Originally formed as January Thirst in 2001, the band changed their name when they recorded their debut EP, Between Order & Model (2002). Taking the name of a song by the band Planes Mistaken for Stars, January Thirst became known as Funeral for a Friend.

Interview by Carlo Gironi / carlo@staff.truepunk.com

Your new LP is named “Hours” and comes out after the great success of “Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation”: how do you feel about the new album and in which ways is it different from your previous stuff?
We are really proud of this record. The difference between “Hours” and “Casually Dressed” is that this one just seems more focused and is more of acollective of songs. The last album was made up of old songs from EP’s and such and so it didn’t feel as complete. While I’m proud of our older material the new album has more structure to it.

I heard you produced the new disc with Terry Date: how was to work with him? Did he helped you in any way, giving you some piece of advice maybe? And what did you ask to your producer?
Working with Terry was absolutely amazing. We wanted to have a record that was the best representation of what the band is like live and he helped us deliver that. The great thing with Terry is he’s a natural producer who uses natural sounds. He uses whatever gear you bring to the studio. We’re pretty particular about things so we tend to over scrutinize everything but Terry is of the belief that if it feels good or if it feels right you go with it, and that helped loosen us up as a band.

I heard some gossip on your next LP and I am real curious: how is it going to sound? More metallic as your first LP or more experimental?
The new record is more experimental in many ways but to some extent we’ve reverted back to our roots. “Hours” is a lot more riff-oriented than “Casually Dressed”. It’s also less aggressive vocally but that stems from the fact that when Matt joined the band he was replacing our old singer who was an aggressive singer vocally. Matt has an amazing voice and some of the songs on this record didn’t call for real aggressive vocals.

“Hours” comes out on Atlantic: for you past albums you worked with Atlantic but also with indie label Ferret Music in the USA, while in Europe you were only on Atlantic. Why did you work with so many labels and not with just one?
We just wanted to build things naturally and so that’s why we were on an indie label first. We actually started on an indie in the UK as well (Mighty Atom).

I had the impression that in UK you had a great major success, but in the rest of Europe Funeral For A Friend was just a name popping up in the indie scene. So, I thought this is due to the fact that English music fans have got more taste that the other Europeans, but also that in UK you have magazines like NME and Kerrang! that help bands a lot to get big. What is your opinion on this? And why do you think your English success was so big compared to the rest of Europe?
This probably comes down to a lot of things. European music tends to be more pop but in the UK people seem to be exposed to a lot more rock and indie bands. The main reason I think we’re more well-known in the UK is because we live here and have had the opportunity to play and tour here a lot more. We’ve also been lucky enough to get some really great support slots and things like that. We haven’t been able to tour Europe as frequently but we’d like to and plan to.

You’re from Wales: how do you judge the local music scene of the place you come from and are there any bands you’re in love with, in the city you live?
Absolutely. There are some fantastic bands here. A few that come to mind: Hondo Maclean, Shaped By Fate, Days in December, Two-Way Mirror and a singer-songwriter named Chris Gibbs. There is a great scene here and it seems like a great time for Welsh music in general.

Metalcore, Screamo and Hardcore are three very abused words today: do you consider your band a metal or hardcore band at all? What do you think of the whole situation on the scene of nowadays?
I consider us a rock band. We have heavy overtones in our music but we don’t consider ourselves a metal band or hardcore band. Lately it seems like the hardcore scene has become more about fashion than about music. In some circles people seem to be more obsessed about what to wear as opposed to what you’re playing. Everyone’s not like that but in certain areas we’ve been, it feels like that.

I saw that, like most bands, you had a kind a studio album on the net: what’s your relationship with technology and what do you think of people downloading illegal MP3’s of albums, even before the cd is out? Isn’t this frustrating? To work on something that is ripped off by some stupid nerds?
The whole thing with downloading is it has its pros and cons. One the one hand you have this vast wealth of music that you can dip into. But if you really like a band you should buy their records. It’s a double-edged sword. We’ve been pretty lucky though. Our record didn’t get leaked until a few days before release.

