DALLAS — Local band Fair To Midland from Sulphur Springs has recently been signed with Serjical Strike/Republican/ Universal Records. On Dec. 29, The East Texan got to sit down with the band after a reunion show in Dallas.
Interviewed were Jon Dickens who plays bass, Matt Langley who plays keys/electronics, Brett Stowers who plays drums.
ET: How long where you guys in Canada?
J: Three Months, the first month was pre-production writing new songs and re-working old songs.
ET: Reworking old songs? So there will be old material on the album?
J: Yes there will be…it’s about half and half.
B: the old stuff that’s on there is kind of reworked or revisited. You know
ET: Nice
B: Its not completely…there are new aspects to the old songs
M: Right
ET: Right, since you guys have probably grown over the last couple of years.
M: We also had the input of a Grammy award-winning producer.
ET: Nice, well, yeah, Congratulations on working with David by the way.
M: Well Thank you.
ET: I heard he’s fantastic
M: You heard right.
ET: Did ya’ll see any of his aspects influence your music at all?
B: Yeah of course
M &J: Sure, Sure
B: We spent a month with just him…him and us in a room you know rehearsing and writing and stuff. I mean obviously
ET: Did he change the music?
B: He would give his input, and ya know he was very open
very much left things up to us
M: Transitions seem sudden it needs a pre-chorus or a transition something or other you guys get together and see what you come up with.
ET: Matt what was your favorite memory of doing or recording this album?
M: Tough one, I haven’t thought about that because it’s been pretty fun through out.
I haven’t had a whole lot of frustration doing this. I enjoy studio work unlike a lot ofpeople who find it kind of tedious.
But it was probably David and I working on some of the more complex orchestrations. Cuz I had string parts in some of the songs, synth strings were kind of just block chords and we took them and actually made arrangements out of them.
Keep this part still while this part moves. It was good…it was fun. It’s a boring answer but its kinda neurotic like that and I like to kinda microscope things see exactly what makes them up and David and I did that together real well.
ET: What about you?
J: My favorite moment was when we were done (laugh), and when we got the final mixes and the CD.
B: You stole my answer…
J: Hearing the final product was my favorite.
B: I would have to agree, that’s almost exactly what I was gunna say. I’m like Matt I enjoyed being in the studio and that’s fun for me, but we(jon and brett) were donetracking drums which is obviously first, we were done within the first two weeks of that so after that it was either sit at the house and be bored or sit at the studio and be bored so. So when we were done it was very nice.
ET: Favorite part of being in a band?
J: Not having a real job.
B: Beats a nine to five that’s for sure.
M: The way people in the audience behave when they are really into what your doing. You know when you can do something that comes as naturally and as easy for you as this does and you get all the screaming and carrying on.
B: We are really fortunate to be able to do that, and we appreciate it.
ET: Whats your favorite drunken moment that you remember?
B: Sitten at the house drinking a bottle of wine.
J: Yeah, those are the best, just the lazy ones. We aquired a taste for good wine while we were in Canada. Thank you partially to Mr. (David). Bass and drums are always done first and we had a lot of down time to just sit and relax.
B: We’d just go buy a bottle of wine rent some movies and down a bottle of wine.
ET: What is the one thing you guys have learned over this last four months?
B: Came to appreciate being home a lot more.
J: Yeah it’s the longest I think that any of us have been away from home.
M: A good musical aspect is we learned a lot about how to write songs, not to over analyze everything, sometimes less is more, sometimes the first idea is the best idea. What works at first is probably whats going to work best.
J: Before we went to Canada,
B: We spent five months on one song before we went to Canada. Over analyzing and redoing.
M: Sometimes time constraints and deadlines can be good. Because albums would never get finished if artists didn’t have them.
ET: Any encouraging words for musicians who are starting bands or who are in bands who have been around for a while?
B: Nothing happens quick. Stick with it. The things that got us the fruition I guess are the things like going out and doing tours on our own. Completely self funded kind of gigs. Out of everything we have ever done that is what led to themost success.
M: So if your on a 5×5 stage playing for two people don’t be to discouraged.
ET: Any last words from the peanut gallery?
J: Uh, buy the new record because its gunna kick a**.