Interview par e-mail de Goodbye Fairbanks, Indie-Pop-Rock, Berne – 30.01.08
Hey guys, just to get things started maybe you could briefly introduce yourself and your band in few words?
Goodbye Fairbanks are: Ric, Dave, Ben and Olsen.
How would you describe your music?
Melodic indie rock that is pop sometimes and has lots of different influences.
Classic question: where does the band name « Goodbye Fairbanks » come from?
Fairbanks is a very inspiring place for us. There is something secretive and beautiful to it, with its northern lights and beautiful surrounding landscapes, but at the same time it’s also depressing and cold. It’s probably the kind of place you want to leave all your life, and when you finally do, you wish you’d stayed. This kind of dilemma just seemed to fit our music and it stuck.
I hear that you guys are in studio in Germany at the moment, how’s that going? Do you have any fresh news to give us about your first LP?
Yes, tracking is almost done and we are very happy with the results so far. We were able to take the time to try out new sounds and I think we will be able to surprise some people. We will start mixing in March and hopefully release the record in early summer.
Do who have any contacts with record labels who would want to put it out?
We are currently exploring our opportunities in Switzerland and abroad and we’ve had some talks, but we can only get down to business when we have our record on the table, so we have to be patient. But things aren’t looking all that bad and we believe in this record.
What do your songs talk about?
Well, most of our lyrics are rather melancholic. They talk about problems we all go through. We try to deal with these topics in a rather sarcastic and self-ironic way, though and often our music will contrast the contents of the lyrics. We are not sad or serious people at all, but writing music is a way of coping with difficult situations in our lives and happiness is just something that no one in our band need to process into a song, because happiness is not something you want to get out of your system.
What are your main musical influences?
There are so many and we all listen to different stuff. But the reason why most of us started making music in the first place are The Beatles. We also love Frank Sinatra or the Gym Class Heroes and bands in our genre like Death Cab For Cutie, Jimmy Eat World or Nada Surf.
What band have you been listening the most to lately?
I’ll just give you list of some records we have listened to on our last trips to concerts:
Jimmy Eat World – Chase This Light
Tegan and Sara -The Con
Placebo – Meds
The Postal Service – Give Up
What’s your best memory you’ve had with this band.
Definitely the show with Fall Out Boy in Zurich but also when we played at the Fashion Week in Berlin, great times!
You’ve shared the stage with bands like Fall Out Boy, do you think those kinds of gigs open up doors for bands like yourself?
Oh yes, it was a huge opportunity for us to present ourselves to a large crowd and be heard by kind of the real world of the music industry. A show like that can help you get noticed by some important people, but more importantly we made a lot of new fans there and had an unbelievable time.
On your myspace, you guys wrote that you’re ready to take the big step and maybe tour Europe, do you have any idea of when that’s going to happen?
We are planning our first extended Tour through Germany in April. We are taking baby steps now, but after the release of our record, there’s a lot more to come.
You guys come from Bern, which is right in the middle of Switzerland. Is there a big difference between the german-speaking and the french-speaking scene?
Yeah, we do think so. Every time we have played in the Romandie, we had the impression that people love and understand live music and actually come to concerts of local bands, which is often not the case in the German part of Switzerland and especially Berne.
Does anybody in the band have any side projects (musical, artistic,…)?
Ben and Dave have worked with Powa Run (formerly Autumn In May) and have played shows with them. Ben is into programming electronic music and we have formed a secret Bossa Nova-Metal project that the world is probably not ready for yet.
What do you guys think about all these new websites (like Myspace etc.). Do you think they’re a real support to bands who are starting up?
Myspace has become one of the most important tools for us to spread the word about our muisc and reach out to important contacts and more importantly it is perfect to stay in touch with your fans and maintain a close relationship with them.
What are your big plans for 2008?
To get our record released and to find the right partners for it and then we will tour as much as we can in Switzerland and outside of it to promote our record. We want to get our name out and reach out to as many people as we possibly can.
Got anything else on your heart you want to share with us?
Thanks to everyone who came out to the Nyoncore Festival last year, we had an excellent time. Jazon and Bud, thanks again for having us!
Take care and all the best for the future!
www.myspace.com/goodbyefairbanksrock
www.goodbyefairbanks.com
