We Live In Public is a local band made up of five of the chillest dudes in Columbia. They sat down with MOVE to discuss their band and their opinion of Columbia’s local music scene.

**[MOVE]:** When and how did you get started as a band?

**[Jaeson Day]:** Matt (Olson) and I had a group for four or five years, and we wanted to form a full band so we could increase our opportunities. Devin (Burrow) and Zach (Denison) had recently dissolved their project, … so they were available. So we recorded a demo together. Over the course of recording the demo, we decided we liked playing together.

**[M]:** You won the Waka Winter Classic. How was that?

**[Zach Denison]:** It was basically a battle of the bands at Mojo’s. It was a blast. It basically came down to who got the most votes, and we were fortunate enough to pull through. It was the first time we’ve ever done it.

**[M]:** What do you like or dislike about the Columbia music scene?

**[Devin Burrow]:** I’m going to start with dislike. College culture’s not what it was in the ’90s. It’s more of a club scene (now). It’s hard to compete with that and cheap drink prices.

**[ZD]:** There are really not enough people in Columbia to support several different music scenes. Especially when the students bounce out for the summer. But there are a lot of solid people here in the music scene who have been helpful to us throughout the years. We’ve crafted a lot of good relationships with booking agents and bar owners in the community. The good thing is the Columbia music scene seems to be growing.

**[M]:** What do you guys like best about playing live?

**[DB]:** I like the crowd response. It’s a big ego booster.

**[Kyle Day]:** The energy transfer. All of the band has this total energy that transfers to the total crowd.

**[Matt Olson]:** It’s definitely not a feeling of “I’m awesome” or “We’re awesome,” it’s “This is awesome.”

**[M]:** What are you working on right now?

**[ZD]:** We have a lot of new material we’re trying to work on for Wakarusa. If you’re not constantly making music, what are you doing? I feel like artists have a responsibility to, if you’re reaching a certain number of ears, put out some type of message they think is worthwhile to make the earth slightly better in some way, you know what I mean? Put some good message out in the world.