I loved the artwork of your previous album, so, can you tell us some more on how the new artwork is going to look like? I think the visual part is almost as important as the music, so, how is it going to be on the next disc of FFAF?
The artwork is definitely linked to the album. It depicts the innocence we all have that disappears over time. It shows how time changes everything using a kid in school as an example. For example in one photo you see the kid looking nice and clean and tidy and as you go through the photos, her styles change, the lockers behind her appear to get more messed up…

What about your new lyrics on “Hours”? What do you sing about in general?
Well Matt (vocals) would be the one to ask but I know for me, I feel that a lot of the songs have to do with how much we’ve seen everything change. The title is appropriate. It’s about how time affects everything. There are songs about being away from the people you love. Others are about places we’ve been to. In general I’d say it’s about opening your eyes to the world. The songs are all tied together in a very elaborate way.

What are some of the bands that you guys in the band regularly listen to?
There are a lot of bands we’re into but lately I’ve been really into Louie Armstrong and Elvis Presley.

Have you got some near future plans? For example touring: will you tour to support the new cd, where and with whom?
We’re looking forward to Warped Tour. It’s always a good time touring the states in the summer. American weather is fucking amazing as opposed to British weather. We look forward to hanging out with friends and seeing a lot of cool bands.

Any final comments?
Thank so much for the interview! We hope to see you on tour!

The Hours was released June 10, 2005 on Atlantic Records.

Uk finest new punk heroes took time during the Holidays break to sit down and answer to our questions while they were relaxing from their tour supporting Iron Maiden. This is what came out from the interview.

Hi! How are you doing ?
I am good, we are having sometime off, it nice to be able to catch up on sleep again!

First of all, I wanted to ask you, as you’re a quite young band, if you could sum up a story of how you five met and got together and formed Funeral For A Friend.
It not a particularly interesting story. The 5 of us met through different bands throughout the South Wales scene. We all shared the same love for the same style, so we thought why not, lets start a band.

Where does your name come from ?
Its a song title by a band called Planes Mistaken For Stars.

For being such a young band, you already have an LP out on a major label: how does it feel to be so popular and to had a contract so fast ?
Still very strange, and it always will be.  We think to ourselves all the time “why us?” but its just the way it goes I guess. We  got lucky.

You currently have two release out, an EP called “Seven Ways To Scream Your Name” on Ferret Music and a LP called “Casually Dressed And Deep In Conversation”: why do you have two releases out at one time?

‘Casually dressed….’ is a UK release, but ‘Seven Ways….’ is a US based release. its a combination of our 2 E.P’s that were released in the UK earlier in 2003. We figured we would release it in the US as an introduction to us, rather than just throwing oursleves out there with a full length record.

Speaking of the full length, I saw you have a lot of influences, from punk to metal to pop rock: where do you get your inspiration from and how is the writing process of the band?
We draw inspiration from things that we have experienced. All sorts of music, all types of people and all sorts of situations. The writing process generally involves the 5 of us slogging it out in Darrans (guitar) garage, it can be a tough process but we usually get the work done.

What do you sing on the new tunes? What are the issues you deal with in the new lyrics ?
I dont write the lyrics so I dont know.

Someone says that your band sounds like American bands as Finch, A Static Lullaby, From Autumn To Ashes and the likes: do you agree with this? Are you in any way happy/proud of this or pissed or you just don’t care ?

I feel very honoured to be compared to such bands. These are bands that we listen to and admire. We are very happy about it!

How would you present Funeral For A Friend to a person that never heard of you and that is not into the “punk” scene ?
Um….I would say we are a rock band. Thats it, sure we have other aspects but, so do other bands! Just check it out!

You come from UK: how is it to be English in punk music today? I mean, there are a lot of good English punk bands as Snuff, 4ft Fingers, Mr. Zippy, etc, but they are not very famous outside UK or at least outside Europe. What about you? Do you feel part of any English punk scene?
I dont think we are part of any scene. It sucks to be part of a scene in the UK, people are fickle and more fashion orientated than ever before. I have learned to dislike, and I was never personally a part of one. Its all a bit elitist these days. But it is only the minority bringing the majority down.

How is the music scene in England? From the outside it looks like it’s always growing, but apart a few big bands, you can never get to know particular or original English bands today.

It is always growing and there are so many amazing underground bands here right now. It takes me back to the point of why us? I see some of these bands play and i think to myself “why do we bother?” .Its just people aren’t looking in the right places at the moment. But they will learn.

