ACTION ITEM: Setting Their Sights On The Top

Some bands play basements. Action Item does shows in their fans’ living rooms – and, uh, places like Nassau Coliseum, where they opened for Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez. Although unsigned, the Bergen County quintet’s pure pop sound has earned them huge touring opportunities, opening for the kind of superstar ‘tween acts whose videos pop up in between episodes of iCarly and Hannah Montana. And while the band’s debut EP got their picture in PopStar magazine, they’ve also been praised by AbsolutePunk.net (“one of the best EP’s of 20089,”) Alternative Press, and featured by theNJUnderground.com. So can you rub elbows with the autotuned mannequins from Radio Disney and still maintain the kind of punk cred that NJ bands thrive on? I guess we’ll find out. On August 17, Action Item’s new album “The Stronger You Love” drops just as the band begins a tour opening for AllStar Weekend. They’ll be at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville on September 11. Vocalist Brian Cag was good enough to answer our questions.

Brian Cag – vocals, guitar
Anthony Li – guitar, cello
Mark Shami – piano
Dan Brozek – drums
David Buczkowski – bass

Q: Please tell us how and when you guys met and how you started the band. Where are you all from? Have any of you been in bands before this? And of course the "influences" question: When you put Action Item together, was there any particular band(s) you considered a role model or a big musical influence?

Brian: I knew our bassist David and our drummer Dan for pretty much my entire life - went to grammar school together, lived in the same town. I met Anthony through a mutual friend in high school and we needed a guitarist, so we invited him into the group. We met Mark (piano) through a local band from the area that broke up. So, for everyone except Mark, this band was the only band we've ever been a part of. We all have a love for great pop bands such as One Republic, The Fray and Coldplay, so I guess those can be listed as our major influences.

Q: You're unsigned but you've opened some huge shows and you'll be touring with Allstar Weekend. Clearly you're not at the point where you're selling platinum records yet you've had some mega-opportunities (like opening for Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez.) A lot of bands would find that unreal. Let's start with how you got here. What were some of your earliest, most horrible shows like? And were there any breakthrough moments when things started to click?

Brian: I think everyone just needed to learn their role/place within the band. Every band has to grow together and realize that every member has to carry their own weight to make it work. That was probably the biggest struggle early on, especially at shows, everybody understanding their role to make it be a success. Opening up a sold-out Nassau Coliseum show for Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez was definitely an eye-opener. At that point we realized, we really want to run with this and make this our life.

Q: I'm sure you've had the "major label" conversation. Bands have been debating this long before Nirvana and Green Day made the jump from the underground to the mainstream. The question is, in today's music industry,
does a major label offer a meaningful opportunity or can you do all the things a major label used to do with your own resources? What's the band's feelings?

Brian: We're an extremely hardworking band, and to this point, we've done pretty much everything ourselves. Every interview, some sort of press, financial backing was done through our own doing. However, major labels still give bands that extra push into the public eye. I think for a band like us, it's not a bad thing. We want to be a pop band, so we need the resources to make that work.

Q: To follow that up, clearly on the one hand, opening for some of those big Disney pop stars seems like a dream come true. But it's got to be tough when the audiences mostly don't know who you are, are mostly little girls, and they're screaming for the headliner. So what's the secret to communicating with an audience in that circumstance? What makes a kid go to a pop star show and leave talking about Action Item?

Brian: You have to know how to make people realize you are just a person. We're all about being personable with our fans and keeping in constant contact with them, online and at shows. When I was younger, I used to go to shows and wished that some of my favorite bands hung out with their fans. I want to make that "availability" real for all of our fans. Our fans are everything, so we try and hang out with them all night when possible.

Q: Let me play devil's advocate here. There are obviously people who would
say that you are aiming at the lowest common denominator and only interested in writing big pop hits for MTV and Nickelodeon. Tell me why they're wrong. Is there intrinsically something different about what you do and what the garage band playing in a basement is trying to do?

Brian: We love the music we're making. If someone believes that we're trying to aim for the lowest common denominator, then they obviously have the wrong idea about us. We're trying to do what we love and make a career out of it. Doing what you love for a living, is that so wrong?

Q: How important is image in today's Internet-driven music industry? Your new photos are very neat and almost formal. I look at your live photos and I see flannel and jeans. Do you put a lot of thought into what you wear on stage and does it change according to the show, the headliner, or the audience?

Brian: We like dressing formally for events and shows. We want to be as professional as possible. If people are paying to see someone perform, I feel that it's unfair to see someone in a sloppy position.

Q: I saw that District Lines is actually offering a package where for $250, you'll put on a private show at somebody's house. Has anyone ever actually bought one of those? And how crazy would that be?

Brian: Actually a good amount of people have bought that package. We love playing for our fans, especially at private parties. We've actually played a living room tour, where we come to our fans' house and play acoustically just for them!

Q: Back in the early 00's, Drive-Thru Records pioneered a certain sound and signed a lot of NJ bands. Clearly those days are over. Is there a New Jersey scene or a NJ "sound" today? Or do you find there are a lot of different cliques and scenes with their own sgendas all competing for attention?

Brian: We don't really pay attention to the scene in that sense. Were trying to make good pop music that is widely accessible to all kinds of people. Drive thru definitely had an impact in NJ, but I guess those days are over.

Q: A lot of fans who see you on this tour are going to go home, click on Mediafire or Utorrent, and basically steal your record. How big a problem is that for a band in your situation, and do you think bands can do anything to encourage fans - especially younger fans - to buy music instead of file-sharing or illegally downloading it?

Brian: Of course we'd appreciate if everyone bought our music legally, but we have to be realistic. As long as people hear about us, I'll be more than happy! Again, I think by staying connected with fans and keeping friendly relationships, they'll realize how much it means to us to buy our music legally.

Download “When Everything Falls” here.

For more information, visit www.actionitemband.com