FEATURED INTERVIEWS 07                         

Fall of Troy

This three-piece from Mukilteo, Washington is the real deal. Shredding guitars, heart stopping beats, tight bottom end, and exceptional vocals make Fall of Troy one extremely talented group of individuals. Their latest release, "Manipulator", released earlier this year, is a non-stop showcase of talent, songwriting and musicianship. We gave Thomas, lead singer of Fall of Troy, a buzz to get the current scoop on the band.

By: Gian Erguiza

Gian: Hey Thomas, can you hear me just fine?

Thomas: What? Yeah, yeah…

Gian: What are doing right now?

Thomas: Oh man, I'm just sittin' in the van, drivin' for hours…

Gian: Ohh man sorry bro.

Thomas: Hey, I can't hear you?

Gian: Hello?

Thomas: I can hear you now.

Gian: So how are you doing Thomas?

Thomas: I'm doin' pretty good.

Gian: So I heard you guys are drivin' from Utah to Frisco tonight?

Thomas: Yeah man, we're drivin frm Utah to Reno so....

Gian: Alright man let's get it started, "Manipulator" released earlier this year in May is awesome. I can't get over the fact that there's only three of you guys playing. How much work went into making this album?

Thomas: Well let me see.....We were probably recording for about 8 months and a lot of it, actually all of the vocal parts and the other parts were thrown in at that time in the studio.

[static buzz]

Gian: Thomas you there?

Thomas: Yes, I'm here.

Gian: Good. Well the album definitely sounds like it took some work! I'm much impressed. Now I can tell that on "Manipulator" have progressed from your last album, more sharper and complex. Semi Fiction is probably my favorite song off the album, What is your favorite song off the album and which one do you like to play live?

Thomas: Well, most of the time it fluctuates and it depends on what mood I'm in. I like Semi Fiction a lot but I think my favorite song is probably Sledgehammer.

Gian: Nice!

Thomas: Yeah it's a very fun song to play live.

Gian: Let's talk about your current tour. How cool is it that you guys are with Coheed and Cambria and how is the tour coming along so far?

Thomas: Oh, it's going great you know? The Coheed guys have been really great company and it's been a lot of fun so I'm glad. I think it's a real interesting and peculiar line-up wise.

Gian: Got any interesting stories you'd like to share?

Thomas: Um, no, I mean we're still pretty fresh into the tour so we're still getting to know everbody so…. but the shows have been pretty fantastic!

Gian: Very cool! So you guys are Soundwave 2008 and it sounds like it is going to be one hell of a festival. I'm quite jealous of how this festival, with this line-up, is not coming here to America. How excited are you guys to be a part of Soundwave 2008?

Thomas: Very much! I am extremely excited and I can't wait to go out there and I've never been there before and it's one of those things where you always wanted to go but never thought that I'd get to go.

Gian: I wish that tour was coming over here, the line-up is pretty sick.

Thomas: Yeah I know, I've seen some of it and it looks like its going to be a big event.

Gian: Alright check this out, I just got Guitar Hero III and to my surprise, you guys are freakin' on it! You guys have one of the best songs too! How in the world did this come about and how did you guys decide which song was going to be included?

Thomas: They came to us and they wanted that song. Obviously it was kind of like a no brainer to us to get on it so yeah, we all agreed on it and I think it's really cool.

Gian: Have you tried playing it yet?

Thomas: I actually have tried playing it but I don't really feel the need to play the game, I kind of already do it in real life! So to play your own music in a video game is kind of silly.

Gian: Yeah I got that...Your video for "Cut down all the trees and name the streets after them" is freakin' great. How did you guys decide which song was going to be made into a video?

Thomas: That was just kind of something that we wanted to give with the record and the video kind of came out differently than the way it was supposed to come out, but it turned out pretty well and we were pretty excited about. I don't know, we're not so much of a video band I don't think than a lot of the other bands, you know what I'm saying?

Gian: Well I guess that cuts down my next question of are you guys planning to make a new video?

Thomas: Yeah, actually, we're going to be doing a new video for "Ex-Creations" that's like a retro montage treatment of the song but I don't think we're going to get it on TV. I think we're going to just release online.

Gian: With all of the new music out these days Thomas, What's in your player? What are you currently listening to? Ipod?

Thomas: The only thing I'm really listening to right now is a band called Say Anything.

Gian: Wow. You actually listen to Say Anything?

Thomas: They're like my favorite band right now and In Defense of the Genre is unbelievable.

Gian: I agree bro, Say Anything is good, I've seen them live myself.

Thomas: Yeah, I think the band is awesome and Max Bemis', I think his lyrics are fuckin' awesome and they do something different with that genre you know?

Gian: Definitely. Let me ask you Thomas, if my associates and I were coming to your town, where would you take us to have a good time? We like to drink and puff just to throw that out there.

Thomas: I don't know man? It depends on what kind of place you'd like to go to. We can always just go hit the bar circuit in Seattle or something like that. We can stick to the Wallingford area and stuff like that. They have a bar called Teddy's where a lot of the local musicians and locals like to be up till like 5, get together, talk about music and stuff.

Gian: Sounds like a good time! Thomas, If a huge fan of yours came up to you guys and asked you the question,"Fall of Troy, what is the meaning of life?" What would you say?

Thomas: Get a Life![laugh]

Gian: Good Answer!

Thomas: The meaning of life is to be alive and help others feel alive.

Gian: I ask all the bands this question and I wanted to get your take on it. I get different answers everytime and it's real interesting. What are your thoughts on the war between digital downloading vs. physical purchase?

Thomas: At this point, that question have become inevitable. It doesn't really matter what anybody does. Times are changing man. Record labels aren't really selling many records anymore and in the age of Ipods and shit like that I think we're beginning to see them re-evaluate themselves you know? Luckily I'm in a band and I am one of the ones that contribute actual art-ism to the fuckin' building so I try not to worry about that you know? I worry about playing in my band. I'm not worried about how music is getting out there just as long as its getting out there.

Gian: Good points. Aside from the slew of shows you guys got going on in 2008, what else can we expect from you guys in 2008?

Thomas: Definitely recording. A new record of some sort will be happening. Probably going through a US tour and then we're probably going to take some time off. I think we're going to try and put out a few records in the next couple of years here, we're going to try and move a little faster than everybody else and see what happens.

Gian: Fuckin'-A man, sounds like you guys are going to be busy. Alright Thomas, do you have any additional comments?

Thomas: No man, not really? Come out to the shows and have a good time!

Gian: Alright Thomas, thank you for doing the interview and kick some fuckin' ass for us tonight. We'll see you guys on sunday!

Thomas: [laugh] Alright man we will!

Gian: Thanks Thomas!

Make sure to pick up a copy of "Manipulator," out now on Equal Vision Records! Fall of Troy also has some dates set up for 2008 so make sure to check on Fall Of Troy's Myspace or www.thefalloftroy.com for more info!