Have you got some plans of touring to support your new album? Where and with whom will you tour ?
We have but there is nothing confirmed yet. 2004 is a blank slate right now.

I know you supported Iron Maiden and they chose you: how did you feel supporting this big band, which is possibly one of your favorite band as well?
It was amazing. The best touring experience of 2003, a privilage and an honour to have been selected! The shows were huge and the vibe was intense, but we had a great time.

In your promo pics I saw you have t-shirts of such bands as Avenged Sevenfold and The Hope Conspiracy, among others: do you listen a lot to American bands? Do you think that you get some sort of inspiration by any of them?
We listen to all sort of music, but yeah I would say the majority would be American bands. I wouldnt say however we deliberately take insperation from them. Maybe a subconcious thing but, definately not deliberate.

What are some of the records that you are listening to right now, these days?
The new Lost Prophets record, Refused, um…Thrice, The Postal Service….the list is endless.

The year 2003 has just finished; have you heard some of the records that came out this year? Do you have some favorite ones that you like to remember ?
All the ones i just said were amazing. Year Of The Rabbits album is exceptional.

Any final comments?
See you in 2004, its gonna be amazing!!

Standing Room Only” is the new effort on Rocketstar Recordings from this rock’n'roll quartet out of Syracuse, NY: produced by emo-guru Ed Rose, the album shows the band playing some of the finest rock music ever written. Some would label this band as “emo”, but guitarist+singer Josh Coy does not agree on that label. Let’s see why.

Interview by Carlo Gironi / carlo@staff.truepunk.com / with Josh Coy.

Hi! How are you doing?
Hello. Fine, thanks.  

Can you introduce the band’s members and a story of how you got together?
Jeff French plays guitar, Steve Stockin plays drums, Caleb Coy plays bass and sing and my name is Josh Coy and I play guitar and sing. Caleb is my brother so that’s how I met him. We went to the name high school as Jeff. Steve used to come see our shows back in the day and then we finally met
through mutual friends and working together. Steve had heard that we were looking for a new drummer a few years back and after a couple auditions he fit perfectly.

Where are you from and how is the music scene in the place you come from? Are there a lot of young bands like you guys?
We are from Syracuse, NY where there is an ever blossoming music scene. There has always been a great deal of talent in this area and right now is a great time to be a part of the music scene here as there are a wide variety of young local bands that are sure to make their mark. The kids in the area are very supportive and you can always see members from various band supporting the shows even if their band isn’t playing. It’s a great musical community.

Where did you get the name Long Since Forgotten from?
The name just came from a conversation we were having years ago. I forget what the subject matter was, but the name stuck out.

A lot of people call your band emo; do you consider yourself an emo band? What do you think of the emo hardcore scene of nowadays?
I consider Long Since Forgotten just a rock band. I am sure there are lots of young musicians out there who sit down and think to themselves “I am going to write an ‘emo’ song today” and draw inspiration from their musical heroes. When we were young and just starting to write songs together, I just wanted to write songs that sounded like U2, The Foo Fighters or Smashing Pumpkins. To be honest I can’t really recall when or why we started to be labelled as “emo” but I guess if it helps someone identify somehow then there’s no harm in it. The first bands I heard that were called emo were bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Roadside Monument. I don’t think we sound much like those bands although they are a couple of my favorites. We just like to play rock and roll.

You released your sophomore LP on Rocket Star Recordings; how did youget in touch with the guys at Rocketstar? Are you happy with this label?And what are your relationships with the other bands of the label? 

When we recorded “All The Things You Said…” Ed Rose sent rough mixes to a few places, Rocketstar being one of them. After much consideration and discussion we decided Rocketstar was the best home for the recording and their vision lined up with ours. We are very happy and consider everyone at the label to be good friends. We’ve played shows with Time To Fly and Gatsbys American Dream and consider those guys friends as well and try to help each other out when we can.

You recorded the new album “Standing Room Only” with Ed Rose: why did you pick him up? He produced a lot of “emo” stuff as The Get Up Kids, and the likes, what do you think of him? Did he help you in the making of the record?

Ed produced, engineered, and mixed our last record. We worked so well with him and had such a great experience that he was the natural first choice when it came time to record the tracks that became “Standing Room Only.”  His work on “Moving Mountains” by The Casket Lottery and “Trying Hard to Figure Each Other Out” by Brandtson were major reasons for our desicion to work with him in the first place. If you haven’t heard those 2 albums go listen to them soon.  Ed is a great guy to work with and from start to finish the visions for the songs matched ours perfectly. He pushes to get the best performances from you and does everything he can to make sure the songs reach their potential.
 

