Darling Dont Jump

What people are saying about Drop Dead Julio...

“I really like this album!! The song writing and musicianship is impressive for a first album”—Helmut VonSchmidt, DJ for KBER 101

“This alternative-punk hybrid is seriously catchy with songs that will crawl under your skin and have you humming along on the spot. Drop Dead Julio premieres with an incredible debut that will no doubt leave fans waiting to see what the next step might be.”
--Kat Kellermeyer, Slug Magazine, Salt Lake City

“Drop Dead Julio absolutely killed it at Liquid Joe’s (SLC). It was a pleasure sharing the stage with you animals.”
--By All Means Necessary, Touring band from LA

The music is real and a style that everyone can enjoy. They have a stage presence that brings the crowd to an uproar.”—Mike Wooley, Owner, utahlocalbands.com area promoter.
“I actually was at a show you were at a while back here in Sandy. I think it might have been in July. It was FANTASTIC! You guys have such amazing stuff!”—Tara, myspace friend and fan - multiple publishers

Straight Outta Magna
With an album titled "Lack of Direction," Drop Dead Julio know exactly where they're headed.
by: Amanda Chamberlain



‘Drop Dead Julio’ with Going Second and Three Reasons
When: Friday, Nov. 16, 9 p.m.
Where: Liquid Joe’s, 1249 E. 3300 South in Salt Lake City
Tickets: $5 at the door.
More info: www.MySpace.com/dropdeadjulio.

Strip the polish off Social Distortion, add a little pop à la Bad Religion, bring it home to Magna and—with the help of a few alcoholic beverages— you’ve got the fun-loving and hard-promoting punk-ish rock quartet, Drop Dead Julio.

“We’re really into humor and not taking everything so seriously,” says 31-year-old vocalist/guitarist Gene Kennedy.

But these SLC club regulars aren’t all booze and horseplay. They try to keep practices tight and focused, make it a goal to get to know their fans at shows and, if there’s a DDJ show coming up, you can see them tacking up their own promotional posters around town.

“We have found that if you work hard and promote, it pays and people notice,” Kennedy says.

These ultra-ambitious dudes came together in 2006, playing as a trio that consisted of Kennedy, bassist James Checrallah and drummer James Julio. Later that year, the threesome gained “the advantage of a second guitar” when they met Brian Jensen—in the bathroom of Liquid Joe’s.

“No, it’s not what you think,” Kennedy explains. “He was hanging up posters for his bands, and I was promoting mine.”

That same year, the band recorded their debut album, “Lack of Direction.” Now, the band is working on their next one, which they predict will move in a “more rock/power pop direction.” The band plans to record and release it in early 2008. But in the meantime, DDJ continue to tour the regional and local circuit, which includes a show at Liquid Joe’s on Nov. 16 with Going Second and Three Reasons.

“Our live show is audience-driven all the way through, so if you want to participate in a show, you picked the right one,” Kennedy says. “We really love playing for people, and we’re at our best when we’re feeding off their energy.”

But catch them while you can; Kennedy says that the band can only tour on a limited basis right now, due to finances.

“That’s what happens when you have a mortgage!”
- "In Utah This Week" magazine

Drop Dead Julio Lack of Direction
Drop Dead Julio (they pronounce it Julie-o, not Hoolie-o, people) debut album channels grunge-era punk acts like Rancid, Pennywise and No Use for a Name, along with a dash of the alterna-bro metal (see: Staind, Linkin Park) which has proven to be so prevalent in the ’00s. Gene Kennedy’s throaty vocals will surely rile up even the most sedate listeners. Lack of Direction is the ideal soundtrack for rowdy house parties (where Natural Light is the drink of choice), backcountry snowboarding expeditions where spending as much time as possible expertly speeding down a vertical cliff is the primary objective, and fast, late-night car rides where the driver’s greatest hope is to avoid flashing lights in the rear-view mirror. (DropDeadJulio.com) - Writer, Jenny Poplar

It's no secret that the major demographic of the listening and buying public of bands like Drop Dead Julio(Julie-oh), tends to be between the ages of 21-35 range. That doesn't mean they can't get fringe listeners in the teen and over forty range, it means they have to be more creative.

I asked them what the most difficult challenge is for a local band. "Growing our draw at clubs. The music business is a numbers game and although we have a consistent draw at local, popular venues, it's really a challenge to double our audience. I would say playing all ages has been a challenge as well, but we are trying harder and harder to put ourselves in front of that audience with our music."

