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BEC HOLLCRAFT - LEAVING HER MARK

By The Rocker Twins

 

The Rocker Twins get a chance to interview Bec Hollcraft of STARS IN STEREO. We ask all the questions. What's it like to be a "girl" singer in this rock n roll world, or is a singer just a singer?

 

*Post date June 25th, 2015*

Growing up all we ever wanted to be were rock stars. Now we’re not talking about a pop singer or country crooner. We wanted to be ROCK STARS! We wanted to bang our heads, pump our fists and rival the boys with their on stage and off stage antics, but being little girls of the 80’s there were only a handful of women we could look to for inspiration. But inspire us they did. We wanted to sing with Ozzy and tell boys to kiss us deadly like Lita (Ford) did. We wanted to pump our fists while we banged out an anthem in skin tight leather like Doro (Pesch). We wanted to not give a damn about our bad reputations and sing in a band with Michael J. Fox while counting down the light of day like Joan (Jett). And of course we would make our girlfriends, tease up their hair, while we would fight over who got to be Janet, Jan and Roxie, make no mistake, a Rocker Twin always got to sing about the edge of their broken heart, maybe not as good as the ladies of VIXEN but the soul of it was there.

 

As we grew older though, we didn’t see a lot of HARD rock girls that the younger generations could look to. With MTV, radio and the internet world being taken over by pop culture to an alarming degree we thought there was no hope, but it doesn’t look to be the case any longer. It seems these days that the ladies are dominating on the road, stage and air play. Such an interesting time in music to watch and go through.

 

Little girls don’t have to look to far these days for some HARD ROCK role models. There is a variety to choose from. You have Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) making more than a deep impression, Maria Brink (IN THIS MOMENT) making herself more addicting with every lyric we hear out of her, you have the dueling vocalists Heidi Shepherd and Carla Harvey of BUTCHER BABIES who look, sound and emulate everything you want to hear and see on a rock n roll stage. And you have Bec Hollcraft (STARS IN STEREO) with asking us to leave a mark.

 

We wanted to interview Bec after we saw her and the boys in the band open for HALESTORM and BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. Not knowing what to expect when we saw this tiny little girl walk out on stage, we will testify that she BLEW US AWAY! Matching the high octane performance of her band members it was nothing but excitement, sex and rock n roll. Playing guitar, singing, and teasing the security guard while she sang Nine Inch Nails CLOSER. She was definitely the whole package.

 

But we wonder, what is it to be a “girl” in this rock n roll world. Are you treated different, do you want to be? Is the music industry as misogynistic as everyone likes to think it is? Or at the end of the day is a singer just a singer? We ask this and many more things to Bec and love her responses as much as we love her music.

BH: Hi!
RT: Hey, how are you? Are you ready for us or what?!
BH: Always!

RT: Right on! (ALL LAUGHING) This is the twins in Colorado if you remember us.
BH: I do! You girls are unforgettable.
RT: Well we love hearing that! (ALL LAUGHING)…What we’re wanting to talk about today is how the girls seem to be taking over ROCK N ROLL. You’re one of the artists that we are excited for, and to see what all you can do.
BH: Well thank you. That's awesome.
RT: Alright, so let’s just dig in. What’s it like being on tour with a bunch of guys? Let’s face it, ROCK N ROLL is a pretty male driven genre. Is it fun, difficult, all thee above?

BH: I'm pretty lucky, I grew up with 3 brothers so it's not anything new to me hanging around with a bunch of dudes.  But yeah, these guys are like my other family that I just happen to not be related to; they're like brothers as well.  Yeah, everyone takes care of each other.  We all love each other.  I mean we're stuck with each other for months and months, so we have to like each other a little bit.
RT: Right, and you guys tour so much.
BH: Yeah, it's a lot.
RT: You guys are fun though. That's why we loved you guys. (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: Right.  Thank you.
RT: So how did you become the singer for these guys (STARS IN STEREO)? We know you were in Japan performing and working, so how did this come to be?

BH: Well I was working in Japan for a few years, and then that contract ended, so I was really open for anything. I heard from a friend that there was a band that was looking for a singer. So I went and met these guys, and basically a few days later we started recording the album.  We just hit it off instantly.  We all, you know.. I'm just really lucky to have found people that want what I want.  They want to do the same music that I want to do, and they share the same goals that I have.  So it just happened really fast and it all worked out.
RT: We love it. The whole album is awesome. You know what we really love about you guys is your live show. How important is that to you? I mean, we’re old school, so we’re used to the arena tours, and the stage clothes…Some of the performances we’ve seen lately has really revived our “love of the show” spirit. We feel like you "girls"…you, Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM), and Maria (IN THIS MOMENT), are the top “showmen” of the ROCK genre now. Does that make since? (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: Well it's really awesome to be grouped in with both of those
ladies. I really appreciate it.
RT: Of course.  Totally.
BH: But what inspires me is like 80's rock, ya know.  When female fronted bands were just kinda coming out and there was just this power and raw energy back then that I feel like is kinda lost now. At least in the more main stream of life.  But, yeah I'm all about rock music and just being a strong female.  You know I try not to be like grouped in like the "Oh, I'm the female in a band", type of thing, ya know.  Cause for me I'm just a singer in a band.  I don't want it to be about me.  I want it to be about the band.
RT: Yes of course, we totally get that. We don't like to lump you guys/girls into the "just a female singer", cause like you said, you guys
are just singers period. But, we see a lot of your fans, fans of yours, Lzzy’s and Maria, young girls, where they look at you guys and think, "See, I can be a ROCKSTAR.", how important is that influence to you?