Your sound is very pop rock, some would say pop punk; where do you get your inspiration from? Other bands, music, books, movies, life …

There are countless bands and people that have inspired us. When I was younger, listening to bands like U2, R.E.M., The Smashing Pumkins, E.M.F., made me want to play rock music. Some bands that have contributed to our sound from our perspective and well as others include bands such as U2, The Foo Fighters, The Gin Blossoms, The Police, Jimmy Eat World, The Goo Goo Dolls, AC/DC, and many, many more. Each of us contributes a little something different.

How would you describe Long Since Forgotten to a person that have never heard of you?

The only way I can think to describe it is Rock with a Pop edge. I would tell them to listen and decide for themselves.
 

What are some of the bands that you guys in the band regularly listen to?

Man, to be honest with you there are too many to list. We have very diverse musical tastes so it depends on which one of us you talk to and what day you are talking to us. 
    

What about your lyrics? What do you sing about in your songs? I saw a lot of them deal with love…

The whole “love” theme seems to be common misconception with us. I guess it comes with the territory when you are labeled as an “emo” band. There is a definite lyrical shift from from the last record to this one. The last one dealt a lot with memories of friends, apologetic thoughts, nostalgia, etc. The new record deals with everything from work, politics, divorce, and many observational perspectives on friendships, social interactions and social alienation. Simply put, the lyrics are very diverse, but you can make them what you want to relate to your own perspective.

Have you got some plans of touring to support you new album? If so, where and with whom?

We have a 2 month tour of the U.S. planned for February and March of 2004. The first half of the tour will be with our good friends Fire When Ready from Binghamton, NY.

Speaking of tours, have you got some funny or interesting thing that happened to you while you were on tour? Do you want to share it with us?

Well, without giving out too much information, we have met a ton of way cool people who have taken us many cool places. We’ve seen people set themselves on fire, had many fun nights with fireworks, interesting nights with drunk sound guys and the locals, and played at a “haunted” venue to name a few. We love tour!
    

Your band got together in 1999: what do you think has changed since it in the underground music scene? I think a lot of bands became famous without even deserving it, while some bands stayed indie for some unknown reason…what’s your point of view?

I think a lot has changed, but it is all part of a cycle. There will always be bands that work hard and never get famous than there are bands that have fame handed to them. Some bands don’t feel the need for fame to consider themselves successful musicians. The important thing is having integrity and being happy with the music you are making.

Any final comment?

Long Since Forgotten loves Dan Rocker and Apple Computers. www.lsfrock.com
 

Thanks so much for the interview, good luck!

Thanks, you too!

Maxeen is a three piece rock band based out of Los Angeles, CA, USA. Signed to Side One Dummy in 2003, they released their debut eponymous album. They were signed in 2004 to Warner Bros. Records and are currently at work on their first album with the label.  

Interview by Carlo Gironi / carlo@staff.truepunk.com / with Jay Skowronek.

Hi! How are you doing ?

Hi Carlo!I  am doing quite well, thank you. We’re in Washington, D.C. right now, and it’s cold and rainy, but I like rain, and I like the cold, so it’s OK.

Can you introduce the band’s members and a story of how you got together? I play drums, Shannon (Mcmurray) plays guitar and Tom (Bailey) plays bass and sings. Maxeen formed in June 2002. I had played drums briefly in Shannon’s old band, but I wasn’t totally into it. I loved Shannon’s playing, but the rest of the players weren’t totally my thing. So I told Shannon to keep me in mind if he were to form a new project. A few months later, he called and was like, “hey, I found a really great singer/bass player, and I want the three of us to get together and jam!”. We did, and everything clicked immediately. The chemistry was instantaneous.

Where do you come from? And how is the punk scene in the place you come from?
I was born and raised in a small town called Branford, Connecticut. The music scene there was completely non-existent! But, I was lucky enough to have a lot of friends who were musicians, and we’d get together every night and jam. Always good times in my parent’s basement … it wasn’t until I moved to Boston, Massachusetts, that I got exposed to a lot more music. I lived there for a while, then moved to Los Angeles, which has a great music scene.

