Pitt pop-punkers aim for online glory

‘ Most musicians would walk away from a failed performance empty-handed and disheartened. Not… ‘ Most musicians would walk away from a failed performance empty-handed and disheartened. Not Prince In Public. The band went into last year’s Battle of the Bands’ ‘mdash; a competition for being the opening band at Pitt Program Council’s Fall Fest ‘mdash; as a two-person electronic group. But the duo experienced technical difficulties and failed to land the opening spot, allowing them some time to regroup. Only a semester later, Prince in Public has emerged as a four-person pop band. Pitt sophomores Gary Crow of Lancaster, Pa., and Josh Siva of Buffalo, N.Y., met in 2007 while living in Litchfield Tower B as freshmen. The duo began writing minimalist electronic music, and released a single, ‘Euro Girl,’ on iTunes. Rob Hackett of Pittsburgh’s suburban North Hills, also currently a Pitt sophomore, was undeterred by Crow and Siva’s smoking speakers and lack of vocals at the Battle of the Bands. He felt they had potential to be a full band and contacted them to see if they would be interested in collaborating. They were, and soon Crow, Siva, Hackett and Eric Neugebaur, a high-school friend of Hackett’s and a Duquesne sophomore, were a four-piece band. ‘You could call it pop punk or power pop,’ said Siva, Prince In Public’s guitarist and keyboardist. ‘We want something that people can hear and smile about, as well as jump around and get into it.’ Crow is the lead singer, Hackett plays bass, and Neugebaur plays drums.’ Each of the band members comes from a different musical background, from indie to metal, giving them widespread variety.’ ‘Every song is a little different. The new sound is just awesome, I’m really happy with it,’ said Neugebaur. The sound wasn’t the only thing that changed from the band’s origin to its current incarnation. The band’s original name, Port Authority, though able to capitalize on the free advertising on every public transit vehicle, was not going to work for serious purposes. ‘Every name we were coming up with was more ridiculous than the last. Eventually it sort of evolved out of free association with a bunch of friends one night, luck of the draw,’ said Crow. Since then, the Internet has enabled Prince In Public to promote itself far beyond traditional means. ‘That’s why I love technology. We could not have done it without MySpace,’ said Hackett. The band’s MySpace page receives tens of thousands of views weekly and has attracted fans all over the country and internationally. Now, Prince In Public is hitting the stage. The band is currently participating in the Ernie Ball Music Man/Vans Warped Tour competition on www.BattleOfTheBands.com. Unsigned bands self-register for the contest and upload their music, competing to generate the most ‘buzz factor,’ or fan support, which is measured by daily voting and page views. Of the top 20 bands with the most buzz factor, judges will choose one winner from each of 44 cities to perform in the 2009 Rockstar Taste of Chaos tour. ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ ‘ The band is competing to play in Cleveland, Ohio, Rochester, N.Y. and Baltimore, Md. ‘Finishing in the top would be a milestone on its own, not to mention a chance to play at the next level,’ said Siva. ‘We have a grassroots campaign going to get friends and family to register and vote. It’s a very simple process.’ Pittsburgh’s music scene can be as dismal as its weather in terms of opportunities for bands. Nevertheless the band has played several smaller venues and continues to book shows for the spring and summer, and hopes to play at Pitt’s Bigelow Bash. ‘The most important thing is to establish a solid base in Pittsburgh, right now our fans are scattered nationally,’ said Neugebaur. Prince In Public is currently recording its debut EP in studios at Duquesne University. Within four to six weeks its music will be available on iTunes, Amazon, Best Buy and several other major music retailers. ‘If we aren’t physically playing, everything we do has to do with the music or promotion,’ said Neugebaur. It’s a fine balance to strike for a band as devoted to its music as Prince in Public.’ ‘We understand our limits as students with what we can and can’t do. We want to do both worlds, to be successful as musicians without failing out of school,’ said Neugebaur. The band intends to stay in school, but would consider taking time off if a big enough opportunity presented itself.’ They hope to tour the east coast over the summer. Siva said, ‘We’ll go as far as our wheels and expense accounts will take us.’