Interview With 'Fell Into Yesterday'
We caught up with Philadelphia based Pop-Punk/Post-Hardcore band Fell Into Yesterday, here is what they had to say.
Firstly, introduce yourselves and tell us a little bit about the band and how you came to be?
Derek: Hey I am Derek, guitarist in FIY. The band started with 4 guys having the same dream of playing music that we wanted to hear on the radio, to write music that people can relate to, and music that separated us from most bands around today. Our drummer, Dave, and I met in the summer of 2014 and then we met Tim, our vocalist, shortly after. Antonio, our bassist, came later in the picture after the original bassist left the band.
Dave: Hi. I am Dave, and I play the drums in Fell Into Yesterday. First off, let me thank you for the opportunity for an interview. We really appreciate it, and we’re all stoked to have this opportunity. Extending from what Derek said, we pretty much came together having discovered a shared passion for music. When I met Derek, not only did we instantly become great friends...we established a musical connection based on our many discussions of musical commitments and goals and then strengthened the connection by writing together and developing musical chemistry. At the time, I knew that I wanted to get back into writing music and was up-in-the-air whether I wanted to start a band as a guitarist or drummer. I was open to both possibilities throughout the early formation of the band, but I decided to remain in my natural roots of drumming which felt like the right fit for me. During our search for a bassist and vocalist, a friend of ours introduced us to Tim, who was also looking to start a band at the very same time. Derek and I were really impressed with Tim’s writing skills and vocal talent and, without hesitation, we combined forces and grew from that day forward. We soon started buying time at a studio for regular rehearsal, and the name “Fell Into Yesterday” shortly after was presented in discussion and stayed with us since. Since then, we’ve been writing music, playing shows, booking studio-time, promoting, supporting other artists, and taking all of the steps to get our music out there. In October of 2015, we became very fortunate to add Antonio into the mix as our missing puzzle-piece to the band. I have the experience of playing in a band with Antonio from our college days (The Success Story/ The Running Ground), so I was well-acquainted with Antonio musically. He was coming to all of the Fell Into Yesterday shows since we started playing out and became great friends with all of us. When the search for a bassist was on and the timing was right, Antonio took the spot in the band as permanent bassist. The decision felt right, and we’ve been doing great since. What I really like about our sound is the mixture of influences that we each contribute towards our writing process.
Tim: My name is Tim and I sing and write lyrics for Fell Into Yesterday. I met the guys through a mutual friend and our original bassist, who I also met through a sheer stroke of luck. Since I was probably a preteen all I wanted to do was sing in a band. So when I met these guys, I couldn't be happier. I had been without a band for a few years, and it was a missing piece in my life for sure. We got started playing acoustic in a backyard over some beers and went from there. It's been a great ride since.
Antonio: Hey I’m Antonio and I’m the bassist. Like Dave said we were old friends from college and the Philly pop punk scene, and I got to reconnect with him as well as meet Tim and Dave when they were playing shows. I was really impressed in the direction they were heading and after some hesitation I joined and haven’t looked back. Every Sunday practice is something I look forward to and a lot of times is the highlight of my week.
What were you all up too prior to the band, was this always the chosen path or did you have other dreams and aspirations?
Derek: For me music has always been my life. I started playing guitar when I was like 13 or so. Playing music for me is therapy. I was that kid who would just sit in his room after school and just play all night. Honestly, unlike the rest of the guys, I didn’t go to college. Music has always been my chosen path in life.
Dave: I also began picking up instruments at an early age inspired by my favorite bands that I began listening to in middle school. Since then, I’ve always had the dream of being a musician. In addition to my musical endeavors, though, I’ve also developed an interest in becoming a school-teacher which I am in the current day. I hold both a Bachelor's and Master’s in Education.
Tim: I wanted nothing in my life more than to be a musician, and mainly a singer, since I was old enough to sing into a hairbrush. I learned trumpet and enough guitar to get by at a young age, but outside of music, I studied psychology in school and dabbled in photography as both a hobby and a potential career path.
Antonio: Playing guitar for 12 years and working on my own random music. I also went to school for Psychology and had been working with kids (or against them depending on how you look at it lol) so that has been another part of life for me.
Tell us about your latest EP and why our readers should check it out.
Derek: Our debut EP ‘ From The Ground Up’ has been something magical for me.. A lot of hard work went into this. When you listen to it, it’s like a rollercoaster in my opinion. Each song tells you who we are are people and what we have been through. It is available on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music, and so much more.
Dave: I definitely recommend everyone checking out our debut EP “From The Ground Up,” because the emotions that we capture in our music are real. I believe that Tim does a really good job in writing lyrics that are relatable to audiences and, when we perform our songs, you can tell that Tim really puts a lot of heart and creativity into what he says. All of us put a lot of heart into what we do, and we do what we do for you! We are very grateful for the many people and organizations who have shown us support. As down-to-earth guys, we are not focused on making fans...we are focused on building friendships in the music community & we welcome all listeners to be a part of what we do. I want to give a special shout-out to our buddies Dan & D.J. Kirk from Notlit Studios who tracked, mixed & mastered our debut EP.
