by Katherine Fulton How did the Hive Robbers come about? How did you get into music? The band started as a backup band for Aidan when he wanted to start playing his songs live. That was the summer of 2010 and by the following January we were a set group playing under the name Aidan Bailey Williams Band. When we wanted to release our first EP we had settled on the name Hive Robbers in order to represent the fact that we were no longer following the creative direction of just Aidan, rather the collective thought process of a single unit. Not to mention, it’s a little easier to remember. What drew you to Americana and folk music? Did any of you have prior music experience? We all came from similar musical backgrounds, all with a strong interest in roots music. When you first start getting into rock ‘n’ roll and stuff like that it all has the qualities that stem from artists like Hank Williams, Leadbelly and Robert Johnson and it’s just a matter of roots really. You become interested in the background of it all. Tell me about your first EP. How did that come about? We wanted to get a recording of four songs out so people could take it home and listen to it. We recorded the whole thing in Sam’s basement with our friend Eric Vaught doing all of the technical work plus David Zach and Kristin Mohan doing backup vocals. It’s different from our LP because we didn’t really know what we were doing at that point, but it was a learning experience. It has two of our bigger songs (“Counterweight” and “When I’m Gone”) on it and it’s interesting to go back and listen to those first recording and see how much the songs have evolved from that point. What is your concert dynamic like? How would you describe your shows and your fans? Lots of drinking and lots of dancing. Our music is all kind of similar but all over the place with style so it lets us play three-hour sets without our audiences getting bored. We really feed off of the audience. Our music isn’t really something you sit down to, so it’s great to see people dancing and singing. The high energy that we bring out really shapes the sound of every shows, so each show is a different experience. Do you have any fun concert/tour stories to share? Sam played the CD release party with pneumonia. In the middle of the set he just got up and went to the bathroom to puke so our friend Eric Vaught jumped up on stage and played drums for the rest of the show. Tell me about your LP. How did it come about, and when was it recorded? Do you have any interesting stories about the recording process? Our full-length LP was recorded last summer from May through August. It was all recorded by Eric Vaught in Jimmy’s basement with two microphones. We used a lot of things that we found around the house, like on the last track (“I Will Best You”) we used an ashtray as a mini gong and a cookie sheet on the snare drum. I think we drank like 15 bottles of whiskey during the process, which led to Sam singing the verse to “Two-Five-Oh” at the end of the song. It was awesome to get some of our friends on to do guest vocals and instrumental spots. It was overall a group effort, not only from the band but from our friends and fans as well. What’s next for the Hive Robbers? At the moment we’re working on finishing up a two-song demo to get floating around that better reflects our live sound, which should be ready in the early spring. We plan on playing more throughout northeast Ohio, as well as breaking into Pennsylvania, and southern Ohio this spring. Catch the Hive Robbers on February 11 at The Vortex in Akron, and find them on Facebook and Reverbnation.com for more info about upcoming shows.