Check out the interview and hear what Urban Sombrero had to say!

Urban Sombrero is:
Ryan Sombrero - vocals/guitar
Josh Sombrero - bass/backing vocals
Andrew Sombrero - guitar
Lil' Drummer Boy Sombrero - drums

Drop us a line with general comments and/or booking inquiries:
Band@UrbanSombrero.com

SMMO: What's the name of your band, who are the members, and what do they play?

Josh Sombrero: We're called RATT, and you may remember us from our heyday of 80s metal. Watch yourself, because Jizzy Pearl, Warren Demartini, John Corabi, Robbie Crane and Bobby Blotzer are gonna rock you like nothing you've seen...ever. Seriously. RATT~N~ROLL!!!

SMMO: Describe your music to someone who has never heard your music before.

Ryan Sombrero: Punk meets rock in a tried formula that never was never quite perfected. We embrace the punk roots held by bands like Millencolin, Green Day, H2O, and Osker with the rock sensibilities of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Journey, and most classic rock bands you could think of. The difference between our band and most bands is that most bands limit themselves to how they sound within their chosen genre. Urban Sombrero strives to expound upon the definition of what is punk and create rock with punk influences rather than the other way around. We're dedicated to trying to create a sound that is intelligent, emotional, energetic, and undeniably good at the same time. Does that sound like an ego-trip or what?

SMMO: What's better, stage or studio?

Ryan Sombrero: In general, I think both are equally important...but I'd have to take stage on this one. When you weigh the two against each other, think of it this way: Stage is important because in order for people to listen to and like your band it would be in your best interest to be musically sound live. The chemistry you exhibit onstage is what should transfer to recording which should, in turn, bring the audience closer. On the other hand, in the studio you would think that there's no reason not to sound good. Here you are, with a seemingly limitless supply of guitar tones, effects, and microphones to shape your sound. On top of that, you have as many chances as you need to get that "perfect take", so why wouldn't you sound good in the studio? I say stage is more important. If you get that down, everything else will fall into place.

Andrew Sombrero: I love getting out there and playing in front of friends, acquaintances, and people I've never even seen whenever we can.You meet so many cool people when you get out of town. There are some really friendly other bands, people that come up to us and tell us they liked the show, and so many other reasons I love getting out and playing on stage. But the ratio of stage time to studio time is of course incomparable. There's nothing like hearing exactly how good everything sounds recorded into separate tracks and then played back. You can tweak your sound over and over, and do so much with it that you can't do on stage. It's just a good feeling being in there knowing that we're going to have new material out shortly after.. whether it be recording one new song or 19 new songs.

SMMO: When the band is at rehearsal, describe the atmosphere.

Andrew Sombrero: The atmosphere when we rehearse is probably like most other bands that we're friends with...a lot of jokes and early 90s cover songs. We try to stay on task, but rarely do. I'd say out of a 4-hour rehearsal, we might actually be playing OUR songs for 1.5 hours. The rest is of the time is broken down as follows: 40 minutes for Ryan to plug his amp's power cord into the wall and run 3 instrument cables for his guitar and pedals. Shortly after, we start playing our songs. We get through about 1 song, then Ryan starts playing speed metal riffs for the next 10 minutes while we try to continue with OUR songs. We spend the next 2 hours or so deciding what songs to go over and getting through maybe 6 of those 12 songs we initially decided to practice. What else can you expect from 4 morons with A.D.D. and really short attention spans?? We then take approximately one more hour packing everything up while we talk about Ray Stevens' skits. I think we should just start learning some of his material.

SMMO: Do you promote more on the internet, or by "word-of-mouth"?

Andrew Sombrero: We never really do a whole lot of promoting for anything we do. If we have a show coming up we announce it on our web-site (sometimes) and hope that people show up. If we're releasing a CD, we post it on our web-site and occasionally other band's message boards and hope that someone buys it. We've had decent luck with that over the years. Being that we rarely ever promote CDs and whatnot we do pretty good with selling them--especially as seldom as we've gotten out to play over the years. We haven't quite gone Aluminum yet, but we'll make a special announcement on the web-site when we do.

Josh Sombrero: I'll have to agree with Andrew to a small extent. While we've never really been on the ball with posting fliers all over the towns we're scheduled to play, I try to promote plenty through "word-of-mouth" and via the internet. "Word-of- mouth" is convenient for passing word along the social grapevine of upcoming appearances and happenings in Sombreroland, but the internet has proven itself invaluable when it comes to band-related activities. Not only have I had a hand in booking many shows through the wonders of email, but our email newsletter provides up- to-minute information to our out-of-state and even out-of-country fans where "word-of- mouth" may make things a little more complex and we've even obtained worldwide distribution of our latest release, "The Worst is Yet to Come...," thanks to the internet. Additionally, MP3 downloads permit even the most novice of internet users to be exposed to our music. In sum, I'd say that, on average, I probably spend more hours promoting us online than I do through first-hand "word-of-mouth," but both are quite important in their own way.

