Maybe If You Hit It
Orlando, Florida, United States | SELF
Music
Press
I stayed at The BackBooth to catch Orlando’s Maybe If You Hit It. The party rock band played all the songs from their recently released EP Texas Swagger as well as “Buck in the Woods” and “Snail Trail.” Their show was as much a visual experience as a musical one, with a posse of scantily clad women in attendance and “The Garrett Show” scrolling along the front of the bass, not to mention The Garrett Show’s back flip off the stage at the end of the set.
- Examiner.com
Texas Swagger is the debut release for Orlando band Maybe If You Hit It. Band members, Barton Hill (vocals/ guitars), The Garrett Show (bass/backing vocals), and Scott Lawson (drums/backing vocals) worked with renowned producer Brett Hestla on this three song EP (four songs if you count the bonus acoustic track available on the hard copies). Texas Swagger is a solid sample of what the band has to offer.
The EP opens with an invitation that fits right in with the band’s portrayal as a party rock band “Do you want to come over and party or something,” then blasts ahead with the first two songs “Texas Swagger” and “Yes Ladies I’m Single.” The hard hitting rock music featured in both songs solidifies the band’s image, as do the lyrics in the chorus of Texas Swagger “Yeah we do it all night and it ain’t no sin / my wicks are both on fire / cutting into the wire / living for right now.”
“Done With You,” is offered in two versions on the hard copy, electric and acoustic. The band peels back the party band exterior and reveals a lot of depth with this song, “Tell me why is it so hard to let you down / when I knew it all along / we gotta move on / I'm movin' on, so long.” Hill’s strong vocals really stand out in both versions.
Maybe If You Hit It’s high-energy rock music has a classic rock style similar to melodic hard rock bands from the 80's like Poison, Skid Row, and Warrant. This is a terrific taste of the band’s music, looking forward to more to see how it plays out.
Texas Swagger is available from the band's web site as well as iTunes and Amazon. Fans can keep up with the band on their official web site as well as Facebook and Twitter.
- Examiner.com
"Maybe If You Hit It brings the show to stage with energy and style... go see them! You'll get your money's worth!"
-Crash
Clear Channel 101.1FM WJRR, Orlando, FL Morning Show DJ - Crash WJRR
Watch the band discuss their EP launch party in Daytona Beach at Sickboy's Bad Habit Lounge.
- Lucky Break Media - WJRR
I can only imagine how many times bands are asked for the meaning behind their name/album title/song title. This question provided the platform from which to base our shoot concept around. Can you tell we had mega-fun with Maybe If You Hit It? And it begs the question, what do they want to hit? Blackjack? Booty? You decide.
- Brook Pifer
Discography
Texas Swagger EP (2011)
Photos
Bio
Maybe If you Hit it founding members, Barton Hill and Scott Lawson are originally from Houston, Texas. Their shared musical interests growing up, aligned them in several bands
as they began their musical careers in the area. The first and most notable band “Enfant”
released the single "Can You Imagine," which saw airtime on the local Clear Channel Station,
94.5 FM “The Buzz”. Eventually, the band members parted ways, and Barton and Scott
decided to move to Florida where they achieved their degrees in Recording Arts at Full Sail
University.
While attending Full Sail, Hill was instrumental in forming what became a well known Central
Florida Pop/Rock band “Heroes Of The Storm,” which Lawson later joined to play bass. “Heroes
of The Storm” also found airtime on the Central Florida Clear Channel station, 101.1 FM WJRR
with "Crash and Burn.” After two successful years of performing regionally, band chemistry
issues resulted in the split of the band, which was the catalyst that sparked the idea for what
is not only “Maybe If You Hit It” but the concept of branding the band prior to touring,
through the creation of it’s interactive website, videos, high-end photography, merchandizing,
and their eventual release of their first EP.
With this branding idea in front of them, Hill and Lawson began writing what is now the Texas
Swagger EP. With Lawson back in his rightful place behind the drums, Hill fronting with vocals
and guitars, the final piece of the puzzle was the need for a killer bassist and showman to
complete the lineup. Hill turned to a local musician, aptly named "The Garrett Show." Garrett
Jankowski had been very successful in the Central Florida area and beyond, with his band,
Irrational. Irrational had played shows in the area for upwards of ten years performing at Hard
Rock Live (2006), Earthday Birthday 16 (2008), Florida Music Festival (2009), and House Of
Blues (2010). In 2009, Irrational beat out 8,000 bands nationally in the Guitar Center - Motley
Crue “Make Rock History Contest” and was flown out to L.A. to compete in the finals for a spot
to play on Motely Crue's Cruefest. Irrational placed 7th overall in the competition. Irrational
also won the best hard rock album award at the 2005 Florida music awards. After a very
successful career, a series of unfortunate events lead to Irrational’s break up. Hill had met
Garrett at a couple of his shows and was impressed by his stage presence and overall
performance in the band. Hill quickly approached Garrett with the concept of “Maybe If You
Hit It,” and after the first rehearsal with the whole group, it was clear that The Garrett Show
was the perfect fit for the band, and thus “Maybe If You Hit It" was born.
It was the combined experience in the industry of the band members that made “Maybe If
You Hit It” decide to alter their approach when jump-starting this new band. The guys
wanted to come out with a bang! Instead of getting together a decent set list and playing
shows, the guys decided to assemble all the necessary pieces to brand the band and create an
attitude that they feel appeals to their current and future fan base. This included investing
thousands of self-financed dollars into getting all the necessary music, marketing materials,
and promotional items together before they even stepped on stage for their first public
appearance. Professional photos of the band and their first EP cover were shot by Brook Pifer.
Professional recording/production was contracted through Brett Hestla of Dark New Day, who
had spent time touring with Creed as their bass player. Brett had previously produced hits for
Framing Hanley, Tantric, and The Supervillians. Creative, informative, and visually stimulating
video content was shot and edited by Brennan Booth at Lucky Break Media who continues to
follow the band adding current video content to their web site. Another asset created for the
band was the eye-catching and interactive website, created by Justin of The Antimatter
Studio. Unique and quality merchandise was designed, along with the addition of the “Maybe
If you Hit It” girls. These “MIYHI” girls are involved in many theatrical events with the band
during live shows, operate the merchandise table, and distribute promotional items to concert
goers. The band was recently interviewed on Orlando’s Clear Channel radio station, 101.1
FM’s WJRR’s Native Noise, where they officially released their first single, "Texas Swagger.”
Maybe If You Hit It is currently working on finishing up their full length album with producer Brett Hestla, shooting music videos, and gearing up for an intense show schedule in the
coming months. Put your drinking shoes on and head out for the night of your life with Maybe If You Hit It!!!
Links
