Call Your Shot – IBOTWCall Your Shot is a band of four talented, driven young men based out of Cleveland, Ohio. Their live shows are an absolute blast of energy and musical mayhem, with lots of local flare tossed in. This week, they are our Indie Band of the Week, and you really need to check them out!
Thanks for talking with me! So, you are Call Your Shot out of Cleveland. That’s an awesome name! Tell me where it came from and what it means to you.
Well, like most new bands, we were struggling to find a name and were in the process of writing our first grouping of songs. We had a number of discussions about our band name but settled on a lyric from one of our songs called Second Chances are Overrated, Anyway
How long have you been a band? Did you play with other bands before?
Call Your Shot has been a band for about 4 and half years. The first few years consisted of acoustic hangs and simply trying to find our current lineup. Gabe and Austin were in a college band for about a year. Aaron and Tony played in a number of projects prior to meeting Austin and Gabe. Austin had been close to giving up on music, but Tony and Gabe approached him to give songwriting one last try. Aaron officially joined a few months after leaving his other band.
Awesome! How would you describe your sound to someone who hasn’t heard it?
Pop Rock Alternative.
Who and what are you influenced by both in sound and in writing?
Our influences are extremely broad as each person in the band has many different tastes ranging from Rock, Punk, Pop, Alternative, Hardcore, and Metal.
If I were to peek at your Spotify playlists, what are some of the top artists/EPs/albums/singles I would find?
Austin: Thrice, Circa Survive, 311, Misfits, Pearl Jam.
Tony: Rise Against, Blackmill, Bayside, City and Colour, Jimmy Eat World
Aaron: Mountain Goats, Misfits, Joy Division, Decedents, Against Me.
Gabe: Rage Against the Machine, Incubus, blink 182, Kendrick Lamar, Migos, Logic and Wu-Tang Clan.
You guys have been playing some local shows, and I saw you last week with Set it Off and heyohwell. Do you guys have any plans to take your show on the road?
Yes, we plan on doing some weekend swing tours
What would be your dream tour lineup to play?
Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, Call Your Shot
Coming out of the great state of Ohio, how do you feel your Midwestern roots play a part in who you are as musicians, your work ethic, and your sound?
Midwest people are well mannered, kind and hard working. We always attempt to represent our roots in a respectful mannered. As far as our sound, we’re a band that does not need to be polished at all times. We understand that mistakes are prevalent in all music and we take it all in stride as a learning experience
Four words to describe your band are:
Hard work beats talent.
I like to let the artists have the last word. So, what’s a message or some piece of knowledge that you would give to the fans and also to up and coming musicians like yourselves?
We just want people to know how much it means to us to see them at shows, or to have them write to us on social media. It’s truly surreal to hear the words Austin sings being sung back to us, or to see the people, new and old, who keep coming to support us. We’d tell up-and-coming musicians to just keep your nose to the grindstone and work your butt off. Nothing gets done if you don’t do it.
