From Albany, New York comes the rock powerhouse known as, Ten Year Vamp. The concept of Ten Year Vamp all started in college when lead singer and guitarist, Debbie Gabrione and guitarist, Mark Rose met. Together, they collaborated to create their own sound, thus the birth of the band.
Since 2005, Ten Year Vamp has been hitting the stage with Debbie's sex appeal, stage presence, and the bands rock-hard sounds to give fans something to jump up and down to.
A 4-track preview is available to download on The Great Unknowns Presents. Much like their previous music, the entire album of, "Don't act like you know me" brings a piece of what Ten Year Vamp represents. The bands newest video, "Never know" was seen on SpikeTV, shows the growth and transformation of the band, is just a glimpse of the band's success to come.
My first question has to be about your band title. Where did it come from and what does it mean?
VERY strange story. When I was a kid and my adult teeth came in, I had 2 very sharp K9 teeth. The kids at school used to make fun of me and call me a vampire. It reached its peak when I was 10 years old, and I was at the mall with my parents and sister. I was sitting on a bench outside the GAP waiting for them, and this couple came up and sat down next to me. I was young so I didn't really understand much...but I remember they were a beautiful woman and a very attractive man. Both had very dark dark eyes (almost black), they spoke with a heavy accent and they had sharp K9 teeth like me. My parents and sister came out shortly after the couple had started talking to me and my parents (like any good parents would) snatched me up and started walking away. As we were walking away the couple shouted that I was going to be a very special woman and be capable of great things. My sister (of course) told everyone at school that my really family...a vampire family...came to get me, and this led to even more mocking at school. The next year, my family moved to a new town and right before we moved, my parents brought me to the dentist to have my teeth filed down so I wouldn't have to deal with the vampire nonsense.
So...that being such a weird story and part of my childhood, we figured it'd be a cute name for the band....10 Year Vamp. Ten Year Vamp is DEFINITELY NOT a dark band, nor do we want have any vampire connection...so we decided to go with the word Vamp, which means female seductress, rather then Vampire.so there wouldn't be any confusion.
10YV has become a well known band on the Eastern seaboard. Part of your success is from touring the band as much as you are for the last 3 years. I've seen that you've had no less than 4 concerts per month in that time span. Do you ever consider this too much work or do you love it as much as ever?
We LOVE making music and putting on shows. There is nothing like it. If we could do this everyday, we'd be happy people. When you love something THIS much, there's no such thing as too much work involved.
Is it the love of music that keeps you going?
Absolutely.
What was your best live performance? Or, do you have more than one event that was the best memory?
That would be VERY hard to say. We've played more then 450 shows, and I can't even remember yesterday's show. Ha-ha! When we play a smaller venue, it sure does get crazy, because we can interact with people and it's intimate and we can be a little more attentive to the requests of the audience. When we play a larger venue, it's exciting and we want to be perfect and it's memorable just to play in a huge stadium. I would say playing Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), opening for Thriving Ivory, Kevin Rudolf and 30h!3 was a great memory, because there was a crowd of greater than 20,000 people.
Back in 2006, you opened 10YV as a "public option" where people can own a piece of the band. Is this still available for investors and fans?
Rather then Ten Year Vamp signing with a record label (where they would "own" us and mak
e all the decisions for us), we decided to create our own record label, comprised of our fans. Who better to tell us what to do then our fans ?!?! So we sold shares to our fans for $25. Once they bought a share. they WERE our record label. They picked the songs that made the album, selected the Producer and Mastering Company, chose the album art and tee shirt designs. They get to come to VIP "Owners" parties and business meetings, they come on out of town trips and get tons of other perks. This is all in addition to actually making money off the album. Just like the stock market, they make their money back (and then some).
We just released the album a month ago, so it's no longer open to investors to buy a share, because all the decisions have been made and the album is complete.
We still have TONS of expenses, so we wouldn't say no if someone liked what we were doing and wanted to be involved..but we'd need to have a discussion with that person and see what an appropriate arrangement would be.
Do your shareholders still get involved and help decide what should go in your album and cover art photos?
Yes.
I saw that you voted "Best Kept Secret" and "Best Local Rockband" in Metroland and made it to #3 on the Top 20 list on Whotune, an internet radio station in Australia. Also, in September, your video was selected to be shown on SpikeTV. How does it feel to be in the spotlight?
