Eleven Thirteen

Where: Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, 15200 Annapolis Rd, Bowie, MD 20715
Date: April 15, 2011
Time: 7:00pm


The City of Bowie, through its Arts and Community Outreach Committees is joining with the local teen band, Eleven Thirteen, and the Charis Center for the Arts, to sponsor a concert of youth musicians to provide funds and cans of food for the Bowie Food Pantry. Several
bands and musicians will perform during the evening.

Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first band will perform at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the door only. Nonperishable food donations will be accepted. All proceeds will go to the Bowie Food Pantry. For more information, contact Andra Berry at aberry@cityofbowie.org or 301-809-3080.

Features: Benefit, Open to All
Website: http://cityofbowie.org/events.asp?ItemID=542
Phone: 301-809-3080
Email: aberry@cityofbowie.org
Price: Ticket price is $8 or $4 plus 4 cans.


- BowiePatch

Check out this cool interview with recently had with an Indie band that our publication feels is going places in the music industry. Meet Eleven Thirteen who passionately rocks out to what they love doing the most; making rad music. We spoke to each member of the band to learn more about what the guys are up to and why music is important to them. Enjoy!

Isaac: It’s an amazing time to be a DIY artist/performer/band/musician. What do you enjoy the most about being an indie performer?

Mike: It's just a great way to open up doors and meet people you would never get to meet otherwise. And you meet some really interesting people.

Kyle: I enjoy meeting new people, and learning about their experiences whether it be their family lives, romances, school, etc; I love to take some of that and influence it into my writing. It’s always nice to know that someone else may have gone through or is going through things that you have encountered.

Tanner: Not having corporation boss you around and having the ability to have an intimate audience.

Eli: I try to stay away from big companies and corporate ideals. But my favorite part is being around awesome people who share the same ideas and who can collaborate on awesome stuff.

Isaac: If you had an opportunity to sign with a major label, would you sign now knowing you may have to give up some of what you have build up over the years about you in the process?

Mike: I think that would depend on what I would have to give up. But I mean all I would want is for our music to be heard. Music to me isn't about making money. I play because I love playing and all I want is for my music to be heard. So I think I would sign to a major just because it would get us heard.

Kyle: That is a tough question. My dream is to play Wembley Stadium one day, but at the same time I was brought up on "Punk Rock" morals. I think I would sign after a very long talk with our manager, and the rest of the band to make sure it is the right thing to do.

Tanner: Maybe, I’m not sure. It would really depend on the situation.

Eli: I personally do not know if I would ever sign to a major label. I guess it depends on what you think "major" is. But I've always been super encouraging and into D.I.Y ethic. But it's hard to not be even a little bit corporate in this modern society. So I'm pretty sure that's a no, to answer your question.

Isaac: I remembered Simon Cowell from American Idol talking about the “it” Factor that makes a musician/band stand out. What do you think is your “it” factor that makes you stand out from others in the music business?

Mike: Our "it" factor is simply that we all genuinely love playing music, which means we all put more effort into it than a lot of people do.

Kyle: I strongly believe that our "it" factor is our energy, and our lyrics. We act like a unit and really feed off of each other and the crowd. Our lyrics are very relevant to things that happen in everyday life. For example, our song "Capasa" is slower and about my girlfriend, where as "EEL" is a thrash at Glenn Beck.

Tanner: I don’t really know.

Eli: First off, I'm not a fan of Simon Cowell at all. I think for a Pop punk/ rock band, whatever you wanna call it, we're pretty similar to the bands we listen to and very much our own at the same time. I think everybody, well most bands out there have the "it" factor. It's all in the mind.

Isaac: Why should music fans listen to your music? Describe what they are going to get when they listen to your music?

Mike: I don't really think that you can generalize on what people are going to get or why they should listen. Everyone is different and they relate differently. So I don't really think that you can generalize like that. This being said, I think that we just have lyrics that a lot of people, especially our age, can relate to and music that is very accessible to the common listener.

