Marc Chandler of Fools Faith
by Franco Wissa
Staff Writer
Comments – It is this musical journalist’s belief that passion can indeed (and should) be felt. And it is a great thing when that passion is heard, and more importantly felt when hearing a band’s music. Such it is when hearing Connecticut’s own, Fools Faith. Hardrock Haven’s Franco Wissa recently had the chance to speak with his friend, drummer Marc Chandler and get his views on everything from the state of the music industry today to what advice he would give to that new band, starting with nothing.
Nothing was off limits, nothing was held back. Of all the interviews that Franco has done, this is one of his favorites.
Hardrock Haven: Before we begin, tell me the story behind Fools Faith, why the name change from Aftermath and how did you and your band mates hook up.
Marc Chandler: “Fools Faith” has been together since the Fall of 2005. The change of names was directly related to our split with Escape Music who requested we change our original name when we signed with them. Because Escape was a U.K. based label we knew that if we were to release anything originating from U.S. soil with the name Aftermath there could have been legal ramifications. What we didn’t want to have to worry about was issuing a release and then getting hit with a cease and desist after all was said and done and have to pull the album and completely redo the all artwork. Our getting together came about in that I was a teaching at a music school that happened to offer practice space to local bands. One night I saw Bill, our original guitar player, as he was leaving from a rehearsal and we got to talking. Bill and I had already known each other for years and he mentioned that his band was dissatisfied with their current drummer so I mentioned if anything was to happen with him he should give me a call and subsequently days later I got that call and the rest is history.
HRH: As a drummer, who are your influences and what attributes do you look for when naming someone as an influence?
Chandler: The first two names that come to mind are Buddy Rich and John Bonham. Primarily John Bonham simply because he is the best “pocket” drummer I’ve ever heard. That man had an uncanny ability to just lay back and provide the most natural solid foundation. As great of a player as he was, he still knew when to groove and not step all over the music. Buddy Rich to me is still the greatest drummer to ever pick up a pair of sticks. That man was doing things on a drum set, a 4-piece mind you with the most primitive of equipment, that some of today’s best drummers couldn’t do if their lives depended on it. That’s what I’m always looking for in a drummer, a combination of those two solid and amazing players all rolled into one. Following them would be drummers like Mark Zonder, Scott Travis, and the list goes on and on.
HRH: What is the first record you ever bought and if we could get a glimpse into what is playing on your I-Pod who would we see?
Chandler: Wow, the first record I ever bought…hmmm, that would have to be “Rich versus Roach”. If I remember correctly it was released in the late ‘50s and was a “drum battle” record between Buddy Rich & Max Roach. I bought it maybe a week or 2 after seeing Buddy play at a local theater when I was maybe 7 or 8 years old. I still have it somewhere but it’s been many years since I’ve listened to it. I’m also ashamed to admit that even to this day I still don’t own an Ipod but if I did it would include everything but country. No offense to the country music fans but it does nothing for me.
HRH: What inspires you as a musician? Is it a person in your life, an event?
Chandler: I can’t recall a specific event but without question my biggest inspiration was my mother. When she passed in ’93 I was devastated. The first time I had to play and I knew I wasn’t going to talk to her the following morning and discuss how everything went was rough. After we finished that set I just broke down backstage because just knowing someone is there specifically to see me play and is supporting me in doing something I love to do inspires the hell out of me.
HRH: How would you describe your music?
Chandler: That’s always one of the more difficult questions to answer simply because I don’t know how to describe our music. I try to leave that up to the people who have heard us because it always seems to vary from person to person. I’ve heard us compared to bands like Bon Jovi and Queensryce and everything else in between.
HRH: Describe Fools Faith music making process?
Chandler: We’re really not much different than most bands in that one of us will come in with a riff and we’ll build a song off of it or maybe on rare occasions someone will have something partially written and we’ll change or rearrange it’s structure to form something so completely different that it inevitably bears no resemblance to what it originated from.
HRH: What do you think about the downloading of music?
Chandler: From the standpoint of exposure it’s the greatest thing since the invention of radio. However anything short of “legal” downloading is destroying the ability for bands to survive yet it has also changed the music “business” side of things forever. The rest is simply a pissing contest between those who create music and those who feel a tremendous sense of excused entitlement. The simple fact is illegal downloading is not going away and we need to find alternate avenues to protect our property.
HRH: What are your musical pet peeves?
Chandler: The first would be the fact that guitar solos are almost non-existent in most of music today. The second would be sampling. C’mon already, stop living off of someone else’s talent!! (Tribute bands take notice) Finally, the “pay-to-play” situations. Are you kidding me?? Maybe if your venue had a built-in crowd you wouldn’t need to charge bands to play!!!
HRH: How has music affected you and the world around you and do you use that when writing a track or playing on stage?