Where did you get the name Maxeen from?
Tom came up with the name. When we formed, we all knew that choosing a band name can be a tedious decision some times, so we knew we didn’t want to think too much about it. After a rehearsal, Tom was like, “what about Maxeen?”. Shannon and I were like, “cool.” I think Tom was daydreaming about the cover of Duran Duran’s ‘Rio’ record, and imagined her name to be “Maxeen.” The name stuck.

You released your new LP on Side One Dummy Records; how did you get in touch with the guys at Side One ?
let me just start out by saying that Side One is a great, great label. We got hooked up with SideOne through our manager, James Achor. James used to play in a band called Royal Crown Revue, who used to be signed to SideOne. When James heard our stuff for the first time, he knew it would be a perfect home for us. The guys from the label came to one of our shows (our 10th one, I think), and we got signed shortly afterwards.

Have you released some other stuff before your new LP?
We released a limited-edition 4-song live E.P. that we made up for the 2003 Warped Tour. We still have a few copies left, and only sell it at shows.

Your sound is very pop rock and it has also some punk rock influences ; where do you get your inspiration from ?
Honestly, our musical inspiration comes from all sorts of different places…from different bands we like, different experiences we have in life, etc. The three of us listen to a ton of different musical styles. Old music, new music. We just kind of soak it all in, and it goes into our brains, and when we’re playing together, it just kind of seeps out of our dirty fingers.

How would you descrive Maxeen to a person that have never heard of you?
I’d just say we’re a rock band. When i say that, I mean it in a really broad sense … but, I can’t stand trying to describe our music to people, because everyone has their own ideas of what certain genres of music are. Like, someone might think some band is punk, but someone else might be like, “no way, that’s not punk. that emo” or whatever. just listen to the music and decide for yourself. That’s my best answer.

What are some of the bands that you guys in the band regularly listen to?
There are a certain core group of bands that we all adore. The Clash, The Pixies, The Replacements, The Police, Elvis Costello…love ‘em.

What about your lyrics? Do you sing about love, broken hearts and high-school dramas or you have also some other things to say?
That’s more of a Tom question, but I think Tom’s lyrics are very personal and come from very close experiences with his life. Like “Shuffle My Feet” is a very upbeat, almost humorous song if you listen to it, but it’s really true. Tom doesn’t have a “motor” (a car), he is always late, and the kid barely eats (he’s skinny). His lyrics run a spectrum of meaning–sometimes serious, sometimes not. But they’re all from real feelings.

Have you got some plans of touring to support you new album? If so, where and with whom?
Yes! we finish up our December tour here in the States soon, then we have a week off for Christmas, then we head over to Europe for two months for extensive touring. Look for us!

Speaking of tours, have you got some funny or interesting thing that happened to you while you were on tour? Do you want to share it with us?
Ahhh, touring. I don’t know if there’s one story to encompass all of the experiences we go through. Touring is mind-boggling. You’re in a different city or country every day. You wake up and you’re like, “Where am i??? What day is it again???”. Matchbook Romance has a new merch guy named ‘Dirty’ that we think is hysterical. The kid is absolutely crazy. At tonight’s show, he just left the Matchbook merch table and got up on stage and stage-dived into the crowd. Then, the Matchbook guys got the crowd to start cheering for him, so there were like 1200 people yelling “Dirty! Dirty!” the kid is a blast to hang out with. Completely insane.

Do you think it is difficult for a young band to get hooked up by some label? I ask you this, because in the last year I saw a lot of unknown and untalented bands getting signed by major labels and all…how do you relate to this thing? Are you willing to get signed to some major or you just do not care ?
I think it all depends on the label. People who run labels have their own tastes, and that translates into the types of bands they sign. I’ve definitely heard some pretty bad bands on major labels, and I’ve seen some pretty extraordinary bands on indie labels, too. Will Maxeen ever sign to a major? Are we against it? I’m not really sure. We’re a new band. Our first record just came out on SideOne and we’re totally happy to work really hard on an indie label right now.

Any final comment?
Again, come check us out when we play. We’re so excited to come over and play for everyone in Europe. It’s going to be fun. Rock the winds!

Thanks so much for the interview, good luck for anything!!
Thank you, too, Carlo!