The Truezoos Are Ready to Rock Patch Concert Thursday

No glitz, no glamour, no problem.

For Sean O'Sullivan, Jeff Kereakoglow and Marc Hoffman, the three members of the up and coming rock band The Truezoos, it's all about the music.

On Thursday, they will perform at Patch's Battle of the Bands concert at The Harp in Boston along with Forget the Former and the winner of the Video Battle of the Bands, The President. Register for this free event on our Event Brite page. 

The Georgetown natives decided to go all in back in 2009, after finishing up college, and are now working day jobs "just to pay the bills," as founding band member Sean O'Sullivan stated, because "the music is our priority."

The Truezoos style of music, which lead singer/lead guitarist Sean O'Sullivan described as funky-fresh, has drawn comparisons between Hendrix and Sublime. "Our stuff can be soft and summery with ripping guitars," he said, while drummer, Jeff Kereakoglow of Danvers, had this to say about The Truezoos: "I just describe it as rock and roll, every band (when asked) will try to tell you 'it's a little bit of everything,' but for all intents and purposes- it's rock and roll."

With a video submission of their original song "I'll Take This One," The Truezoos represented the town of Danvers in . The competition saw 24 bands across Massachusetts submit videos of original songs for a shot at the grand prize: a headline gig at The Harp, a six-hour ride around the city on a party bus provided by the Bustonian, a haircut and color at Avanti Salon, and lunch at M.J. O'Connors.

The Truezoos finished in second place in the Merrimack Valley/North Shore region, and will participate in the show along with Merrimack Valley/North Shore regions first place winner Forget The Former, and the overall winner of the contest, The President.

O'Sullivan said although The Truezoos weren’t the overall winners of the contest, he certainly appreciated the exposure the contest provided, and credits his fan base for helping them get as far as they did. He also recalled a revelation he had recently about how bands succeed, and he concluded it's not by playing in the background of a bar.

"People aren't going out to see music when they go out to a bar -- they're there to socialize and there happens to be a band in the background," he said. "I'm trying to change the whole thing around."

One tactic the band is using is to play more unconventional shows. For instance, the band traveled up north to Maine with a group of revelers recently for a skydiving camping trip/show.

"We're trying to make ourselves stand out from other bands," O'Sullivan explained. "We got there on a Saturday, had a big cookout, then we had a show and everyone camped out before our sky-dive the next day. It was a great show because everyone was there for the music."

Kereakoglow added, "It was wicked fun, and that’s just the kind of band we are, we just gravitate towards the fun, festival type of atmosphere."

Music lovers will have the opportunity to see The Truezoos perform live at the Harp on Causeway Street in Boston on June 28. Although the 50-minute set is about half of what Truezoos fans experience in a normal show, O'Sullivan promised fans will not be disappointed by the energy level, because "that's what we do. We don't go up on the stage and half play; it's always just us going nuts. We'll be lucky if all my clothes stay on."

O'Sullivan said the band is contemplating a non-stop set of all original songs blended with covers. "We're making a whole set list now," he said. " We're going to have sounds that go into each other, it's actually fun to mash things together, all originals, with a verse of covers in between to make it all sound solid."

The band's music is a true collaboration between the three musicians, while bassist/background vocalist Marc Hoffman, with a degree in sound recording and technology, serves as the bands sound technician. The name of the band, The Truezoos, was inspired by the book Ishmael by Daniel Quinn, which deeply impacted O'Sullivan.

"The idea of the book is we build walls and contain ourselves; humans are the only ones who put ourselves in cages or houses or glass walls for people to look at. We are the true zoos. "

According to O'Sullivan, The Truezoos are considering renting a house later this summer so the band can get their 16 original songs recorded for their first official album. "We have enough material," he said. "I want to just hole up and let it pour out of us."

In the meantime, The Truezoos are putting the finishing touches on a demo of four original tracks, featuring one live recording from one of their many shows, to give listeners a taste of what they're about.

"This demo is the best way to represent us: we go straight metal, then we go bluesy and a little flowery. We're very much a live band," said O'Sullivan.

What:  Patch Boston Battle of the Bands 2012
           Featuring the winner: The President
           With opening acts: The Truezoos and Forget the Former

Where: The Harp
            85 Causeway St.
            Boston 

When: June 28, 8 p.m. - 11 p.m. 
           No cover / 18+