Interview with Brian Fair of Shadows Fall
HOB - Las Vegas - August 9, 2004
Phil: I'd like to thank you for taking the time out here with closedcoffin.com. This interview is also going to be heard on darksoul7.com.
Brian: Cool, awesome, awesome.
Phil: I'm sitting here with Brian from
Shadows Fall, how are you doing?
Brian: I'm doing excellent man, just chillin'.
Phil: I'd like to ask you, right off the bat, about the writing process of your music. Does each member write their own music or does everybody have a collective part?
Brian: Yea, it's pretty much a group effort. Like a lot of the riffs will come from Matt and John, our two guitar players. Who will be sitting around putting some ideas down on a four track. And then they'll usually send those off to J. and Paul, who write their drum and bass parts. Then we get together and jam and if it's not flowing, then we'll all work on the arrangement. Till it's like perfect. I usually wait until that's totally nailed in stone before I start approaching vocals, because I never know if there's gonna be another guitar line to fight, with what I'm doing vocally, so instead of having to go backwards all the time; I'll just wait until that's done. Kinda get a vibe from the song for lyrical content then just go from there. And usually by the time we hit the studio to record everything is completely nailed down. We don't want to waste time rewriting while we're actually creating the record so we'll do some pre production, ya know demo some stuff, and that's when we'll do all those changes. With studio costs the way they are, it's all about bam bam bam. *laughs*
Phil: Yea, be ready to rock n roll.
Brian: Exactly, no messing around.
Phil: So, we got a lot of rumors on the internet saying you guys are going to be the next Metallica. What do you guys think about that? Have you heard that?
Brian: *laughs* People always like to always try to say this or that is gonna happen but.... you know, Metallica at the time when they did what they were doing. They had their influences, but that came out of no where. We're just disciples to the kings. We're just really influenced by that era of thrash metal, as well as the classic metal that was out there. So to be compared to some of the people you looked up to is awesome. But at the same time...you know...
Phil: You're doing your own thing?
Brian: Yea, exactly. You can't believe your own press you know, *laughs* cause we're just doing what we do. And if we reach that level of success....you know after seeing their new movie and realizing how much money those guys got, that would be great!
Phil: The album, "Art of Balance" recently became the top selling Century Media album released. How did you guys feel about that when you heard?
Brian: Ahhhh, it was great man. I think now, Lacuna Coil is right up there with us. Which is great too. It just shows you that they've stepped up their impact on the commercial market. Because just for a small label to have that much distribution and get out there and to actually be able to get into chain stores and sound scan that many records is amazing. Because they are a...compared to the majors the amount of money they're working with is just so minimal. They just pushed it and made it happen themselves. I think with us selling as much as we did, going over 100,000 and Lacuna Coil going over 100,000, now all the retailers are like going, "alright we'll take what you got." So it's cool man, its cool. There's no real competition but it's fun you know when you're on top. *laughs*
Phil: Awesome! So, do you guys feel any pressure for the next release?
Brian: There's always a little pressure. But when we were writing, we weren't feeling any pressure to make anyone happy but ourselves. We're pretty harsh critics of our own music. And really control freaks and pretty selfish about that stuff. We didn't even let our management or the label hear a single note until it was mastered. I think the UPS guy who dropped off the stuff, heard more of the record than anyone else. Outta like between us and the producer, that was it. That's the way we like to work because we want to be happy with it ourselves. Before anyone started throwing their two cents in and be like, " I don't know if this is going to be marketable" or "you need a hit." So fuck that.
Phil: How about the illegal downloads, do you think that there could have been more sales?
Brian: Ahhh, it's weird. It does definitely affect record sales. But a band like us, we don't make our money of record sales. So we're not bitching about loosing money. But the label will lose the money that they spend, so you can make more records. And if the label is not getting actual record sales, they're not gonna be able to pay for your next record or your tour support or anyone's salary. So when people do that they are taking away from those bands and the support they get from their label. So it is tough. I'm sure our new one, we heard it was leaked a little while ago, you know it's gonna happen. As soon as the promos go out, someone's gonna put it up somewhere. Hopefully though, it will come around and bite them in the ass a little bit. There may be a few viruses floating around out there, I don't know.