Chandler: Music has been a part of my life since my days in the womb. My father was a very well known jazz musician in the early sixties and my mother would always tell me how when she would go to see him play as soon as the drummer would solo I would start to kick like crazy. She always told me she knew I was going to be a drummer. When I’m writing drum parts they always come from the emotion of the music and on stage, it’s the energy and emotion from the crowd I feed off of. There have been nights when everything was working and the crowd was right there with us and I’d have to take a deep breath between songs just to compose myself enough to get thru the rest of the set. But there have also been nights where we were just as on and the crowd or lack thereof could have cared less. Those nights were some of the most difficult to get thru simply because I had no energy to feed off of to entertain.
HRH: What have been Fools Faith biggest obstacles or challenges? How about Fools Faith biggest triumphs?
Chandler: I think our biggest challenge has been trying to out-do ourselves on every level. I think the minute you settle you’re doomed. Our biggest triumph has been our ability to not write the same song twice or for that matter a hundred different ways. Not one song we’ve written sounds like another so to me that is in and of itself a triumph.
HRH: Would there be anything in Fools Faith progression that you wish went differently?
Chandler: Honestly, not that I can think of. I think everything that has happened with us has happened for a reason. I’m just glad we’re still making music together. Without question this is the most talented group of musicians I’ve ever played with and I’m just sorry Bill is no longer playing with us as I truly believe that he and John at this stage of their lives could simply rip it up together.
HRH: If you could pinpoint one single moment in Fools Faith career that defined your band’s sound and attitude what would it be?
Chandler: There have been a few but the one that stands out the most was the night we played the Boston Music Festival. Everything for weeks was working against us prior to that show and never mind the fact that we were not as rehearsed as we normally would have been yet our performance that night was almost flawless.
HRH: If you had to pick one single band whom you think has done more for metal than anyone else, who would it be and why?
Chandler: Without question I think Black Sabbath set the standard, but I don’t think they stand alone as far as doing the most. In my opinion the band that really put Metal on the map was Judas Priest. Regardless of all the sub-genres that now exist under the banner of “Metal” they are the ones really responsible for where the scene is today.
HRH: Your latest release, Undone, was a sensational body of work. Was this release something that came over a long period of time, with hits and misses, or did it seem to flow naturally?
Chandler: Thank you, that means a lot. Well, honestly that album was a lot of hard work and long hours and thankfully, because we have our own studio, they weren’t long paid-for hours! Short of the artwork and mastering we did it all. Joe and Andy are studio rats and spent countless hours getting that album to sound the way it does. There were definitely a few songs we wanted to include that didn’t make it but they just may appear on the next one. We’ve written so many songs over the years that it makes it very difficult deciding what stays and what goes.
HRH: Marc, describe your music both musically and visually. When someone who has never heard of Fools Faith puts on your music for the first time what feeling do you want them to take away from your music?
Chandler: I’d just really like them to feel that they just listened to an album of very diverse material that was full of genuine emotion. Joe has grown into a very mature songwriter and I think his lyrics paint the perfect picture to accompany the music. From a “visual” perspective it feels, to me, like every song is a mini-movie. Joe lyrics are basically stories that are easy to follow but even easier to visualize.
HRH: What to you and the other members of Fools Faith makes a “fan?’
Chandler: A “fan” to me is someone who provides unwavering support. Thru the good and the bad they are there with you, holding you up when you are down and keeping you grounded when you’re at your peak.
HRH: How would you answer a critic who may tell you after hearing Undone “I don’t get it.”
Chandler: I don’t know, thankfully that hasn’t happened but maybe I’d reply with “Then listen to it again”? I’m aware some people may never get it and that’s OK with me because I’m more interested in the people who do.
HRH: What is the best thing about being in a band? The worst?
Chandler: The best part, for me anyway, is creating music. Life in general would be pretty empty without music and I’m very grateful that I have been blessed with the ability to, at times, affect someone’s emotions playing music I’ve had a part in creating. The worst would be the amount of individual dedication it takes to be in an active, working band. For a solo artist if you’re not feeling up to working you don’t and no one else is affected. In a band situation others are counting on you and that pressure can be overwhelming at times.
HRH: How do you promote your band?
Chandler: Nowadays we mainly promote thru our Myspace page. Everything else we leave up to word of mouth, mainly our own mouths.
HRH: Reading your blogs on your myspace page you lay pretty heavy into the managers of clubs and venues. Tell us Marc, what pisses you off when trying to bring the music of Fools Faith to your fans and what do you tell those club managers who seem to constantly put you off and make it seemingly difficult to get show and stage times?
Chandler: What we have found is that there are some people who believe that they are doing the bands a favor by allowing them to play their venue. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve dealt with some very cool club managers & bookers lately but overall there are a few who flat who out suck to deal with. Recently Joe and I have been trying to get us booked into a local bar here and just getting in contact with the booking agent has been a nightmare. The only time we actually got to speak with him was because we went thru a mutual friend and even then it was a struggle. I spoke with a friend in another band and he said he went thru the same thing and he eventually made such a nuisance of himself that he finally got a date to play. We understand that running a club is a business and we also understand that for them it’s about the draw and profits but when you have a band that can bring you what you’re looking for and then some don’t make me jump thru fucking hoops to prove it. Get over yourselves, your venue isn’t Madison Square Garden, start treating the talent properly and you’ll reap the benefits.
