PUSH PLAY TO MAKE INDEPENDENT MUSIC HISTORY

Push Play are set to make music history this weekend, being the first band to play the Times Square, NY Nokia theater, but can they sell out?

Push Play are getting ready to make independent music history. On April 26th they will be the first truly independent band, not independent label band, to play a show at Times Square’s Nokia Theater in New York City. The band sold out Manhattan’s Irving Plaza a few months back, and with stories in the New York Times and Part 2 of Newsday, Push Play, who are still in school, are seeing things accelerate.

With all the build-up has the band be able to stay involved in school and activities?

“School has always been real important for me. I’m actually the president of the school right now, the student body president. And I go to a Catholic School, St. Anthony’s, so it’s like a big community there. It’s like one big happy family there. It’s great. I’m really involved in other clubs there like Decca and the Peanut Butter and Jelly Gang, where we make Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches for the poor. Ever since I was born I was told, ‘You have to do well at school,’ so all of us, we’re all very smart in school. We try to keep at least a ninety average. That’s our goal since we’ve been in Push Play. Senioritis is creeping up. We’re trying our best…sorry?!”

The band donates a portion of proceeds from its ticket sales and CDs to charity, and they talk about where that mindset comes from.

“For my school, being in a Catholic school, giving back is… You have to do it. If you don’t you’re shunned. It’s just something you have to do. You can’t be forced into doing it. You have to want to do it, and I think this generation does.”

Push Play has done something unprecedented for an independent band, and some may point to having plenty of financial resources coming from upper middle class backgrounds. Drummer Derek said that they have no problem with investing their resources because a portions of the profits are going to the right places, and CJ said that although they produced, recorded, and are promoting their new CD, Deserted, themselves, initial band business ventures started out in much the same way most do.

[Derek] “It does take money, but we have no problem with that. We’re willing to give up our resources to help out others, and maybe it will make a difference, and maybe people will do the same thing as us.” [CJ] “When we first started out there was actually no money involved. We printed out flyers off our computers and we’d go to different shows and pass out flyers of our band and introduce ourselves to our fans, and it created a sense of comradeship between us and the fans. It makes us more on a friend or family basis then just artist and fan. It’s more of a family. It’s very important to achieve that because it makes them feel obliged to come to shows. They feel like, ‘Oh I really want to come and support them. Let’s go to the show.’ It really helps out, and that helped us get to the next level. Yeah, some money was put out, but now the merch sales are amazing and it pretty much balances out. So it’s just… It’s great.”

Push Play are aiming for a sell-out, but as of press time tickets were still available for the Saturday night gig. Fans can get tickets through Ticketmaster.