Phil: Yea, yea! I never thought of that.
Brian: It's just tough, because you want people to hear your music. But at the same time if they don't go and buy your records, we'll be back at home all havin' to work day jobs and can't make more records.
Phil: Plus they don't get all the cool inlays.
Brian: That's why I'm thinkin', at least metal sales it seems like, have been up recently. Because hardcore bands and metal bands and smaller labels put more into the packaging. Like with our first pressing of this one. There will be a bonus DVD and we take the artwork and lyrics very seriously to try to put together a full package, a total record. Where as some of the pop records, it's a promo photo and some production notes inside. So people download that, they don't care if they're missing out on that. What's weird is if you got crazy gate fold CD with a fold out poster, you'll get you ass to the store and pay $12.
Phil: Yea, and get the cool stuff. Absolutely! Some of the new stuff has hit the internet, you were saying there was a leak?
Brian: Well, we put up some stuff on our own too ya know. We try and at least, we'll be like, look we're gonna host it ourselves we'll put up a few songs, here's a little teaser. But you know, don't go out and steal our whole record. The thing that gets kinda weird, is when people start posting where it's being hosted on our own message board, you know at least do it behind our backs.
Phil: Yea, it's like thanks!
Brian: Exactly! *laughs*
Phil: So, The War Within is due out Sept 21.
Brian: Mmmhmmm.
Phil: The song Power of I and I, is available on shadowsfall.com website?
Brian: Yep, yep.
Phil: It is a promising example of what's to come. Are there any surprises or guest appearances on the album?
Brian: We didn't have any guest appearances on the actual album, in the states. We did a bonus track for Japan and we got to pay tribute to one of our favorite, I don't even want to call them glam, even though they came out of that whole scene. But we're all fans of dangerous toys and covered "Tease 'Em & Please 'Em" and had Jason McMaster actually do all the vocals. And it is unreal! We tuned down a little bit and made it a little heavier. But we didn't really mess with the program much. And he just killed it! I was going to add vocals but there was nothing that could be done to it. I was like, this is perfect. We got to perform it live with him in Austin recently on this tour. So that was a blast, but besides that it's just the 5 of us on the rest of the record.
As far as surprises we, ahhh...there may be a little curve ball here and there, but nothing that steps outside the kind of sound we've always had. We've been lucky enough to where we're not bound by a genre. You know where there's death metal, thrash metal, hardcore, rocknroll...ya know we've been able to bring in elements of all that. But we're not going to suddenly come out of left field with like a horn section or a DJ. So nothing that surprising.
Phil: So you're pretty satisfied with the way the album turned out?
Brian: Oh, we're blown away! Zeus did an incredible job. The performances that he got out of the rest of the guys in the band, blew my mind. Johns guitar work on this is gonna take where he's considered in the metal world, to another level because he just stepped it up incredibly. Jason played amazingly. Paul's bass is more upfront. I mean everyone just stepped it up, ya know. And me and Matt were working like crazy, on like triple vocal harmonies like straight out of Toto. *laughs* It was a good time man, but it was a serious record.
Phil: How is Century Media treating you guys?
Brian: They've stepped it up every record, as we've stepped it up as a band. And that's all you can ask for from a label. We're lucky enough to have fans who work at our label. So that's huge. They don't have the money of a bigger label, but they've been able to get us to a level where a lot of those bands on big labels are at. So that's all you can ask. This is our last official record with them but you once we go to renegotiate, if things continue with The War Within the way they have been, I don't see why we wouldn't want to end up in that situation again. We're just gonna try and at that point pick the best deal for the band. We've learned all the things, what not to do, either on our own or by watching our friends do it. So, at least we're not dumb kids anymore, we'll figure it out. But couldn't be happier with where they've gotten us at this point.
Phil: The Power of I and I is coming out on a Ultimate Fighting Championship soundtrack. I bet you guys are pretty jazzed about that!
Brian: Yea, that's awesome man! We were psyched to hear that. It's a great line up on that as well. So we had to drop the tough tune on them you know. That's probably the heaviest song on the record. So we're like that's the way to do it, so we're psyched.
