By: Cynthia Todd, MavRadio News Director
Three years of non-stop touring has come with challenges, but Hollywood Ending has created a platform to expand its sound, build a fan base and connect with concertgoers.
The band will join Paradise Fears on the “Live Forever Tour” Thursday night at the Waiting Room. Members include lead vocalist Tyler Wilson, vocalist, guitarist and pianist Cameron Byrd, vocalist and guitarist Dan Geraghty and vocalist and bassist Chris Bourne.
“We travel around the country in a 15 passenger van and jam all day, so naturally we’ve jelled personality wise,” Geraghty said. “We went from not even knowing each other to knowing everything about each other, and I feel we’ve gotten really tight musically.”
Hollywood Ending formed in 2011 in hopes of making music together. Wilson is from New York, Byrd is from Washington DC, Geraghty is from Maryland and Bourne is from London. The members met over Skype and went on to record music together.
Since becoming a band, Hollywood Ending has changed its musical direction and describes its sound as pop-rock with some “rap influences and an occasional hint of jazz.”
“We aren’t trying to fit a certain mold,” Geraghty said.
The music has a much more “mature” sound from where the band started, but still keeps its same energetic roots fans can dance and sing along to while allowing each member to contribute musically.
“We write and record all our music ourselves, so it kind of comes together while we’re tracking it, or someone will bring a song to the table acoustically,” Geraghty said. “It really changes for every song.”
The band is currently working on a new album and expects it to be different from previous work.
“Their sound has definitely matured from their Radio Disney pop days to their current rock infused pop sound,” said Ben Packard, Hollywood Ending’s tour manager. “The world isn’t ready for what they’re about to hear.”
As the band grows with its music, so do fans. With over 300,000 Facebook likes and thousands of Twitter followers, Hollywood Ending has developed a strong fan base.
“Our fans are the best,” Geraghty said. “We can always count on them being behind us 100 percent.”
Along with a national following, the band has spread internationally with fans from all over the world. The group travels between the U.S. and U.K. frequently and recently toured with McBusted.
“It’s honestly too hard to pick a favorite,” Geraghty said. “We love playing both places.”
Touring is constant and directly after its shows with Paradise Fears, the band will headline its “Turn Up Tour.”
“We named it the ‘Turn Up Tour’ for three reasons,” Geraghty said. “We hope people will turn up to the shows, we hope people will ‘turn up’ at the shows and we will be turning up our amps… to 11.”
With multiple tours ahead, the band is focused on preparing for each show.
“They put on one of the most energetic live shows I have ever seen,” Packard said.
The group says both followers and those unfamiliar with the band can find something to enjoy at a Hollywood Ending show.
“Live shows are our favorite part of being in a band,” Geraghty said. “We are normally acting pretty crazy and we hope the crowd does too.”
This is the group’s first time in Nebraska and attendees will be able to spot the band interacting with fans, jamming out and just having a good time during the show Thursday.
“People can expect a night of music,” Geraghty said. “But mainly stripping.”
