FOTY
By BD Marie Hughes
By BD Marie Hughes
(Originally posted for The Toronto Independent Music Awards
FOTY showcased for The TIMAs “Best Live” Alt Rock category at The Central in Toronto, ON, mid-summer on July 22.2009 Given that they are a hard hitting 4-piece band, they gave a staggeringly amazing acoustic performance – unquestionably the night holding out one of the best for last.
Rich Foty – Vocals, rhythm guitar
Ben Payne – Lead guitar
Joel Dawson – Bass
Aaron Spink – Drums
BD: When was your cd “Ten Minutes Too Late” released? Where? How was it received? Who helped you with it?
FOTY Rich: “Ten Minutes Too Late” was released in 2008. We had planned on having a rather low key release party at the NOW Lounge. But the small, intimate setting changed quickly when our fans rammed themselves in the door. (everyone laughs) The cd was a long time coming. It’s packed with about 2 years of raw emotion living the life that inspired the songs. The record is totally written, performed and produced by the band. We didn’t have any external help putting together the project because we wanted the music to sound as real as it felt to us and as live as it is when we’re on stage. Our fans have come to expect that sort of honesty from us. It’s who we are and it’s why they stick around to see what’s next.
BD: What did you learn in the recording studio? About yourself? And, as a band?
FOTY Joel: The studio was, quite honestly, the first time we’d heard a decent recording of the band playing live. We recorded the entire album live off the floor with Chris Crerar and the gang at Metalworks. It was our first time in the studio as FOTY and we had every intention of getting everything to sound exactly the way we had it in our heads. We were ready for some long nights and hundreds of takes. We quickly figured out that our best licks were being captured on the first few takes. The album was starting to sound a lot better than what was in our heads. Laying the tracks down didn’t take us more than 15 hours and we were thrilled about how tight the performance was. The long nights came with post production. None of us had ever recorded a full-length album and we needed to learn what the hurdles were before we could jump over them. To keep us working, we’d booked the cd release party before we’d even stepped into the studio. So we had 3 months to pull it off. What’d we learn? That we can be crammed into small spaces in high pressure situations for months at a time and not kill each other. (laughing) It’s an important skill for a touring band.
BD: Your song “Never Enough” is really good. It seems like it comes from an authentic place – whether or not the events or situations in the song actually happened to you. There is genuine, palpable emotion to it. Can you speak to that song?
FOTY Rich: (laughs) “Never Enough” is probably my favourite song on the album. In the end, it’s probably the reason the album was even completed. “Never Enough” is about never having enough, never being satisfied, wanting more out of life. If you’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted, what’s left? What’s the point? At the same time, it’s a dig against the people who tell me I can’t have it all. Usually the people saying that are the people who’ve tried and failed. I want to tear down the fence so the grass is always greener on my side. It’s not even about having it all. I may never get it but the fun’s in the trying.
BD: What negativity or naysayers did you face early on, if any, and now you feel as though you’re proving it or them all wrong?
FOTY Ben: Oh, I think every band’s run into those special folks that frankly are just assholes. Those self-righteous, condescending, “I’m a bigger fish than you will ever be” people that are trying to find some self-worth in their otherwise meaningless lives. Sadly, those people are always around, early on or not. We’ve always got a few in supply. If there aren’t a few people in life who hate us we’re probably doing something wrong. But proving them wrong is a moot point. These are the people who humanity would be better off without anyway. Are we doing what we set out to do? Hell yes!
BD: It’s immediately apparent that each of you has classical guitar training. What can you tell us about that? Rich, there was also no doubt in my mind that you’re also classically trained in voice as well.
FOTY Aaron: Well, we’ve all been trained. Joel, Ben and I finished the jazz program at Humber College. Rich has been singing in church choirs since birth I think.
BD: What is your writing scenario?
FOTY Rich: Live it, find the soundtrack for it, write the words to it, get over whatever the hell caused it! In that order. (we all laugh)
BD: How do you keep passionate about your music?
FOTY Rich: When shit hits the fan, you can always take comfort in the fact that it’ll make a really good song. (laughs)
BD: How do you handle set backs? How do you, as a band, resolve issues that come up?
FOTY Aaron: Issues within the band are handled pretty easily. Usually it’s nothing three of us can’t talk the fourth prick down from. (laughs) Set backs outside the band are never easy to deal with. Being an indie band, there’s not a lot you can do besides suck it up and move on. Nothing gets handed to us. If we stop working, things stop happening. And we say that speaking from experience.
BD: What does “selling out” mean to you? Can you have your cake and eat it too?
FOTY Joel: Sure you can. Just depends why you’re a musician to begin with. Anytime you sacrifice the things you love about writing and performing, the reasons you do it, you’re selling out. If you write top 40 stuff, then that’s who you are. You’re not selling out. If you’re only in it to make millions of dollars that’s cool. You’re not selling out. If you change your sound to be more successful but you hate the new stuff you’re writing and you’ve lost all respect for yourself, or, if you’re successful, but you want to be even bigger (emphasizes the word) and start writing to the masses and alienate all your original fans, that’s selling out.
