Hailing from Walnut Creek, CA, The Story So Far is a band that has taken the scene by storm with their new album, Under Soil And Dirt. The album blends modern styles, made popular by bands such as Handguns and Such Gold, which have received an immensely positive response. Read on for our recent interview with the band's guitarist, Will.
Could you please state your name and role in the band?
Will: I'm Will and I play guitar in TSSF.
Firstly, could you give us some background info for The Story So Far and tell us how the band name was chosen?
Will: We used to hang out downtown and would scroll through our iPods looking for cool song names and TSSF from NFG stuck. We started about 3 or 4 years ago, and it was based off playing music in Ryan's room. Now I'm in a motel room in Frederick, Maryland waiting for our van to get fixed.
For the past few weeks the band has been on the road with We Are The Union and I Call Fives, and now the tour's just about wrapped up. What were some of your favourite moments on this tour; did any specific shows stand out?
Will: Meeting all of them, Vegas was great with IC5, every night with those bands was great. I really don't have a favorite day, just the 3 weeks in general. I made some great friends who I miss dearly, made some great memories. We spent a whole day in Massachusetts and hung out in a park with our friends. That was probably the best show of the tour, and we got to see our friend Lacy who made us grilled cheeses with his cat Bam Bam.
You guys also have a set of dates with Handguns and Heartsounds before going over to Japan with a 2 week break in between. How surreal does going overseas to play music seem? Are you guys gonna be resting up or just looking forward to playing to a new crowd?
Will: It's great, we're all excited. We still have some business to finish in the States before we go over so it's not really on our minds right now. I know I'll be sleeping a lot when I'm home, and going to China Village.
What other countries in particular would you guys like to be able to visit in the future?
Will: We wall want to hit the UK, Europe, Canada, Australia, anywhere really. Travelling is great.
Since the record release, the band has risen to a new level with the likes of Such Gold, Handguns, and With The Punches - in a scene with so much talent, what do you think sets you apart from others bands?
Will: We're people, everyone is going to be different, we do what we feel is best for us. We write the music that we want to write. We never really expected anything more from this record, we sat down and decided that we wanted to write a lot of music. Every band does things differently.
Having worked with producer Sam Pura for years now, how did working on the record compare to previous releases?
Will: I love Sam and the Panda Studios. This time he pushed us harder, we spent more time on each part, we wanted certain parts to stand out more. We would spend hours getting a tone for one guitar lead. It was great spending that much time there as well, we are all ready to start writing again and go back to work with him.
In the past you've mentioned that it's proven difficult prioritising the band, given the members' different agendas. Are things easier now or does this still sometimes present setbacks?
Will: No, things are just as difficult, we haven't really settled down since the record has been out.
The record was put out by Pure Noise Records, in the States, and ICE GRILL$, in Japan, can you tell us how you got involved with the labels?
Will: Jake and I met years ago at shows and I handed him the demo TSSF had from 2008 that we recorded in a friend's room. He was always interested in putting out our music and a year later he started Pure Noise and contacted us about releasing some music, and he has been the most understanding dad ever. Mizuki contacted us over the Internet and Jake and I worked with him for a while and Mizuki has been very good to us.
A music video for Quicksand was also recently released, what made you choose this song and what was filming the video like?
Will: We thought that this song was a banger and it was the first one we released off the record so it was just an easy decision. We feel that this song has parts of the whole record in one song. Filming it was cool, we played a show in our hometown and then our friend James filmed us working on the van.
Apart from more touring, what else does the band have planned for the remainder of the year?
Will: Writing more music and being idiots.
Thanks for your time and good luck in the future! Do you have any last words?
Will: Noo... yessssssss (Night Of The Roxbury). Yeah, support music, support honest bands.
Exclusive: Life On The Sideline EP announcement, music video premiere
Since releasing Honesty Is A Dying Breed two years ago, Life On The Sideline has remained active on the road and is now ready to unveil its upcoming EP, Never Settle. To kick things off, we're premiering the music video for the band's new single, "Echo", which tells the sad story of a young girl reminiscing times spent with her deceased partner. While not a pop punk song per se, it's as catchy as one with an infectious chorus that you'll inevitably get stuck in your head. The band's sound could be compared to that of Transit's and The Early November's. Fans can pre-order the EP on iTunes and CD here, before it's released on June 7th. […]