Phil: And there's a video as well?
Brian: Yes.
Phil: Is that done or...
Brian: Yea, that video should be almost done. We saw the first rough cut before we left and it should be finished and hopefully airing soon. We just shot another video on Saturday, in LA, for the song "What Drives the Weak" and that was...the first video for "Power of I and I" is the heavy tune. More performance based and we shot it at Ozzfest, with a bunch of our friends because it was a rehearsal day. So when they were all done sound checkin', we had all the guys in like Lamb of God, Atreyu, Every Time I Die, Darkest Hour, God Forbid, you know everyone came over and partied. We threw a bash. Jager pulled up the RV and we had a barbeque and booze, it was a good time. So it was a real, just kind of fun video. That's why we wanted to come out of the gates like that way. For the next video, I felt like we made a movie the other day. I mean it was a huge production, we had tons of extras, dudes on Harleys, beautiful women around, you know make up trailers it was crazy. That will come out when the record drops. Where as "Power of I and I" will come out as a little advanced promotion. Let people know what's up and to let people know we're not coming out soft. Because that tune is definitely brutal.
Phil: I agree. Tell us about the future DVD plans?
Brian: It keeps getting pushed back, because we keep filming cooler and cooler stuff, so we keep wanting to include it. It should be getting out before Christmas. It's gonna be just that, you know, total road DVD. Luckily not just us being idiots, as much as all of our friends in other bands. *laughs* We figured instead of making ourselves look silly, we'll make everyone else look silly. There's a bunch of great performances, but it's from the last couple of years. We sifted through probably 300 or 400 hours of tape. I mean, it was crazy. And we keep filming more stuff, we keep sending it the guy that's editing it. He just did our other video, he's just like "all right guys there's gotta be a cut off point."
Phil: So you've been touring vigorously all over the world, including your first time in Greece. What was that like?
Brian: Oh, Greece was amazing! It's a small scene that's growing, the promoter just did an amazing job of getting us over there. Put us up at a nice hotel and treated us well. It was a great vacation as well. I got to do a little sight seeing and just see Greece, which is a beautiful country. We got there before they won the Euro Cup, once that happened, Greece was rockin'. We had just gotten out and the Olympics are happinen', so it was chaos there. All that's going down now so when we got there it was a little mellower. It was nice.
Phil: How was it compared to the states as far as touring goes?
Brian: Well its tough to tour in Greece. Because there's really only two major cities you're gonna play and we actually had one show get cancelled, out of they two anyway. It's just not that big, the guys that are there trying to bring over bands are really trying to build it up and it's cool. I mean it's a smaller country, smaller market. So it's just cool to kinda break into it.
Phil: Do you have any favorite countries or US cities?
Brian: Greece was amazing! I always love playing the UK, we seem to do just incredibly well there. And the fans are just out of control. As far as US cities, we played in Anaheim last night and every time we play there its just incredible.
Phil: The Disneyland House of Blues?
Brian: Yea.
Phil: I love that place, that is a great place.
Brian: It sold out like 4 weeks in advance. I mean there was like 1200 kids there, it was nuts. We filmed a DVD there for Kung Fu Records. Actually did a live DVD last night. So, as soon as you put 10 cameras in front of a bunch of crazy metal heads, I mean they were going off! So it was awesome. I love playing Southern California, it is a favorite. Philly's always been amazing. Obviously, hometown like when we do a show in Worcester or Boston Massachusetts, it's always awesome. Chicago has been crazy. And Japan is probably our favorite place to go because it's like you're going to fantasy land. It's amazing!
Phil: You said you were doing some stuff at Ozzfest during rehearsal period. There was a rumor that you were going to be on Ozzfest again.
Brian: We did really well, last year at Ozzfest. Us and Killswitch are the two bands that kinda broke out after. And we're starting to sell lots of records. So, there was talk. But the thing is, usually they try to take that one band that stepped it up, but there was a few. So instead of bringing a few bands that had been out the year before, they rather go with new bands. I think that's what Ozzfest should be. I'd like to go back maybe next year, and maybe you know headline the second stage or something like that would be awesome. But I'd rather give those rotating slots to bands that like need a little exposure and that are at the level to where they are about to break. I like to see like UnEarth and God Forbid out this year. Its great! You know like Bleeding Through and all our friends. So, it's cool man! It would have been great to be there, because this year it looks like the biggest party. I mean 'cause you got Hatebreed, Lamb of God, God Forbid...all these bands that have been touring together like forever. So that second stage must be just like rocknroll summer camp man.