BH: Ya know, I am definetly part of trying to help young girls, or inspire them to play music.  I picked up a guitar when I was 10 years old and was writing songs just as far back as I can remember.  I think the younger you start with that the better off you are.  I don't think that anyone, especially females should bescared to be in that position. I think it’s good to grow up and learn that lesson now, which is really cool.
 

RT: Right.  So what kind of influences did you have?  I mean we know that Meredith Brooks discovered you, but were you a Lita Ford girl, or a Stevie Nicks chick? Who did you want to be?  Or Cher?  Hell, I want to be Cher!  (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: Right!  Yeah, I like Joan Jett, and Heart, and even like Shirley Manson (GARBAGE), inspired me a lot.  And of course Steven Tyler(AEROSMITH).  Just a whole bunch of people.  But um, yeah there's not too many of today that really do it for me, ya know.  A lot of my influences are older.
RT: Exactly.  So you do your own writing and recording, and you play
the guitar and everything; do you want to be more known for your song writing abilities or just for the whole package of it?
BH: I guess I'm not too concerned about what I am known or not known for.  I mean, with this band we write all of our songs together.  I'm very passionate about songwriting, you know it'sthe most important thing for me because it's expressing feelings.It's like therapy.  And then for people to be able to hear that and relate to that is incredible.  As for our live show it is very, very important to us. We want to do energy, and put everything we have into that performance.
 

RT: We were actually just talking about how personable you guys as a band are. I mean, when we met you and Jordan.. Imean (HAHA) like we give Dr. Phil a whole new respect after realizing Jordan is his son. (ALL LAUGHING)  We’re like, those guys are awesome.  It's so refreshing to see a band be so excited about what they're doing. You guys do really look like you love it. Which I’m sure is what has endeared you to us and the rest of your fans.  

BH: Aw, thank you.  That's awesome. For me I feel like there's nothing worse than when you see a band on stage and you knowthey come off as miserable, like they hate what they're doing.  I'm like, "really?" you guys have the coolest job in the world.  We all play music for a living and that’s a dream all of us have had in this band.  And to be able to do it, you know, why would we not be the happiest people ever??!!
RT: You guys evoke it big time. The first time we met Jordan (guitar) was outside of a show in Denver, he was so excited to meet his fans and we haven't seen you guys lose that. How important is fan recognition and fan contact for you? We’ve been on a lot of tours, when a lot of the artists refuse to meet fans or even mingle backstage.

BH: Oh yeah.  I don't think...I mean this is my personal opinion.  I don't think, unless you’re like Brittany Spears or something, that anyone is too big to have a connection with the people that are spending their money to come and see you. That in itself, to have people buy a ticket to come and see us is awesome.  Why would we not want to thank them for that? We wouldn't even be able to play a show if people didn't want to see us, so it's really important for us to be able to meet people that enjoy our music and make those connections.  Even on-line; we're always on our FACEBOOK and TWITTER cause we like peoples feedback, it helps us. So definitely, that connection is very important to us.
RT: It's one of the reasons we liked you guys right away.
BH: Aw, thank you so much.

RT: You’re so welcome. Okay now it’s that time in the interview were we do…Know your artists. We want our readers to know you a little better. You ready?

BH: Ready!  (ALL LAUGHING)

