My Dying Wish

Band: My Dying Wish

Members: Loren Hockensmith (guitar), Tyler Coleman (percussion), Bill Whitney (bass), Christopher Valotta (vocals), Adam "Ditt" Dittman (guitar)

Who we talked to: Hockensmith, 24

Where'd the name come from? We've all played in bands before, and we all have our sights on doing this for a living. It really stands for a last stand or hope and not taking no for an answer.

Who are your influences? What I listen to and what I play are two totally different things. I listen to more mellow rock, bands like Guster, U2 and Palo Alto.

Who is your biggest musical guilty pleasure? If you ask some of the other band members, you could get some better answers. Our singer (Valotta) is a huge Whitney Houston fan, but I don't know if he's really guilty about it. He's pretty out there about it. Our guitarist (Dittman) likes Good Charlotte, and everyone gives him crap for that because they're the epitome of pop-punk. I'm a huge Carrie Underwood fan. I like the videos. You can listen to them on mute or with the music on and either way they're good videos.

If you could share the stage with any band or artist, who would it be and why? I'd love to share the stage with Green Day. I think they put on an amazing live show, and they were one of my favorite bands growing up. Every time I see them, they seem to mature and get better and better.

Tell us what to expect from the new Club 19: Steve Perko, the owner, amazing guy, plays in a band called WINGSRIPPEDOUT. He was putting on shows in York for years and eventually was able to open this club. He has multiple other things he does for the music community. I was in the club the other day, and I'm really looking forward to playing there. It's going to be an awesome place to play.

Plug one other local band: Running from Dharma. I got to play a little bit with them a couple years ago and they've been a big influence to me, and they're just a great band.

What is your dying wish? To not give in to the nine-to-five world. I've never found a job I've enjoyed near as much as playing music, and I never will. As a kid, I wanted to play music full time and tour and be able to relate with fans, and I loved everything it's about. I never want to give up and give in to working a nine-to-five because that's what the rest of the world says I should be doing.

Shoutouts: Definitely our street team. There's too many people to list, but our street team has been absolutely amazing getting our name out there and promoting shows and selling CDs and whatnot.

- JASON COX, FLIPSIDE STAFF