Spring Break
Cigar Exclusive: Interview with Open Till Midnight
Libby Segal
Issue date: 4/7/09 Section: Entertainment
04/07/09 - "I thought I'd been through it all/ Seen the Twin Towers fall but I'm still just standing/ Beneath the lights of a city/That kept persevering when there wasn't any hope at all."
If these lyrics resonate with you-good, that was the purpose. The lyrics are part of the song "This is Our Youth," written and performed by the band Open Till Midnight, and this is just one of the songs showcased on the band's MySpace Web site. Five others are listed, and all are worth taking a listen to.
Open Till Midnight, composed of five guys in their mid-20s, is hitting the bar scene in New York and making a lot of noise.
The band has been through "several roster changes" says pianist and bassist Keith Gooberman, but the band is "completely confident in and committed to [its] present lineup."
So who is in that present lineup one might ask? Gooberman names his four bandmates as guitarist Mike Cook, guitarist Ross Deutsch, singer Matt Ballinger, and drummer Jonathan Chamberlain.
When asked what was so great about being a band together, the band's response was, "Believing in the same mission as all your best friends."
While only one of the five members, Chamberlain, majored in music, all have spent a majority of their life around music. Gooberman writes that "Mike started playing when he was 14," "[I] started playing piano at 5 and bass at 17," "Ross started playing guitar at 9," "Jon was 11," and Ballinger says, "I started singing as soon as I heard music for the first time. I would just sing to anything."
According to the band, Open Till Midnight played its first show together at a high school talent show in 2000. "Both the room and audience were small and the gig had many technical malfunctions. "Wrong notes got mixed into our performance like Oreos in a McFlurry," wrote Gooberman in an e-mail interview on March 25.
It appears the band has moved on up since its 2000 talent show gig, as it now plays in New York City bars such as the Annex and The Bitter End. Its latest show at the Annex, Gooberman writes was "overall flawless," and that they "had over a hundred fans in attendance."
If these lyrics resonate with you-good, that was the purpose. The lyrics are part of the song "This is Our Youth," written and performed by the band Open Till Midnight, and this is just one of the songs showcased on the band's MySpace Web site. Five others are listed, and all are worth taking a listen to.
Open Till Midnight, composed of five guys in their mid-20s, is hitting the bar scene in New York and making a lot of noise.
The band has been through "several roster changes" says pianist and bassist Keith Gooberman, but the band is "completely confident in and committed to [its] present lineup."
So who is in that present lineup one might ask? Gooberman names his four bandmates as guitarist Mike Cook, guitarist Ross Deutsch, singer Matt Ballinger, and drummer Jonathan Chamberlain.
When asked what was so great about being a band together, the band's response was, "Believing in the same mission as all your best friends."
While only one of the five members, Chamberlain, majored in music, all have spent a majority of their life around music. Gooberman writes that "Mike started playing when he was 14," "[I] started playing piano at 5 and bass at 17," "Ross started playing guitar at 9," "Jon was 11," and Ballinger says, "I started singing as soon as I heard music for the first time. I would just sing to anything."
According to the band, Open Till Midnight played its first show together at a high school talent show in 2000. "Both the room and audience were small and the gig had many technical malfunctions. "Wrong notes got mixed into our performance like Oreos in a McFlurry," wrote Gooberman in an e-mail interview on March 25.
It appears the band has moved on up since its 2000 talent show gig, as it now plays in New York City bars such as the Annex and The Bitter End. Its latest show at the Annex, Gooberman writes was "overall flawless," and that they "had over a hundred fans in attendance."
Viewing Comments 1 - 5 of 5
Greg Ligon
posted 4/07/09 @ 12:30 PM EST
fiji go limp
Sarah
posted 4/07/09 @ 10:05 PM EST
I love Open Till Midnight <3
I live in Mass. I hope they tour here soon..
I am thinking I am definitely have to go to NYC to see them soon!
A great band!!
:)
tyra
posted 5/29/09 @ 4:22 PM EST
hey im tyra i love open till midnight but i love dream street more
i want dream street back together i love matt
matt i love you more the other girls they dont
treat you normal like the way i wanna
i love you in dream street
Marazm
posted 7/11/09 @ 12:12 AM EST
Saw them tonight. Noisy, unoriginal, boring and headache-inducing. What is all the hype about?!?
ellie
posted 8/12/09 @ 3:18 PM EST
haha I LOVE OTM!!! ohmygosh that survivor thing is the funniest thing in the entire world! ha it is so true matt:P
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