Like many good bands, IATU discovered The Hounds Below in a semi-roundabout way. After seeing a band called PUBLIC open for twenty one pilots in Cincinnati, I found myself at Kobo for the first time ever (haha, that place is a IATU hangout now) to see the band play in a much more intimate setting, with The Hounds Below and the now-defunct Pomegranates. Jason Stollsteimer (vocals for the band) struck me as a guy that would be very interesting to talk to, full of wisdom and experience with the ups and downs of the music industry.

The Hounds Below, as of the time of this posting, is prepping for a year of touring including a January 16th gig in IATU hometown Columbus, OH. Pysch power trio FRIENDLY FAUX and jam rockers Fingers will open the show. Expect a night of loud, impassioned pure rock n’ roll – no bells or whistles. Read Jason’s light-hearted take on the band and what he believes the future holds, among other things below:

Shoot, stream “Xx”, a preview of the band’s upcoming record for good measure while you read.

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Ryan Getz (IATU): What does 2014 look like for The Hounds Below?

Jason Stollsteimer (vocals, The Hounds Below): West coast tour and more tours. New recordings soon.

IATU: What’s a worrying trend you see in music business?

JS: Robots taking over! But seriously, that was a worry of mine back in the 90’s when techno was blossoming. Now I actually think musicians have found interesting ways to incorporate programming into music in a way that I finally appreciate and admire.

IATU: As a music industry veteran of sorts, whats a question you wish publications would quit asking you?

JS: We get asked “if we do drugs and if so can they have some.”

IATU: What do you wish more fans (casual or serious) would want to know about your endeavors or otherwise?

JS: I wish journalists/fans would ask the hounds below “If you weren’t dreamers, what would you probably be doing for a living right now?” The answer is we (the three band members) would collectively own and operate a mobile pizza by the slice food truck. And we would probably die of pizza by the age of 49.

IATU: The Hounds Below is a part of the Secret Friends Fest (on the verge of occurring at the time of this interview)…

JS clarification: Hounds Below are not playing secret friends fest, it’s a festival that I created and run.

IATU: …If money and egos were not an object, who would headline your ideal fest?

JS: Tunde Olarian, Bad Veins, Joe Hertler and the Rainbow Seekers. Oh wait, that’s who’s actually headlining this year’s fest. I’m really happy with how this year’s lineup turned out.

IATU: What mindset did you have going into the recording of “You Light Me Up in the Dark”?

JS: The mindset of recording our debut album was “you’ve got this man, this isn’t your first rodeo. Sure you’ve made mistakes in the past, but hell, who hasn’t? Let’s just turn up and get caught up in the moment.”

IATU: How will that change in proceeding projects?

JS: The mindset of future recordings will probably be laced with flying cars and straight to the brain downloading.