SMMO: What styles or genre's most influence your music?

Ryan Sombrero: A wider range than most would think. Our influences range from classic rock to '80s hair metal to the punk predecessors that have brought us here today. We can honestly say that everyone brings something stylistically different to the table, and it works. Myself personally? I'm a big fan of Millencolin, Osker, Bigwig...bands like that. But, I also love bands like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, Journey, The Eagles, Styx, Creedence Clearwater Revival...stuff like that. On occasion I listen to Tool, A Perfect Circle, Outcast, Nirvana, and Foo Fighters, so it really depends. All in all, I think between the four of us we have a large enough back catalog of music in our heads to mix and match multiple influences and musical concepts and create the best sound we can.

SMMO: How can audiences find out more about you, do you have a website?

Andrew Sombrero: Yes, but it's a secret.

SMMO: What is your secret method of providing the best show possible for the audience?

Andrew Sombrero: That's also a secret. Top-secret, to be exact.

SMMO: Does the band have a CD available, how can we get a copy?

Josh Sombrero: Visit www.UrbanSombrero.com with cash, check, credit card or an IOU in-hand. Our 5-song "Donkey Punch!" demo that was produced in 2000 is currently out-of-print, but our latest 21-song full-length CD, "The Worst Is Yet To Come..." is readily available online or from us at our shows. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to drop us an email and we'll get back to you - Band@UrbanSombrero.com

SMMO: What is the biggest problem with the Southern Maryland music scene?

Ryan Sombrero: I think a lot of bands around here emit this signal of "fearing originality." They find a sound they like from a band they like, cover that band's songs, and then write songs that sound just like the artist they cover. I mean, how much emotion and conviction can your music encompass if you're not speaking with your own voice? I'm sorry, but for what it's worth, you're not going to get far with music that doesn't sound that original. Granted, we've written some cliché-riddled songs along the way...but all this has helped us progress to a point where we can point to our music and say, "This is ours, and no one else's." I think that's an important element of any band. You have to do something to stand out. Otherwise, you're just a face in the crowd.

Dwight - SMMO: You know, I have to step in here. I don't mean to tread on your spotlight in this interview, but, this is a subject that alot of local should focus their attention on, and you guys have "hit the nail on the head", so to speak. Please allow me to put in my 2 cents on this very important subject and say that I could not agree more with the comments you have just made to this question. I definitely agree with the statement that bands do infact appear to be "fearing originality" an it is a shame in ways, because there are alot of very talented musicians in this area and it would great to see them take a chance and make better use of those talents. Also, I would like to add, that I do see a major problem in the local music scene, and that is simply that a very large majority of the bands in the Southern Maryland area seem to play almost the same songs in their sets, which is really hurting all of those bands, for instance, I have heard many of the same reactions from audiences in the Southern Maryland area, and I seem to hear the same comment repeatedly, "Heard One...You've Heard Them All". I thankyou guys for allowing me to put in my thoughts on this matter, this is a subject that really gets my attention when it come to local bands in the Southern Maryland area, Thankyou.

SMMO: What goals has the band set for its future?

Ryan Sombrero: Right now nothing would make us happier than to fill this void of a permanent drummer position and move on with our music. The coming year looks to hold much promise for us as we embark upon playing shows again and reconnecting with old friends in bands. For the moment, our long term goal is to record the follow-up to our previous full-length this year.

SMMO: Has the band received radio or television airplay, tell us about that.

Josh Sombrero: We've received radio airplay on various college radio stations throughout this part of the East Coast and I have to say that it feels genuinely rewarding whenever someone enjoys our music enough to hijack the ears of their listeners with our greatness. Television airplay is still in the works, although it's probably going to more along the lines of a B-grade sitcom than a live performance. We've been working on the pilot episode of "Sombrero and Son" for the past few months and shopping it around to a few public access stations, so we'll keep everyone posted on that little bit of tomfoolery - including any potential Emmy nominations.

SMMO: What goals have you set for your bands future?

Josh Sombrero: Ryan pretty much summed up our goals with one of his aforementioned responses, but I figured I would chime in. I plan on doing everything in my power to promote Urban Sombrero and help us grow musically as a band, as people and as four friends sharing these experiences of a lifetime. After all, with nothing but the stars standing in the way of our bright future, this band is only going to continuously compound into a bigger and better force to be reckoned with.

SMMO: Describe your band in one sentence.

Josh Sombrero: Urban Sombrero is much sillier than you all will ever know, but more-than-capable of producing the most moving music to ever emerge from the depths of Southern Maryland...stay tuned, trust me.