"I'd love to be as big as Good Charlotte," says the 24-year-old messy-haired Travis Brown, vocalist and bass player for Split Habit as he drinks his double Captain and Coke in the basement of Chicago's Bottom Lounge prior to the band's record release show. "I don't think we're ready to be that big yet, but if I had a choice, I'd love for as many people to hear our music as possible because that's the main goal of this."

Brown simply wants Split Habit's music to make people happy. He hopes that his band can help people fall in love with music and have something to relate to. "There's so many bands I can put on a song [from] and be like, 'This reminds me of a time in my life when I felt this way and it got me through.'" Brown says, that's the beauty of music, being able to influence people and give them something tangible to relate to.

Split Habit, rounded out by guitarist Frankie Cacciato, 24, and drummer Chris Michaels, 26. Although Cacciato hails from Mokena, Illinois, the band considers Lemont, Illinois to be "home base." "That's where we practice," says Brown.

The Split Habit phenomenon started in a high school bathroom where Brown and Michaels would go for a cigarette. The Split Habit line up was finally completed when Cacciato joined in 2001. Since then the band has been at this full steam ahead. They have played tons of shows including eight shows (two being sold-out) at Chicago's legendary rock club the Metro and they've even played at the House of Blues in Chicago.

Split Habit sees the Chicago area as a great place to be a musician. "We are absolutely the luckiest people in the world to be by this City because we could be stuck in butt-fuck, Egypt, Iowa and then the Quad Cities as our base," says Brown enthusiastically. "Chicago's huge and it's great that it has a lot of bands because there's always new music, always bands to play with and always venues," he says.

Brown believes that Split Habit wouldn't have gotten as far as they have if it wasn't for Chicago's endless opportunities. Brown is quick to name bands like Spitalfield, Fall Out Boy and Lucky Boys Confusion as bands that Split Habit can relate to and maybe even thank for support. Other bands like Alkaline Trio and Mest have Chicago as the foundation to their careers. "Chicago has been put back on the map since the whole [Smashing] Pumpkins and Local H thing," says Brown.

So Split Habit has brute force of Chicago on their side and as of February 24, 2004 they have their mighty Double Zero Records release, Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is on their side as well. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is is one hell of a rock and roll album, loaded with potential hit singles, sharp hooks and memorable pop melodies. It was produced, engineered and mixed by Sean O' Keefe who has worked with bands like Fall Out Boy and Motion City Soundtrack.

"Sean O' Keefe is probably the next Jerry Finn," says Brown respectfully. "He's just amazing, talented and he knows how to write a hit song," adds Brown. Brown hopes O' Keefe will do the band's second record, "He's probably the most amazing person we'll ever get to work with on a record," says Brown.

Split Habit met O' Keefe just after he finished recording Fall Out Boy's album Take This to Your Grave and Split Habit was set to record a song for the Asian Man Records compilation The Best Unsigned Bands. After hearing the demo the band had sent to him, O' Keefe said, "I'm gonna put this on there," Brown explains. So the band figured, if this song was going to be released worldwide, they may as well put some money into it. And that's how they met O' Keefe. "We recorded the song and it all went great," says Brown. "Through the whole time, we got along good and there was such a good vibe," adds Brown. Split Habit told O' Keefe that they were planning on recording an album and O' Keefe agreed to work on it immediately.

Brown says that the recording process was amazing. Between drinking iced Chai Teas and eating Thai food the band learned that patience is a real virtue when recording because sometimes people just want to rush through it.

Brown says the band wrangled up a lot of money between the three of them and they weren't guaranteed a deal or anything. "Money is the root of all evil, but it's also the root of all great CDs," says Brown. "That's why we named the album Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is."

Split Habit has come a long way since playing their first show at the Big Horse, which is a bar / burrito place. "Imagine the shadiest bar in Las Vegas and that's what the Big Horse looks like," explains Brown. The band's second show (with Cacciato) was a sold-out show at the Metro with Allister. Split Habit will once again hit the road with Allister in early May.

Split Habit has shared stages with bands like Sum 41 to Yellowcard and Taking Back Sunday to Something Corporate. But what band has Split Habit has most enjoyed touring with? "Lucky Boys Confusion," shouts Cacciato.

"We went on a little tour with [LBC] up in Wisconisn and every show was sold-out because they're number one on radio up there and they have a new record out - called Commitment, go buy it - but we... We've been friends with them [and] never got to just play shows, party after the show and hang out," says Brown. Brown says that LBC are just great guys and helped Split Habit out by putting them in front of their fans. "It's all about a good time, not just a show," says Brown.

Split Habit loves to have a good time and that's evident in almost everything they do. Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is is a great example of the band's love for great music and they like to party by maybe just having a few drinks at a bar or going to a club to check out the ladies and dance. "Chris is an amazing dancer," says Brown. "I can shimmy," adds Michaels.

More importantly, Split Habit has fun on stage as well and it's obvious. Whether they are playing a show for nearly 1000 people in Milwaukee or 50 people in Elk Grove Village, Split Habit is putting their all into a set. Brown acts out his songs with hand motions, silly facial expressions and an undying energy. Michaels and Cacciato are energetic as well and this energy is addicting. The band sees themselves as having a Southside of Chicago work ethic. "We're gritty, we're hard working and we're proud of where we're from," explains Brown in a serious tone. "The Southside is more like blue collar," he says. "We're not necessarily pretty boys because we know how to work hard [and] anyone you'll ever meet in the Southside has got a hard job and works their ass off and that's kind of what we're all about."

The band has indeed worked extremely hard to get to where they are today, and surprisingly they don't practice that much anymore, but they have their reasons. Although the band's practice space is in Brown's mother's basement in Lemont, the band tend to get most of their practice in before shows or just once a week. "We're almost mocking ourselves if we practice too much," says Brown. "I think practice is nothing like a show because [with a show] you're performing." Brown says it's important not to run everything into the ground. "But it is good to practice because practice makes fans, fans make a record deal and a record deal makes money," explains Brown.

So in some ways, Split Habit, whose influences range from Hall and Oates to Green Day would love to be huge and perhaps the next big thing. "We'd love for everyone to hear our music and we'd really hate to compromise any of our values as a band," says Brown. "We've always done everything ourselves because when your start off, you have to."

"We'd love to be [as big as Good Charlotte], but we would hate to compromise any of our records for corporateness," says Brown. Brown thinks that being on the radio would be great and says the band could write a smash hit without a producer. "My goal right now is to be as big as the Smoking Popes were in their hay-day in Chicago, to sell-out the Metro and to sell 40,000 copies on an indie label," he says.

Rest assured that if Split Habit makes it to the top, they will be one of the most humble and honest bands that the industry has seen in a long time. The band just hopes people will see that and enjoy music as much as they do. "We're extremely lucky to be doing this," says Brown, "We're not that young anymore, we should be working normal jobs. Everyone else is."

For a review of Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is click HERE!

To listen to Split Habit go HERE

For more Split Habit go to www.splithabit.com

By: Adam K. Zakroczymski III - Senior Editor / Founder