The Velveteers, a band based out of Boulder and formed by siblings Demi Demitro (vocals/guitar) and John Demitro (drums), has been up to a lot this month, playing numerous shows, releasing merch and working on some music. The rock and roll duo is fairly new, but their sound is distinct—it’s loud, always on the edge of becoming uncontained, but that’s just good rock and roll. The Velveteers had some interesting things to say about their growth as a band.
Q: How did The Velveteers start?
Demi: Well, we started the band last September. I was in an acoustic project. I wanted to do something that was heavier, and this just felt really right.
John: And we’re brother and sister, so…
D: So we’ve known each other for a while.
J: It makes it easy to rehearse and practice.
Q: What bands influence you musically?
D: I grew up listening to The Beatles, Led Zeppelin and a lot of Elvis, so I always had that for an influence. And my brother, John, was always listening to rock and roll, so that’s what I listened to. Our biggest influences are Queens of the Stone Age, The Kills, Nirvana, Jack White and Elvis.
J: A lot of heavy rock.
Q: How has the local scene helped you?
D: We started being The Velveteers when I was 17 years old, so a lot of the bands have been mentors and kind of older siblings, always giving me advice. Telling us what [to do] and what not to do. Everyone’s really nice.
Photo Courtesy of The Velveteers.
Q: Can you speak a bit about your songwriting process?
D: Nothing is too forced. Most songs just come about on their own. I never say “oh I’m going to sit down and write a song right now” or anything like that. Usually, I’ll write stuff and I’ll just bring it in and we’ll jam on it, and we’ll see how it goes.
J: I’ll just add anything.
D: I try not to let songs not be written. If you let them sit for a long time, it’s not creative. You have to make a deadline to get stuff done.
Q: Do you have any new music coming?
D: We aren’t gonna say too much about it.
J: We might record some scratch demos.
D: Well we are, but there’s another thing we aren’t gonna tell anybody yet.
J: There will be music soon.
Q: Since you’re young, is it difficult playing in the scene?
D: When I was 17 it was worse, because everyone thought I was some random little kid that didn’t know what I was doing. Some venues are hesitant if they want to book you or not. I’m only now really able to play bars since I’m 18. We’ve played at bars where they weren’t gonna let us play and they were gonna kick us out. It’s hard being young, but it’s not really an issue.
J: Being young is a pretty big advantage. We’ve got a lot of time. We’re several years ahead of everybody. Other bands are much older in the Denver scene.
Q: How would you describe The Velveteers?
D: Gritty, honest.
J: Music.
D: Maybe, I guess.
