Tempe bandmates Johnny Hayward, Andy Higgins, Graham Corrington, and John Wong know each other pretty well. The quartet presently known as rock group Neato, have played in bands in the local circuit over the past decade but before that, the four friends were actually roommates.
"The coolest part about Neato, I think, is that we all used to live together. We were all in the same house, playing in different bands, and we've all been friends for a really long time," Hayward says. "We would get together just to start jamming and we had so much fun that we just kept doing it until we became a band."
Neato has been together for almost a year now but prior to that the members played in bands 2 Dimes, The Heartless, Oktober and Point 9 Percent. A couple of the guys will be performing under their old namesakes at tomorrow night's No Gimmick 15 year anniversary bash at The Big Fish Pub in Tempe. After that the group is looking forward to headlining the release party for their second EP, Neato 2.0, on Friday, April 27, also at Big Fish.
"As Neato we've been able to go back to our roots; having fun, with minimal band meetings and that other stuff," Higgins says. "We're really fun, we have high energy and we're really sort of a comedy act. One thing I like about the band is that we have some really high energy punk songs, heavier rock songs, and even laid back reggae songs. So it's a good mixture."
The EP release show on April 27, gets started at 7 p.m. and will feature local bands, Look Out Look, Gooder and Fayuca. The event is 21 and over so leave the fake identification at home kiddos.