Kyle: I don’t think you can define exactly what people will get out of your music. I feel that our lyrics relate to many different people, but are written to reflect our experiences throughout life thus far. If people can get a sense of intimacy out of our music and lyrics to maybe take the "alone" or "helpless" feeling out of their lives, then I'd say our music is doing what music should.

Tanner: You will get to hear music you can relate to.

Eli: You're gonna get some rad music!

Isaac: Briefly describe your humble beginnings that led you to where you are at musically now.

Mike: I am not sure I had humble beginnings, but luck and hard work have gotten me off to a good start.

Kyle: I had family issues going through late middle school and early high school, and those experiences really influenced my lyrics into what they are today. (In addition I have many people who influence me in good ways too).

Tanner: Just a lucky break for guys who love to make music and play for the joy of it, to have support of people who love our music and what we stand for.

Eli: Let's see. Well, I met Tanner, the guitarist through school and we started jamming there and then I got introduced to Mike and Kyle and soon after that we all got together and starting jamming.

Isaac: You have some strong iconic influences. Of these influences, which artist/band do you relate to the most and why?

Mike: Shit, I could write a book. I have an extremely wide range of tastes musically but I would have to say my biggest influence, and incidentally our biggest influence as a band, would be Green Day. I'm not sure that we even relate to them but we just love their stuff I've seen them live twice and I own all their stuff and like they are just a major musical vein in my mind.

Kyle: I feel like we relate the best to bands such as Blink 182, or the Offspring, or Green day. All three started their careers as kids who just wanted to rock and I know for a fact that is all we wanted (and still want) to do.

Tanner: Green Day has been the biggest influence. They have very meaningful lyrics in their songs.

Eli: I've always been a hardcore kid at heart. But I don't think I relate to any one person or band.

Isaac: Do you feel that Indie music gets the respect it deserves? Why or why not?

Mike: I don't think so. I think more indie music should be played on major radio stations. People don’t give indie music enough credit because indie music isn't "out there" it’s not easily accessible like other music is.

Kyle: I think it only gets respect from those who get something out of it. Many people have never heard of tons of amazing indie groups.

Tanner: NO, some people only think good music is in mainstream, they don’t look past a label or genre and see the true musician.

Eli: I think a lot of people have that "Rock Star" mentality and have a hard time understanding Indie music, of all types. But I guess I would say it gets about the same amount of respect of most genres out there. But my opinion is kinda biased because that's the only music I've really been around.

Isaac: If you could change one thing about the music business, what would it be and why?

Mike: I feel that the business is too much about money. I would rather make it more about the music and not about the cash it puts in your pocket.

Kyle: I would change the love for money, and turn it into love for music... that IS the reason we started the music industry in the first place.

Tanner: Stop the dog eat dog mentality. There is room for everyone to make their own music!

Eli: No more lies! Someone once told me the music business is the most fucked up business out there. I'm starting to believe it. You just have to be careful and really make sure you can trust who ever you're dealing with, whether it be a producer, manager or whoever.

Isaac: What type of feedbacks have you been receiving about your music from fans and music critics?

Mike: We usually get that we sound much more mature then our age. We're all in high school and many people are shocked to hear that.

Kyle: For the most part people have given us positive feedback. Part of that is the fact that we are only in high school, and people who have never heard us before don’t really expect much, because there are many bands in high school that are awful.

Tanner: People like our music and say they think we are a lot better than the average garage band.

Eli: A lot of people are digging us. I've only heard good things about people I've showed our music to.

Isaac: If you knew that you would never gain fame and fortune with what you are doing now, would you continue to make music? Explain.

Mike: Yes. Music is my passion. It makes me happy. I don't ever want to stop playing.

Kyle: YES, YES, YES, YES, YES,.... Music (to me) is more or less my life. If Eleven Thirteen makes it big, that’s great. If not, that’s great too. I don’t need to be making millions of dollars to play a great show. I love music, and I love the feeling music gives me. It started off as a vent for me from daily stress, so it’s not like I started playing music to earn myself a living.

Tanner: Yes, started playing guitar for the love of playing guitar, not anything else.

