|
 Winners of the Fuse TV 1 Million Battle of the Bands, Fall From Grace has been rising in popularity ever since 2004. Now with their first release from Bunkrock Entertainment, Sifting Through The Wreckage, Press+1 met with vocalist Tryg Littlefield to discuss their new CD, Pro-Tools, acting as a teen help line, and the culture of punk rock.
Formed in Seattle, Washington in 2004, the band Fall From Grace has already released two albums independently, Rise From the Ashes and Covered In Scars. After triumphing over 7000 bands in the Fuse TV 1 Million Battle of The Bands competition, the band has released their first CD with Bunrock Entertainment, Sifting Through The Wreckage. Currently on tour to promote it, Fall From Grace is fronted by Tryg Littlefield, with Brian and Ken Olson on guitars, and Kenny Bates on the drums.
Press+1 (Alex Hutt): What is the “Wreckage”?
Tryg Littlefield: Well the song “Burned”, that we pushed as our first single, is kind of the Fall From Grace anthem in a sense. What we mean by that, is when things happen in your life that are difficult. The character in that song has destroyed everything in his life, and he is in his old old age and he has a choice to move on and roll with the punches or fall into his own pit of despair. Sifting through the wreckage is the pieces of his life, to see if he can put them back together.
Press+1: Does the use of Pro-Tools harm a band’s reputation? What made you decide not to/to use them?
TL: We’ve used Pro-Tools ever since we got together. In most situations, a lot of people will build the chorus in protocols with the harmonies, and they will copy and paste every chorus. The one thing we did was with Terry Date, the gentleman who produced our record, and a live CD. We wanted to record a live CD, which the quality needs to be really good to match the visuals and be more punchier. He made me sing every chorus over and over again to make it sound rawer. We kept the CD more analog than digital in the way we recorded it.
Press+1: Do you know of any other bands that let the fans decide the set lists? What made you decide to do so?
TL: Fan interaction. We are very close to them and there have been shows where we play without a set list. Sometimes we ask them “what the hell do you want to hear?” Our fans are our reason and our livelihood, and we wouldn’t be here without them.
Press+1: The band gives advice to fans and supports teen issues. What would you say is the hardest part of the teenage years?
TL: I would have to say hitting puberty. The ages fourteen to twenty-three, there are a lot of things that happen in those formidable years. Relationships, sexuality is a big one, finding out who you are and finding that you should not do what everyone else does. We receive calls from people all the time, some with almost guns to their heads, so we have become our own Fall From Grace suicide line. Thank god we haven’t lost one yet! Our goal is to keep them safe and keep them going. We want them to feel safe too. A lot of kids don’t have that with both parents working. I know that because I had that, and they just need a little attention and guidance.
Press+1: Do you think the genre of “punk rock” is too restrictive for Fall From Grace’s sound?
TL: I do. The thing is growing up in the puck rock scene, it was more of an attitude and it’s become more of a genre now than an attitude. We definitely have a punk rock attitude but if you listen to our music you will hear some rock and some blues. We flirt with a lot of genres like old traditional rock and so on. But it comes down to the punk rock attitude, and we are all about the family and perseverance and the punk rock cultures.
Press+1: How is the tour going so far? Any road stories? 
TL: We left Seattle February 22nd, and we are on to August. By the end of this, it will be North America three times, Europe and Scandinavia. There are a lot of stories, many that have a lot of debauchery, in the purest sense. A lot of stories that I REALLY could not say either. (laughs) One story that I can say is that in Norway, I enjoyed and shared the company of two beautiful lesbians in their flat. That was wonderful.
Press+1: What do you say to critics of punk rock that say “shut up and stop complaining, your life isn’t that bad.”
TL: My life isn’t that bad, but it is the music that got me through. I don’t sit there on the stage and say my life is that bad. Our music isn’t that either. We are fun loving guys who like to have a lot of fun. We deal with issues that exist and what these kids are going through. We like to party our asses off and enjoy life. In other words, those critics can kiss my little ass.
Press+1: Well, that’s what I’ve got, so thanks for your time and good luck!
TL: Thanks.
Trackback(0)
|
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
