Detroit has long been synonymous with the music industry. It’s known for the Motown sound, the Motor City Madman himself, Ted Nugent, and it was even immortalized in the KISS anthem “Detroit Rock City.” The city may have gone bankrupt, but the music coming out of it is still thriving. The quintuplet of rockers known as Pistol Day Parade are making sure to keep that flame of rock burning bright in the city that has seen brighter days.
Pistol Day Parade, a favorite of Nikki Sixx from Mötley Crüe, is made up of lead singer Dave Fuller, bassist Jason Lollio, guitarists Rob Banks and Guido, and drummer Jason Hartless. All the pieces to this puzzle finally came together earlier this year, although the band’s origins trace back several years. Their dynamic new album Burnwas released in early September and the band’s future is looking better than ever. I recently caught up with bassist Jason Lollio and we talked shop and all things Pistol Day Parade.
Hi Jason, congrats on a very solid new debut album in Burn. I checked it out when I knew that I was going to be doing this interview and was really caught off guard. One of the coolest things about this job is discovering new music.
That’s awesome man! Thank you so much. We worked hard on this album for three years to make it a true album, so hearing that means a lot to us.
You know, I had heard your song “Not Today” as one of Nikki Sixx’s Sixx Picks on his Side Show Countdown. I love his show and I love that segment that he does. The next thing I knew, I was being pitched the idea of doing an interview with you guys.
Wow, that’s pretty awesome man! You know, bands these days just seem to want to get one or two singles out there and then put a bunch of filler songs in between. It seems that it’s just about all you get out of an album – maybe two releases and then it’s off to the next album. We took our time and worked with Tim Patalan of Sponge on this one and he is a mad scientist. He made us do three different versions of every song to be able to put the very best version that we could out there. We’re competing with bands like Shinedown and Volbeat. Our manager Rick Smith also manages them, and we don’t have the money to spend like they have. We took our time because we wanted to make a real album and I think we did.
Watch the video for “Not Today”
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I hear that a lot about the one or two singles aspect of making an album. The public’s appetite is very short term and disposable, and that old school mentality of making a complete album as a piece of art from beginning to end has seemed to have fallen to the wayside.
You’re right man, I totally agree. You know, not to down play any of our songs, but one of the songs that I was really having a problem connecting with, and even struggled with even putting it on the album, came up in an interview recently. I was talking to a girl from Texas and she told me that she had that same song on repeat for almost 24 hours and that she really connected with it and that just showed me how stupid I was. It just goes to show that you just don’t know how they will react with other people. Things are exciting right now because people are digging the album and the band’s taking off right now.
It definitely says something when you get the attention of someone like Nikki Sixx; he also loves the name of the band. I think he mentioned that although it may not be politically correct, that it was a cool name. Is there a story there?
No, sadly there is no cool story behind the band’s name. It was down to two different names and basically we just wanted a cool band name. Actually, they picked the band name before I even joined the band. It was totally out of my hands, but I think it sounds cool. Don’t you think it sounds cool?
Actually, I do and I think it is very catchy and easy to remember.
You know, that’s the same way with our songs. I really think it goes right along with them. Hopefully nothing bad happens with the “not politically correct” aspect of it.
Yeah, let’s keep our fingers crossed on that part. Now, I know you and your drummer, Jason Hartless, were the last two pieces of this puzzle, with Jason joining earlier this year. Were you on the other Pistol Day parade recordings?
Yeah, I’ve been on all of them, but Jason joined just under a year ago, but we actually auditioned him back when I joined the band, but he was only 14 years old.
What? Are you serious?
Yeah, I am dead serious, but my guys didn’t want to drink beer and smoke cigarettes and other things around him. So, we decided not to go with him even though the kid’s a virtuoso. I mean, people watch him and their jaws drop open. I think he’s been endorsed by Pearl Drums since he was ten. He is very seasoned beyond his years. I didn’t know how the guys were going to be about him this time around because he was only 17 when we brought him back in. You know, I told the guys that if they didn’t see the passion that this kid has for music them they’re nuts. It’s kind of like you; I read a little bit about you and I know you are passionate about music and a music nut, and that’s just how Jason is.
Some bands choose to go with a self-titled album, while some choose a song on the album to use for its title, but yours is neither 
one.
Yeah, I was actually fought for it to be called “Driven by Drama” and we had kind of decided that was what it was going to be called. Most all of our songs are about relationships and getting burned, and our lead singer Dave, wanted to go with “Burn” – and the lead singer always wins (laughs). Just about a week before we went to press, we found out that Deep Purple had an album of the same name. At that point, the record label had already submitted all of our paperwork to distribution, so it was too late to change it.
You guys had a lot of success with “Rockstar’s Girlfriend”, which broke the Billboard Top 40. Was it tough to pick?
When it broke the Top 40 on Billboard, it had already been a staple here in Detroit because it’s been playing here for the last three years. 101 WRIF is one of the largest radio markets in the United States; it’s in the top five and it’s been a staple there and on Detroit radio for three years. Our management wanted us to come out with “Rockstar’s Girlfriend” as the lead-off single, but Mark Pennington, the program director there at RIF told us that he couldn’t really help us if we did because he had been spinning it for three years. “Not Today” was always the band’s pick because it just rocks from start to finish.
Things really seem to be rolling right now for you guys, but I’m sure you’ve had some struggles along the way.
Right now, everything is really falling into place for us and we feel very, very lucky, but in the past, trying to find a booking agent in the industry who can set you up with decent tours has always been a struggle for us. They promise you the world and you end up going to play shows in cities in front of no one and you don’t get the guarantee that you were promised.
Well, with the way things are going, hopefully those days will be far behind here in no time.
We’ve been busting our asses and hopefully we can continue on this train that we’re on because I can finally see a light at the end of the tunnel now. The band’s really fired up and we’re all shooting for that gold! We want big crowds, sold-out shows every night, and no more day jobs because they blow (laughs). Everyone that I am talking to really likes the album and that’s so great to hear. We appreciate all the kind words and people like you and RockRevolt who are helping support us. Hopefully, we’ll be hitting the road soon so that we can meet all of you.
