Name: The Octopus Project

Title/Occupation: Band (…a sort of Tim Burton block party is unfolding)

Organization/Company: Peek-a-Boo Records

URL: http://www.theoctopusproject.com

Note: Questions were primarily answered by Josh Lambert.

1. Where did you grow up and how did you end up where you are now?

We all grew up in different parts of Texas (Josh – San Antonio, Ryan – Austin, Yvonne and Toto – Houston).  Yvonne, Toto & I met in Houston and ended up all going to college at UT in Austin together.  We’ve been in various bands together since late high school.  We met Ryan about 3 years ago and he’s been a fantastic addition to the gang!

2. Which performance, song, play, movie, painting or other work of art had the biggest influence on you and why?

Picking one specific influence is pretty tough!  I think we’re all influenced by a million different things all the time & it’s always changing.  But, if I had to pick only one thing in my life that influenced me the most, I’d probably pick the first time I heard “Appetite for Destruction” when I was 12 years old.  Previous to that, I’d been listening to movie soundtracks or whatever was on the radio.  That record completely blew my mind and made me want to start playing guitar.

3. What skill, talent or attribute do you most wish you had and why?

I wish I could make everyone happy all of the time.

4. What do you do to make a living? Describe a normal day.

Playing in a band is pretty much it for us!  Every day is different!  If we’re on tour, it’s — get up early, drive for 7 hours, load-in/soundcheck, play the show, go to bed late, repeat.  At home, it’s a little more lax, but usually we spend most of our time practicing, writing songs, working on video stuff, sending out orders, writing emails, etc.  It’s a ton of work!

5. Have you ever had to make a choice between work and art? What did you choose, why, and what was the outcome?

Thankfully, none of us have ever had to choose between having a normal job and working on the band.  Our choice has always been the band, and we’ve worked as hard as we possibly could to make it as awesome as it can be.  Being in a band is definitely incredibly tough — mentally, physically, monetarily.  You really have to love it to make it work.  But, we all love it more than anything else and the positives far outweigh the negatives.  I absolutely love being in a band with Yvonne, Toto and Ryan and couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.