A Dirty Dozen with FALLING THROUGH APRIL – May 2019

According to a recent press release: “Charlotte, NC Alternative Rock Band FALLING THROUGH APRIL has released the official music video for their single, “Recover // Relapse.” Directed by Alex Hieder, “Recover // Relapse” originally premiered on Substream Magazine.” We get members of the band discuss new music, influences, and much more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release.  What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through?  Are there any hidden nuggets the band put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Jim: “Recover // Relapse” touches on the darkness of addiction with an uplifting spirit. We all have battles. We all struggle to get through. We hope to bring greater awareness and open dialogue. A cool sound to listen for is in the intricate programming. There is a synth sound with a phaser. It’s weird and I love it.

2. What got you into music, and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

Dan: Every one of us has been surrounded by musicians in our immediate family our entire lives. My dad and grandfather played guitar, Taylor’s dad plays drums, Dave’s mom leads her church band and encouraged him to play bass, Mikaela’s whole family is musical and play a variety of instruments each. Jim’s dad plays keys. So it really just comes from within our blood and soul. We love music and the power it has to inspire people.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Jim: My first cassette was Alice Cooper’s Trash. That obviously had a huge influence on me. I was also very inspired by Weezer’s Blue Album.

Mikaela: I started playing guitar on an electric and learned some Blindside songs like “Pitiful” thinking I wanted to be in a heavy rock band.  Once my fingers started to bleed so bad I realized I’m better as a vocalist and loved the way Robert Plant & Steven Tyler expressed themselves in their music in general.  I felt I had it in me and began writing my own music at 14 on my acoustic.

Dan: For me, it was Metallica Master of Puppets and …And Justice For All. Those two albums are full of dynamics on guitar. Once I heard the incredible variety of sounds, riffs, etc. I was dead set on playing guitar. A little unknown fact about me is that I actually considered pursuing bass full time after hearing Stone Temple Pilots’ album Purple.

4. Who would be your main five musical influences?

Jim: Alice Cooper, Weezer, Aerosmith, Ozzy Osbourne, Jimi Hendrix.

Mikaela: Gwen Stefani, Alanis Morissette, Hayley Williams, Jesse Lacey, and Brandon Boyd.

Dan: Metallica, Stone Temple Pilots, Weezer, Incubus, and Queen.

5. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

Jim: Ludwig Goransson because I love the work he did on Redbone by Childish Gambino.

Mikaela: Brendon Urie, I’ve been obsessed with his work since day one and every song is so catchy!  He’s a great song writer and vocalist.

Dan: Bebe Rexha. I love the tone of her voice, her work ethic, and ability to cross over genres. I think we would write incredible songs together.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Jim: Alternative Rock with melodic female vocals. Catchy with a rocking edge. One person said it sounded like the Foo Fighters. I really like the Foo fighters so I was happy to hear the comparison, but truthfully I don’t hear a strong similarity.

Mikaela:  We are a mixed rock genre with a song to match any mood.  Just cuz I’m a chick we get comPARAMOREd but I ain’t mad.  She’s amazing and I’m not trying to copy her style so it sucks when people wanna cast all bands with female vocalists as “trying to be like Paramore.”

7. What’s the best thing about being a musician?

Dan: Being a musician has so many incredible aspects. Putting a song out there that others relate to, sing along, or triggers a certain emotion/feeling is something you can’t explain or put value on. We have the rare opportunity to live our dreams, travel the world, and reach people we may never meet on such a deep and intimate level.

8. When the band are all hanging out together, who cooks; who gets the drinks in; and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

Jim: Usually Dan or Dave will put on the chef apron and man the grill. We are all happy to share a few drinks. Mikaela is most likely to have an acoustic guitar.

9. When was the last time you were star struck and who was it?

Jim: I don’t get star struck, but I was pretty surprised to run into Bono and Charlie Sheen in a bathroom at The Beverly Hills Hotel.

Mikaela: I try to give celebrities their space when spotted but I did get the chance to sing in front of Hayley and Taylor from Paramore after becoming a finalist of this karaoke contest on a cruise they hosted. That was terrifying!  I was shaking since that was my first time singing in front of over a thousand people so I felt like I was going to pass out knowing Hayley and Taylor’s eyes and attention were on me.

Dan: I haven’t met anyone that I was star struck by yet. The closest to being star struck was Dan Hawkins from The Darkness. He was a super chill dude though and we just chatted about music, marriage, life, etc. I was happy he felt so comfortable just hanging out with me for a bit.

10. If you weren’t a musician, what would be your dream job?

Jim: I used to think about being a Dentist.

Mikaela: Had I stayed in school, I would’ve focused on becoming a mechanical engineer. I’d channel my creativity elsewhere like my grandfather who was successful with a couple inventions in his day, which inspired me to make a difference in a way he did during his lifetime.

Dan: I could definitely see Jim as a Dentist. My dream job if not pursuing music would probably be something dangerous. I’m an adrenaline junkie so anything from jumping out of planes to investigating haunted/creepy places sounds like fun to me!

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over”, even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Mikaela: Now, there were a few costly decisions as a band we could’ve been better off never experiencing,  but we looked at it as a lesson of what type of business to stay away from.

Dan: Yeah, there are plenty of “do overs” we would all like to make but learning lessons from those experiences is why we are who we are and where we are.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Jim: Weezer’s Blue Album would be a cool moment to witness. I would also love to have been present for Jimi Hendrix or The Beatles. Led Zeppelin would be great too.

Dan: Foo Fighter’s The Colour and Shape. I have so much respect for Dave Grohl. As a musician, as a human, all of it. That album stands out as one of my favorite by them. Can I go back and change my answer about who I would want to collaborate with and add Dave?

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Category: Interviews