The band is taking advantage of technology by using online and local stations for radio airplay, programs like Broadtexter that sends mass texts regarding upcoming shows, Myspace, Twitter and Facebook to increase their fan base. They also have their music available on several sites including iTunes, Rhapsody and CD Baby. Participating in online competitions, such as the one recently held for Blink 182, (I have a kid's eye review coming up next week) "Our music plays went up significantly [during the competition] and we placed 4th out of 23 bands." Said Gene Kennedy, of DDJ.

The next step they have taken, is to produce a professional video of their song, "The Youth Are Disillusioned." Always thinking ahead, the band constantly strives for those moves taking them to the next level in the mind of industry professionals. "Since we started playing live to a click track or metronome, it's a night and day difference. We've had our share of sloppy shows and we know it. Our performances are now much tighter than they used to be." Gene Kennedy, lead vocalist has started vocal lessons twice a week to increase his range and confidence as a singer. It is critical to use your voice in the same way you would your Fender Strat or Paul Reed Smith, keep it well tuned. Using proper technique, such as used in the methods by SLS, created by founder Seth Riggs, are paramount in a long career in the music industry. You can't tour four to five nights for weeks in a row and not show wear and tear on your vocal. Your vocal cords are a muscle like any other muscle in your body and if kept fit and in good shape, you will have a long career, but sit on the couch and watch re-runs of old tv shows, and you will be a comet that burns out. Drop Dead Julio never sits back and believes they have done every that can be done, but instead, they are on the look out for anything that will make their shows an "A" game.

So, marketing and promotion, is that all you need? Drop Dead Julio believes, "We think a few things separate us from the rest. One is our ability to work a crowd. We try to keep it pretty interesting visually and help the audience to experience the music and not just hear it. Our work ethic is another component of our band that sets us apart. There are so many talented musicians out there and in the past 4 years, we've shared the stage with some of them. We're lucky in this band because most of us are constantly promoting. Every member in DDJ does what they can and because of it, we had the opportunity to open for such national acts as Unwritten Law, The Lemonheads, 12 Stones and most recently, played the Warped Tour in Salt Lake. As much as we can, we treat DDJ like a full-time job. There's no way of getting around that." They believe in order to be successful, the band must exist as a 50/50 proposition,

The last piece of the puzzle, and definitely not the least, is the music itself. "Sometimes the songs are my personal stories," Kennedy said, "and sometimes they're stories of others but they usually tap into some type of real life experience as opposed to being fiction. I write many songs about relationships, any kind of relationship. I also write songs about certain things that have happened to me, but I know others can relate. As an example, So Far Away and Where I'm At are different stories about my feelings when I learned my mother had colon cancer. Breaking News is my personal reflection on problems in the television news business."

In my experience in the industry, Drop Dead Julio possesses the components necessary to make it.

A well produced album for purchase.
A great presence on stage, performance and image.
The right attitude as far as the responsibility of the band to make it in the industry.
Web presence.
Local spins.
They are genuinely good people.
I asked Gene to sum up in one sentence, the advise he would offer to up and coming artists. "Be prepared to work really hard, not only on the musical product, but getting it in to the hands of the people. Be prepared to work for a while to get your name out there."

I want to thank Gene for taking the time out of his busy schedule to talk to me and found this band to be one I would personally enjoy listening to in the future.
- Examiner.com

I'll just say this up front: Drop Dead Julio's second album, "The Stories We Could Tell," is radio-friendly. Not in a radio-rock-like-Hinder sort of way, but in a wow-they're-actually-playing-a-good-song-on-the-radio sort of way. The moment the hook-y guitar, strident bass and center-stage vocals of "The Youth are Disillusioned" beat on my eardrums, I got the feeling this track could see a long life of radio play. The alternative rock tunes lift enough weight in the "heavy" department to be worthy of KBER 101.1, and enough of a punk-ish attitude to merit play on X96. (As I came to find out, you can actually call both of those stations to request it.)

While straight-up rock riffs roll rampantly through the album, acoustic songs and lighter rock ballads add breadth and make it known that the members of this band are well-rounded, well-practiced musicians.

Proving there's something for fans of all genres (well, maybe not counting hip-hop and grindcore), DDJ doses the album with not only slower songs, but also gifts for rockers and punk kids, including guitar harmonies, squeals and wails; Gene Kennedy's rough-edged vocals; and epic-ness that's created when you mix the perfect chord with lyrics full of raw emotion.

-- Amanda Chamberlain

(online version at: http://dev.inthisweek.com/view.php?id=128602) - In Utah This Week