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Photo Credit: Elizabeth Friar
Starting off your weekend with an interview from Boston based rockers Latch. The guys are starting to make some noise with their just released video for "Parade" opening some eyes and ears to the band as they look to expand their sound to an open and willing audience that is constantly craving for new music to whet their musical appetite. Guitarists/vocalists Matt Smith and Steve Furtado were nice enough to take some time to do an interview as we get to know them a little better, plus we go behind their creative process and find out what it is that makes them so unique and original. Here is the transcript from our chat:
Give us your names and roles in the band?
MS: Steve sings, plays guitar and is the primary songwriter of the band. I
also play guitar, sing and write the occasional tune. Andrew Davis plays
bass and Brian Reid plays drums.
How did Latch originate and where did you guys all meet?
SF: Latch was originally a side project of mine that I started about a year
ago. I had written the song Parade, and posted it to Soundcloud for fun.
After some positive feedback on the song I was like, hey this could be a
thing. I have known Matt for a few years, and have played in a bunch of
different bands before with Brian and Andrew so we were already very
comfortable with one another.
Describe the sound of the band to those who aren't familiar with you?
MS: I like to think of us as a loud, heavy rock band with some pop
tendencies. We write music that’s inspired by rock bands we’ve grown up
listening to a lot over the years (Weezer, Dinosaur Jr., Hum, Jawbreaker to
name a few). 80s and 90s nostalgia has been kind of in vogue lately, but for
us it’s always been very relevant in our musical paths.
SF: I would say that is pretty accurate. We are basically a wall of guitars
with pop infused melodies. There is definitely some 90s nostalgia, and
some punk rock influence going on for sure.
What are your thoughts of the Boston music scene as a whole and the
depth of talent around the area?
SF: There is certainly a lot of talent going around especially with Berkley
right there. It’s also very diverse. You can have a band like us, and a
progressive metal band in the same night, and everyone still respects, and
supports each other.
Take us behind the recording process of "Famous Athletes" and what the
whole process was like?
MS: The record was recorded in the summer of 2014 by our good friend Jay
DeLuca, who owns The Bear’s Den studio in Attleboro, MA. We were able
to use the studio space of our friend Scott Riebling in Raynham, MA to
record the EP.
Scott most notably played in Letters to Cleo and Weezer for a time, and
produced records for Fall Out Boy, Metro Station and We The Kings. He’s
running a food truck business called Stoked Pizza these days, so we were
able to take advantage of his dormant home studio.
SF: It was a fairly quick process. The songs are simple, and really didn’t
need much time to record. We are also really comfortable with Jay because
he has had a hand in every project I have done in the last 5 years or so. He
is my go to guy.
In terms of your songwriting, is it a collaborative effort or is it usually
handled by one person?
SF: The songs on Famous Athletes were written mostly by myself. However
there are a few collaborative sections here and there. Matt does a great job
of filling in the gaps as well. Our newest material is much more
collaborative though, which is what I prefer, so I want to keep going in that
direction for the next record if we can.
Describe the energy and nature of your live shows and does it match the
emotional intensity that is present in your music?
MS: We certainly try to duplicate the intensity of the record on stage. The
music is high energy so we like to get everyone moving, but we’re not
afraid to get a little silly at times and have fun.
For fun, what do you guys like to do in your spare time when not making
music together?
MS: Music is at the heart of our friendship. If we’re not playing or writing,
we’re planning our next moves, supporting all of our other bands, finding
new things, passing things along…We also have an affinity for buffalo
chicken, which is always a crucial aspect of every practice or show.
What do you have coming up next on your musical radar, any upcoming
shows or new music you'd like to plug?
MS: The music video for our song “Parade” just came out which we are
very excited about. We recorded a couple of in-studio performances which
will also be released soon as well. As of this moment our next step is
continuing to write music and to hit the studio.
We have a couple of shows coming up in the next few months. We’re
playing with our friends in Trophy Wives, Royal Street, Sic Vita and others at
a massive festival on September 19th at Simon’s 677 in Providence, RI. We
will also be playing at Aeronaut Brewery in Somerville on September 23rd,
and at Something Sneaky’s record release show on October 24th at
Firebrand Saints in Cambridge.
Lastly, how has being in this band brought you guys closer together?
SF: I don’t know if it’s the band that brings us closer or the buffalo chicken.
A band that eats buffalo chicken calzones together stays together. I really
believe that.
Thanks once again to Matt And Steve for being so awesome in taking some time out to do the interview. It's great to go behind the personalities of these musicians, and find out what they're like as regular people, and as you can clearly see they have a fondness for buffalo chicken as I do myself! For more info on Latch, please 'Like' them on Facebook right here and follow them on Twitter at this spot here. Also, check out the video for "Parade" embedded for your enjoyment directly below: