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How
long ago did you guys form the group and how did
it all come about?
Alex: We started from high school. Freshman year,
me and Pappas started playing together and then
we just started adding one by one. Second year,
we added Nate. Next year we added Derek and then
the year after that we added Randy. We actually
started getting serious about it when everyone was
graduating.. about 2, almost 3 years ago.
Did
you guys ever have any other group name besides
Finch? I know one of them was Numb, but was there
any other ones.. Any wacky ones?
Alex: We had other different bands, but Finch was
just Finch. I was in a sin-pop band before. It was
a keyboard player, a drummer, and then me on guitar.
It was with my friend Ralph. He was, like, 30 at
the time and I was, like, 17. It was bad, it was
really bad.
How
did you end up picking Finch?
Alex: It was just a name. We wanted a name that
wasn't too suggestive. When you hear a name like
Slair, you're like, "oh it's metal." When
you hear Excodist, you're thinking metal. We just
wanted something that would be a word that wouldn't
suggest too much and would define music for ourselves.
Let’s
talk about the recording contract. You guys go to
Drive-Thru Records, rent a studio, play a few songs
for Drive-Thru’s owner and end up getting
offered a recording contract on the spot! What was
going through your heads when that happened? Did
you expect it?
Alex: It was actually the second time we played
for him [Richard Rienes, Drive-Thru Record's owner].
Richard was like, "Oh my God, I gotta have
Stephanie hear it!" We came back like two weeks
later and played for Richard and Stephanie (Drive-Thru's
co-owner). We were still on stage and I still had
my guitar.. we finished the last song, and she was
like "I'm giving you a contract right now!,"
which is shocking because to think back of the band
that we used to be.. it was just all like.. I don't
know, you guys didn't hear any of our old sh*t.
Thinking that they just signed us based upon that
is just crazy. They always say that they can listen
to stuff and hear what 'could be'.. and I'm like
"Well, they must be really good at it because
we (used to) suck so bad" *laughs* I was sitll
on stage with my guitar and I started laughing and
blushing and was like, "ah, wow."
How
long did it take to record the new album What It
Is To Burn?
Alex: I think it took a little more than 6 weeks.
Six days a week, like 12-14 hour days. It was fun,
though. I was sad when we were finished, I was bummed.
I was sad, because it was six days a week of hanging
out with Mark Trombino. We all became really good
friends with him and were like, "I'm not gonna
see you tomorrow, buddy."
What
was it like working with Mark Trombino.. He’s
worked with Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World, Midtown
and others.. What was that like?
Alex: It was amazing, he's a great person. He's
the only person I think I'd ever want to work with.
I wanna be Mark Trombino, basically. *laughs*
You
guys did the whole album with him, didn't you?
Alex: Yeah. He produced, recorded, mixed and egineered.
He did the entire thing. Nobody else touched the
record besides who mastered it which was Steve Martenson.
Other than that, nobody touched the record.
How
would you describe your style of music?
Alex: Finch's music style is very eclectic, I would
say. There's 13 songs on the record and every one
of the songs.. not leads away from each other, as
far as like the sound.. but I think they're different.
Some songs have a little more pop/funk influence,
some songs are a little heavier, some are drumb
& bass.
Would
you say your style has changed since the group very
first got together?
Alex: Yeah, definitely. When we first all came together,
we were no older than 17. We've all grown older,
we've learned our instruments better, we've learned
to play together better, so of course we're gonna
change. We changed a lot.
What’s
it like seeing yourself with What It Is To Burn
on the charts.. The Billboard Top 200, #13 on the
Billboard New Artist Chart, #8 on the Alternative
New Artist Chart, #4 on the Top Internet Chart..
Do you feel like everything has paid off?
Alex: It was crazy! I remember Randy told me, "Hey
we're 192 on the Top 200!" The first week,
the album sales were like 7,000 records or something.
Two days later, I was like "F*ck, we sold 7,000
records." It matched the sales of our EP. Records
sales don't really matter to me too much, but it
was just a cool thing. It make me feel good, because
it shows our band is getting out there.
Where’s
been your favorite place to perform so far?
Alex: House of Blues in Anahiem (CA) is a really
cool place to play. It would be a lot cooler if
security didn't hate us and have some vendeta to
kill us all *laughs*
Do
you guys have any pre-show rituals? Anything crazy?
Alex: Nothing crazy. I have what I call my "preshow
poop." Five minutes before we have to play,
it's like clockwork, I have to go to the bathroom.
I don't get nervous, though. I never get worried
about playing. Everytime, five minutes before we
play you'll find me in the bathroom.
How
do you get hyped up before going on stage?
Alex: Umm.. I don't really *laughs* I don't hype
myself up, I just do it, ya know? I don't even think
about it. Usually, when the set's done, I'm like
"ok we're done, that was quick." I don't
really think about it all throughout the day. Like,
I don't even know what time it is.. in couple hours
we have to play. I never think, "oh f*ck, in
two hours we have to play!"
Has
anyone had any most embarrassing moments on stage
yet?
Alex: Oh yeah, there's embarrassing moments all
the time. Last time we played The Chain Reaction
which is this place in Anahiem, that's one of our
favorite places to play, Randy does this stupid
trick where he takes his guitar and tosses it over
his shoulder and it swings back around. Well, that
day, he threw it over his shoulder and it hit Nate
right on the bridge of his nose. He had black eyes
and his nose was all swollen. There's really funny
moments. I don't really do anything that stupid.
Musically,
who’s inspiring to you guys?
Alex: Any really good music is always inspiring.
Everytime I listen to Glassjaw I always get excited
about music. It makes you feel like people think
we're ripping off Glassjaw, but that's not the case.
When you hear really good music it inspires you
to write and to pick up the guitar and do something
cool or try something different. That's what Glassjaw
does for us, because they did something different
with their music. Everytime I hear it, it inspires
me to pick up and try to do something different.
What
are the group’s plans for the summer?
Alex: ..doing two months of the Warped Tour. The
entire US Warped Tour we'll be doing. It'll go through
Canada too, but mostly just the US.
How
would describe Finch and What It Is To Burn to new
potential fans?
Alex: I would just ask them to check it out, because
the five of us worked really hard on it. Just to
give us some respect and just listen to it and judge
it for yourself. It's good music. If you like punk
music, or if you like rock music, or if you like
heavy music, you'll probably like it. It's got a
little something for everybody.
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