Fallbrooke interview with Kevin

by Adam Warner – 2009

 

Hey Kevin, how’s it goin?
Pretty good.

Where does Fallbrooke hail from?
Florida.

What part of Florida?
Miami.

What’s the meaning behind the name Fallbrooke?
We get asked that a lot but there really is no meaning. We just came up with the name one day.

Were there any alternative names in the running?
Yeah, none that I can remember but we had a bunch of names but we just decided on that.

How did you guys come together as a band?
Me and Eric were in a band together before Fallbrooke and it was actually like a metal band; a lot different than what we’re doing now. But that’s how I met Eric, and he was also in another band with our bass player Augusto. Yeah, we were all in different bands.

So everybody came together to make what it is now?
Yeah, pretty much.

So do you miss the metal at all?
Yeah, sometimes, I mean it’s a lot of fun to play but I love what I’m doing now and we’re going places.

How did you guys get associated with RMR?
Paul Palmer, the owner, we had made a CD in Florida that we had done all by ourselves, you know an album, he got a copy of it and liked it so then I talked to Eric and he brought us out here.

Kevin, you play drums for Fallbrooke but do you play any other instruments?
Yeah, I mean I can play guitar but when we do acoustic things I’ll play the guitar.

But drums would obviously be your instrument of choice?
Oh yeah, I’ve been playing the drums since I was 11.

So your self-taught, you didn’t go to school at all for it?
I started when I was 11 but when I was in High School I was on drum line so that helped a lot.

So Fallbrooke is currently out in California, how are those shows coming along?
Pretty good, we have a show tonight in Annaheim. On July 6th we’re going to the East Coast for about a week for a little radio tour with a bunch of the radio stations out there.

Is there any kind of a larger tour on the horizon for you guys?
Oh definitely, yeah. I mean we don’t have one set in stone right now but definitely in the next few months.

It seems that people tend to have unique situations happen while on the road. Has there been anything crazy that stands out in your mind?
I remember a long time ago when we were touring the East Coast, our van was not very good and we had to pull over on the side of the road and let them engine cool down from overheat, we had no air conditioning and that was a pretty tough situation.

The new self-titled released back in Feb 2009, which track is your personal favorite?
My favorite is “I Can’t Get You”

Does everyone contribute during the writing process or is it all just one person?
Eric is definitely the main song writer but we all contribute little things here and there; it all comes together.

Who is your inspiration both as a band and as a drummer?
That answer would be the same thing, my favorite band growing up was Smashing Pumpkins and Jimmy Chamberlin was my favorite drummer.

Have you ever met him?
No, I have met the drummer who replaced him [Matt Walker] after the Mellon Collie. That was kind of cool but I’d love to meet him though.

What’s been the biggest challenge for you guys so far?
Right now we really want to be on the road. The CD took over a year to write and there’s different things coming up. Just trying to get the CD the way we wanted it but now we really just want to tour, it’s all we can think about but we gotta wait a little bit.

It’s a little hard to categorize Fallbrooke, but what genre would you say you’re in?
I agree, I guess some of it could be pop-rock and some could be rock and roll.

Has the passing of Michael Jackson affected you at all?
Oh yeah, of course, we all love Michael Jackson and obviously none of us knew him personally but he really made things happen. I mean he was the biggest pop star ever.

What do you see in Fallbrooke’s future?
Touring all over the world, we love being on the road. Just getting around and meeting people and basically touring.

Is there any particular message you want your fans to get from your songs or do you hope they get their own interpretation from it?
I’d say both, some songs are a little more serious and others are less serious. That’s what I love about music too, being able to interpret it in your own way. Even if you’re not sure what the band really meant by it, you can think of it in your own way.

Thank you very much for your time Kevin, enjoy the road.
Excellent, thank you.