Sanja Jovanovic From Anyone's Guess Interview



Where did the name Anyone's Guess come from? 


We played around with several name ideas, but Anyone's Guess stuck out because the original line-up was so musically different that we had no idea what we're going to "give birth" to. It was actually the original drummer's idea. Our first choice was Counterpoint, but then we realized it was already taken...by many bands.

Who are your musical influences?

I think I may see the word "influences" in a different light. I believe we're really influenced by everything we hear (even the things we don't necessarily want to hear). The Subconsciousness of a musician has sneaky ways of holding on to things. Now what have I been listening to lately? That would be Alanis Morissette, The Cranberries, Chevelle, 30 Seconds to Mars, Staind, Adele, Apocalyptica and a bunch of the stuff you'll hear on WJRR . Matt, our drummer is a big Tool fan and a heavier kind of guy. Clint listens to Spice Girls, N'SYNC and Justin Beiber. Just kidding. He likes modern rock... so pretty much take everything I said about myself and Matt and then fill in the gap with bands in between. I think our next release will of sound a lot like a mixture of Alanis Morissette, Guano Apes and Chevelle.

Anyone's Guess has been around since 2006. What motivates you to keep doing this year after year?

The percentage of bands that are actually making a living off of their original music is very slim, so you have to grow thick skin and just suck it up for years and I'm glad I know that. It takes work, sweat, money, stress, arguing, depression, more work, networking, being broke, more work, horrible shows, great shows, losing band members, many "NOs" and exploding vans, to actually make it. We'll get there someday, even if we're a 3-piece. I feel very lucky to have the dedication and persistence in my genes, because there is nothing I would rather do for the rest of my life, than ride in a van with the best people I've known, having the best time in my life and getting up on stage to get wild and crazy with people who've been waiting to rock out with us. My second favorite feeling is hearing the crowd sing along. We'll leave the first for another time.

Describe some of the high points and low points of your music career so far.
There were so many low points. I still get super angry when I think about how much further we could have been had we chosen the right players. Anyone's Guess has had the carpet pulled right from under us so many times by band members who quit once they realized it's not the 70's anymore, when 7 people in the state knew how to play an instrument and we're bound to get signed because we dare to say a curse word on TV. We've gone through 7 line-up changes so far, with only myself and Clint (lead guitar) being the original members. Every time we lost a member it halted our 6 & 12 month plans. We had to cancel tours twice and recording once, because of these flakes. We're a low-budget band, that's true, but people don't realize that we operate with the same professionalism as the signed majors. We allow 9 months of pre-planned marketing for our CD releases, we hire publicists when we can, we do our own radio-plugging, make music videos and stage our shows..and that's just a quarter of it. Once they see it's not just playing music and that we're serious about working, they decide it's too much to handle. There were also a lot of high points. I guess finally being able to own our own tour van was pretty kick-ass, even though it burst into flames on our way back from Miami. Getting played on mainstream radio was pretty cool too. Oh and finally finding a loyal drummer with a good head on his shoulders! Go Matt!

What's the long term goal of Anyone's Guess?
We want to continue getting better and making music that people enjoy listening to. We want to be able to quit our day jobs, get on the bus and make a living off of music. We'll be happy with it just paying our bills. It's a career we'd love to have, even if it's minimum wage.

What do you want people to walk away with when they see one of your shows?
Hopefully they'll walk away with our CD and a T-shirt! But, mostly I hope they walk away with a thought that they'd like to see us 
again.