Famous Last Words have been quite busy, writing and recording for what will be their third album "The Incubus", released through newly signed label Revival Recordings. That said, the band has gone on to release a few singles, and plans to head out on the road, promoting this release as much as possible. Frontman vocalist JT talks all about it!
1. Who are you and what do you do in the band?
Jt: my name is Jt, and I am the vocalist of Famous Last Words.
2.You released your first set of albums through InVogue, then switched over to Revival Recordings, to release your third album "The Incubus", how come?
Jt: The band parted ways with Invogue on good terms. Our contract was just up and we decided to explore other options. Shawn over at revival is an extremely passionate person, especially when it comes to concept albums, so that was definitely a big contributing factor.
3. You went and released two singles off this album "Pretty In Porcelain" and "The Judged". Why were these picked and made into singles and or videos? Will you be releasing any more tracks off this album?
Jt: The album officially drops this month, so we won't be releasing any more singles. But we decided to go with Pretty In Porcelain for the video because we felt the song was a great way to introduce the new sound and to show a really cool and unique video. The judged was chosen for the lyric video specifically to showcase the lyrics and how we went about writing them and their delivery. In that song, the screaming is one character and the singing is another, so the video really helps you differentiate the two parts with the visual aids.
4. Why did you go the concept album route on the new album?
Jt: Concept albums are our thing. Ever since our first LP, "Two-Faced Charade", we have stuck with telling stories through our songs with specific concepts and characters. I feel like it's a great way to deliver a message while simultaneously keeping the listener invested into the story/album. Plus we have come to realize that if you have a great story with great flow and you execute the songs properly, you are going to have an album with great flow as well.
5. How did you challenge yourself sound wise to fit this concept?
Jt: Every concept comes with its own sound. As long as it's a different story, it's going to have a different sound. We look at it as if we are scoring a movie. So the vibes of the songs need to match the vibes of the story. We also changed up the writing roles. I did a lot more instrumental writing on this album and we also brought on our new guitarist Evan Foley who wrote a couple of songs instrumentally as well. Add a new producer to that mix and we were destined to have a different sound. And even though the sound is different, I think it still sounds very Famous Last Words. Maybe a more mature FLW, but FLW none the less.
6. Is the concept of the album going to develop into any other mediums like film or graphic novels?
Jt: With every new story and album we do, I would love to create more extra content for the fans. We actually had a special limited edition made for this album (under 300 left by the way) which includes artwork for each of the individual songs. As far as doing another short film or something along those lines like we did with Two-Faced Charade, I would love to do that, but it's definitely not a cheap endeavor. So I guess we will just have to wait and see how the album does.
7. Did you get the album you wanted? Is everything on there or were there some things that were just impossible to pull off?
Jt: I feel like we got the album we wanted for sure. Because we do concept albums, we go in with a certain amount of songs, and we leave with the same amount of songs. There are never any B-Side tracks. With albums that tell stories, you can't really add or take away songs or else you're adding or taking away part of the story. Plus we really wanted to create something that sounds more mature and different, and I think we did just that.
8. What can fans expect to hear? More new songs or old songs?
Jt: (I'm sorry I don't fully understand this question. The fans can expect something new and refreshing from this album though. )
9. Since you have so many albums, does it keep getting more difficult to put together a setlist?
Jt: It definitely does. We definitely have songs that people like more than others, but I've come to find that a lot of people like different so bra for different reasons. I did a post one time asking people to name their favorite FLW song, and every one of our songs was on that list, which was really cool. It's nice to know that we aren't a band with just a couple of good songs that people like and that's it.
10. Do you remember the first show your band played?
Jt: The first show this band ever played was with a completely different line up. I was just the clean vocalist and the band had a different name. We opened up for Otep in Detroit MI and played in front of a total of about 5 people. It was small but it was a blast. It's crazy to look back and see how far we've come since then. We are incredibly fortunate to be where we are now.11. What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Jt: Lots of touring. We are hoping to be on the road a lot in 2017 in support of the new album. 2016 was a slow year for touring because we were working on the new album. It's kind of crazy because I've seen a lot of people online saying "FLW is back!" And I'm here thinking to myself, " We left??". I guess people thought we were on a hiatus or something this last year. But we were just taking time to write and record the album. Apparently it's weird for a band to take time off of touring to write an album. But I think it was well worth it!
12.Anything else you like to say or want to add on?
Jt: It would literally be impossible to do this without you all of our fans and I think it's incredibly important to show our appreciation to everyone who supports FLW. So on behalf of everyone at the FLW camp, I'd like to say thank you, and we all can't wait for you to hear the new record we have worked so hard on.
Love you guys!
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