Q) What's the name of your band? What's the origin of that name? Have you changed the band's name before?
A) The Story So Far is our original name, but we spent a good month tossing around names prior to settling on it. We were looking through iPods and came across it under New Found Glory's "Sticks & Stones", which was an album we all grew up on.
Q) Please list the name, age, school, and respective instrument of each band member.
A) Kelen Capener - 20, BYU, Bass. Will - 20, Diablo Valley College, Guitar. Ryan - 18, Northgate High School/UC Santa Barbara, Drums. Parker - 19, Santa Barbara JC, Vocals. Kevin - 19, Diablo Valley College, Guitar.
Q) What genre of music do you consider your work to be? Who are your major influences?
Q) How long have you all known each other? How did you meet?
A) Will and I met in 7th grade when he joined a band I was in at the time; although we later kicked him out because he had hot dog fingers and sucked at guitar (at the time). Basically, Kevin Geyer and I met while doing a bogus school production and he invited me to join The Story So Far as a Sophomore in High School. Kevin was already friends with Kevin Ambrose (whom Will replaced), and Ryan Torf. I knew Parker through another band that he sang and played guitar for, and invited him to come sing for us since they were breaking up. Will came back into the picture sometime later and did merch and such for us. He joined once Kevin Ambrose left to attend University of Oregon.
Q) When did you form your band? What inspired you to make music together?
A) We formed our band in January of 2007 and were basically just really good friends who played music as a pass time. Things got more serious when we all got a visitation one night from the Oracle who told us that, "the world is in great peril, shred on or witness its fate". Obviously, we can't quit or everyone would be pretty bummed.
Q) Do you have a record label? Are you a member of any music organizations?
A) Our buddy Jake Round has an independent label called "Pure Noise Records", we've put out all of our releases through him since our "While You Were Sleeping" EP. We've also worked with Animal Style Records, Barrett Records, and a few others. We also received a visitation from Satan sometime after the Oracle, we sort of signed our souls away and put out a split with his band Soul Collector on "Underground Records".
Q) What can you tell me about your instruments? (i.e., Are you subject to brand loyalty or will you play with whatever's available? What made you choose the instruments you have now? Was it cost or was it a style/model/brand/color preference?
A) I'm subject to whatever sounds killer and lets me enter the "tone zone" (a segue into the "bone zone"). I worked my way up to the gear I have now through selling my old gear and paying the difference with day jobs; the other guys did as well for the most part, and, needless to say, it takes a long, long time. Given the painstaking effort it takes to afford gear, I made sure to buy the bass to rule all other basses. I settled on a butterscotch American Fender J-bass and popped Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders into it upon purchase; which I had set up to put out 1,000 ohms (more than standard). I advise that you have your girlfriend beyond earshot before I play a single note on that bass. With amps, I usually scope out Craiglist until I find a house I can easily break into. I wait for the family to leave town, and then score some free gear.
Gear I have stolen. Will's Gibson sg, mesa dual rectifier, Marshall jcm900 and a Mesa 4x12 cab. Kevin's Gibson SG, panda cab, and Marshall jcm900, Ryan's Dark Horse Custom Kit (this was a toughy), and lastly, some jewelry and a couple of children.
Q) Where have you performed? What are your favorite and least favorite venues?
A) Right off the bat, I can say that no band should ever sacrifice their dignity by performing at the Burnin' Burro in Livermore, CA. The Burnin' Burro studio is practically a prostitution ring being run by Neo-Nazis; they once handed us $2 after a show and laughed at us to our face. I think the next show we play there will be upon its ruins after we ram molotov cocktails into the owners ass and make him sit down in his throne of a work chair. Aside from this, we have played some awesome venues and houses. We love Branch Street House in Sacramento, which hosts shows in a giant garage. I, sadly, missed out on the last time we performed there, but you can watch the videos from that show and see kids absolutely lose their minds to our set. We prefer venues that don't have a quota and aren't prone to pull the plug during out set.
Q) Which songs do you perform most frequently? Do you ever play any covers? Do you have a set play list?
A) This is subject to change. Prior to our full length, which will be released on June 21st, we only had a few EPs worth of songs that could comprised our live set. Over the years we have slowly abandoned playing songs off of our first EP, and are, in my opinion, slowly doing the same with our "While You Were Sleeping" EP as we write more music. We try to keep it fresh and so we tend to mix it up a lot. I would say that Jumpy, Just Like You Said, and Ali have been in our set for the longest, and Mt. Diablo and 680 South have had a healthy life in our set list as well. As far as covers go, we've done Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and Taking Back Sundays "Cute Without the E", in addition to a couple of Blink 182 covers and a New Found Glory cover some time ago. I don't think we plan on covering another song anytime soon.
