Some time ago, not too long back, I had the chance to ask some questions to four young gentlemen who, when properly assembled, form the band Pretty Little Empire. The answer above was absolutely my favorite of the day. The question was about how, when you're in a band, the other dudes are kind of like your girlfriend. So, I asked what kind of girlfriend the dudes would be if they were the girlfriends to the other dudes.

Now, I will say, to the best of my knowledge, that Will Godfred isn't always like, wreckin' cars, and, you know, all that other stuff. In fact, the entire time we were hanging out for this little question session, Will didn't even overdose once. At the same time, I have no idea who Wade Durbin -- the band member behind the quote above -- has dated in the past, so he might not know anything about crazy strippers in the first place.

At this point, you may want some background.

I'll run it down for you quickly. Pretty Little Empire is a St. Louis-based band composed of and composed by these four dudes: Will Godfred plays several instruments, including his vocal chords; Wade Durbin mostly sticks to bass guitar, but also belts out tunes every now and again; Evan O'Neal mostly keeps quiet behind the drum set, unless he's also belting out tunes while banging on the crap around him, and also, sometimes, the rest of the band lets him stand up, play the guitar and sing a bit; Justin Johnson is the assumed leader, as he stands in the middle of the stage the most, and he sings the most, too. From what I could gather, this is an outfit that runs on equal opportunity.

I asked the guys quite a few questions, and they obliged. The thing is, I'd rather talk about just hanging out than put what actually took place down on paper. When I had the chance to be around the band, everyone laughed a whole bunch. To be completely honest, I've been around these guys a few times now, and every single time, it seems like everyone was laughing a whole bunch. The reason Durbin responded to the girlfriend question the way he did was because it was funny. He just blurted it out. I think maybe there's something to that. I don't think Pretty Little Empire over thinks things.

I think Pretty Little Empire just does things. I really wish I could explain it better than that, but I can't. There's a certain intuition with these guys. When you get to sit around and ask them questions, you just assume that they're good at what they do, whatever it is. I know at some point there was a process where they had to sit down and write the songs that they have written, but I have a hard time really committing to that idea. Mostly because I'm pretty sure that their songs just happened. And they were really good. Because that's exactly what Pretty Little Empire would do.

Because Pretty Little Empire has the ability to make good things happen, and they've been afforded some pretty awesome opportunities. Recently, they found themselves in Chicago with director Justin Hayward filming a brand new music video. It's not one of those cheap music videos, either. You know the homemade kind that bands make when they're first starting out? That's not what this is. This one is beyond what the kids would call "legit."

They're also in the process of making their third album seemingly materialize out of nowhere with the fine folks at Native Sound studios. Legend has it that Pretty Little Empire hasn't been seen in the studio yet, but new songs keep getting recorded. And they're all really good. And those of us who know these guys aren't surprised because that's exactly what we've come to expect from Pretty Little Empire.

And, you know, them wreckin' cars and overdosing and having to rush them to the hospital.

Credits:

Video: Jarred Gastreich for Show Me Shows

Sound: R&R Music Labs

Interviewer and writer: Steven Colbert