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iHey Elephant!


Band: iHey Elephant!

Members: Joe Giuffrida (guitar), Collin Kowalewski (bass), Seth Laucks (lead vocals), Jared Lerew (drums)

Who we talked to: Giuffrida, Kowalewski and Laucks

Your lineup is different this summer. Why? Laucks: Our regular bassist, Dane (Jensen) , stayed at Vassar (College) this summer, but he is still part of the band. Alex Smith used to be a part of (the band) Tea, but he is into concert promotion and actually helped us book our next show.

Kowalewski: I am filling in for Dane right now. I also play the banjo and mandolin.

Your band name used to be Tea. Why did you change it? Laucks: We were threatened with a lawsuit by a band in California with the same name. We really didn't think Tea was that great of a name anyway, so we just changed it instead of going to court.

Giuffrida: We also got kicked off MySpace, too. We lost our page and around 10,000 friends we had added.

Why iHey Elephant!? Giuffrida: It was just something our drummer's dad used to say. The quote is originally from Cheech and Chong.

Laucks: The name isn't that important. It's just something that people can remember.

Describe your sound: Laucks: It is funky and poppy. It is like Led Zeppelin and the Gin Blossoms had a baby. If Led Zeppelin was growing up today, they might have a similar sound to ours.

How long have you been playing together? Laucks: We have six years of experience behind us so that is pretty unique. We have grown out of some of our earlier songs. We really want to work at this and want to stick to music.

What is a song that you have covered recently? Kowalewski: We covered "Glamorous" by Fergie and I played the banjo during the song.

Laucks: We try to play as many originals as possible. We also try to do something silly. We have covered Hilary Duff songs in the past, too. Some of her songs are actually pretty catchy.

What are your short-term goals? Laucks: We go to different schools, so when we come home for summer we just want to play a lot of music. We want to play fun shows as much as possible.

Giuffrida: Writing music is also a big priority for us right now.

Do you continue playing music at college? Giuffrida: We write songs over the Internet. I'll put songs together using my computer equipment, and then e-mail it around, and we'll add stuff to it. It's a collaboration.

What other artists do you listen to? Giuffrida: We are into electronic stuff. I think we like certain songs rather than artists. We relate to Wilco, The Killers and Sufjan Stevens.

Laucks: Freddie Mercury of Queen is my hero.

What is your take on the music scene in York? Giuffrida: We'd give it an A-plus relative to York's size. The scene is great, but the venues aren't. The talent and interest are there. It is pretty much a high interest level versus lack of venue options.

- ERIN McCRACKEN, FLIPSIDE STAFF