Q) Who writes your songs? What are the main themes or topics for most of your songs? Do you think these topics will change over time?
A) I think I'll just speak concerning Under Soil and Dirt since this process has drastically changed over the years. Kevin, Will, and Ryan butted heads in our practice space for months while coming up with the songs on USAD. The topics are subject to whatever Parker writes lyrics about, which for the album are, generally, about changes in regards to human relations and environment. The themes right now are the result of turbulent times, and are subject to change as things either settle down or get more hectic.
Q) Could you briefly describe the music-making process?
A) It used to be that we would all get together after school when we all attended Northgate High School together. The way it is now, someone brings in an idea, and whoever is in town will jam it out; this, for USAD, was primarily Kevin, Ryan, and Will. The song will get demoed and emailed to Parker and I, who provide input or simply add our part to it. Come recording time, the songs are ironed out in the studio, with the help of studio engineer, Sam Pura, and parts are added or cut as necessary.
Q) What are your rehearsals generally like? Do you have a set time each week in which you practice or are rehearsals more spontaneous?
A) Will, Kevin, and our tour drummer, Ryan Justice, play really heavy music and switch around instruments until I show up and ruin their fun. At this point, we smoke peyote and ask our Indian ancestors what songs they would like to hear. We then we run through the set.
Q) How has your music evolved since you first began playing music together?
A) In our early days, we couldn't quite find the G-spot. It took us a while, but we found the G-spot.
Q) What has been your biggest challenge as a band? Have you been able to overcome that challenge? If so, how?
A) Just dealing with everyone being so spread out is the hardest part. I personally have withdrawals when I haven't played a show in too long.. This past year I had school and an intense job, so finding a balance was very hard. On the other end, I'm the only friend that Will and Kevin have so they don't do very well without me to say the least. We all hit on each others moms as well, which causes some issues.
Q) What's your ultimate direction for the band? What Are you trying to get out of this experience ?
A) We're literally just trying to have fun and play shows everywhere. We don't have a direction, we're just a bunch of weirdos looking for kicks. I personally have found what I've always wanted, and that was to play shows where kids just got lost in our set. But on a real note, we should all be quarantined.
Q) What advice do you have for people who want to form their own band?
A) Do it for the right reasons.
Q) How can fans-to-be gain access to your music? Do you have a website with sample songs or a demo CD?
A) facebook.com/thestorysofarca or check out purenoise.net
Q) Is there anyone you'd like to acknowledge for offering financial or emotional support?
A) Set Your Goals, which includes the Ambrose family, in addition to the rest of our families. Also, Jake Round for funding our records and Sam Pura for making those records sound delicious. Lastly, George Lucas who bestowed the force upon us.
Q) What should people expect from the new record?
A) WWJE?
Q) What is your favorite thing to do while your on a tour?
A) Act a fool in places we don't belong. We also like to rate rest stops on Yelp and try out toilets anywhere we pull over.
Q) How do you get prepared or ready for a show?
A) Warm-up, stretch, and find our place in the bone zone.
Q) What's the one thing you HAVE to have on the tour bus(van)?
A) Depending on who you asked, they might answer weed. I, however, do not smoke. Instead, I have to have horse tranquilizers and handcuffs or I'll pretty much kill everybody.
Q) What was your favorite song to write and why?
A) I know Will's favorite was Closure, it was the first song he was a part of in the writing process with Ryan and Kevin, and he had some fun writing it. The whole record, inside and outside of the studio, was a fun experience.
Q) What's your favorite tour story?
A) Our first time in Seattle was awesome. We got there in the dead of morning, and as Will puts it, "we ran around and screamed like kids, one of the happiest moments of my life". We had a bunch of fun on the road to Seattle as well, being forcibly removed from establishments all over the state.Q) Any last words?
A) 38 cannot be explained, it can only be understood.Thank you to the story so far for taking the time and making my day,
hope you like the interview and get ready for the next one.
visit their facebook
http://www.facebook.com/thestorysofarca
very entertaining interview, i'm so stoked for these guys new cd. they deserve some real attention!
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