YMC talks to Maf Milnes of Faze about their new EP "Do You Believe" and sponsorship scheme.
YMC: How long have you been playing together and how would you describe your music?
Faze:
We have been together since the days that a group of
inspirationally bored young men in their late teens took up playing
guitars and drums and started rehearsals at the local youth centre,
that was around 2003. However, the current line up has been together
for two years and this is when as a band things have really progressed.
Faze music is rock music but always quite varied, as we try to make
each song different from the other. its also honest music, passionate
and played from the heart!
YMC: Who writes the songs?
Faze:
The songs are originated from Maf n Luke Milnes, the two guitar players
in the band. Generally, one will come up with an idea whether its
lyrical or melody or both!! and the songs are often written firstly on
acoustic guitars or from riffs in jamming sessions, then put to the
rest of the band to work on. so the finished tunes are a collective of
all four band members writing their parts and structuring the songs
together, until all the band think its sounding great!
YMC: Is this your first EP?
Faze:
This is our 3rd EP, or 4th even!! Last year was our first recorded EP
effort with Ben ( drummer) at the helm. So really, starting from when
Ben joined the band its our second release. The efforts before then
were decent but we treated them more like demo recordings, and there's
definately been a progression in the song writing, so this EP is
hopefully going to stand above and beyond anything we've ever recorded
in sound and performance, plus were doing our best to promo it and get
it out there to as many people as possible.
YMC: Where was it recorded?
Faze:
The three songs that are on the EP were recorded at Factory Street
studio and music hub in Bradford. Factory street is a new facility in
the city and Faze were the first band to actually record there!!! So
it's hopefully gonna showcase what the place is all about and kinda
show off the sound that you can achieve by recording there. Its a great
place and is definately run by people who have a genuine interest in
the bands they work with, a very honest environment and al ot of time
is given to those using the facility which gives the place a personal
touch. We also recorded onto tape, as Factory Street have some great
old clobber to record bands in analog, which again was a new experience
for us as a band and has given us a more lively recording, we think!!
YMC: What do you think of the music scene in Bradford?
Faze:
In Bradford there are many bands doing their thing. As a band Faze
have never really been big on being part of a scene, so don't really
know whether Bradford has a music scene as such?? We have many friends
in bands and have contact with a few bands, keeping each other upto
date with what were upto etc....also all four of us in the band went to
the same school (St Bedes) as other lads who are in bands in Bradford,
such as Redwire, Scars on 45 and White Light Parade, so all we wanna
know is did that school have some sort of band factory going down??
that no one realised they were part of?? On a serious note, Bradford
needs a central venue that gives opportunities for musicians to
actually come together under one roof on a regular basis, theres a few
nights that go down here and there, thats great, but still on the whole
its pretty tough to find venues that have the bands and
musicians interests at heart. We actually rehearse in a mill where
theres the likes of New York Alcoholic Anxiety Attack, The
Daybreakers, Young Loves and Oxtoby's Rockers all in the same building
so maybe we should start a 'mill scene' and resurrect the wool trade
through our sounds!
YMC: A few bands are seeking sponsorship for their releases, do you thing this is the way forward for unsigned band?
The
sponsorship thing is definately something we have looked at as a way of
gaining support to help with allowing us to try and produce for
example more CD's and publicity etc for the EP. whether it will be
successful in actually raising funds to help us to distribute our music
to a wider audience is something only time will tell?? we kinda adapted
our idea from something NYAAA have done with their demo collection
releases, and seemed to work well for them lads, so its most definately
something worth having a bash at!!!
YMC: What sponsorship deals are available?
Faze:
Our sponsorship scheme is basically an idea we came up with from the
help of a friend. It's a three tier type of sponsorship consisting of
bronze, silver and gold levels, in which a business or individual can
sponsor the EP release on three financial levels. for each level there
is a different 'give back' from us to them. We are basically offering
back, advertisement, exposure, tickets to our launch party and more in
return for a sponsorship. to find out the finer details people can
visit our latest blog on myspace to check it out, or contact us for
further details.