“When we were on a major label, they wouldn’t save money and they’d waste money.”

The walls of the upstairs bar in New York City’s Filmore at Irving Plaza are framed with moments of musical history. Photos of legendary musicians whom have taken the stage below tell the stories of many jam-packed nights, some filled with intimate sing-alongs and others with mosh pits. Tonight, the scenario will be the later. Funeral for a Friend is in town. Though more recent albums from the Welsh band are melodic and Pop/Rock oriented, fans first latched onto these guys when they burst onto the Post-Hardcore scene. Thus, crowd surfing induced songs are naturally still injected into the FFAF set list.

It’s been two years since Matt Davies (vocals), Darran Smith (guitar), Ryan Richards (drums) and Kris Coombs-Roberts (guitar) have toured America. This time, they’re joined by new bass player and former Hondo Maclean member, Gavin Burrough, on bass and are promoting their new album, Memory and Humanity. It’s the band’s first post-major label release and Smith, Richards and Burrough have gathered in a dimly lit booth to discuss their decision to return to their indie roots.

“We had a couple of offers on the table,” reveals Smith. But of the band’s decision to ditch the power players, says “We felt it was the right move to make in today’s music business world. We felt very comfortable doing that.” And during the making of the self-funded release, “We had a lot more control.”

The career supporting FFAF’s recordings began with the 2003 release of their second EP, Four Ways to Scream Your Name (Ferret). That year, the band won its first esteemed Kerrang! Award for “Best UK Newcomer.” Later that year, three singles from its Ferret-released debut full-length, Casually Dressed and Deep in Conversation, landed on the UK top-twenty charts. Since then, FFAF has taken home the Kerrang! Award for “Best British Band,” seen every release reach Gold status, headlined the main stage of the Reading and Leeds Festivals, opened for its idols, Iron Maiden, had an album chart at #3 and taken on the Warped Tour in the USA.

However, they soon realized that not even signing to Atlantic Records for the 2005 release of Hours, would bring them much recognition from America. It would take the band reclaiming control of its career by releasing its music label-free to do that.

Richards notes, “We’ve been around five years in the US and we’ve played this place three times opening, and now we’re off Atlantic and we’re here headlining. “

Smith provides insight, saying “It was definitely the case in America,” that a major label didn’t know what to do with the band.

For Memory and Humanity, Smith and his band mates opted to create their own label, Join Us Records. They then licensed the completed tracks to Victory Records for American and Canadian distribution and Roadrunner Records for the rest of the world.

The pro vs. con decision-making process was basically a no-brainer.

“The creative freedom to make all the decisions that really matter- the song choices, what goes on the record, what to do videos for and how to present ourselves,” were the main objectives to consider, according to Richards. He continues, “On a major, they’ve obviously invested a lot of money in you, so they want to have a lot of input in that. Once we found a deal that worked for us and enabled us financially do the record that we wanted to do and be able to tour as much as we do, then it was 99 pros to the 1 con I suppose, if there even was a con. There really wasn’t, because we got to license out the record. So it worked out perfect, really.”

While many artists may be afraid to take the leap, in fear of losing out on luxury, Smith says “We haven’t really noticed any change because we haven’t made a great deal of changes in what we do. We operate as a touring band on a bus and we haven’t had to make any huge cut backs. So I don’t think we’ve noticed any sort of bad or difficulties doing it ourselves.”

He notes that the band is actually saving money by not being on a major label. “It’s good to see where we can save money. When we were on a major label, they wouldn’t save money and they’d waste money. It’s good to have control of that and say – as we used to them sometimes – ‘don’t waste money on that, it’s not going to work,’ and they’d still do it. Now we can say we’re not going to do it because it won’t help us in anyway.”

FFAF decided to team up with impactful indie, Victory Records, because “They’ve got a long history of bringing forth great bands,” says Smith.

There’s also no pressure this time around to meet sales demands.

Since the band formed in 2001, Richards explains “The music industry is a bit different now. I think it’s harder to do with illegal downloads and just MySpace in general. More than anything now, I think it’s about the live show. It’s almost like you’re giving albums away for free now because they are available for free, if you want to do that. So it’s all about putting on the best live show that we can and really enticing people to come back and watch us and pick up our records.”

Tales Don’t Tell Themselves, the band’s 2007 release, was put up in its entirety on MySpace for fans to preview. However, going totally digital isn’t something FFAF considers.

“We’re all great lovers on the packaging of a product,” informs Smith. “We’ll stick with that for however long our career goes and always present interesting art work and hopefully that will make it more attractive for people to come out and buy.”

Richards elaborates, “We even made a deluxe version of [Memory and Humanity] that has a DVD on it and even insisted that we had a vinyl–which no one buys– but we wanted. The vinyl dorks in us wanted that. But Roadrunner didn’t. It’s nice to have at home.”

