[INTERVIEW] In Conversation w/ The Comeback Season Kids :: Pt. 3

BP: Do you get a lot of people hitting you up and asking to work with you or wanting to work for you? How do you filter them? 

Ronnice: It’s hard to filter because sometimes it seems like you’re being rude but I just like working with my friends or working with people who just want to chill and hang out. It’s not a real job so anyone who wants a real job, I can’t work with you. It’s like something that you feel. Sometimes there’s no shit to do and sometimes there’s a lot of things to do…how do I explain it? You can’t just wanna be a part of something. It sucks because its not that cool once you’re in it. We’ve had people in the past that thought it was super dope but when you’re really in it it’s a lot of work. When you get to the parties it looks like a shitload of fun and it is, but behind the scenes to keep up with that is a lot of work. To filter all that out we just try to work with our friends.

It’s getting to a point where we can’t do that anymore. So I guess we’re getting to that point where we’re looking for a fusion of a real worker but also a friend. But your friend at the end of the day cannot be a stranger off the street or someone that saw me on Facebook and just wants to be a part of it.

Xander: There’s some things the job entails that only like a certain person can understand. You gotta have problem solving skills and an untraditional approach. You’ve got to be able to know like ‘O.K. that artist might be thirsty. I should go get Ron a case of water.’ He’s not gonna say like “Yo, get me a case of water.”

Ronnice: Yes, exactly!

Xander: [laughing] That sounds so stupid.

Ronnice: Yes it sounds stupid but it’s the little things…I don’t know.

BP: No, I noticed with the Dixie cups at the Häus Party, the Xboxes and the first time I ever got into a club without having to pay cover. I don’t know any people in high places. I was so geeked about that.

Ronnice: You said people in high places. For us it’s like we’re in the…[Turns to Xander] does it seem like we’re in the same place?

Xander: Yeah, kinda.

Ronnice: Yes and no. It feels like I’m look at the same Xander. He pretty much looks the same way. Except since we’ve joined over here at INK Entertainment, his work ethic is through the roof!  Mines technically been the same always, but his is like super saiyan 12 at this point. We don’t have to say anything to him, he just does it.  Mondays to Fridays he stays in the office late, Fridays he’s at the venue setting up. All that stuff you see in the venue, he has to set up and take down every week. But the cool thing about it now is we can hire people. Well, we hire our friends who have like helped us since day one. Its Xander, Ron and Kim, the main Comeback Season, but there’s a like a good 40…Ali, O-Rock, Trevor Odho, Storm Box, Jazz (GHS), Mike Frost, Gavin, Mark Wahba, Nelly, Rachel, Gels, Jacob Williams, Auggie, Allegra, Isiah, Alana, Stephanie Cassano, Trumaine, Conrad, Micha Kennedy, Jesse Bryans, jacflash, FELN, Rhian (lol), Karim Olen, Carl Palmer, Darren Lu, Shannon Walker, Aleks, Paolo, Farsh, Omada, Olivia Davis, Ayanie, Maya White and the list goes on for those who made it possible for us. We have a crew of like 40 and everyone is still there.

There’s a lot of bartending and doing that sort of thing. I guess in a fantasy world our goal would be to be able hire all my friends. Like it doesn’t even have to be cool, creative CBS stuff. I can be like Stephanie Cassano, who’s always been Comeback Season since day one, she works at a bar right now…I would love to hire even Olivia or all those girls – I would love to hire them all at the clubs that are facilitated by INK Entertainment.

BP: [To Xander] Did your dad [Peter Gatien] ever have any advice to give you or did you draw from anything that he’s done before? 

Xander: Like everything. It’s not like I ever get specific advice on things…whether it’s like eating dinner and watching T.V., he’ll comment “Oh, back in my day…” – that’s not fair. He doesn’t even talk like that.

[Everyone erupts in laughter]

Xander: But yeah I’ve definitely taken in a large percentage of inspiration from both of my parents, my mom and my dad.

BP: Another thing I wanted to touch on is you guys are running up INK Entertainment’s credit card with things like Drake Night tickets, and Playboy Anniversary tickets and all that stuff. Why do you think it’s important to offer those sorts of incentives to the crowd that comes in?

Ronnice: INK Entertainment’s such a huge company and you get lost between the shuffle. And truthfully, all those things is what we would want. Those things will always keep coming, we’d just like to do what we would like to be done to us. Yeah, we did get in a little trouble for the Drake Night tickets because we did that and didn’t even confirm it and put it on Facebook and it wasn’t even fully confirmed. But it was like Orin…

Xander: Orin is a family friend from a long time ago at Circa and he was the best. He was the best manager they’d ever seen. He’s great. I really like Orin. What was the question?

[Laughter]

BP: Why are the prizes a great addition to the parties?

Xander: All that stuff is just things he [Ronnice] likes to see and things I like to see if I went to an event. All that stuff is pretty much why we do this – there are no events that I feel are anything close to being like ours. We get a little taste at some of those concerts but for the most part there’s not a lot of fun shit that I would like to see.

Ronnice: There’s clearly a competition when it comes to throwing parties in the scene. Being with INK Entertainment now, it raises us – just in our scene, I can’t speak for other scenes. People that used to be our competition before are no longer. If new, fresher crews come out on the scene and start throwing parties, that doesn’t even matter. But if that happens, I don’t know, we’ll just buy some fucking Jay-Z tickets and stunt or something.

To read Part 1 of the CBS Kids interview click here | to read Part 2 click here | to read Part 4 click here