7.14.09 – Brandon Wronski, lead vocalist of Eye Alaska talks about his favorite artists, what it was like producing their latest album and what he does on his free time.

Musically, what do you think sets you apart from other bands out there right now?

Well  I think, especially on Genesis Underground we dabble into all types of sounds. You know into Hip-Hop stuff and the more Cinematic Rock type stuff and the R&B stuff. We have some Country influenced songs. We do everything differently, we switch up the style. A lot of people have told us we’re not going to make it because people aren’t going to understand [our music] or because of the different styles we use but I always disagree with them, obviously. I feel like I grew up and the kids around me grew up with iPods and shuffle mode and playlists at the click of a button but I feel like no one really listened to this style of music so we put all the styles on one CD.

How did you pick the name Eye Alaska? Is there a story behind it?

Yeah, ‘to eye alaska’ in the Aleutian language means ‘Look to those that which the sea breaks against.’ The Aleutians were like the original inhabitants of Alaska, the natives.

What are some of the biggest differences between the Yellow and Elephant EP and Genesis Underground?

The Yellow and Elephant EP was basically just me in my room recording in GarageBand, just on my computer. I mean we re-did a couple of things in the studio but mainly it was all GarageBand. On Genesis Underground we got to work with Matt Wallace, our producer, and then I co-produced it. We were able to work in this awesome studio and get some really good sounds. It was an awesome experience and I learned so much just being in the studio. The whole process was just awesome. Matt Wallace would take us to dinner after we were done in the studio for like milkshakes while Cameron and I were in the studio. It was just great.

What’s your favorite thing to do when you have off-time from tour?

I love just kicking it and watching movies. I’m not super… like doing anything crazy. Just relaxing. When we have an off-day it’s awesome. Just sleep in, watch a movie. We went and saw Niagra Falls for a little bit which was cool. We went shopping in New York City with The Cab. We’ve been having slumber parties with The Cab dudes lately so it’s been fun.

You toured with The Dear Hunter last year how was that experience and how was it different from the last two tours since they’re such a different genre?

Damn, that tour was awesome! Everyone on that tour was so sweet and they’re just a really, really great band. I don’t know it was really cool, I felt like we fit in really well on that tour. You know, we’ve done a bunch of tours with a ton of different genres. This one’s’ a lot different than that tour, we were on tour with Lydia right before this but it was awesome. They’re a great band, I love those guys.

What’s an album or artist you can’t stop playing right now?

Drake. I’m a huge Drake fan. All his mix tape stuff is just awesome, I feel like that guys really going to change music for sure.

What’s been the most memorable part of this tour so far?

Most memorable part? Well today we got all of our stuff stolen. We had our van broken into and all the money we made this tour got stolen. So that kind of sucks but everyone’s been really supportive.  I mean, everyone’s been offering to wire us money through PayPal but we can’t accept that so just… buy a CD or a shirt, you know, anything can help us awesomely.

What can we expect for the future of Eye Alaska?

For the future of Eye Alaska, well  I don’t know, I mean hopefully we’ll be able to do big things, have a voice, influence people.

Interview by Clarisse Hansard