grind.

“It’s great because it’s one of those things where you can meet so many people, whether it is fans or people you have toured with in the past, so it’s just a complete utter chaos, but for some reason it works,” continued Hehir. “It doesn't matter where you go you can hear music. I think it’s perfect that it’s in Austin because I think that’s one of the only cities in the world that if you were to get up at 8 o’clock in the morning to play music someone would be there to listen to you.”

The group will close out their week at SXSW with an appearance and performance at the mtvU Woodie Awards, Friday, where they are up against James Bay, Kygo, Rae Sremmurd, Raury, and Years & Years for the “Artist to Watch Woodie.”

Consisting of lead singer Mandy Lee, percussionist Etienne Bowler, bass guitarist Hehir, guitarist Marc Campbell, multi-instrumentalist Jesse Blum, and sit-in saxophonist Mike Murphy, Misterwives released their debut studio album, “Our Own House,” in late February.

In support of their debut studio album, the band will be out on the road through spring headlining their first tour. Their U.S. tour will keep them on the road through mid-April, though they are scheduled to appear at a few festivals thereafter.

In the conference call, excerpts from which are below, we had opportunity to speak with Hehir regarding the band’s style — getting drunk with Sugar Ray — being nominated for a Woodie, and much more.

What would it feel like to win the “Artist to Watch Woodie” at the mtvUWoodie Award?

William Hehir: Just to be nominated is absolutely incredible. MTV has been so incredibly gracious to us, from having us in Artist to Watch showcase, as well as including our song ["Vagabond] in “Finding Carter” as like the theme song.

What would you say has been the most monumental thing of your career thus far?

William Hehir: The best part of this job is that we get to play live shows every night, so to play our first headlining show in Philadelphia was certainly monumental. It was a sold-out audience. Fortunately it’s close to New York — where we all are from — so a bunch of our family was there. We had people from our label there, and our agents and managers came through. 

The most monumental moment was finally playing that first show and coming off stage and seeing the reaction we got from our managers, family and friends. They have been so supportive and have given us so much room to let us do whatever we wanted, so to see them beaming with pride was incredibly humbling. It almost brought a tear to my eye. It was extremely humbling.

John Oates have shown a liking to your music. What advice have you guys been receiving from others in the industry?

William Hehir: John Oates was like so supportive of everything we were doing and it was incredible. We actually got to meet him at Electric Lady Studios where he had recorded “Out of Touch,” the song we covered. He was very into what we were doing and kind of just told us to keep going with it.

We had the opportunity to open for Sugar Ray at a college show. We didn't want to step on his toes but we did want to just go say hello and thank him for letting us open for him and all of the things he has done with music. The guy is just like one of the coolest people I have ever meet. He demanded that we hang out with him in his dressing room, and we end up taking way too many shots of whiskey and played trivia with him. He was the kind of person who was like “there is always going to be people in the industry who are going to tell you to do this and to do that, but just forget it. Don’t listen to them. Always do what you're comfortable with and always be yourselves. Don’t ever let that change.”

I think that resonated with us because that's something that we are very adamant about anyways, but to hear it come from someone whose career has virtually spanned across three decades, its certainly reassuring. It’s something that we all took to heart.

What type of of kinks did you guys have to fix transitioning from a supporting act to headlining your first tour?

William Hehir: We actually had the opportunity to do some pre-production, so we did a week at this place called Montana studios in New York, so that helped us work the live show. You never know how a show is going to go until you play it to a live audience. So far its be going really well, we have a few more choreographed dances moves that we been doing, which I am not the best of.

We’ve been so accustom to opening for bands and having only 25 to 30 minutes to win over an audience, so to have a hour and 15 minutes to play to a group of people who come out see us specifically is incredibly humbling. It’s a challenge we are willing to work towards. Its a challenge to not cry every night.

Do you prefer touring or creating in the studio?

William Hehir: They are two different beast and I appreciate them equally, but, I’m definitely the kind of person who is hardwired to be out on tour. I don’t like to really be in one place at any point in time. After any of the tours that we done in the past — whether is be two weeks or two months — when I get home I’m happy for like 15 minutes because I get to see a few friends and family members. But then then you go so crazy.

There is no greater experience, at least in my opinion, to be able to play live music and thank all of the people who have been so incredibly supportive. That’s why we do this because we want to be able to connect with these people who have really given us this opportunity to pursue our dreams. So, it’s great to be in the studio, and I think there's always room for creativity there, but on the same note we try to keep the live show changing almost every single night. So we are constantly thinking about a few things we can add and give away, and how we can make this show the absolutely best it can be. So to have our first headlining tour is surreal to us. We are just trying to make it as impactful as humanly possible.

Your new album “Our Own House” incorporates many different sounds, leaving people not able to classify you into a specific group. Do you think no genre, is the new genre?

William Hehir: Perhaps it is. That's the idea. I think it's humbling in a certain degree and reassuring that people don’t know how to classify us because we are all inspired by so many different shades of music, and that is a reflection of what's on the album and in the live show. I think that’s awesome because you don’t want to be pigeonholed into being too folky or to poppy, because their are so many sounds and music is constantly involving. So to try and play the role of taking all those pieces and putting them together that they are still coherent; hopefully it’s a refreshing taste of things like Motown, folk and pop. We have so much to learn from all the music that's already been made and the music being created today, so to take from all of those influences are pretty excited.

(Originally written for Valencia Voice)