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"A Toast To Bad Taste"
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A
Toast to Bad Taste-An Interview with Far-less
by Mike Newdeck
The latest addition to
the Tooth and Nail are something of a surprise. Going against the grain
slightly they appear to have little in common with their label mates,
preferring to forge their own identity with a touch of eclectic
originality and mature song-writing. Mike Newdeck caught up with
vocalist Brandon Welch to find out about the band and its continuing
evolution.
1) How would you
describe your music?
Honestly…. We are just a rock band with tons of influence. Pop, soul,
dance, jazz, country. All of it. We are music lovers, but our hearts
belong to rock and roll.
2) Why have you done away with the screaming on ‘A
Toast To Bad Taste’ that was evident on ‘Everyone Is Out To Get Us’?
Wasn’t there a danger that it would alienate some fans?
We are never afraid of what people may think about our music. That’s why
we wrote the last record in the first place. There wasn’t much in the
lyrics to identify with. Unless you listened to a lot of Coast to coast,
read a lot, and watched tons of cartoons everyday. The music was such an
amalgamation of styles as well. We wanted to get crazy with it and I
think we did. This record has way more emotion behind it, feelings that
were being suppressed as well as ideas that had been held back. We
actually all wanted the same thing out of this album. We wanted an album
you could jam on and sing along to that didn’t come off as corny or
cheesy.
3) How did the band hook up with producer Mike
Green?
What did he give you that previous producers couldn’t?
Mike recorded the House of Fools album and those guys (as everyone
knows) are our close friends. They loved working with Mike and we trust
their opinions. He is a great producer. We will probably work with him
again. He knows what he is doing and we all worked well with him,
bouncing ideas back and forth… things like that.
4) How did you come to evolve into a six-piece?
It’s a bit of a rarity these days.
Todd and I had been talking about getting someone to play keys in our
band from the time he joined. We already knew Elizabeth and we were
aware of her talent, so to us it was just the obvious next step. It does
make the van a little more cramped and the small stages as well… but
it’s worth it. I enjoy having another musician around as talented as she
is.
5)
What does Elizabeth Pina bring to the band?
Ummm… the ability to play keys and old school classical knowledge.
6) Were you not tempted to use her in a more vocal
role on the album?
She swears that she isn’t a singer. So we listened to her.
7) What is the local music scene like in Virginia?
I’m not too sure anymore. We have your cover bands and your metal
bands and a couple hip hop artists. We are from a small area so we don’t
have good venues. This isn’t a breeding ground for music. Northern
Virginia has a better scene.
8) Tell me about the band’s involvement in animal
rights, third world hunger and the use of alternative fuels?
We aren’t the world’s biggest activists. We love animals. We all
have dogs. I adopted mine. I’m going to get another soon. I also love
beef and pork. I’m not too keen on the raising or slaughter tactics, but
it’s delicious.
When we are asked to get involved with charity shows and things, we do
it, after looking into the cause. When human beings have to live without
food it is a terrible tragedy, obviously. No one could debate against
that. As far as alternative fuels go, who knows? Something clean and
renewable, without working children in factories would be nice.
9) How did it feel when you eventually got signed
to the Tooth and Nail label?
It felt good. We had finally taken a big step in being able to get our
music out to the public.
10) Is it a prerequisite that you are a Christian
band before you can sign to the Tooth and Nail?
What are the difficulties of being a Christian artist on a Christian
label? Or just on a Christian label?
I really don’t want to get into the whole “religious thing”. An artist
should never be held back or judged by the God they worship, unless
that’s how they want to be judged or marketed. As a group we aren’t
affiliated with any religion. We are a group of individuals with all
different outlooks and we all respect each other. It doesn’t get in our
way. I don’t know if the label has any opinion on the matter at all.
They stand behind us and they release our albums and that is what
matters.
11) Why was your previous vocalist fired?