It feels great. We want our music to reach the masses, and we want to take it to a national level. We've had TONS of other press spotlights as well, including articles in the Village Voice, Forbes, CNBC, Columbia School of Journalism and news papers all over the US ( to name a few).
Although these alkaloids are great for publicity, would it be more satisfying to have mainstream recognition, like a national music award?
National and mainstream recognition is our goal.but it's a long haul to the top. Nothing happens over night.it's actually quite the opposite. It takes time. As the month pass, we get more and more publicity and recognition. We're going to keep moving forward, and eventually, we'll get there.
Before you performed for the first time, who were your top 5 bands?
I have a very eclectic taste in music and there's no logic to it. Here's my top 5 (before I started performing with Ten Year Vamp); No Doubt, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Missy Elliot, The Used.
Who was the singer that you looked up too the most?
I never knew enough about bands to have a favorite singer. I liked the attitude that Madonna had and the freedom she expressed, but I also liked the energy and strength that Gwen Stefani exuberated.
How did your band meet?
Mark and I put the band together back in 2003, and we held auditions for the other instruments (Mark plays rhythm guitar). Over the years, we've played with a few different musicians.all of which have been amazing, but either got burnt out, went on to other projects, or had other things in their life that deserved their attention. Last year (around Sept 2008), we auditioned our current members, and just really clicked with them. We're like a family and we're an amazing team.
Did you automatically "click" or did it take a lot of work?
We definitely automatically clicked. Getting to spend time with the guys in my band is a privilege and I consider them my best friends. I look forward to car rides, and I never get nervous on stage because I have so much trust in them (as musicians and as people).
Where was your first live performance and how did it make you feel?
First live performance was at the University of Albany. It was an outdoor show in October, and it was a cold day.so I felt cold. Ha-Ha! Honestly though, it felt great. It took me a while to go from feeling great to feeling amazing.just because to REALLY enjoy performing, I need to be confident. No one is confident for the first show. About 50 shows later is when I earned my confidence and when it started to feel amazing.
What can we look forward too from Ten Year Vamp?
We plan on focusing on some radio promotion and getting our tunes heard by the masses. We will continue to be innovative with our marketing ideas and keeping trying to include our fans/friends in everything we do. We plan to continue touring and doing what we love. You'll definitely see/hear more from us
VERY strange story. When I was a kid and my adult teeth came in, I had 2 very sharp K9 teeth. The kids at school used to make fun of me and call me a vampire. It reached its peak when I was 10 years old, and I was at the mall with my parents and sister. I was sitting on a bench outside the GAP waiting for them, and this couple came up and sat down next to me. I was young so I didn't really understand much...but I remember they were a beautiful woman and a very attractive man. Both had very dark dark eyes (almost black), they spoke with a heavy accent and they had sharp K9 teeth like me. My parents and sister came out shortly after the couple had started talking to me and my parents (like any good parents would) snatched me up and started walking away. As we were walking away the couple shouted that I was going to be a very special woman and be capable of great things. My sister (of course) told everyone at school that my really family...a vampire family...came to get me, and this led to even more mocking at school. The next year, my family moved to a new town and right before we moved, my parents brought me to the dentist to have my teeth filed down so I wouldn't have to deal with the vampire nonsense.
So...that being such a weird story and part of my childhood, we figured it'd be a cute name for the band....10 Year Vamp. Ten Year Vamp is DEFINITELY NOT a dark band, nor do we want have any vampire connection...so we decided to go with the word Vamp, which means female seductress, rather then Vampire.so there wouldn't be any confusion.
10YV has become a well known band on the Eastern seaboard. Part of your success is from touring the band as much as you are for the last 3 years. I've seen that you've had no less than 4 concerts per month in that time span. Do you ever consider this too much work or do you love it as much as ever?
We LOVE making music and putting on shows. There is nothing like it. If we could do this everyday, we'd be happy people. When you love something THIS much, there's no such thing as too much work involved.
Is it the love of music that keeps you going?
Absolutely.
What was your best live performance? Or, do you have more than one event that was the best memory?
