Joe DeAndrea
06/04/07, 05:53 PM
What is your name and role in the band?
Charlie Simpson and I play guitar and sing in a band called Fightstar.
How long has the band been together?
About 3 years.
How did Fightstar originally start off from being just something you did on the side to something you knew you wanted to do full time?
From the moment the band started, I always knew that this was the band I had always wanted to be in and that there was no question in our minds that we all wanted it to be a full time thing. It was more a case of just getting the timing right so all of us were all able to do it as a full time career.
You guys recently signed to Trustkill Records a few months ago. Why the split with Island Records? What made you decide on signing with a smaller label rather than another major?
The problem we had with Island is that we came to a cross roads with them and both wanted to go in different directions in regards to the sound of our second record. They wanted us to make a more mainstream sounding record, to the songs we were writing at the time. Eventually we decided it was just best for both parties to go our separate ways. The great thing about working with independent labels is that they all have a genuine thirst for music which is something that can be lacking in some major label corporations. We feel like they have the bands best interest at heart when it come to artistic decision making.
Along with announcing the signing, you also re-released your first album Grand Unification here in the US which made it's release about a month ago.How's the reaction been from people so far?
The reaction is going really well so far from the comments and feed back we are getting on our MySpace page and website. We have just come over to the US to tour for the first time, so i find it really interesting watching peoples faces in the crowds we play in front of, to see how they react to us after hearing us for the first time. All the feed back thus far has been really positive, so we are really pleased.
A few weeks you launched a new website with a free mp3 and video download of the new song "99." Do you have a new album in the works? If so, can you give us any additional information? (release date, album title, etc.)
We have just finished recording our second record One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours in LA with Matt Wallace, who in the past has produced none other than ‘Angel Dust’ form Faith No More! It was a very different experience writing this record because we weren't really together in teh same room when it was written. I would put down an idea on my home pro-tools set up and then send it over to the others via email and they would work on it in their home studios. This gave us time on our own, to really focus on the parts we were writing for the songs. I am really proud of what we came out with. It will be coming out in the UK at the end of the year and the US release will follow after.
How is the sound or lyrics going to differ from your last album to your next? Will there be any differences at all?
Grand Unification was a concept based upon a Japanese manga series called ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ and a lot of the lyrics were base around social commentary rather than personal experience. The new record is coming from a far more personal place. I had just come out of a seven year relationship at the time we started writing the lyrics, so I had a lot things to say about things. It was quite a therapeutic experience in the end. The new record is more focused in regards taking you to the scenes being described in the lyrics so it’s much more up close and personal. The idea with Grand Unification on the other hand, was to make the lyrics depict scenes that were as wide and as epic as possible.
I know that Chuck Palahniuk is an influence on you guys, but what other things, such as movies or books or other bands influence the writing process when the band writes new material?
I think film has been a massive influence on the band, because we can draw the same sort inspiration from watching films as we can from listening to music, they both share the same style of creativity. We are actually putting together some film score music at the moment as a kind of side project. As a band we have a very varied range of other band influences that range anywhere between Sigur Ros and Deftones.
After your tour with Funeral For A Friend in June, what else do you have planned for the rest of this year tour wise?
After the we have finished the Funeral tour, we will be heading back to the UK to start promoting the new record. We will be touring through out August and September and then i think the plan is to come back to the states to carry on touring Grand Unification.
What would you say is the number one goal you want to accomplish with this band?
The only goal this band had had from the start, is to make music that moves us and makes us proud when we show it to others, without any compromise. As long as we have the means to be creative and have the chance to share our music with new audiences, we will be happy.
Charlie Simpson and I play guitar and sing in a band called Fightstar.
How long has the band been together?
About 3 years.
How did Fightstar originally start off from being just something you did on the side to something you knew you wanted to do full time?
From the moment the band started, I always knew that this was the band I had always wanted to be in and that there was no question in our minds that we all wanted it to be a full time thing. It was more a case of just getting the timing right so all of us were all able to do it as a full time career.
You guys recently signed to Trustkill Records a few months ago. Why the split with Island Records? What made you decide on signing with a smaller label rather than another major?
The problem we had with Island is that we came to a cross roads with them and both wanted to go in different directions in regards to the sound of our second record. They wanted us to make a more mainstream sounding record, to the songs we were writing at the time. Eventually we decided it was just best for both parties to go our separate ways. The great thing about working with independent labels is that they all have a genuine thirst for music which is something that can be lacking in some major label corporations. We feel like they have the bands best interest at heart when it come to artistic decision making.
Along with announcing the signing, you also re-released your first album Grand Unification here in the US which made it's release about a month ago.How's the reaction been from people so far?
The reaction is going really well so far from the comments and feed back we are getting on our MySpace page and website. We have just come over to the US to tour for the first time, so i find it really interesting watching peoples faces in the crowds we play in front of, to see how they react to us after hearing us for the first time. All the feed back thus far has been really positive, so we are really pleased.
A few weeks you launched a new website with a free mp3 and video download of the new song "99." Do you have a new album in the works? If so, can you give us any additional information? (release date, album title, etc.)
We have just finished recording our second record One Day Son, This Will All Be Yours in LA with Matt Wallace, who in the past has produced none other than ‘Angel Dust’ form Faith No More! It was a very different experience writing this record because we weren't really together in teh same room when it was written. I would put down an idea on my home pro-tools set up and then send it over to the others via email and they would work on it in their home studios. This gave us time on our own, to really focus on the parts we were writing for the songs. I am really proud of what we came out with. It will be coming out in the UK at the end of the year and the US release will follow after.
How is the sound or lyrics going to differ from your last album to your next? Will there be any differences at all?
Grand Unification was a concept based upon a Japanese manga series called ‘Neon Genesis Evangelion’ and a lot of the lyrics were base around social commentary rather than personal experience. The new record is coming from a far more personal place. I had just come out of a seven year relationship at the time we started writing the lyrics, so I had a lot things to say about things. It was quite a therapeutic experience in the end. The new record is more focused in regards taking you to the scenes being described in the lyrics so it’s much more up close and personal. The idea with Grand Unification on the other hand, was to make the lyrics depict scenes that were as wide and as epic as possible.
I know that Chuck Palahniuk is an influence on you guys, but what other things, such as movies or books or other bands influence the writing process when the band writes new material?
I think film has been a massive influence on the band, because we can draw the same sort inspiration from watching films as we can from listening to music, they both share the same style of creativity. We are actually putting together some film score music at the moment as a kind of side project. As a band we have a very varied range of other band influences that range anywhere between Sigur Ros and Deftones.
After your tour with Funeral For A Friend in June, what else do you have planned for the rest of this year tour wise?
After the we have finished the Funeral tour, we will be heading back to the UK to start promoting the new record. We will be touring through out August and September and then i think the plan is to come back to the states to carry on touring Grand Unification.
What would you say is the number one goal you want to accomplish with this band?
The only goal this band had had from the start, is to make music that moves us and makes us proud when we show it to others, without any compromise. As long as we have the means to be creative and have the chance to share our music with new audiences, we will be happy.