You mean drummer? It’s all super secret band stuff. (I’m kidding) He is
my best friend and one of my favorite drummers. He was tired of the
situation he was in. Being poor sucks. Being hassled about your beliefs,
when all you want to do is write and perform music, sucks. We did “fire”
him in the end, I guess, but he was ready to go. Believe me.
12) John Frazier seems to be the main man at Tooth
and Nail, what is he like as a person?
John is most definitely OUR main man. It’s strange to me that you would
ask about a specific person at our label, but John does rule. He has put
as much blood and sweat into this band as we have and he has had to
fight for it too. I think that our band is a bit of a risk on any label
considering that what we are doing isn’t so much the “ in thing” right
now and he always goes to bat for us. He also loves the Seahawks, so I
can be proud to say that we work well with John.
13) You are a big fan of British band Oceansize,
how did you get to hear about them being all the way over in the US?
Theprp.com I heard about them through that site. Their album “ everyone
into position” came out the same day as our “ everyone is out to get us”
album. I thought it a nice coincidence. So we started listening to them
and I love them. They are an influence and source of inspiration as
well. I hear the Floyd and the 90’s alt influence. I would love to tour
with them at some point.
14) I have read many reviews for your new album,
some say that the album is a hotchpotch of ideas borrowed from other
artists and others (like myself) see it as a clever more interesting and
less generic album than the host of bandwagon genre jumpers that hog the
limelight. How do you react to reviews that you read positive or
negative?
Well I guess both of you are right in a way, you more so than the
others. We take inspiration from other artists, but the only review I
have seen that said anything of that nature was someone comparing us to
Taking Back Sunday and Sugarcult. No offence, but I have never listened
to either of those bands. I don’t think that anyone can really pin point
the obvious inspiration that we see because it doesn’t come from the
popular bands today. It comes from bands like R.E.M or Boston or E.L.O.
Our inspiration to be who we are comes from our own lives and the music
of “the greats.” We definitely aren’t biting anyone’s style. We don’t
steal ideas.
We are just trying to write thought provoking rock and roll. There is
nothing wrong with a song that makes you think. In fact, we are in need
of more of those bands in popular culture.
15) What do you think of the current music climate
in the US as a whole?
We are more familiar with the underground scene. The underground has
SOME good things to offer. So does the mainstream for that matter. (The
Smashing Pumpkins are back. My Chemical Romance is good too) There are
some good indie/alt bands and some good metal/hardcore bands. But that
is all that we hear from night to night and the biggest problem is
having to weed through all of the bad stuff. Everyone has a band and
everyone thinks they are going to “make it.” There are quite a few bands
that deserve more respect and credit than they get from night to night
and the saddest thing is that they seem to be the bands that break up
because they can’t afford to travel the states playing in empty clubs
and keep justifying it to their significant others or their families or
themselves.
16) Can you see Far-Less making an impact on that
climate?
With the right marketing I’m sure we could, if we were on MTV a few
times a day and on the radio every couple hours. People get into what
they hear on the radio at work all day. It’s obvious. If we were playing
shows in front of tons of people we would probably be doing great. If
you are asking me if I think our band is good enough, then the answer is
yes. Only time and better tours will tell in the end.
17) How do you write your songs?
I just dabble with chords and notes until I find the right combination
that makes me feel like singing. Sometimes, the band will write songs
together when I’m not around and we will jam on it and talk about it.
Mark or Jordan or Todd will come up with a riff and we will build from
that. There is not “one way” in particular that we write. Whatever comes
the easiest and seems most natural is normally the right thing.
18) What can we expect from Far-Less in 2008?
Expect Far Less to tour their bottoms off for this record as long as we
are getting tour offers. Expect an EP release. Expect to see us in the
U.K. Expect us to need a place to crash after the shows too.
A Toast
To Bad Taste is out in stores now and feels like the perfect antidote to
the safe formulaic modern rock that currently exists.
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