Tulsa, OK rock band Ice Cold Glory
www.facebook.com/icecoldglory
Ice Cold Glory consists of Kenny Lee Jr. (KLJ), Will Oglesbee (WO), and David Pilgrim (DP).
1. How did you get started with music and how did you develop your sound? Who thought of the name “Ice Cold Glory” and is there any meaning behind it?
Will and Kenny met in a recording studio when the two were invited to lay down some guitar and backing vocals tracks, respectively, for a solo singer in the Tulsa area. They found they had extremely similar tastes in music and aspirations, so they decided to team up and start writing songs. Later on, David got a tip from a friend that the guys were looking for a drummer, and stepped up to the plate. The band name's origin remains a secret between the members...
WO: I started playing guitar when I was around 12 years old. I heard Joe Satriani, Buddy Guy and Kenny Wayne Shepherd and found myself diving head first into the Blues. In my teenage years I played with older Blues musicians in Tulsa, and eventually started learning more Rock and Metal. Satch, John Petrucci of Dream Theater and Synyster Gates of Avenged Sevenfold have been the biggest influences to my sound.
KLJ: I got my first drum kit when I was in fifth grade. My dad asked if I wanted to try out drums, and I said "yes." A few weeks later he came home with a Pearl kit he bought from a coworker for 50 bucks. I spent all of my free time on that thing. I started singing in choir in middle school, and continued to play drums and write most of the songs for a Grunge band in high school. You don't wanna hear any of those, though, I promise.
DP: I started playing drums when I was really young, too. I never had any lessons, so I just learned from listening to and watching my favorite bands' drummers. I'd spend hours on one song trying to get every part perfect! Play, run the track, rewind...over and over again. Eventually I became pretty proud of my work and started playing in my church band and even performing solos for small events and competitions. Heck, I wrote some of my solos a few minutes before showtimes. That really helps when you have to come up with new stuff on the fly onstage.
2. What do you want listeners to take away from your EP? Any release date for the new album? What can fans expect?
KLJ: We want people to see that we like to write real Rock N' Roll that shows tons of ambition, makes strong points, and that the songs are often about real subjects that strike us emotionally in life. Fans can expect nothing but our best, which of course will be better and better with every release.
3. How would you describe your music to the average listener?
WO: Our music is best described as high-adrenaline modern Rock with a slight Metal edge.
4. What can people expect from your live show?
DP: Fans can expect three guys putting out the sheer sound and power of five, giving it everything we've got and hoping to include all of you in the action.
5. Who are three bands you’d like to tour with?
DP: Alter Bridge.
WO: Dream Theater.
KLJ: Avenged Sevenfold.
6. Any crazy show stories?
KLJ: Not too much, really. I suppose we stay pretty professional and everyone has a good time. If we really dug deep I'm sure we'd have a couple of decent tales, but no fiascoes to really write home about.
7. What’s your take on the current state of rock?
WO: Needs more solos! Guitar work has gotten lazy and standardized lately and I think everyone that is involved in music should never lose the drive to get better every time they pick it up, lay it down, or belt it out.
DP: It seems like most of the bands on the radio are extremely formulaic, and everyone wants to fit in. It's not "bad," but it seems more manufactured than truly written from the heart and soul.
KLJ: I agree with both of the guys. I also feel like things have gotten a bit stale. I mean, you have those certain bands that kick out a very unique sound, but I do think the guys in the Rock game do need to look back at the greats like Judas Priest, Sabbath, Dio, and Deep Purple for those songs that come from the imagination, not just their addictions, their romances, and their genitals.
8. What’s the current music scene like there in Oklahoma both locally and state wide?
WO: It's rough out here. The hardest thing to do is to get someone to truly adjust their attention to you, especially in Tulsa. There are 200 bars in town, 100 or more have live music, and at least 50 of them have live music every night. So, the first challenge is getting someone to go to a live music venue instead of an EDM dance club...
DP: ...then, you've gotta get them to choose your show over the other 49-99 going on in town. If they've never seen your band before, you've gotta convince them the gamble will be more than worth it, and that you're the best in town.
9. What’s your take on legal/illegal music downloading?
KLJ: Legal? Love it. It's simple, it's easy, and we don't have to put nearly as much money on the table for physical disks at one time. It's made everything mega-streamlined!
WO: Illegal? Man, it's an Unstoppable Force! Forgive me for the pun, but it's gonna happen no matter what. Everyone has downloaded music illegally in one way or another. The way we see it, we hope we get big enough to be on those illegal downloading apps!
DP: Regardless of the source, if we're on somebody's iPOD, we consider it a victory.
10. What’s next for Ice Cold Glory?
KLJ: It's hard to say. Our numbers in fans are literally growing every day, and they're rolling in from quite a few states and even a couple of foreign countries. What you CAN count on is new music, a live video on YouTube, new show bookings, and with a little bit of luck, by next year we could be pulling regional and national touring! But all of that relies on YOUR HELP, reader!
11. Any shoutouts?
Johnny and Adam Oglesbee for helping us supply ourselves with some key pieces of gear to get us down the road and onstage. Matt Eidson at Musiclynx Entertainment and Mike Bohn at From The Depths, and Leslie at Oklahoma Shout.com for getting us out there to the people, Jesse Jaymes at Badland Studios for producing our live video, and Hank Charles for producing our EP! Every venue that's had us on the stage, and every one of them to come. And also, all of the fans out there for supporting us!
