Hey Violet catches ear of 5 Seconds

August 20, 2015 at 12:00a.m.

When Fall Out Boy famously arrived on the music scene a decade ago, the group’s success afforded band member Pete Wentz the opportunity to start up his own record label. His first signing was Panic! at the Disco. Nice move on his part.

Now pop-punk act 5 Seconds of Summer is following suit with its own new label. The Australian band’s first signing is pop-rock/punk-rock act Hey Violet, which recently released its EP “I Can Feel It.”

The quartet – guitarist Casey Moreta, bassist Rena Lovelis, singer Miranda Miller and drummer Nia Lovelis – is currently getting the star treatment as opener for 5 Seconds of Summer’s “Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour,” which comes to the Rock Hall City for a Friday show at Quicken Loans Arena and to Pittsburgh on Sunday for a gig at First Niagara Pavilion.

While talking to the group in a recent conference call from Los Angeles, it seems as though the band is young, exuberant and ready for whatever the future holds.

“We’re having an awesome time, and we really get along with the boys,” Nia said. “Playing to the 5 Seconds of Summer fans has been incredible. They’re just really fun to interact with.”

As far as its record deal, Nia said a friend of the band suggested Hey Violet to the 5 Seconds to Summer camp, which apparently had been on the lookout for a female-fronted group.

“They ended up signing us, and eventually they wanted us to come on tour with them,” Nia said. “It was a total surprise.”

Sure, Hey Violet didn’t expect anything, but it obviously makes good business sense for 5 Seconds of Summer to use its major summer tour to promote its new label’s band. However, as far as being a new band on the music scene, that’s not Hey Violet.

Originally called Cherri Bomb, the then all-female band came together when its members were in middle school. A few years later the act landed a record deal, released an EP and even ended up opening for the likes of Bush, Filter, Foo Fighters, The Smashing Pumpkins, Staind and Steel Panther.

“It was incredible,” Rena said. “We played shows with a lot of the legends of rock music. It’s amazing to have been seen in pop music and having played music where we’re playing out.”

After a shift in the band lineup, which resulted in Moreta joining the girls, the decision was made to switch names from Cherri Bomb to Hey Violet.

“There are definite musical differences between the bands,” Rena said. “I feel like Cherri Bomb might have been a little bit harder rock, and we kind of moved on to more pop music. We’re just really happy with the stuff we’re playing now.”

Moreta, who cites Eddie Van Halen as an influence, points to EP songs such as the energetic “You Don’t Love Me Like You Should” and the title track lead single as defining the group’s sound. Fans attending the upcoming Cleveland show should expect to hear those tunes and plenty more.

Regarding those upcoming shows, the one question that needs to be answered is because they’re currently on the “Rock Out With Your Socks Out Tour,” does that means shoes are optional?

Miranda said, laughing, “Absolutely – no shoes.”