TV stardom suits Clearwater rockers
By Julie Garisto
Published November 16, 2007
The Next Great American Band
Catch Clearwater's Tres Bien! at 8 p.m. Friday on Fox.
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Local boys Tres Bien!, from Clearwater, have done Tampa Bay proud, making it to the top eight of Fox's reality show The Next Great American Band.
Trs Bien!, whose name means "very good!" in French, was one of 60 bands chosen to compete in front of judges Johnny Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, drummer Sheila E. and Australian TV personality Ian "Dicko" Dickson. Their brand of spunky British Invasion-flavored pop seems to have gone over well so far.
We caught up with frontman Mikey "B" Bostinto, who talked about his stint in L.A. with bandmates Cody Michael Wilson, Michael James Crowe and Ryan Patrick Metcalf, and talked about celebrity sightings, the frustration of playing cover songs and the surprising camaraderie among the bands on the show.
How were you chosen for the competition?
I worked at Pickles Plus in downtown Clearwater, and a lot of the customers told me (affects New York accent): "You know the producers of American Idol - by the way, this corned beef is delicious - are doing a band show. You should do it." Ryan Metcalf, our drummer, sent a video via e-mail at the last minute for sh--s and giggles. They called us and wanted us to come audition in Las Vegas, in August, and now we're here (in Los Angeles). They said they'd call us in a couple of weeks to tell us how we did on the show. A couple of weeks turned into a month.
Did you have to keep mum about it for a while?
Oh, yeah. It's all about the element of surprise. We told our immediate family and immediate friends, but we didn't blog about it on MySpace. We weren't ever much of a blogging band, anyway.
It's because you guys keep busy.
We tour a lot. We try to get to New York as much as we can.
What's the interaction like with the other bands you're competing with?
That's the thing. All the bands became friends before we heard their music, which is cool because we don't judge the bands by what they look like or what they sound like. Ryan said it best -- it's not so much a competition between the bands, but the bands versus America. Like, say we're at a blackjack table, and all the bands are at the table, and the dealer is America. We're just trying to beat the dealer and win America's votes. Everyone's rooting for each other. I think we're all in the same boat. At this point, this show can only help all of our careers, no matter how far we make it.
What do you think about covering other artists' songs?
Covering songs, in general, has always been a pain in our neck. Not because we can't play them. Anyone can cover a song. We came here to showcase our originals. We're not happy about (playing covers), but this is one of those things - sometimes you got to do what you don't want to do to get where you eventually got to be to do the things you want to do. ... I can say we're doing a song by Lieber and Stoller (this Friday), but I can't stay which one. It's very upbeat, and I'm going to get from behind the guitar. Let's just put it this way: It's going to definitely save our asses from last week.
Where are they putting you up?
It's a very nice apartment. ... We're not paying rent - thank god, I don't think our stipend could cover it.
A nice view?
A nice view of the building across from us. If you're talking about beautiful women - yes.
Have you run into any movie stars?
We haven't run into any physically, but we've seen some - Barry Pepper, the sniper from Saving Private Ryan; Danny Bonaduce.
What do you think about the feedback from the judges?
The judges are right. ... They say our musicianship is good, but we need to tighten up a bit. They're looking for the perfectly produced pop band, and we're not. When it comes down to it, we're the worst musicians here. I can also say that we're some of the best songwriters here. That's cocky, but we can write a good song. We're a rock 'n' roll band. Rock 'n' roll is never pristine and pretty, and nor are we.
Isn't there an uneven distribution of experience among the musicians competing?
There are bands that have been signed in the past and were in a wrong deal at the wrong time sort of thing and got dropped. ... There are lot of professional musicians here with good connections. Us, we came from Clearwater. We have a decent indie scene, but we don't know anybody.
How does this experience make you feel about the struggle toward fame?
It's really bittersweet and weird that we're getting all of this exposure. We never thought we'd our first break from television. It's great though. Where else can you get this kind of exposure?