Interview with the Mad Hops background

Recently, I was able to interview suburban Chicago, Illinois pop punk band "The Mad Hops". The band, formed in January of 2011, is one of many that strives to maintain the true culture of the genre that may have been consumed in the hype of its mainstream success in the last 15-20 years. These bands aren't signed to major labels, and they don't fill 20,000 capacity arenas, but they play pop punk because they enjoy it. These are the bands that remind us of the fun that comes with playing music. Consisting of singer/vocalist Tyler Albertson, bassist/backing vocalist Conan Costa, and drummer Austin Gannon, they have made a name for themselves in the region the hard way: through personal connections, hard work getting shows to play, and simply owning the stage every time they go out to play. I was able to interview two of the three members of the band, and get their opinions of being in a band and why they chose to follow the pop punk path. (You can check out the Mad Hops' recently released album, For Real This Time, at madhops.bandcamp.com with a free download).