Phil: So the Strhess Tour is in support of your new album, The War Within.
Brian: Yea, that's this tour. We have As I Lay Dying, Himsa and Remembering Never. Our friend Derek Hess, an amazing artist, is starting a clothing line. Like sometime last year and when we were getting ready to put this tour together, he realized the other two bands we had already been talking to, were both bands that he endorsed as well. So he was like, I'll just make it the Strhess Tour and sponsor it. We were psyched, because he's also got his clothing booth with all their shirts and bags and hats... so it's awesome. It's worked out great! Just something to help him out and help us out. You know it works both ways.
Phil: On your website, shadowsfall.com, you have ticket presales. Did you start that on you own?
Brian: Yea. For the Strhess Festival, there's a big festival we're trying to help that. Because we have a bunch of great bands. Also we're doing a bunch of smaller record release shows. In venues we probably will sale out in towns that we could probably play a bigger room. We want to kinda do something special and smaller, more intimate. So, we're going to have tickets available on the website. So people who really, really want to go can get a advance. Its the first time we've ever tried to do something like that, we're still tweaking it out seeing if it works. Hopefully it will. It's not a way to try to go behind peoples backs, like Ticketmaster. It will probably be through them. It's just a way to get kids who want to be in that city, who are on the message board and been fans forever can get a chance to get them first. We'll see though, hopefully it will all work out. Regardless those shows are going to be off the hook I can't wait.
Phil: You guys do the Pink Floyd cover, Welcome to the Machine. Did you guys pick that?
Brian: Yea, it was originally when we were about to do The Art of Balance. We had been approached about doing tribute...a comp for a Pink Floyd tribute. I'm a huge Floyd fan and have been forever. We started thinking about the tunes we wanted to do and we didn't want to do. Not something that all we're going to do, is make it heavier and like that's it. Throw a scream in and you're done. You can do some of the songs and big rock riff and it's kinda predictable. So we were listening to a bunch of stuff at the studio, with Zeus. Once that song came on, it was just total ambiance with a little bit of synth guitars, acoustics, no drums, just vocals. So we were like we could totally reinvent this song. And it came out way better than we thought it would. At that time the comp kinda fell through anyway so we were like shit, we'll just tag it on the back of the record and it's a great way to close the record, because it was a nice change of pace. After like 40 minutes of like thrash off tempo metal it kinda chilled it out a little.
Phil: Have you guys done other cover tunes?
Brian: We like to do "Live Wire" by Motley Crue. Every now and then we do Dangerous Toys too. But those are just like for fun.
(Jason walks in with two girls)
Brian: Whassup girls?
Phil: I'll hurry and wrap this up...there was a rumor that Shadows Fall and Children of Bodom had a drinking match. Who won that?
Brian: Oh, we did a European tour with them. It was us, Soilwork and Children of Bodom and it was just like alcoholics across Europe tour. It was retarded, but we became really good friends with them and we ran into 'em at a few festivals this summer and it just got ugly. It was a good time but it was ugly. They got one up on us. They are from Finland and you start drinking Vodka, like with breakfast at an early age over there. So when it comes to hard liquor they'll bury us, but when it comes to beer drinking we'll hold our own. There s a great photo of it up at our site right now, some people look terrible. It's awesome!
Phil: Well, I'd like to thank you again for joining closedcoffin.com.
Brian: Ah no problem man, thank you!
Phil: And also darksoul7.com.
Brian: Awesome!
Phil: I think you've talked to Eric before, but you probably don't remember.
Brian: Smoke too much pot that's the problem. *laughs*
Phil: Well, thanks again dude. I appreciate it.
Brian: No problem. Thanks for spreading the word!
For more information on Shadows Fall visit them online at...
www.shadowsfall.com
or at their label...
www.centurymedia.com