Eli: I'm never going to stop making music. Ever. No matter what. I don't play music for money or fame. I play music because music is love.

Isaac: How do you handle negative feedback or negative energy about your music?

Mike: If people don't like our music, that's their decision. I don't care if everyone likes our music. I just hope that everyone has an opinion on our music. However, if the negative feedback is productive I'll take it in and consider it but if it is just negative feedback to put us down they don't need to listen.

Kyle: I look at two ways: 1) I take the feedback and work on what the person is telling me, because i feel it can make my music better. or 2) I tell them to screw because i don’t really care what they think.

Tanner: I try to get some constructive criticisms out of it.

Eli: We haven't had much negative feedback on our music, but it's not a big deal. Haters gonna hate! They'll learn eventually, hopefully. There's too much hate in this world already. We don't need more.

Isaac: What role do your family and friends play in the equation of your pursuant of a music career?

Mike: Well, the band is my family. I love all three of these guys. We're just one big dysfunctional family. My friends are great for word of mouth. If one comes to see our show I'll have ten come up to me the next day and ask about us. They help tremendously to build a following.

Kyle: We have the most loyal and dedicated families. I can’t express to anyone how vital all of our parents are to our success up to this point. Our manager (whom is a mother of a band member) has worked on us like it is her paying job. Our community has embraced us in ways we never thought they would. Between our families and our community all of their support has been so helpful, and if we do make it someday, we will owe everyone that is helping us more than we could ever return.

Tanner: My family and friends have been very supportive.

Eli: My friends and family have always been super supportive of my music and I thank them greatly for that.

Isaac: What is the best site/s that you can be found on the Internet?

Mike: Sonicbids at www.sonicbids.com/epk/epk.aspx?epk_id=275248

or our website: www.eleventhirteentheband.com/

Kyle: We are also now on Face book at www.facebook.com/eleven_thirteen#!/pages/Eleven-Thirteen/142690462413407

Tanner: I am trying to get some video performances up on You tube so look for that in the near future.

Eli: We will be releasing our first CD on CD Baby soon too.

Isaac: The floor is yours; final words…..

Mike: Thanks for having us in the magazine.

Kyle: We are Eleven Thirteen, thank you very much for having us. To see what shows we have coming up or to check us out go to the website stated earlier in the interview. On our website we encourage you to join our mailing list to see what’s up with the band. Thanks a lot.

Tanner: First a quick shout out to two of my friends Deigo and Steven, thanks for rockin with us!!! Thank you for allowing us this opportunity.

Eli: Peace and love to all! And for musicians starting out, keep going! Don't stop! When times are tough just keep your head up, keep a smile on your face, that goes for everybody out there. And keep it real! Namaste.

- Junior's Cave Online Magazine, Isaac Davis Junior, BGS, MBA

Since it formed, the St. Feorge's youth band has been a high energy group. The 4 members of Eleven


Thirteen, Kyle Hadley-Bush, Tanner Pettigrew-Brown, Mike Payne, and Eli Woodbridge have performed at Bowie-fest and the Celebration of life in June, opened for the Band Stravagant at the Charis Center Concert and performed on the St. George's Episcopal Church Float in the Greenbelt Labor Day Parade. The members of the band helped with the church clean up dat hels in August snf have augmented the guitar music in worship on occassion. The band is planning a House Conert on October 10th-All are invited! The group has volunteered their musical talents to support a few local and national fundraisers. They are looking for a way to give back to the community and want to put together a multi-band concert to benefit the Bowie Food Pantry. This effort is in the planning stages and a date will be announced as soon as the venue and date are lock in. The entrance fee will be non-parishable food items or cash /check donations to the Bowie Food Pantry, it is being called "Bands 4 Cans". The Band is also playing a 12 hour, 12 band festival In Queen Anne County April 2, 2011, scheduled to play 8-9pm at the County Fairground. The concert is a fundraiser supporting the American Cancer Society, call the "Cancer Sucks Concert". - The Wider Circle Newsletter, Volumn 9 Number 10, October 2010