Tim: The name “From The Ground Up” really says it all about our EP for me.. It starts off with the title track which gives a short background about us in the form of a song, and then from there the first few songs are some of the songs that we put together earliest in the process, when we were just putting pieces together and it grows with each track more and more into us writing as a unit as opposed to writing individual parts and blending them together, and it ends with 'Paddle Out', the song that I feel best demonstrates where we’re going with future writing.
Antonio: I like it and so should you...wait I gotta write more stuff?? Have you ever come face to face with someone within the music scene who has left you awestruck and why?
Derek: I have seen some very talented bands in our scene. There aren’t many bands here that play “the rockstar”. We are all in this together and it definitely shows. We have played with a good amount of incredible bands and we are all watching each other’s sets. Of Course, there are a small amount of bands that do not represent the scene well, but the good outweighs the bad!
David: I agree with Derek in that we are all in this together. There is so much talent in Philadelphia, PA, and we are honored to share a hometown with such talented groups. Anyone who goes up on stage and pours their heart out, shows their vulnerability and connects with the audience impresses me. I have a lot of respect for the local musicians and everyone who supports them.
Tim: I have personally felt awestruck by just about every band that we've shared the stage with, and a lot of bands we've seen while just out supporting the scene. There is so much raw talent in Philly, and even when styles don't really match up, the scene is just so friendly and supportive.
Antonio: Anyone who plays their heart at every show, whether it’s a dingy bar or main stage in some of the biggest places around, earns my respect and admiration. If we were to head out to one of your live shows what can ourselves and others expect?
Derek: One thing is that we go crazy on stage! We let the music flow through our bodies and we let it take over. The crowd feels our energy as well. Expect to have a great night and move to the music. I (Derek) might just be with you in the crowd partying!
Dave: You can definitely expect an entertaining set for sure! The guys in the band go all out and hold nothing back. Our set is interactive and includes great energy, stories, and some humor. You can also expect all of us staying for all of the bands billed onto the show, so please feel free to say “hi” to us before or after our set. We have merch too (t-shirts, EPs, bracelets, business cards with free downloads), so also feel free to stop by our merch table and see what we are up to.
Tim: Derek is going to play the Star Wars theme song and the intro to Beat It. Antonio is going to sweat. A lot. Dave looks like King Kong behind the kit, and I'm going to look for something to jump off and talk as much or more than Antonio sweats. We're also gonna go hard playing some songs from our EP and a few that have yet to be recorded.
Antonio: We’ll kick your head in. (figuratively of course)
If you had one artist/band that you could go on tour with tomorrow who would it be and why?
Derek: For me there are so many bands I would love to tour with! The one band that does stick out though is H.I.M. They are by far my number one favorite band and one of the best live bands ever. To me, they are the perfect live band with how tight they are musically.
Dave: For me, it’s Blink-182. I grew up listening to pop-punk, and there’s no band other than Blink that really laid that initial foundation for me. They are catchy and have so many hits that I will always love. They also all seem like really fun people to be around too. I like many bands within many genres, but I definitely credit Blink-182 as my primarily influence in becoming a pop-punk kid and opening my mind up to playing music.
Tim: For me, it would probably be The Wonder Years. They're Philly dudes, just like us, seem like guys that would be fun as hell to hang out with, are the band I've seen live the most, and are one of my biggest influences.
Antonio: CLUTCH. Fans of Clutch will understand why. You can spend an hour with a musical icon living or dead, who would you pick, why and what would you speak about?
Derek: As a guitar player, my biggest influence on guitar is Ace Frehley. So being able to chat with him about guitars and music would be incredible.
Dave: I would love to speak with Paul McCartney. I’ve been to so many concerts, shows, and music festivals in my life (way more than one can count), but no live-performer has ever impressed me quite like Paul McCartney did when I saw him in concert. I pick Paul McCartney, because he is a well-respected musician who has pathed the way for many musicians and many musicians to come. I would like to ask him about some of his influences, what advice he has for musicians, and also use a chance to talk about whatever interests him (music-related or not) and his life-experiences so that way I would get to know the full McCartney story from the legend directly.
Tim: I would love a chance to chat with Anthony Green. I would love to talk to him about his writing styles. His words have always stuck with me and I would love to know what influences in life provide him with topics and what influences in a literary sense helped him form his lyrical style.
Antonio: Jaco Pastorius, or maybe Robert Deleo from Stone Temple Pilots. And we’d be jamming, not talking haha.
And finally and most importantly is Die Hard a Christmas Movie?
Derek: I have not seen that movie so I can’t say. Now, Nightmare Before Christmas is so a Christmas movie! It pulls double duty as a classic Halloween movie!
Dave: Haha, great question! I hope that I don’t offend anyone when I say that it doesn’t count as a Christmas Movie. Bruce Willis is definitely the man, though. Derek, go see the movie...you deprived child! Haha... To me, that’s like calling the Harry Potter movies Christmas movies because they have a brief Christmas setting in the movies. All great movies; just not Christmas-movie material per ce! A Christmas Story...now, that’s a Christmas movie!!! I’d be interested in hearing what Tim and Antonio have to say about this one…
Tim: Die Hard is not A Christmas movie. It is THE Christmas movie.
Antonio: Halloween is best holiday, but Die Hard is pretty damn good.
Check out 'Paddle Out'
EP 'From The Ground Up' available now.
Bandcamp - http://fellintoyesterday.bandcamp.com
