INTERVIEW BY TRASK COLBY
How long have you guys been together?
Matt: Since March of ‘04.
It takes a lot of sacrifice to get a band up and running. What are some sacrifices you guys have made?
David: Mostly our schedules, and our free time with friends have been limited. Pretty soon, we’ll probably have to sacrifice our homes, and go homeless after a year.
Matt: Dave doesn’t have a car, so I have to drive him to work. We’ve lost a lot of time and money.
What are your real jobs?
Matt: I deliver pizza... and some other stuff.
David: I work for a chainsaw factory. Woohoo.
You went on tour back in December. Since you don’t have much of a name outside of Portland, how was the experience playing where nobody knew who you were?
Matt: It was pretty interesting. We made a lot of good friends and got different responses every night. Mainly, we had a lot of fun. We didn’t get to tour with anyone really though; it was new bands every night.
In your opinion, why do a lot of bands fail? What are you guys doing so that you don’t end up like the rest?
David: We are basically working our asses off. We take any opportunity we have to push our band forward, no matter what the sacrifice. It’s just really hard work. You have to give up everything for it, and keep working at it.
Matt: We just make sure to stay really good friends no matter what happens. A lot of bands break up just because of problems within members. As long as we believe in ourselves, we believe we can do it.
How do you guys arrange your gigs?
Matt: I do all the booking and I contact other bands, venues, and promoters. It’s kind of different depending on where you are.
Has a venue ever told you you’re not big enough or good enough?
Matt: We’ve talked to some bigger venues. They usually say, “Try and get a larger following.” We have a hard time just being a single band, and not playing with a tour.
You guys have been busy in the Portland music scene. Made any friends yet?
Matt: We have a lot of good friends. I know the guys in Inked in Blood, Brutal Fight, and Believing in June. The more we play, the more bands we make friends with.
Dave, do you have any friends?
David: No, I’m just in the band.
Do you think online resources like PureVolume and MySpace give you an advantage, or does everyone take advantage of them?
David: I think it does. I mean, it just gets your music out all over the place. People hear us in places that we would never ever play. But I don’t think that the Internet is the biggest way to do it. I think magazines are more the way to do it. (Good answer.)
What are other outlets for the independent musician to get known?
Matt: Touring does a lot, and word of mouth does a lot. You could say that the Internet does a lot. The other day I got an e-mail from a guy in Brazil asking for our CD. We would never come in contact with him, even on tour. But mainly, it’s touring. Everything really works, and we try to use everything to our advantage.
Thanks for the time - shoutouts or shameless self promotion?
David: www.afragileshade.com www.myspace.com/afragileshade
Matt: Keep an eye out for our CD July 19th. We leave for a full western U.S. tour that day.
A five-piece, post-hardcore band from Portland, Oregon, A Fragile Shade combines influences from indie rock to metal to create accessible, but intelligent music. This band is doing their best to set themselves apart from the status quo and into the ranks of the mainstream media. What obstacles does a new band face in becoming something more than just another band that plays tiny venues in the middle of nowhere? We spoke with guitarist Matt Reichert and singer David Biller about the inner workings of a band, and the hopes and dreams of all musicians playing out of their basements.
How long have you guys been together?
Matt: Since March of ‘04.
It takes a lot of sacrifice to get a band up and running. What are some sacrifices you guys have made?
David: Mostly our schedules, and our free time with friends have been limited. Pretty soon, we’ll probably have to sacrifice our homes, and go homeless after a year.
Matt: Dave doesn’t have a car, so I have to drive him to work. We’ve lost a lot of time and money.
What are your real jobs?
Matt: I deliver pizza... and some other stuff.
David: I work for a chainsaw factory. Woohoo.
You went on tour back in December. Since you don’t have much of a name outside of Portland, how was the experience playing where nobody knew who you were?
Matt: It was pretty interesting. We made a lot of good friends and got different responses every night. Mainly, we had a lot of fun. We didn’t get to tour with anyone really though; it was new bands every night.
In your opinion, why do a lot of bands fail? What are you guys doing so that you don’t end up like the rest?
David: We are basically working our asses off. We take any opportunity we have to push our band forward, no matter what the sacrifice. It’s just really hard work. You have to give up everything for it, and keep working at it.
Matt: We just make sure to stay really good friends no matter what happens. A lot of bands break up just because of problems within members. As long as we believe in ourselves, we believe we can do it.
How do you guys arrange your gigs?
Matt: I do all the booking and I contact other bands, venues, and promoters. It’s kind of different depending on where you are.
Has a venue ever told you you’re not big enough or good enough?
Matt: We’ve talked to some bigger venues. They usually say, “Try and get a larger following.” We have a hard time just being a single band, and not playing with a tour.
You guys have been busy in the Portland music scene. Made any friends yet?
Matt: We have a lot of good friends. I know the guys in Inked in Blood, Brutal Fight, and Believing in June. The more we play, the more bands we make friends with.
Dave, do you have any friends?
David: No, I’m just in the band.
Do you think online resources like PureVolume and MySpace give you an advantage, or does everyone take advantage of them?
David: I think it does. I mean, it just gets your music out all over the place. People hear us in places that we would never ever play. But I don’t think that the Internet is the biggest way to do it. I think magazines are more the way to do it. (Good answer.)
What are other outlets for the independent musician to get known?
Matt: Touring does a lot, and word of mouth does a lot. You could say that the Internet does a lot. The other day I got an e-mail from a guy in Brazil asking for our CD. We would never come in contact with him, even on tour. But mainly, it’s touring. Everything really works, and we try to use everything to our advantage.
Thanks for the time - shoutouts or shameless self promotion?
David: www.afragileshade.com www.myspace.com/afragileshade
Matt: Keep an eye out for our CD July 19th. We leave for a full western U.S. tour that day.