RT: What was the most memorable moment on any stage you ever played?
BH: Oh, that's a really hard one. I have a lot of really memorable, amazing moments; but when I played my hometown of Portland, Oregon. My nephew who was 4, really, really wanted to come and see my show. I was leery cause he was so young and I didn't know if he would be able to handle it.  But I was able to get him to stand side stage; and just to see him up there with his little headphones and dancing through the whole 30 minute set, and mind you he did not stop dancing the whole time, that was great.  Just to like have someone I love so much…it just made me really proud that he enjoyed it and it made him so happy. To be able to do something that someone I love is proud of, ya know, that's a really powerful moment for me honestly.
RT: Awww, well you just gave us goosebumps.  We love that. (ALL
LAUGHING) Okay, next question.  Who would your dream duet be with?  And what song?
BH: That's so hard.  There are so many artists that I would love to sing with.  I live for music and there are so many people that have impacted me and my life, ya know that's a really hard one. (ALL LAUGHING) But I think if I ever got to sing with Steven Tyler (AEROSMITH) that would like be the most incredible thing ever. He is such a big influence and his voice is amazing! So yeah, Steven Tyler.
RT: Yeah we can see you guys cover "Dream On".  That would be awesome.  That's it, I'm putting in a request to Steven Tyler for a "Dream On" duet with Bec! (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: Yeah totally.  Just hit him up for me, I'm available.
RT: It's not too far off.  I'm close, well maybe not that close.  But we'll see what we can do. (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: That's awesome!
RT: Okay anyway, back to work.  So what are you guys hoping to do with this album? We talking radio, MTV airplay, or just what? Of course if MTV played music anymore that might be an option.
BH: I know right.  What does MTV do anymore?  I have no idea.
RT: I think between 3am and 4am they play videos.  Would you like to
see your video play then?  (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: Right?!  I know. For us we just really want to get the album out to everyone that can hear it. If that means radio, or MTV, or FUSE, that is obviously where we want to be to be heard. We're hoping for the best with it of course.  And we've been played on a few radio stations so far and that's just incredible.  So we're hoping for the best.  We've been writing some new stuff too, you know we never stop.
RT: Have you ever considered collaborating with some of your female counter parts like, Lzzy or Maria?
BH: That would be incredible if I ever got to sing with any of those
ladies. We've had Arejay (HALESTORM) come up and play the drums with us on the last tour.  So yeah, if she would ever want to do something, that would be amazing.  She is so talented and inspiring to me it would be really cool.  So yeah, I wouldn’t say no. (ALL LAUGHING) Of course I don't know if she would ever be down.
RT: I'm sure.  It's gonna happen man. (ALL LAUGHING) Right on. Okay so let’s finish up with some silly questions. You game?
BH: I'm game.

RT: Alright.  When you’re on the road, what is your favorite thing to eat?
BH: Well I'm a vegan, so anything vegan really. (LAUGHS) I eat a lot of
burritos minus the cheese.
RT: Well no wonder you’re so tiny and cute.  We need to go vegan Sis.
BH: Oh thanks. (ALL LAUGHING)
RT: Okay next question.  What is your most played song on your IPOD
right now?
BH: Ooo, that's a hard one.  Um maybe, "Elves Beam Out" by Cynic.
RT: Oh really? That's one we haven't heard of.  We're gonna have to
check them out.
BH: Yeah, they're pretty great.
RT: Cool. Who was the one person that you have met that totally star struck you?
BH: Oh my God.  I don't know.  I am totally blanking right now.  Um,
maybe...alright I'm just gonna do a throwback moment.  When I
was 13 I met "LIZZIE MCGUIRE". (ALL LAUGHING) I was just like dying, having a total panic attack, I was so excited. (LAUGHS)  I mean now that I'm older I don't get that way too much, cause obviously their just human beings too.  But you know I was much younger and I freakin met "LIZZIE MCGUIRE" and freaked out. (ALL LAUGHING)
RT: It's like when we met Marky Mark when he was still Marky Mark.
We freaked out.  (ALL LAUGHING)
BH: Oh yeah, if I met him now I'd be like, "can I just touch you... anywhere?"  (ALL LAUGHING)
RT: Exactly!  Alright last question.  If you could ever cover anyone's song, who’s song would it be? And why?

BH: Um, I feel like this isn't in context of like our band but, maybe "Girls
Just Want to Have Fun" by Cyndi Lauper.  (ALL LAUGHING)
RT: Oh my God, that's awesome!
BH: Yeah.  I like to dance around and that's just the perfect song to sing and dance to.  It just makes you feel like a teenager forever when you listen to it. So yeah.
RT: Well we love that.  It's not where we thought you were gonna go
at all..  Your way light hearted dude.  Love that.
BH: Yeah, I'm extremely random.  I'm like all over the place.  You know
I have my really dark side and then I have a really, really girly side and they just totally fight all the time.
RT: Yeah, we thought you might go a little dark on us, but we're kinda glad your girly side came out.
BH: I have my moments.
RT: Don't we all.  Don't we all.  (ALL LAUGHING)  Alright honey, well
we loved talking to you like always, we’ll have to do it again. 

BH: Aw, thanks again definitely. I really appreciate you guys calling.
RT: Oh of course, we love it.  And thank you.  Tell all the boys we say
hi.

BH: Absolutely.  Thank you and take care!

 

Remember to catch Bec and the boys in STARS IN STEREO on the road and check out their NEW ALBUM...LEAVE YOUR MARK. You can keep up with STARS IN STEREO at their band links below.

 

http://www.facebook.com/StarsInStereo

http://starsinstereo.com/,

https://twitter.com/Stars_In_Stereo, http://www.youtube.com/StarsinStereo, http://instagram.com/starsinstereo, http://bit.ly/SinSalbum

Remember to ALWAYS put your ROCK FACE ON!!!!

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