It took almost a year to decide on a fitting name. The band eventually agreed to take the name from their song, "Concrete Sky". The names reflects a combination of heaviness and lightness found in our original music.

Concrete Sky performs over 100 shows a year, in Virginia and New York. We are planning to play in states across the US this summer and would like to work with other bands in new areas, and look forward to "gig swapping" with those wishing to gain recognition in our strong areas, primarily in the Virginia Beach/Norfolk area. We've played in both large outdoor venues and small clubs. We like big stages, because it allows us to bring out the whole light show and PA -- plus, since we are a high-energy band, we don't have to worry about knocking each other out. We enjoy playing in any size venue, and more people the better. One of our favorite gigs was a concert we gave at a sold-out highschool auditorium. It was one of our first shows, and it let us know we were onto something musically.

The internet has opened up the doors for a lot of musicians. It's helped us build a significant following in many countries, particularly in Great Britain, Japan and China. We are waiting for an opportunity to play overseas. I'm not sure how many have downloaded our mp3s, but I know we get a lot of emails of support for our music from areas our CDs aren't available at yet.

We'd love to be picked up by any label that could help us get our music out there quickly. Our music is both timely, and we'd like to think timeless, and there is a sense of urgency to cover as much territory as possible. It's important to continue growing as a band and in success to maintain momentum. Many great bands have fallen by the wayside because they lacked the team-determination and an aggressive business plan with goals and landmarks. I think we have both. We have had several offers from small labels, and have considered them. Our biggest fear is that we'll get let down. We also know the horror stories of bands signing with major labels with nothing to show for it. Part of that may because the labels have tied them up and not given them adequate promotion, and part is because the bands wasted a lot of money they didn't need to. Our approach would be to complete tasks well under budget. For example, there is no reason to work out all your parts in an expensive studio. We work out our parts in rehearsals, then in a home studio first, and don't need a lot of takes in the studio. We don't need limousine service and the top floor at the most expensive hotels in town either. We also don't let partying get in the way of performances on stage or the studio. The short answer is, yes, we'd be happy to look at offers from major studios, but will also look at independent labels with fair contracts, distribution networks and radio access.

Each member in the band comes from successful regional and national bands and have years of performance and studio experience to draw from.

Concrete Sky has influences from all music styles, and is even influenced to a degree by literature, politics and art. Our sound has been compared to Creed, Pink Floyd, Stone Temple Pilots, Jeff Beck, Santana and the Beatles, which should reflect the uniqueness and versatility of the band. The philosophy and inspiration behind many of the songs initiated by Hembree, come from the ideas of Italian writer, Italo Calvino on balancing lightness and weight in literature.

The Canadian Rockies is hard to beat -- especailly the Banf area.

We keep it straight forward for our music: guitars, bass and drums, though there are some keyboards and effects used in the studio. We have a strong light show, including intellegent lights, and use a lot of Mackie gear for PA. Bob has a couple Line 6 Vetta stacks, Mike like his Marshall half stacks, and Dan uses a variety of bass amps, depending on his mood. Chris is the same way with drums, you never know which of his sets hell have on stage from night to night.

You can visit our MySpace site at www.myspace.com/concreteskyband for pictures, video and mp3s.