PAUL: “The EP [‘Falling Into Place’] is amazing, pushing the boundaries of a number of different genres. I think melodic hardcore is a pretty accurate description of the band. How would you define Finch‘s sound?
ALEX: “I would define Finch‘s sound as a collection of all of our collective and non collective influences, like Glassjaw, the Deftones, Bjork, Jimmy Eat World, Blink 182, ect ect ect… But then we took that and put a big twist on all of it, it’s like were too hard to be emo, and we’re too soft to be called metal or anything close to that…so i think we’ve found some kinda of grey area in the world of music…and thats where we come from.
PAUL: “The new record is called ‘Falling Into Place. Was there any particular reason why you gave it this name?”
ALEX: “I came up with the title, even though it has nothing to do with any of the songs as far as lyrical content goes. The songs we write are very personal to us, we’re all very close to the writing process, and were all very close and active with everything that goes on with this band, it’s our life…and at the time of preping everything for our EP, it just felt like everything was just falling into place…in every aspect i believe..like finally signing our contract after 11 months with Drive Thru records, and then becoming a real band with our first real recording and release, things in our personal lives were falling into…so that’s how we named, sort of like a theme as to what was going on in our lives.”
PAUL: “Rumour has it there is a full-length CD soon to be released. Are there any details you can tell us about?”
ALEX: “Our full length will be released very soon, probably not soon enough for most people but, it’s release date is set for March 11th 2002. And the title of it is “What It Is To Burn”. The record was produced by Mark Trombino, which was probably the best expeirence of my life…to record our first full length with such a notable producer like Mark, but besides his name, and all the bands he’s worked with, he’s such a good person that he made coming to the studio everyday for like 2 months to play music so….i don’t even know how to explain it, you can only imagine.”
PAUL: “I’ve heard a version of ‘With Or Without You’ on the net which I think is by you guys. If it is Finch, why did you decide to cover it and will it be released officially any time soon?”
ALEX: “That is us, we recorded that in our drummers garage, we decided to cover it, cause it’s such an amazing song…but there’s no plans to be re-recorded and released…i doubt it’ll ever happpen…i hope so though.
PAUL: “‘Letters To You’ is probably the most heartfelt song I’ve heard this year. Is the song taken from a personal experience of one of the band?”
ALEX: “Thank you so much, thats a real compliment. Well Nate our singer writes all of his own lyrics, so lyrically it’s very very personal to him…but again we all slave over writing, recording, and rehearsing our songs so they’re all very personal to all of us.”
PAUL: “You cite Glassjaw as major influences on the band, what other bands have influenced your sound and why?”
ALEX: “Other bands that influence our sound, are the Deftones cause they’re one of the most amazing bands ever i think, umm Blink 182 cause they’re the coolest guys, and they just fuckin rock too. I have so much respect for that band…there are so many bands i can name that influence us…RX Bandits, Open Hand, old school Korn, the Movielife i can go on forever.”
PAUL: “You’ve done loads of touring in the US recently, how has it been going and which band that you’ve been touring with has impressed you most?”
ALEX: “The band that i think i’ve been impressed with the most is Open Hand…there so fuckin loud and hard they’re awesome.”
PAUL: “What do Finch have planned for 2002?”
ALEX: “World domination…no seriously were facists were taking over…Finch is the next Fidel Castro…joke! Umm, just lots of touring and puting out our record.”
PAUL: “Your house is burning down and you can only rescue three cds. Which would you go for and why?”
ALEX: “I would rescue my Glassjaw cd, and then probably my second copy of my Glassjaw cd, and then definately my third copy of the Glassjaw cd [he laughs]”
PAUL: “What has been the most memorable moment of your career so far, and how far do you think Finch can go?”
ALEX: “There have been so many memorable moments, you see the industry hasn’t gotten to me yet, so i still don’t take anything for granted and i appreciate everything that has happened to us. I appreciate every person that takes a couple moments out of they’re lives to give me a few kind words, and acknowledge what we’re doing, and what we’re trying to say with our music. That’s what’s most memorable, the people at the shows are the people that count, cause without them we would be nothing…and i think finch can do good things as long as we always keep our heads screwed on straight and never lose sight of what matters most…and thats writing good music, and making a connection with people at the shows.”
PAUL: “Thanks a lot.”
ALEX: “Thank you Paul, best wishes in the New Year.
Anyone that hasn’t yet got a copy of the Finch EP should get one. For those who have, it’s not long until the full-length record hits the stores. When they visit your town, go and see them, becuase the next time this lot visit, they’ll be playing BIG shows. Visit www.finchmusic.com for all things Finch related.