BD: Do you think it’s possible to separate the art from the artist? I’m thinking Michael Jackson…
FOTY Rich: Yes. I don’t think Marilyn Manson is the antichrist. I don’t think Eminem is always that pissed off. I think they’re personas that they portray on stage and in public.
But that’s not the way we approach music. At least for now. Earlier you said our song “Never Enough” felt genuine which I’m really happy to hear. Before FOTY got together, I was between bands and working on a solo project. I wanted to try something new. I realized that the best songs and songwriters are honest ones. Everyone’s been happy, everyone’s been sad, hated something, loved something, someone lost someone, maybe found someone. When you don’t hide anything, you have the ability to connect to your audience on a very personal level. It’s also incredibly cathartic. When something happens that fills you with so much emotion, no matter what emotion it is, and you have to figure out what the hell is going on and dumb down all your nonsensical babblings and ravings to 2 verses and a chorus, you end up working through a lot of shit. That’s how I move on. Write a song and throw it into the ether.
BD: Have you toured yet?
FOTY Joel: As FOTY, no. Little stints in and around southern Ontario, but nothing that required months of planning. We’ve all been in other bands and toured. We know how easy it is to blow all your cash and end up with very little to show for it. So we’re trying to build an audience before we drive across the country through the internet and any radio stations that are willing to spin our tracks. Know any?? (everyone laughs)
BD: Do you have a most memorable show? What about a memorable fan? Or memorable feedback that really meant something valuable to you?
FOTY Ben: We were once asked to play quiet set in a small club to basically fill out the night for some singer songwriters we knew. Not what we’re used to. We’re a loud, spontaneous, electric, centre-of-attention band. If all eyes aren’t on us we’re not doing our jobs! So, we showed up with acoustic guitars and a neatly hand-written set list in hand. Everything started out calmly enough. But then some drunken heckler from the crowd started yelling for us to play some Sabbath and we couldn’t resist. The set list went out the window, the tables were all pushed to the sides, and people started walking in (to the club) from the street. I think we ended up playing a 3 hour set of our own stuff and covers we’d never attempted. We can’t not be ourselves even when we try. (smiles)
BD: Do you have a motto that you live by?
FOTY Rich: Nothing’s impossible – just haven’t figured out how to do it yet!
BD: How do you want people to remember you after they leave your show?
FOTY Rich: Holy shit! That was awesome! (laughing) I can’t wait to get home and buy their cd on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic or Napster. And when the hell is the next gig?!
www.myspace.com/fotymusic
FOTY showcased for The TIMAs “Best Live” Alt Rock category at The Central in Toronto, ON, mid-summer on July 22.2009 Given that they are a hard hitting 4-piece band, they gave a staggeringly amazing acoustic performance – unquestionably the night holding out one of the best for last.
Rich Foty – Vocals, rhythm guitar
Ben Payne – Lead guitar
Joel Dawson – Bass
Aaron Spink – Drums
BD: When was your cd “Ten Minutes Too Late” released? Where? How was it received? Who helped you with it?
FOTY Rich: “Ten Minutes Too Late” was released in 2008. We had planned on having a rather low key release party at the NOW Lounge. But the small, intimate setting changed quickly when our fans rammed themselves in the door. (everyone laughs) The cd was a long time coming. It’s packed with about 2 years of raw emotion living the life that inspired the songs. The record is totally written, performed and produced by the band. We didn’t have any external help putting together the project because we wanted the music to sound as real as it felt to us and as live as it is when we’re on stage. Our fans have come to expect that sort of honesty from us. It’s who we are and it’s why they stick around to see what’s next.
BD: What did you learn in the recording studio? About yourself? And, as a band?
FOTY Joel: The studio was, quite honestly, the first time we’d heard a decent recording of the band playing live. We recorded the entire album live off the floor with Chris Crerar and the gang at Metalworks. It was our first time in the studio as FOTY and we had every intention of getting everything to sound exactly the way we had it in our heads. We were ready for some long nights and hundreds of takes. We quickly figured out that our best licks were being captured on the first few takes. The album was starting to sound a lot better than what was in our heads. Laying the tracks down didn’t take us more than 15 hours and we were thrilled about how tight the performance was. The long nights came with post production. None of us had ever recorded a full-length album and we needed to learn what the hurdles were before we could jump over them. To keep us working, we’d booked the cd release party before we’d even stepped into the studio. So we had 3 months to pull it off. What’d we learn? That we can be crammed into small spaces in high pressure situations for months at a time and not kill each other. (laughing) It’s an important skill for a touring band.
BD: Your song “Never Enough” is really good. It seems like it comes from an authentic place – whether or not the events or situations in the song actually happened to you. There is genuine, palpable emotion to it. Can you speak to that song?
