PUBLISHED: 03-09-09

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With Bully in the Hallway

The members of Bully in the Hallway have no problem admitting they are a couple of white kids fascinated with hip-hop and Chicago.

Four of the five members grew up together in the city, so when deciding to make a band, finding musicians was not a problem. Despite not wanting to fall under a certain genre, indie-rock is the way Bully in the Hallway would best like to be labeled.

Comprised of guitarist/vocalist Matthew Kennedy, guitarist/vocalist Billy Kenefick, drummer Matthew Jannotta, bassist Aaron Levinsky and vocalist John Matthew Simon, the next big step for the band is releasing their first album, Apples and Sunshine.

The Chronicle caught up with Simon to discuss the struggles of having a band in this economy, what they sing about and the influences behind Apples and Sunshine.

The Chronicle: How did you realize you wanted to start a band?
John Matthew Simon: Billy and I would go around and lie to people at bars and have fun with it. We would be like, “Yeah we’re in a band,” and just make up names, and then he was like, “Wait, we should actually start a band. We might as well. I write music all the time by myself, and you write poetry.” We needed an after-work activity, so that’s why we started the band.

What have been some of your struggles so far?
Shows produce money, but that’s just enough to pay rent and such. Our struggle has been financially, but it takes care of itself over time. Getting our album out has been really frustrating. We’re on the brink of doing it, but it should be out in the end of March.

What bands do you look up to?
The Beatles; we have a poster of them overlooking us at every practice and a lot of the Chicago bands [like] Alkaline Trio, Rise Against and Smashing Pumpkins.  A unique part of our band is that our bass player has a jazz background, and he listens to reggae. Every time we write a song someone is putting a unique perspective on the music, so it gives it its own sort of drive.

What was your influence for ‘Apples & Sunshine?’
We have this mindset of trying to be [ourselves] and, at the same time, representing our city. Our album doesn’t only represent us, but also the Midwest and Chicago. We always have felt that we were overlooked, and being the second city pushed under by LA and New York. The album title aims at that, and we were like “Hey New York and LA, we do exist, and we can do it better than you.” That was our way of being Midwesterners and being overlooked.

What do you sing about?
From daily struggles,  social interaction to dealing with losing loved ones, our topics are all over the place-but mostly about life, death and fun.

What are your shows like?
We try to be as lively and moving as possible, even if it’s a small stage. We want everyone to have fun and [be] energetic. We’re not trying to be too serious and sit up there and preach to people. It’s more about having fun and enjoying the moment.

What are your plans for this year?
We’re trying to sneak into SXSW, but I don’t know if that will happen. We’re going to try to get around and play some shows in New York and the East Coast and all around the Midwest.

Bully in the Hallway’s next show is on March 22 at Beat Kitchen, 2100 W. Belmont Ave. To hear some tracks from Apples and Sunshine, visit Myspace.com/BullyintheHallway.

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