Billionaire Boys Club

The BBC's new EP picks you up over their shoulders and body slams you into a killer hook-filled assault on your ear buds! They take the melodic and harmonic smarts of Fountains of Wayne and Imperial Drag and combine them with the raw energy of Weezer and Redd Kross. This band is poised to be freakin' huge! Heads above most others, this is premo material.

("Super OK" was chosen as Popbang Radio's Single Of The Week on 6/2/03) - Jay Anderson

No, they don’t sound (or look) like a million bucks – after all this is the *Billionaire* Boys Club and their standards are somewhat loftier. BBC became a band last summer, but if they look familiar ya might have known them as Evelyn Forever a much talked about pop band out of the vibrant New Jersey alt scene. E4E had several successful releases and tours under that moniker, but all that’s ancient history and the Billionaires have their own definite identity. They may still know how to write catchy lyrics and these boys can harmonize with the best of ‘em, but if you think this is just a pop band, you’re mistaken – they rock, and they rock hard. Reef ‘s downright nasty licks on a song like “”Don’t Ya Wanna,” - cranked up and exploding through his Marshall by way of an equally nasty-looking and sparkly vintage Fender – serve as a calling card that this ain’t all sugar and spice. Singer-guitarist Mark Sanderlin shares the spotlight with Reef, while Matt Lewis and Leigh Nelson back it all up on drums and bass for a thundering bottom.

The BBC have a loud and avid following that made themselves known this night when the boys ran through songs like the above-mentioned “Don’t Ya Wanna” (a real crowd pleaser), “Quittin’ Drinking” and the show-stopping “Super OK.” They’ve got a recently released EP out that features all three of those songs along with “Good Girls.” The Billionaires have toured all over the country, recently returning from a West Coast sojourn (where they are picking up strong airplay), and have shared the bill with the likes of Fountains of Wayne, the Smithereens and Longwave.

http://www.neonnyc.com/Fall03BBC.html
- Jeff Rey

BBC rocked the MySpace Party in New York. They're as good live as they are on these tracks. CBGB regulars, the BBC recently appeared on NBCs late night talk show "Last Call With Carson Daly." - Tom Anderson

I was on my way to covering another show down the street, but stopped into the Luna Lounge for a quick one. It must have been my lucky day. Not only was the excellent Earlymay playing (see Hot Nites), but I ran into Billionaire Boys Club's Mark Sanderline at the bar and got the chance to see their set before having to run off to the show I promised to cover.

I've probably seen the BBC more times than any other current band on the scene and the thing is - they're always great. Don't these guys ever have an off night? A couple weeks later, I plug into CBGB's live video stream and there they are again - once more doing a great set.

Along with singer/guitarist Sanderline, BBC is Reef, also on guitar and vocals, Matt Lewis on drums and Leigh Nelson on bass. Together they combine for a formidable foursome. Whether doing a Doll's-type out and out rocker like "Don't You Wanna" or employing full harmonies on a power pop song like "Super OK," the band never seems to forget they're up on the stage to put on a show. That might be the end result of just enjoying what they're doing. At any rate, it shows. It's probably why they've also shared stages with the likes of Fountains of Wayne, Longwave, the Smithereens and other heavy-weight notables. Or why they had a TV gig as the house band on Last Call with Carson Daly.

The Billionaire Boys Club is presently in the process of recording a full-length as a follow-up to their well-received Career Opportunities EP. Producing is Sal Villanueva (Taking Back Sunday).
http://billionaireboys.com/ - Jeff Rey

Making space for music
Networking site changing the way bands do business

MUSIC, IT SEEMS, is always the front-runner for culture. And that’s no different whether in the offline world of fashion or the online world of social networking. MySpace.com, a social networking site where people can make and link their profiles, took the hint, adding a music channel to their Web site last month.

The site allows users to stream audio and attach it to their profiles as well as add MP3s, making it easier for its two million subscribers to share music, provide tips on new bands as well as review new tunes. For bands, it has revolutionized the way they do business.

-No place like home-
Billionaire Boys Club — an indie pop group from Jersey City, NJ — uses MySpace.com as a marketing tool. An unsigned group without a label, the band has received more than 19,000 hits since December.

“Other sites would kick off bands, or didn’t accept them,” says bassist Leigh Nelson, 24. “All the things were out there but you would have to cobble it together. It really gives you an easy way to manage your fans and mailing list.”

-Needed exposure-
For record labels, it’s yet another avenue for exposure, says Andy Wombwell, co-owner of Los Angeles based Retard Disco, whose band Totally Radd!! uses MySpace.com to connect with fans. While both artists and labels have established Web sites outside MySpace, they do not have access to the thousands of users and potential fans that log-on daily to the burgeoning site.

“It mirrors how people find music in the offline world – through friends,” says MySpace.com cofounder, Chris DeWolfe. “It’s completely changing the the band-to-fan dynamic,” he says. “They have an interesting relationship because now they’re friends online.”

-Musical makeover-
Totally Radd!! member Neil Schuh is surprised at the number of fans the group has in Utah, and Nelson says his band has thought about touring in the Philippines, where their fan base is particularly strong.

