Hailing from San Diego, California, rock band My American Heart has been touring the country on the Stay Classy USA Tour with more heart for their music and their fans than your every day music artist. Bass player Dustin Hook’s performance antics kept the crowd wildly entertained, and I was exceptionally impressed with singer Larry Soliman’s ability to emit such strong vocals because he was a small guy. I also found myself taking blurry pictures that was the result of me inability to stop dancing during the concert long enough to hold the camera still. My interview with Soliman reveals the band’s favorite clothing brands, band member habits, and the passionate humility which drives My American Heart.
D: Will you introduce yourself for the readers?
L: Hi, my name is Larry; I sing for a band called My American Heart.
D: Where did the concept for the band originate?
L: Well, we were fourteen and wanted to be in a band. We listened to covers and played them. Me and Jesse are the only originals, that’s my guitarist, and we wanted to play covers. We entered a Battle of the Bands and actually won. I mean, everyone does battle of the bands, but this was against forty-year-olds.
D: And you were fourteen?
L: We were fourteen, and we won. Everyone was so pissed off; there were, like, sixty bands, and we ended up winning the whole thing. It was ridiculous.
D: Where was it?
L: San Diego. It’s where I’m from and where the band started.
D: What cover bands did you play?
L: We did Saves the Day, New Found Glory, MXPX, and the Ataris. That whole fourteen-year-old kind of deal, you know?
D: Did you listen to any other San Diego bands in the area?
L: Yeah, that’s what inspired me to be in a band. There was a band called Counterfeit that broke up, there was a band called Noise Ratchet that broke up, and a band called No Knife, who is getting back together, and they are just amazing.
D: Bands in this genre tend to have a younger fan-base. Are there any ways that you guys have tried to market yourselves to an older crowd?
L: Well, you can’t really help who likes your music, and you can’t limit yourself. It can be anyone, even a child. I listened to Al Green as a kid, and he makes really mature music, you know? I mean, my mom listens to that. I want to be a band that appeals to everyone, and I’m not trying to limit myself.
D: You guys were on Warped Tour a few years ago right?
L: Yeah we did it the last three years in a row besides this year.
D: Why didn’t you guys do it this year?
L: We didn’t want to become known as a “Warped Tour band”.
D: How did that experience help or hinder the band.
L: It was…hell. It’s hot everyday, you have to deal with huge crowds all trying to get somewhere. It’s ridiculous, but it does open your eyes and make you work really hard. I’d rather play club venues, personally.
D: Yeah, I went and did some press for it, and it was exhausting. I don’t know how bands do it every day. Well, there were a few rumors that I found on a couple of websites about Boys, Grab Your Guns! being a pretty painful experience for you guys with a couple of different stories. Can you clarify what that song is about?
L: I wrote it, and it’s more of a metaphor or joke against our old guitarist who gave us death threats and what not, as well as his bitterness against us, but the thing is we didn’t kick him out; he quit. After that he made it a huge deal and when that happened, I lost tons of friends, and then I figured out who my real friends are so I’m happy for that. That song is about mocking him and his death threats, basically.
D: Sometimes, you do have to go through the bad things to find out what really matters.
L: Exactly.
D: How does someone in the crowd stand out to you when you guys are performing?
L: I guess the first thing is when people are singing along, and that’s awesome. But when I see someone that doesn’t know the words and is trying to sing them, but after you’ve said them, it looks really weird and funny, you know? And then you think about it, and you’re like “wow, that’s embarrassing” but they’re really into it so it’s okay.
D: They’re trying.
L: Yeah, and they’re trying and feeling it right now. And I love it. I give a little smirk, but I’m like, that’s awesome.
D: I would probably start bursting out laughing.
L: Yeah so you know what I’m saying, right? I’ve done that once, and I realized how embarrassing that really is. But, it’s about trying to sing it and not [caring] what anyone thinks about you.
D: Are there any band member habits that get irritating while on the road?
L: Sometimes we don’t stop for a while, and people pee in bottles, and they don’t throw away their bottles when we get out of the van. That really bugs me. I also don’t like when people’s stuff is scattered throughout the van. I’ll find Jesse’s clothing everywhere, and it really annoys the crap out of me and angers me. When people put on Miley Cyrus or anything like that, I’m just like, “Are you serious? This is being played in the van right now? Why are you in the band?” You find out that people have secret obsessions, you know?
D: That’s really funny. Well, one of our emphases is in fashion over at Charlotte STYLE Magazine. Do you guys have any clothing brand loyalty?
L: That’s a really good question. We’re obsessed with Top Shop in the UK, so whenever we go there, it’s an obsession. They’re like Urban Outfitters, but way better. They’re like the H&M killers. Their clothes are so awesome. But me personally, I wear these jeans called Nudie. They’re my favorite jeans ever. They’re really expensive, but the wash is amazing, but you can’t wash them for six months, that whole ordeal. I really like Marc Jacobs too.
D: You guys helped with the record compilation, Punk Goes Crunk. Can you tell us a little bit about that and why you guys chose Tupac’s California Love as your cover song?
L: Well, we were recording at our old guitarist’s house, and we were originally going to do Q-Tip. We listen to hip-hop. Not so much rap, but I grew up listening to Tupac and Dr. Dre. They were just like, “Let’s just do Tupac’s “California Love” since we’re originally from California, and I feel like we rep it really well. It’s a good song, and I’ve never rapped before so it was really fun.
D: It’s fun to listen to in my car when I’m jamming on the road. I like it.
L: That’s funny! It’s a little funky in the beginning, but it’s good. I like it.
D: It’s really good to hear that [Punk Goes Crunk] came out because I’m a big hip-hop fan as well as alternative and pop and a whole bunch of things. People tend to have that stigma, you know, “How can you have Tupac and Boys like Girls on your ipod next to each other?
L: It’s about being open-minded, and there’s nothing wrong with that.
D: And my last question. When everything is all said and done, what does My American Heart want to be remembered for?
L: Personally, I’ve never really thought about that. I don’t want to put a label on what people want to remember us for. There’s “Yeah, they had a good show. That’s awesome” or “Oh, they have good music”. But I’d rather be remembered for who I am personally, rather than a band as a whole. I want people to remember us as human beings. Even if we had a bus, we wouldn’t stay in a bus. We’d come out and hang out. I’m not in a band to meet girls or become famous; I like music, and that’s it.
D: That’s so good to hear. You meet so many people in my industry in the media, and you know that’s what they are in it for and it’s really hard to listen to sometimes.
L: Yeah, and those people you don’t want to be around. I just want to be that guy that everyone can be around.