That would be VERY hard to say. We've played more then 450 shows, and I can't even remember yesterday's show. Ha-ha! When we play a smaller venue, it sure does get crazy, because we can interact with people and it's intimate and we can be a little more attentive to the requests of the audience. When we play a larger venue, it's exciting and we want to be perfect and it's memorable just to play in a huge stadium. I would say playing Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC), opening for Thriving Ivory, Kevin Rudolf and 30h!3 was a great memory, because there was a crowd of greater than 20,000 people.
Back in 2006, you opened 10YV as a "public option" where people can own a piece of the band. Is this still available for investors and fans?
Rather then Ten Year Vamp signing with a record label (where they would "own" us and mak
e all the decisions for us), we decided to create our own record label, comprised of our fans. Who better to tell us what to do then our fans ?!?! So we sold shares to our fans for $25. Once they bought a share. they WERE our record label. They picked the songs that made the album, selected the Producer and Mastering Company, chose the album art and tee shirt designs. They get to come to VIP "Owners" parties and business meetings, they come on out of town trips and get tons of other perks. This is all in addition to actually making money off the album. Just like the stock market, they make their money back (and then some).We just released the album a month ago, so it's no longer open to investors to buy a share, because all the decisions have been made and the album is complete.
We still have TONS of expenses, so we wouldn't say no if someone liked what we were doing and wanted to be involved..but we'd need to have a discussion with that person and see what an appropriate arrangement would be.
Do your shareholders still get involved and help decide what should go in your album and cover art photos?
Yes.
I saw that you voted "Best Kept Secret" and "Best Local Rockband" in Metroland and made it to #3 on the Top 20 list on Whotune, an internet radio station in Australia. Also, in September, your video was selected to be shown on SpikeTV. How does it feel to be in the spotlight?
It feels great. We want our music to reach the masses, and we want to take it to a national level. We've had TONS of other press spotlights as well, including articles in the Village Voice, Forbes, CNBC, Columbia School of Journalism and news papers all over the US ( to name a few).
Although these alkaloids are great for publicity, would it be more satisfying to have mainstream recognition, like a national music award?
National and mainstream recognition is our goal.but it's a long haul to the top. Nothing happens over night.it's actually quite the opposite. It takes time. As the month pass, we get more and more publicity and recognition. We're going to keep moving forward, and eventually, we'll get there.
Before you performed for the first time, who were your top 5 bands?
I have a very eclectic taste in music and there's no logic to it. Here's my top 5 (before I started performing with Ten Year Vamp); No Doubt, Madonna, Michael Jackson, Missy Elliot, The Used.
Who was the singer that you looked up too the most?
I never knew enough about bands to have a favorite singer. I liked the attitude that Madonna had and the freedom she expressed, but I also liked the energy and strength that Gwen Stefani exuberated.
How did your band meet?
Mark and I put the band together back in 2003, and we held auditions for the other instruments (Mark plays rhythm guitar). Over the years, we've played with a few different musicians.all of which have been amazing, but either got burnt out, went on to other projects, or had other things in their life that deserved their attention. Last year (around Sept 2008), we auditioned our current members, and just really clicked with them. We're like a family and we're an amazing team.
Did you automatically "click" or did it take a lot of work?
We definitely automatically clicked. Getting to spend time with the guys in my band is a privilege and I consider them my best friends. I look forward to car rides, and I never get nervous on stage because I have so much trust in them (as musicians and as people).
Where was your first live performance and how did it make you feel?
First live performance was at the University of Albany. It was an outdoor show in October, and it was a cold day.so I felt cold. Ha-Ha! Honestly though, it felt great. It took me a while to go from feeling great to feeling amazing.just because to REALLY enjoy performing, I need to be confident. No one is confident for the first show. About 50 shows later is when I earned my confidence and when it started to feel amazing.
What can we look forward too from Ten Year Vamp?
We plan on focusing on some radio promotion and getting our tunes heard by the masses. We will continue to be innovative with our marketing ideas and keeping trying to include our fans/friends in everything we do. We plan to continue touring and doing what we love. You'll definitely see/hear more from us
To listen to the special 4-track preview, go to: Ten Year Vamp presented by The Great Unknowns Presents
For tour dates and to purchase their music, go here
Interview by Michael J
Images courtsey of Ten Year Vamp`
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