The band has been featured on countless magazine covers and received praise from the media, including Rolling Stone, which praised Hours: “Whereas many of their punk-metal peers come off like caricatures, Funeral are careful not to overindulge in showy guitar solos, misplaced yelling or unnecessarily complicated rhythms. Instead, the Welsh outfit places the focus more squarely on hooks, and tracks won’t take more than a couple of listens to get stuck in your craw.”

Yet, Richards believes the most valuable form of admiration comes from other, younger bands. “I think it’s the biggest complement that you can get, that you’ve been a factor in them doing this.”

Darren recalls a recent encounter with such fans. “I had a weird experience a few months ago, where we were playing a festival and we were headlining this one particular stage. There was one of the bands playing earlier- I think they were all sort of around 19-20ish. Me and Matt were side-stage watching. They gave us a shout-out on stage and said ‘We grew up listening to those guys.’ It was quite bizarre. When you think about it, we’ve been around six-and-a-half/ seven years and they were maybe like 13 or 14 when they started listening to us. So it’s weird to think of it that way.”

“We’ve all been in that position, too, where we met people we’ve idolized growing up,” assures Richards. “For us to be in that position, is pretty humbling.”

“The minute you start writing music for other people or a particular group or style of fans, it’s pointless to do it.”

Another humbling experience came from the guys family members, who heard FFAF’s music on popular UK soap operas, East Enders and Coronation Street. “That was the biggest thing to people,” laughs Richards. “When [“INTO OBLIVION”] was played, I’d get aunts and uncles texting me, ‘You were just played on East Enders!’ Up to then, we didn’t matter. But we get played on East Enders and ‘You guys are real!’”

The band credits the secret of their success and longevity to be pure enjoyment.

“As soon as it doesn’t become enjoyable, it’s time to stop what you’re doing,” says Smith. He encourages other bands to “Keep pleasing yourselves. The minute you start writing music for other people or a particular group or style of fans, it’s pointless to do it.”

Richards also advises, “Don’t try to chase any scenes. We always try to stay one step ahead. Everything we do, we try to make it as different as possible and do something that’s refreshing. Keep it exciting for yourself and keep getting along with and respecting each other on the road.”

Smith concludes, “We never write the same thing twice. It’s boring and there are far too many bands that do that.”

GET MORE FROM FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND: www.myspace.com/funeralforafriend

Joelle Batelli spends her days at Music Resource Group editing for The Musician’s Atlas and coordinating sponsorships for The Independent Music Awards. As music naturally consumes her life, she spends her “downtime” producing/hosting a Web-TV show, On the Verge, for Ambush.tv. You can watch her interview with Funeral for a Friend and many other bands at www.planetverge.com.

WATCH THE VIDEO FOR “RULES AND GAMES” BY FUNERAL FOR A FRIEND:

“There’s nothing easy about it. If you want easy, this is not the way to go. Frankly, if you want easy, you’re probably in the wrong business anyway.”

- Telling on Trixie frontman Derek Nicoletto recaps on his experience calling upon fans to fund the band’s latest album.

New York-based Indie Rock quintet, Telling on Trixie, is proof that taking your career into your own hands can lead to success. The band funded its March ‘09 release, Ugly, Broke & Sober, entirely on donations and its promotional campaign has inspired other Indies to ditch traditional methods of recording and distribution and rely solely on the power of fans. Here, vocalist Derek Nicoletto fills Atlas Plugged in on how he and his bandmates (Brad Small- guitar, Tommy Kessler – guitars & keys , Andrew Frawley – drums & percussion, Tom Welsch – bass) raised over $20,000 through online promotion directed towards their Band With A Plan site and various levels of donation opportunities and rewards.

IMA: Why did you decide to launch a dedicated Web site (abandwithaplan.com) in an effort to raise funds (as opposed to doing it just on your MySpace or official site?)

TELLING ON TRIXIE: A key aspect of A Band with a Plan was the exclusivity of membership. We needed a separate website with password protected areas for the behind-the-scenes blog and news. Our site had voting poll modules and a forum where members could express their opinions. Right before the release, we posted all the songs so all the members could have a private sneak peek. The operation of A Band with a Plan was intense and totally its own beast from the day-to-day of Telling on Trixie. As you can quickly see from the site, there was a lot involved to our program and I think that’s one of the reasons it succeeded.

IMA: This project began last May 12st. Was it slow to start off? When do you expect to meet your $50,000 goal?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: This project began in beta in May 2008, and in June, we launched it properly. At first, we thought we would spend a year trying to raise $50,000 to support and promote an album and a video. After some discussion amongst ourselves, we realized we didn’t want to spend a year fundraising. So, we decided that September 30th 2008 would be the last day of the fundraising and membership portion of a Band with a Plan. We hoped to raise $20,000 by then, and we did. The actual musical creation of an album is so all-consuming, there’s no way I could have had the fundraising and membership drive running entirely concurrently. There was some overlap, but by October 1st, we needed to concentrate fully on the music. I’m so glad we did.

