Episode 036 – A Conversation with Tommy Paris of Britny Fox

KickActs interviews “Blacklite District”

Welcome to Kick Acts. Tell us a little about yourself and were you can be found online.

Well I was born and raised in a town called Spearfish of the state of South Dakota. I met Kyle Pfeiffer (Lead Vox/guitars) in 5th grade and ever since then I’ve been by his side in the process of making music which later became Blacklite District. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc.

Who are your musical heroes and influences? Why?

I’d have to go with Chester Bennington of Linkin Park is one of my biggest influences because they were the band that really inspired me to wanna get involved with music. Other heroes of mine would be James Hetfield, Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and the list goes on and on.

Do you have any advice for someone just getting started in the music business?

Always have a lawyer and always make friends which will lead to great connections to get you further along and always be writing music. You either go full on with it or don’t do it. Go big or go home.

What piece of advice did you ignore that you wish you hadn’t?

Not having a lawyer at the time we absolutely should have had one but all you can do is live and learn and to move on.

Do you have a greatest gig story or worst gig horror story you’d like to share?

It’s always been an absolute blast playing at the famous venue “The Machine Shop” in Flint, Michigan. You can never go wrong playing there. They have an awesome staff, great sound and amazing hospitality. The party is just insane all around.

Worst gig we’ve had is where an amp or PA gets blown out and having to basically turn it into a stand up comedy show to keep the crowd from keeping silent until the situation is fixed. That’s never fun but we make the best of it. lol

Do you have any other hobbies other than playing music? Collect stamps? Collect hats from off the side of the road? Draw pictures of peckers or boobs?  Make sock puppets? Sit in the dark and eat Cheetos?

Always enjoying the art of drawing peckers and boobs growing up ahaha wtf. Some interesting questions we got here. Other that the drawings I enjoy running, disc golfing, skating and hiking quite a bit. I basically just love to be active and to be outdoors as much as possible.

What do you think about the current music scene or lack of? Care to address that?

For the rock world I definitely see it dying out just because there hasn’t been any bands that top the big names like GNR, Kiss, Motley Crue, or Linkin Park. It’s all just starting to sound the same anymore. Where are those top new bands coming out at?

Do you think reality shows like American Idol, X factor and The Voice have helped or hurt the music industry as a whole?

Look up some famous quotes that Dave Grohl states. He says exactly how I feel about those lame shows.

What is your opinion of unauthorized music downloads?

It’s definitely a big reason of why the industry has been hurt and has changed the game dramatically. No one buys records anymore when your able to just go on YouTube and listen to an entire album for free. People need to realize that artists put their life into the music spend thousands of dollars to make their records. It has come down to making your money doing live shows, period.

Do you know what a vinyl album is and have your ever purchased one? If so, what was it?

I know Vinyl records are out of date but I absolutely still rock them. I’ve got a couple old records players I use from time to time. I’ve got about a hundred old Vinyls including Black Sabbath, Kiss, The Doors, Led Zeppelin to even Linkin Park and more recent albums I’ll still occasionally purchase.

Which would you rather hear in concert?  Lip syncing or real vocals?

Real. Live. Vocals.

Who, or what, is the next big thing?

BLD is back and we are ready to roll harder than ever. It’s round 2 engaged. \m/

One artist you can’t get enough of and can’t live without is…

Linkin Park

Confession time. Share a secret about yourself.

My real name isn’t Roman it’s Nick. Roman is my middle name. In high school I would always get annoyed by classmates coming up to me and saying “I’m Nick James B****!” But I’ve always went by my middle name Roman.

Favorite movie of all time and why.

The Breakfast Club. No need for why but because it’s such a fresh classic and if you haven’t seen it there must be something wrong with you.

Our last question is called “Shout It Out Loud”. It’s were you get to talk about whatever you want to talk about. So go ahead and “SHOUT IT OUT LOUD!”

Get off your phones and enjoy this precious thing called life that we all have! Nothing upsets me more than seeing 5 year old kids playing on their IPads/iPhones instead of being outside and coping with reality.