Rock trio Falling Still will be releasing their eponymous EP on February 26th. Singer/guitarist Eric Podnar, drummer Jeremy Cull, and bassist/backing vocalist Brett Hamilton spoke with us about their sound, their influences, and their kickass van.
Describe your music for our readers who may not be familiar with you.
Eric: Falling Still is rock music. Loud, powerful, high-energy rock music. The term grunge normally gets thrown in there when describing our sound. We also hear things like psychedelic and surf from some people. The truth is, we have a pretty loose sense of identity, and that really comes across in the music we make. We just kind of write whatever we're feeling influenced by at the time, and we can be influenced by just about anything.
Who are your musical influences and idols?
Eric: Bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam were big inspirations when we were starting. NIN has always played a prevailing role, too. Pop music actually contributes a lot to what we do. Michael Jackson, for instance, is undeniably the greatest musical entity to ever exist.
Brett: But we keep our influences pretty open. One day we might feel incredibly inspired by Bob Dylan or Jack White, and the next day we'll be inspired by Neurosis or something. Good artists realize that there's something you can steal from everyone!
What was the first album, cassette, or CD you bought with your own money?
Eric: Michael Jackson's Bad on cassette. When I was six or seven, I would swing on my swing set for hours singing "Dirty Diana" and "The Way You Make Me Feel." I had to have gone through at least fifteen copies because I kept wearing the cassette out. My ass has permanent indentations from all the hours swing-singing.
Brett: Insane Clown Posse's The Amazing Jeckel Brothers. My mom was with me at the time, and she inspected the back of the CD. She saw there was a song called "Fuck The World" and said no way. But I was a really dramatic kid and probably started to make a bit of a scene in the store, so she broke and let me buy it.
Jeremy: I am proud to say that the first cd I ever bought with my own money was the single for "...Baby One More Time" by Britney Spears. And I wore that shit out!
I love the video for "If U Stay," even if it does make me feel a tad claustrophobic. Did you really film it in the back of a moving van? What was that like? Who has that van now?
Eric: We did, in fact, film it in a moving van. Definitely not the safest thing we've ever done, but we survived.
Jeremy: Just a few small cuts and bruises from taking a spill here and there. But what's rock and roll without a little blood?
Brett: The van is our touring van and I also use it to make a little money on the side. I'm involved with a site called TaskRabbit which puts people who need various tasks done together with people capable of carrying them out. One time I helped somebody move a couple of armoires, and he was fascinated by the fact that I can use our touring van to make money. The guy ended up being the founder of the blog Boing Boing, and he took a picture of me in front of the van, wrote a little story about me, and posted our video. We got a lot of exposure from it, and so did our van. So when it was time to make another video, it seemed appropriate to let the van be a co-star.
You have a track on your upcoming EP called "Thin Lizzy." Is that a tribute to the band?
Eric: No, not an intentional tribute. The melody we had written for it sounded a lot like a Thin Lizzy melody, and we always just referred to it as "The Thin Lizzy Song." And oftentimes, those nicknames we give to songs will just stick in the end.
Scenario: your favorite rock magazine or website reviews your EP and loves it. How do they describe it in six words or less?
Eric: Finally, a band that doesn't suck.
Brett: Loud, electrifyingly sexy harbingers of rock.
Jeremy: Six hits by three swingin' dicks!
Finally, Falling Still is the opening act of a music festival. You can get any five artists, living or dead, to perform on the bill with you. Which five do you choose and what song do you all perform as the final jam?
Brett: Michael Jackson would have to be there. Maybe Kanye West to really get the party going. Aerosmith from the '80s. Both versions of Genesis. Maybe a little heavy on the Phil Collins side. And then we would all play "Fat Bottom Girls" by Queen. And since Genesis only counts as one band, we'd invite Sunn O))) to play at the end of the night and scramble everyone's brains.
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