“The site has literally given us an audience we couldn’t have possibly reached otherwise, including thousands of fans, A&R executives, promoters, booking agents and other great bands,” says Cynthia C. Donovan, manager of TWYTCH, a hard core band from Boston. “We’re even working on a signing deal with a label as a result of MySpace.”

CATHERINE NEW
catherine.new@metro.us

(published 8 June 2004) - Catherine New for Metro NYC

from The New York Times, November 16, 2003:

BILLIONAIRE BOYS CLUB, for example, four 23-to-28-year-olds out of Jersey City, has not found a label deal for its harmony-laden and tightly wound pop-rock sound. But "Career Opportunities," a sampler of four songs that came out early this year, is attracting a fan base for the group, led by guitarist and vocalist Mark Sanderlin. Sold-out dates at New York venues like CBGB's and the Knitting Factory are helping. So is another regular gig: In October, Billionaire Boys Club was tapped to be the house band for NBC's "Last Call with Carson Daly."

http://billionaireboys.com/images/press/nytimes031116.gif - Tammy LaGorce

From The Hudson Reporter, December 4, 2003:

BILLIONAIRE BOYS FORM A CLUB


The boys are back in town - Jersey City, that is - and are playing several New York City dates and Central Jersey clubs this month hoping to win more fans and perfect their live shows.


The Billionaire Boys Club are four Gen Nexters, two of whom live in Jersey City, performing 'emo'tional pop/punk with an edge. With a variety of influences ranging from the obvious Weezer and Blink 182 to Replacements and classic rock icons, Boys Club have earned the respect of their peers and music execs. They have a tight arsenal of pop songs about the usual boy-meets-girl and more.

The group will perform on Dec. 5 at Pianos in New York City, on Dec. 6 at Starland Ballroom in Sayreville, and on Dec. 12 at CBGBs in the city.

They recently released a comprehensive demo titled Career Opportunities. The independent effort was recorded this year at Lakehouse Studios in North Jersey and was produced by Randy Staley. Pop tracks like "Quittin' Drinking" and "Good Girls" are reminders of the Top 40 rock genre that works on radio. The Boys show off their complexity in songs like "Super OK" and the brief "Don't You Wanna."

They abandon the cool bubble gum pop and turn the volume a notch louder to candidly create punk pop with angst like early Blink 182 meets fast-paced Pavement.

Career Opportunities does not tell the whole story of the Boys Club. During a recent performance at Maxwell's in Hoboken, while opening for Beyond Mirth, bassist Leigh Nelson rummaged through the chords of his instrument to dominate the band's sound on several tracks. While drummer Matt Lewis kept the steady beat, guitarist and lead singer Mark Sanderlin put on a show with an upbeat set list and energetic onstage antics.

The group's glue, guitarist and back up vocalist Reef, was the tempo setter and occasional crowd instigator. Despite an average turnout, Reef urged the audience to jump, scream, laugh, sing and shout.

"The show was excellent. We always get a good crowd at Maxwell's," Reef said.

'80 B movie

After playing in other bands, Nelson teamed up with Reef and his pals Sanderlin and Lewis to form the group a little more than a year ago. They guys were big in the New Brunswick college scene at Rutgers, and they shared a passion for rock. Nelson and Reef, both Jersey City residents, were trying to come up with a name for their new band when they saw a B movie starring Judd Nelson on cable titled Billionaire Boys Club.

"The movie was very badass and it epitomized what we wanted to be all about," Nelson said during an interview at a bar in downtown Jersey City.

The movie follows the true story of a yuppie who cons his college buddies into joining a lucrative pyramid scheme.

Although Nelson admits the band is nothing like a pyramid scheme, he said the fast-pace bad guy tone of the film could apply to the Boys.

When they got their act together and finished Career Opportunities, the Boys began performing in Jersey and New York City. During a show at the intimate city spot Pianos, a talent scout for NBC's Last Call with Carson Daly heard them live. The scout offered them a guest spot as the house band for a show, and in early September they played on national TV.

"It helped us get street 'cred,' " Nelson said. "We got a whole lot of attention after that."

Nelson and the crew's main concern is to find a balance between enjoying their success and maintaining a disciplined work ethic. Being in other groups has taught the Billionaires to respect their craft and take it seriously. They also want to succeed on their own terms.

"We want to do things right. Play the right venues, record solid tracks, and team up with the right business people," Nelson said.

Reef added: "We've done mistakes in the past. Right now we are ready and focused to make a living playing music."

He hinted they would enjoy mass appeal, and perhaps then they could rake in the big bucks or billions. Several publications have coined them as one of the leaders of the Jersey music scene. Nelson said he would like the band to be consider a New York City act as well.

"We love Jersey, but we play in the city a lot and that's where we want to be," he said. "We want to take our sound big time. Living the dream."

They have experience already. A few Boys Club members were part of the successful late-'90s group Evelyn Forever.

http://billionaireboys.com/images/press/hudsoncurrent031204.gif
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10614244&BRD=1291&PAG=461&dept_id=523592&rfi=6
- Eugene Mulero