HRH: One can sense by reading the blogs on Fools Faith myspace page that you have an undying love for playing music. From one of your Myspace blogs; “No matter how many half-empty to near-empty clubs we have to play I honestly believe we wouldn’t know what to do with ourselves if we couldn’t play music.” What is it about music Marc that brings out such a fervor and enthusiasm?
Chandler: Simply put, I/we just love to play and nothing beats playing for a crowd. The four of us truly love playing and the high it provides so we’re willing to go anywhere and do whatever it takes within reason to play our music for people. A few years ago we were asked to play a festival in Germany but by the time I got the specifics involved it would have been financial suicide for us to accept. There is the “within reason” aspect of it because if you don’t treat this as a business you’re sunk.
HRH: Your new music seems to have a different feel than what was heard on Undone, why the change?
Chandler: I don’t think it’s so much of a “change” as much as a maturing. Let’s face it, we’re not young guys anymore and life experiences have brought about a maturing in not only ourselves but in our songwriting. If you listen to Natural Destruction versus Undone the difference is clear. Five years makes a huge difference in any band or musician and we’re not afraid to stretch and explore whatever makes us happy in our music for better or worse.
HRH: You also state on your blog about your new song “Won’t Be Home,” “for me (this) stands heads and tails above anything I’ve ever played. Why Marc?
Chandler: It was the only song I’ve ever played that came naturally. We may have played that song 50 or 60 times before we recorded it and I still couldn’t find a feel better than the one that’s on that recording. What you hear are the parts exactly as I played them the very first time we ever ran thru it. That totally confirmed for me that emotion is truly the greatest inspiration.
HRH: When playing live do you have one set play list or does it change from show to show and what is your favorite song to play?
Chandler: No, we usually vary every set list slightly each time. Not only does it keep things fresh it also gives us an opportunity to see what really works live and what’s better left as an album only track. “It’s All Over” has been my favorite for a while now and usually we’ll save it for last song of the night and thankfully so. By the time I’m done I have zero energy left because it’s just straight balls-out drumming thru the whole song.
HRH: On Undone you did a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Hey You”. How did this come about and do you play it live?
Chandler: It was all Joe’s idea. He came down to practice one night and started playing the beginning or his re-worked version of it anyway and the rest is how you hear it. Basically what we did was completely alter the first half and left the back half of the song as it was originally done. Yes, we still play it live and unless Joe mentions what song it is no one figures it out until after the break where the build to the solo begins. It’s pretty cool to watch peoples faces when they finally realize what song it is.
HRH: Is there one performance that stands out more than others?
Chandler: That’s easy, again the Boston Music Festival gig. That show was, without question, the single best night of this bands existence to date.
HRH: What is your outlook on the record industry of today and do you like what you see?
Chandler: The industry is in a shambles. Just listen to what passes for music today and you’ll understand what I mean. Bands have no chance for growth and development anymore and forget even the possibility of a second album if you can’t produce a hit out of the gate. It’s all one-hit wonders now and I can’t think of a band in the last 10 years that will leave an impression simply because they’re not given the necessary time to develop and grow. There are a few that have come along that are still surviving but I don’t see any bands that’ll have the longevity I’ve come to know from the bands I grew up with.
HRH: If you could give advice to that young group of musicians starting out with little more than a dream what would it be?
Chandler: NEVER give up the dream. Just because you don’t make it to the “big stage” doesn’t mean you failed, as in life you only fail when you give up. The road to success comes from within and no one should be able to determine your level of success but prepare yourself for the long haul because if you don’t have a thick skin this business will swallow your soul.
HRH: The senseless and brutal murder of “Dimebag” Darrel Abbott was one of the most tragic days in Metal. After hearing of his death did that affect you as a metal fan and as a musician?
Chandler: I was in Vegas the night he was killed. I was walking thru the lobby of the hotel when I thought I overheard something about someone being shot shortly after getting on stage. By the time I got up to my room and turned on the television it was all over the news. There are full-blown assholes in life but this guy set a new standard and for such a convoluted reason. I was affected simply because I was such a HUGE Pantera fan. As a musician I haven’t given it a second thought. If I have to go, let it be on a stage doing what I love to do.
HRH: Marc thanks for your time my friend. Your music is amazing and we only wish the best for Fools Faith. Anything you want to add about upcoming releases, shows, band info? Anything?
Chandler: You’re very welcome and thank you for taking such an interest in us.
Obviously we’re in the process of working on the next album and as far as upcoming shows are concerned we have a few things in the works for the very near future that should essentially bring us home again. I’m also working with a few festivals that have very recently contacted me about appearing so we’ll see where that goes. Lastly, thank you to everyone who has supported us over the years. Your love for what we do keeps us going and just know that we love and truly appreciate you for giving us the support you have. Without YOU we would be nothing!
HRH: Finally, for the lead singer of Sabbath, Dio or Ozzy?
Chandler: Whoa, tough call considering with each singer comes a different band. I prefer the music of the Dio era but I also have an affinity for the Ozzy years. Let’s just call it a push.