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| Credit: Sally Sum |
Words by: Summer Hartley
Boxwine is one of the funnest bands you'll come across
in Lexington, KY. This 4-piece band, known for their fun stage presence and
killer addition to the music scene's diversity, are about being “classy, but
not too classy” and having fun in general. If you love a good time, you'll love
Boxwine (and really, who doesn't love a good time?).
Give me your name, your role in the band, and one
interesting fact about you.
Nick; Bassist; “I have never had a salad in
my life and I never will. That stuff is for rabbits and I ain't no rabbit.
[Eric: Okay, Ron Swanson, thank you.]”
Jakob; Vocals; “I don't know... I'm not very
interesting. Well, I mean, I'm a printmaker, and I make all the band's merch.”
Chris; Guitar; “[Jakob: 'Chris likes to
wreck his motorcycle.'] Wow, that was rude. For the record, people hit me all
the time. I'm a very safe driver.”
Eric; Drums; “I can not draw, but I can
color for days.”
Where did the band name Boxwine derive from?
Eric, the only original band member remaining, says it
comes from the idea of being, “... classy, but not too classy, since it's
classy to drink wine, but drinking wine out of a box takes away from the
classiness of it... We party, but not too much.”
How long has Boxwine been together?
“Well we've been together about a year and a half, coming
together on New Years Day, actually. Although we didn't pick up Nick until
about 1 year ago, Jakob adds. “The band Boxwine originally began in 2011 though,
but we've went through many lineup changes and location changes,” says Eric.
“But now we've got this lineup and we live happily ever
after,” says Chris with a grin.
Sum up Boxwine's sound in 3 words.
Jakob immediately had an answer. “We actually came up with
this yesterday: Bon Jovi's (feathered) Hair.” To which we all laugh for a good
minute or so, as that is probably the best answer ever.
How does Boxwine pay for things like travelling to shows,
equipment, printing CDs, etc.?
Eric says they try to keep it within the money they make
from merch, yet sometimes they'll all pitch in money to help out what merch
sales doesn't fully cover.
Favorite show as a band?
Nick automatically says, “The Campton show with those kids
that crowdsurfed Jakob around.” All of the guys agree and go into further
detail about the show. Chris saying, “We showed up and thought it was going to
be the crappiest show ever, because there were only like 20 kids there.”
“They were the craziest 20 kids ever, though,” Nick adds.
Boxwine is known to have a crazy stage presence. Do you
guys agree?
Nick says, “I don't wanna sound cocky, but yes.”
“We just try to keep the crowd interested and have fun,”
Jakob adds. The guys all feel that stage presence adds to why people go to shows.
“You'll go to some shows and like the sound but if they just stand there,
you'll find it hard to connect,” says Eric.
“Yea, we wanna give them something to come see and watch,
rather than just listen to us. If they wanted to listen to us, they could just
stay home and listen to our music.”
Why should someone who is new to Boxwine and your sound come see Boxwine live?
“'Cause they wanna watch Nick play bass,” Chris says, to
which he adds, “I watch Nick play bass.”
“[Me: 'So it's all about watching Nick play bass?'] Nahhh,
only 50% of it is about watching Nick,” Eric says. Overall, though, the guys of
Boxwine say it's about the experience and individuality of Boxwine. “We're
definitely different from the area's usual sound; we're not so 'bar rock-ish'
like a lot of stuff here.”
The guys say that the reason why people should check them
out though can be summed up in one of the best comments they received ever.
“There was one guy after a show that said, 'You guys are like a perfectly
cooked hot pocket.',” recalls Chris. “He said it like 4 times. That is pretty
rare, almost unheard of. It's either still cold on the inside or molten lava,
so that was pretty great to hear that.”
What are some of the pros and cons of the local KY music
scene?
Nick sums it up for the band, saying, “There aren't as
many opportunities to get your music out there, especially where our music
isn't as common and there isn't as many places to perform as there are in other
cities. The scene is very limiting, yeah, but it's fun overall. You just have to
use your connections through social media and such to spread the word.”
Favorite local venue?
Nick says Al's Bar off the bat because of its atmosphere,
but also adds that Cosmic Charlie's is a favorite. “The atmosphere at Al's is
great,” Chris says. “Yeah, but the stage at Cosmic Charlie's is pretty big and
fun to play at,” Jakob argues. Overall, though, the band sticks with those two
venues.
Who would Boxwine want to collaborate or tour with in the
future?
“If we could just get on Warped Tour, that'd be enough
touring and collaboration for us,” Nick says, to which the boys agree. “Or
maybe Bonnaroo so we can punch Kanye West in the face, ya know.”
Eric adds that he'd like to play with people unlike
Boxwine, though. “I enjoy playing with bands that aren't a lot like us, because
I hate going to a show where you hear the same thing back to back. It just gets
a tad boring.”
Jakob would like to tour with The Story So Far or
Beartooth, which all the guys agree with. “[Beartooth] goes super hard,” Jakob
says.
If you could have one unorthodox piece of Boxwine merch,
what would it be?
Nick states he'd like to have cardboard cutouts of all the
guys, while Eric wants something collectable, “... like pop-out dolls or action
figures.”
In your own opinion, what would be success?
Jakob and Eric both agree that being able to “tour
regularly and sustain from it” would be success in their opinion, while Nick
says, “When someone could say our music impacted them or meant something to
them, that would mean a lot to me in terms of being a successful musician.”
Chris adds on, “If I could quit my day job and do this to make money, that
would be great.”
What is coming up for Boxwine in the future? Are you guys
working on music, touring, etc.?
“All of the above,” Nick says. “We're trying to push
around our music and promote Boxwine in general. We may even write a bit more.”
“Yea, I mean we just finished writing a lot but I'm
already ready to write again,” adds Eric, as Jakob says, “We'd also like to try
and do a mini-tour over the summer.”
Any final words?
Nick: “Keep it classy, kids.”
Jakob: “Make sure to have your pets spayed
and neutered.”
Eric: “Listen responsibly.”
To close, each of you give me a pet peeve:
Jakob: “I hate when people don't use their
turn signals. It's the simplest damn things.”
Eric: “Indifference. Either say yes or no,
don't tell me maybe and then not show up.”
Nick: “I don't know. [Jakob: Nick doesn't
like it when people take his glasses.] Yes, Nick doesn't like it when people
take his glasses.”
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