FOTY Rich: (laughs) “Never Enough” is probably my favourite song on the album. In the end, it’s probably the reason the album was even completed. “Never Enough” is about never having enough, never being satisfied, wanting more out of life. If you’ve got everything you’ve ever wanted, what’s left? What’s the point? At the same time, it’s a dig against the people who tell me I can’t have it all. Usually the people saying that are the people who’ve tried and failed. I want to tear down the fence so the grass is always greener on my side. It’s not even about having it all. I may never get it but the fun’s in the trying.
BD: What negativity or naysayers did you face early on, if any, and now you feel as though you’re proving it or them all wrong?
FOTY Ben: Oh, I think every band’s run into those special folks that frankly are just assholes. Those self-righteous, condescending, “I’m a bigger fish than you will ever be” people that are trying to find some self-worth in their otherwise meaningless lives. Sadly, those people are always around, early on or not. We’ve always got a few in supply. If there aren’t a few people in life who hate us we’re probably doing something wrong. But proving them wrong is a moot point. These are the people who humanity would be better off without anyway. Are we doing what we set out to do? Hell yes!
BD: It’s immediately apparent that each of you has classical guitar training. What can you tell us about that? Rich, there was also no doubt in my mind that you’re also classically trained in voice as well.
FOTY Aaron: Well, we’ve all been trained. Joel, Ben and I finished the jazz program at Humber College. Rich has been singing in church choirs since birth I think.
BD: What is your writing scenario?
FOTY Rich: Live it, find the soundtrack for it, write the words to it, get over whatever the hell caused it! In that order. (we all laugh)
BD: How do you keep passionate about your music?
FOTY Rich: When shit hits the fan, you can always take comfort in the fact that it’ll make a really good song. (laughs)
BD: How do you handle set backs? How do you, as a band, resolve issues that come up?
FOTY Aaron: Issues within the band are handled pretty easily. Usually it’s nothing three of us can’t talk the fourth prick down from. (laughs) Set backs outside the band are never easy to deal with. Being an indie band, there’s not a lot you can do besides suck it up and move on. Nothing gets handed to us. If we stop working, things stop happening. And we say that speaking from experience.
BD: What does “selling out” mean to you? Can you have your cake and eat it too?
FOTY Joel: Sure you can. Just depends why you’re a musician to begin with. Anytime you sacrifice the things you love about writing and performing, the reasons you do it, you’re selling out. If you write top 40 stuff, then that’s who you are. You’re not selling out. If you’re only in it to make millions of dollars that’s cool. You’re not selling out. If you change your sound to be more successful but you hate the new stuff you’re writing and you’ve lost all respect for yourself, or, if you’re successful, but you want to be even bigger (emphasizes the word) and start writing to the masses and alienate all your original fans, that’s selling out.
BD: Do you think it’s possible to separate the art from the artist? I’m thinking Michael Jackson…
FOTY Rich: Yes. I don’t think Marilyn Manson is the antichrist. I don’t think Eminem is always that pissed off. I think they’re personas that they portray on stage and in public.
But that’s not the way we approach music. At least for now. Earlier you said our song “Never Enough” felt genuine which I’m really happy to hear. Before FOTY got together, I was between bands and working on a solo project. I wanted to try something new. I realized that the best songs and songwriters are honest ones. Everyone’s been happy, everyone’s been sad, hated something, loved something, someone lost someone, maybe found someone. When you don’t hide anything, you have the ability to connect to your audience on a very personal level. It’s also incredibly cathartic. When something happens that fills you with so much emotion, no matter what emotion it is, and you have to figure out what the hell is going on and dumb down all your nonsensical babblings and ravings to 2 verses and a chorus, you end up working through a lot of shit. That’s how I move on. Write a song and throw it into the ether.
BD: Have you toured yet?
FOTY Joel: As FOTY, no. Little stints in and around southern Ontario, but nothing that required months of planning. We’ve all been in other bands and toured. We know how easy it is to blow all your cash and end up with very little to show for it. So we’re trying to build an audience before we drive across the country through the internet and any radio stations that are willing to spin our tracks. Know any?? (everyone laughs)
BD: Do you have a most memorable show? What about a memorable fan? Or memorable feedback that really meant something valuable to you?
FOTY Ben: We were once asked to play quiet set in a small club to basically fill out the night for some singer songwriters we knew. Not what we’re used to. We’re a loud, spontaneous, electric, centre-of-attention band. If all eyes aren’t on us we’re not doing our jobs! So, we showed up with acoustic guitars and a neatly hand-written set list in hand. Everything started out calmly enough. But then some drunken heckler from the crowd started yelling for us to play some Sabbath and we couldn’t resist. The set list went out the window, the tables were all pushed to the sides, and people started walking in (to the club) from the street. I think we ended up playing a 3 hour set of our own stuff and covers we’d never attempted. We can’t not be ourselves even when we try. (smiles)
BD: Do you have a motto that you live by?
FOTY Rich: Nothing’s impossible – just haven’t figured out how to do it yet!
BD: How do you want people to remember you after they leave your show?
FOTY Rich: Holy shit! That was awesome! (laughing) I can’t wait to get home and buy their cd on iTunes, Amazon, eMusic or Napster. And when the hell is the next gig?!
www.myspace.com/fotymusic
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