Chuck Shirock – Vocals / Guitar / Piano
Pap Shirock – Keyboard
Jason Bynum – Guitar
Derek Blank – Bass
Adam Gatchel – Drummer

http://shirock.net/
http://www.myspace.com/SHIROCK

Out of Nashville, Tennessee, this new rock band, is not only offering their musical talents to the world, but also a helping hand. Passionate about making real life changes in the lives of those who need it, Everything Burns, the name of their debut album, is also the name of their non-profit organization. Read on to learn more about the band, their amazing charitable work and how YOU can get involved!

“A person is not defined by what they have – rather a person is defined by what they DO with the time that they have.” - Shirock

You started a non-profit organization with the same name as your debut album, Everything Burns and are partnering with charities to address the problem of homelessness and poverty. In fact, you are donating 100% of your concert proceeds to charities in each of the major cities you are performing in! What inspired you to want to make a difference? And how did you choose the cause you would focus on?

For us the music has always been about more than entertainment…it’s about connecting with people & sharing out lives. This feeling of “wanting more in life” runs through our album, and we wanted to take it another step and not only address the problem, but take a step towards solving it with the non-profit Everything Burns. For the first EB Tour, we chose local organizations in each city on the tour that are working to solve homelessness & poverty issues in their area. We specifically chose groups that are addressing the issues in unique ways that we wanted to get behind, and encourage fans to connect with. For instance some groups are setting up mentoring programs between high school & college students, and 7-10 year old kids that are homeless…the idea is that through mentoring we can help break the cycle of poverty in the young generation. Ideas like that really inspire us and get us excited about connecting with these local charities, and getting fans connected with the charities right in their cities.

Chuck and Pap, you both grew up overseas in the Philippines, Scotland, and Turkey. How did these experiences influence you as musicians and the charitable work that you do?

I think living overseas while growing up influenced us in many ways. For one thing, it gave us a very broad worldview – it forced us to experience the world outside of the US at a very young age. It’s inevitable that anyone who spends time in places like the Philippines and Turkey will comes away with fresh eyes & greater empathy towards people. It’s easy at times to get comfortable & just see faces on a TV screen a world away. But the world is much smaller after spending time abroad. The faces become people, and you can’t help but let it affect your life. We both have parents who brought us up to have a great compassion for people above all else. They also taught us that possessions are not something to live for – that what defines a person isn’t what they have but what they do with the time that they have. As musicians, it affects our writing because we write with a purpose, as I said earlier, it’s not all about entertainment. As far as the charitable work, we’ve simply seen too much to ignore the problems – and we’ve seen that even an individual can make a huge difference.

You’ve mentioned that one of your goals while on tour is to give your fans an opportunity to connect with local charities at your concerts. How have fans reacted to this so far?

Throughout the “Everything Burns Non-Profit Tour” it was really amazing to see how fans reacted to the charities we partnered with. At each show we’d talk briefly about what was going on in the city (of the show), what the local charity was doing to address it, and how people could get involved in being a part of the solution. We’d have representatives from the charity at each show to answer questions and get people plugged in to what they were doing. The whole idea is behind Everything Burns, is “Living For Things That Matter.” Our generation has a strong desire to get involved and to be a part of solutions to problems that we’ve grown up seeing. But often it seems that we don’t know where to put our efforts or don’t feel that what we can do will actually make a difference. We wanted to bring it to a local level and start there with tangible results. If a fan signed up at a show to get involved, that next week they could be tutoring a homeless kid. It was amazing to see the response even on this small level…it made us so excited about the potential for Everything Burns.

Any favourite memories from being on the road/tour?

I’m pretty sure that every band that has spent time touring has a lot of amazing and strange stories from the road…One of our favorites was when we were driving through Oklahoma and ran out of gas about a half mile from the next exit/gas station. Chuck and I (Pap) started walking down the highway and some state troopers stopped – they cleared their backseat of their machine gun and giant shotgun (no joke), and drove us to the gas station while ridiculing us the whole time (“Vans go a lot faster with gas in them”, etc.), told us to go buy our gas, and then left us to walk back. Actually, that happened about 5 minutes ago…we just got back in the van! But, seriously, for our band the best memories are shows – when fans come up and tell us how much a song has meant to them. That’s when it comes full circle for us. From Pap & I writing a song on the piano in our kitchen, trying to be as honest & vulnerable as possible; to the demos in our garage, to the rehearsals and the studio, to more rehearsals, then to the record and the stage, and finally to the audience…then it becomes more than a song to them – just as is it to us. When we write we can only hope that it means as much to the person on the other end of the speaker as it does to us…hearing their stories makes it all worth it.

What do you hope your music will inspire & motivate others to do?

Some of our hopes for the music are that it will cause people to think, question, realize they are not alone in their dreams and disappointments, and ultimately to do something about what they see around them.

Chuck, when talking about Everything Burns, the song, album and charity, you’ve mentioned that “…what’s most important are people & relationships.” What would you want to say to someone who is having a hard time and is unsure about reaching out for help?

Most times, when you’re having a hard time with something you feel like you’re the only one who has been there. But chances are, if you are going through something so have other people, and they want to use that experience to help others – so don’t hesitate to reach out. People have the power to reach into others’ lives and be there…nothing else can do that.

Some of your songs have a similar sound to U2. Would you say the band has been an influence to SHIROCK at all? What other influences have you had as musicians?

As a band U2 has been one of many influences on us. They were one of the first bands that Pap really got into during junior high school. More than their music, they have set a great example of a band who use their platform & voice to make a difference & help many people. We’re inspired by bands & artists who use their music to make truthful, though-provoking, and emotional art. Radiohead, Peter Gabriel, Depeche Mode, Smashing Pumpkins, Sigur Ros, The Cure, The Cranberries, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Sarah Mclachlan, Our Lady Peace, Jeff Buckley, Fleetwood Mac, The Beatles & more…all of these artists have and continue to influence us through different points in our growth as musicians.

What’s the most memorable concert you’ve ever been to?

For me (Pap) it would be seeing Radiohead at Madison Square Garden on their ‘Kid A’ tour. Thom Yorke is such an emotional frontman, you could see him just get lost in the music, but it didn’t push you away, it just pulled you closer as you watched. There were thousands of people there but it felt like you were part of an intimate experience.

Favourite thing to do other than music?

We love traveling & experiencing different cultures. We’re really excited about touring outside of the US and getting some time in other countries.

Any words to live by?

“Live For Things That Matter.”

“A person is not defined by what they have – rather a person is defined by what they DO with the time that they have.”