A Dirty Dozen with FRAME AND MANTLE – July 2025

Photo credit: Mean Joes Photos

According to a recent press release: ” Frame and Mantle has today released their second studio album, Well of Light. Featuring recent singles “Green Grove Zone”, “Standstill” and “Down A Thousand”, Well of Light was recorded with Larry Luther at Mr. Smalls Recording Studio in Pittsburgh. Post-emo pioneers Frame and Mantle formed in 2014 in northwest Pennsylvania. Now based in Pittsburgh, the band’s previous releases, 2016’s While Our Fields Lie Fallow EP, 2019’s debut full length Lost Under Nighttime Sky, and the 2023 EP Above a Burning World, embraced both post-rock builds and textures and emo-indebted urgency. The band’s long-awaited sophomore album, Well of Light, refines that signature sound with greater maturity and depth.” We get Brian T. and Connor from the band to discuss new music, influences, and 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 you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

Brian T.: Well of Light is our sophomore album and is a bit darker than its predecessor, Lost Under Nighttime Sky. However, just like pretty much all of our releases, we’ve incorporated a lot of vocal and guitar layers into the mix that a listener might not fully pick up on their first couple listens. In terms of “hidden nuggets”, our fans from back in the Erie days might recognize one of the tracks on the second half of the album that we used to play live around town back in the day.

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

Connor: I’ve played trumpet since I was 11 years old, but I had never really thought about being in a band until several years later when some 8th grade jazz band classmates asked me to be in a ska band, my first “real” band. We played covers of “Sell Out” by Reel Big Fish and “Boys Don’t Cry” by The Cure, and we had a few originals that we recorded at a smaller local studio, which was a super cool experience to have at that age. After that group disbanded, I joined yet another ska band with other high school friends and the trombone player from the previous band, and we played various shows throughout the rest of high school and into my college years, even playing a couple times at the iconic Pittsburgh venue Mr. Smalls Theater. All this to say, thanks to Zach, Rob, and Jordan for inviting me to join Full Effect and for giving me my first taste of playing live music, and for Ethan for sticking with me after that. I’ve never been the same.

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

Connor: Building on my ska origins, my first ever concert was Streetlight Manifesto in 2005. They set a really high bar of expectations for both watching and performing live music. Ska eventually gave way to more punk rock, and that set me up for my truly formative musical taste years, falling in love with bands like Fall Out Boy, Motion City Soundtrack, The Used, and My Chemical Romance, but I also eventually branched out into heavier bands like The Blood Brothers and The Fall of Troy.

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

Brian T.: I’ve always wanted to work on a record with Will Yip, he has the highest batting average of any producer in my opinion. Anyone who talks about working with him always says his input takes their songs to another level, I feel like he just has an ear for what’s good and he’s not afraid to challenge the artists he works with and that would be such a cool experience.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour?  What do you like to do to unwind?

Connor: I’m a big board game nerd, and there are a few meetup groups for that in Pittsburgh that I like to attend when I can, and I go to a convention in Indianapolis every year called Gen Con. I’m also an avid video game enthusiast; lately I’ve been really into the Monster Hunter series. When I’m not gaming, I enjoy casual biking, checking out breweries and food trucks around the city, and hanging out with my cat, Skywalker.

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?

Brian T: It depends who I’m talking to – if it’s like a coworker or something I’ll just say “rock” or “emo”, but if it’s someone I know who’s into music I’ll list off a bunch of subgenres we kind of slot in with like post-rock, post-hardcore, 90s emo bands like Sunny Day Real Estate and Mineral, bands from “The Wave” like Pianos Become the Teeth and Touche Amore, etc. And honestly, I’m flattered by most comparisons people give us, but I do recall one time someone said we reminded them of Breaking Benjamin, which is not a band I would ever compare us with, but if that’s your reference for our style of music then I won’t hold that against you.

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

Brian T.: I feel like we all “get the drinks in” lol, and if we go to Mark’s house for practice he’ll cook sometimes. But I would say Connor is probably the one who’ll crack out the acoustic for a singalong first.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Connor: Back in December of 2024, Brian T. and I took a spontaneous trip to see Saetia and The Blood Brothers in New York City. The show was phenomenal and we were both blown away by the energy these legendary bands were able to conjure at a 20 year anniversary show.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

Connor: I’d say the best part about being a musician is that it’s an incredibly engaging creative outlet. Not only are you learning and doing multiple things as a musician to create and perform music, but it’s such a universal interest, almost everyone loves some form of music, and when people enjoy what you put out, it’s both humbling and satisfying. But if I weren’t able to be a musician, I’d go for the next best universally appreciated thing – food! I would absolutely love to be able to operate some kind of food truck. Cooking is very enjoyable for me, and getting to share food I make with people who like it is probably the next best thing to performing music.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

Brian T.: That’s a good question, I’ve never really thought about that before. I don’t think anyone has ever asked us the classic “What would be on your tour rider?” question. I’ll go ahead and say I would ask for a king size Reese’s big cup, a bag of popcorn from a movie theater with light butter, a pint of Ben and Jerry’s Chubby Hubby, Mojito La Croix, and a chicken caesar salad with extra croutons.

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?

Brian T.: Honestly I was pretty frustrated having to put the band on the back burner a couple times over the course of our decade-plus together, once between 2016-2017 and then again during Covid, but those turned out to be pretty fruitful in terms of writing and creativity so I can’t complain too much and ultimately I wouldn’t change any of that. However, I would have really loved to play those shows in New England we had to cancel in March 2020 due to lockdown, so if we ever had a chance for a “do over” there I would love one!

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?

Connor: For me it would probably be Sing the Sorrow by AFI. There is so much packed into that album, so many layers and whisper tracks and production secrets. I’d love to be able to see how that came together, it’s one of my favorite albums of all time.

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Category: Interviews