Source: Official Website
The Front Bottoms recently embarked on an almost completely sold out UK tour on the back of the release of their latest album Back On Top. We were lucky enough to be at the London show, where the band blew us away with their performance, so we definitely had to have a little catch up after the tour. Vocalist Brian Sella revealed about his creative writing process, the upcoming EP in the ‘grandma’ installment, and where he’d like to take the band musically.
MOSH: You guys were recently in the UK and you finished that leg of this European show. I was at the London show and it was actually one of the best shows I’ve ever been to. If I’m not mistaken you’re in Sweden tonight, how has Europe been?
BS: Awesome, thank you. Europe’s good, it’s like a different vibe. We’ve been to Europe a couple times now so you can really see the growth. Especially in places like Germany. We’ve never been here before but the venue is nice and big; I think there are some tickets sold so it’s nice to see that last time there were like 5 people and now there’s 100 or 300. It’s cool because the crowds are a little different than in the States in the UK because they sing and go crazy but here it’s refreshing to see that not everybody knows the words. I really need to entertain these people, it’s a different experience but it’s fun.
MOSH: The reception for your last album Back On Top has been great, how are things looking in terms of new material, are you currently writing?
BS: We’re writing, we’re constantly writing. We’ve been on tour though for four months. We’re actually writing right now we’re trying to write a new hit song. It’s a constant on-going experience – you write an album, then record it then you go on tour and you’re on tour for like a year, you go home and try to take all that inspiration from when you were on tour and start from square one to write some more hit songs. That’s my style. So am I writing? Yes, but I’m constantly writing.
MOSH:So life is obviously very different for you now than what it was like back when you first started the band. How would you say that affects your music and the way you write as well?
BS: I’m not really sure. I mean it all starts from the same place, just an idea for a simple song with a guitar and me singing some clever words. It always starts from the same place no matter what the situation is, whether I’m in the studio or a basement or recording on my laptop in my room, jamming with my boys. It’s kind of the same, honestly, I just stress it a little bit more now; that’s the only difference.
MOSH: Your lyrics really seem like journal entries, so a lot of the time it makes me wonder are they mostly based on personal experiences, or do you also add in fictional things for storytelling purposes?
BS: It’s both. I’m a creative person so it is all personal experiences but it’s not a walk through my day. There are certain creative aspects to it so you have to be creative and try different things but it’s all rooted from personal stuff. It sounds like it’s from journal entries because it like literally is from notebooks, diaries and things that I keep.
MOSH: A while ago you released the Rose EP and the idea was you wanted to release a series of those dedicated to each of your grandmothers. Is that still going ahead as planned? Because there hasn’t been another one or any talk about that.
BS: That’s definitely going as planned. Like I’ve been saying, we’ve been on tour four a couple of months but the grandma EP is definitely the next thing. That’s definitely going to happen. My grandma will be up next, Grandma Petunia.
MOSH: You’ve worked together with GDP a couple of times, which is quite an odd pairing. Are there any other ‘strange’ collaborations you’d like to do in the future?
BS: I mean, you know, as a band we’re totally open to work with anyone. As long as it’s creative, as long as there’s a good artistic vibe then we’re really down to work with anyone. We like to let things happen naturally, if the vibes are right and everything is feeling good. We think GDP is a really creative guy. Moving forward, we’re up for working with anyone as long as it’s a good time.
MOSH: You’re heading back out on a US tour soon and I assume you don’t get as much time off these days. When you are home what do you like doing in New Jersey?
BS: Basically we just sit on the couch. I like to jog and I like to sit around and take some deep breaths. It’s non-stop for 5-6 months then you’re home for a couple of weeks so you get to literally do nothing. It’s a nice feeling, that’s what I like to do.
MOSH: I’ve noticed you have a little thing for masks. Obviously the 12 Feet Deep video and the first time I saw you guys was out with Brand New and Mat [Uychich] spent most of the set in a Will I Am mask. If you could swap places with another member of your band and see things from their perspective, who would it be and why?
BS: Probably I’d swap with Ciaran [O’Donnell] because he can play a lot of instruments and it’d be interesting to see what’s going on in that guy’s head.
MOSH: Last question, signing to Fueled By Ramen was obviously a great next step for you guys. Obviously you want to keep growing in the future, where would you like to take The Front Bottoms musically?
BS: I think it’s kind of important for me to just develop as musicians and as a band, the way we work together. The live performance is very important to me, I like to really put on a show, to entertain. I definitely want to take the live show up the next step creatively, whatever that may be. Whether we get dancers on stage or back up singers, just keep it fresh and creative and of course have fun with it. In terms of musically, I think just developing in a way of being satisfied with the music that we’re putting out – to enjoy listening to it and to enjoy playing it. Staying creative too, that’s definitely an important thing. You know, try not to put out the same songs or something I think people might want to listen to but focusing more on what is good and creative. I think that’s the way we’ve done it the whole existence of the band, so we’ll try to continue that.