IMA: What was the biggest donation you received?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: $5,000

IMA: The Lowest?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: $10

IMA: The Average amount & tier level?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Most people donated at the $50 “Groupie” level, probably because it included the most bang for your buck. A $50 level member got a private username and password for the site, an autographed CD and a T-Shirt. The T-Shirts are still in the making, because the first batch we got were totally ugly when they arrived. After all our fans and Band with a Plan members have done for us, I’m not giving them ugly fashion.

IMA: “Band Managers” who donated more than $500 received a personal 1-2 minute instrumental jingle for their MySpace page. How many of these did you have to compose?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Well, we offered five people this option and actually, none of them wanted the jingle. But they did want to be in the video for “Crash Me Up,” so they all make appearances. In many cases, people wanted to participate on their own terms. One couple offered us an extra $100 if they could be the first to hear the rough cut of “Mad About You.” We obliged.

IMA: How many people did you write 3-4 minute private songs for?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Two songs have been written. One song is completed and was delivered privately. For the second song, our member asked if she could write a song with me, which I think is really cool. She created her own experience out of it, which is awesome. Also, you can see both of the people who donated $1,000 and more in the “Crash Me Up” video. Actually, many of those people in the video are members of A Band with a Plan.

IMA: What was it like working with producer Jamie Siegel (Lauryn Hill, Taking Back Sunday, Joss Stone) on select tracks?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Jamie produced our first album, Telling on Trixie. Since he knows us really well, we knew we could show him what we had done with the first seven tracks and trust him with the last three. We had a lot of responsibility to get it right with this album. There’s no one else I wanted to mix the album or produce those tracks but Jamie.

IMA: You included your fans from around the world in the music video for “Crash Me Up.” How did you film those from Italy, Orlando & Germany? Was it really the same red ball?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: I ordered about 20 of the same ball and sent them around the world. But in many of the shots, it’s the exact same ball.

IMA: How did you team up with Project Runway star Jack Mackenroth to design you an article of clothing for the $10000.00 donation? Has anyone gotten this yet?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Jack was in our video for “Orion’s Light.” We filmed portions of it in Shanghai, China and the rest of it in Brooklyn, New York. If you’re a Jack fan, I suggest you check out the Director’s Cut of “Orion’s Light” which is only up on You Tube, next to its softer sister version. The original version was a little too racy for broadcast because of the heavy S&M vibe. I’m a fan of Jack’s clothes; he’s a fan of Telling on Trixie, so he was kind enough to offer our fans a personal design for Band with a Plan. But since no one donated $10,000, he didn’t design the article. Of course, if someone would still like to donate that money, I’m sure we could still work something out.

IMA: From what states & countries have you received most of your donations?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Almost 100 from five continents participated. We personally know about sixty percent of the people who took part.

IMA: Is your ultimate goal to sign to a label?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Our ultimate goal is to be a self-sustaining musical project.

IMA: Will you do something like this again?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Only time will tell, but we’ve just begun to ride the “Ugly, Broke & Sober” wave, so it will be a while.

IMA: Do you see this as something more bands could/should easily do?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: There’s nothing easy about it. If you want easy, this is not the way to go. Frankly, if you want easy, you’re probably in the wrong business anyway.

IMA: : What is your advice for artists who are reading this and are thinking of launching their own fund-raising rather than joining companies like Sellaband?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: It really depends on what the artist wants out of the program. Sellaband serves a purpose, but was not for us. Many bands, such as Comandante Zero and Diablo Royale have contacted us and now have programs somewhat similar to ours in effect. If bands like our program I suggest they look at abandwithaplan.com and study its structure. My advice is to tailor any program to your fans, though. What worked for Jill Sobule would not work for us, and vice versa.

IMA: “Ugly, Broke & Sober” is now playing on 168 college stations and and “Crash Me Up” on few hundred more Internet, HOT AC, AAA and Underground stations. Did you hire a radio promotions company or have band members taken on the task?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: We have professionals who bring our music to radio, but we have also built personal relationships with many individual terrestrial or internet stations worldwide.

IMA: You teamed up with the American Cancer Society as a charity partner… How does this work?

TELLING ON TRIXIE: Two years ago, we approached the American Cancer Society about becoming our charitable partner after some personal experiences with cancer. The ACS had us to their offices in NYC. We shared our stories with them; they shared their mission with us. As a result, this year we performed for a second year in a row at the NYU fundraiser. We dedicated our song, “The Deepest Dive” to the Luminaria March. In April, for every download of that song, we pledged $1. We will be donating several hundred dollars to the ACS at the end of this month as a result of the download program.

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS: Check out the band at www.myspace.com/tellingontrixie

Joelle Batelli spends her days at Music Resource Group editing for
The Musician’s Atlas and coordinating sponsorships for The Independent Music Awards. As music naturally consumes her life, she spends her “downtime” producing/hosting a Web-TV show, On the Verge, for Ambush.tv. You can watch her interview Butch Walker, Hanson, the Matches, Sohodolls and more at www.planetverge.com.