Access All Areas.net.au: You guys are about to release your debut single ‘Whats Your Name & debut EP ‘A Toast To You & Me, followed by a massive run of tour dates. How are you guys feeling with all this great stuff about to happen for you guys? Front Counter: Yeah we’re really excited, it’s been a long time coming for us, we’ve been really looking forward to the tour & the release since it all got organised, so we’re really excited & can’t wait to get out & on tour.
Access All Areas.net.au: Now for those who may not be too familiar with the band, tell me how was it that Front Counter came together? Front Counter: Yeah no problems, well it started in late 2004 with myself, josh & anton, we got together & started jamming as just something to do really, something to keep us from just hanging around being bored. We started out as a 3 piece doing the old dirty pub scene & stuff for a couple of years before we got the other members of our band, with reece & josh joining to make our band complete & once we had this lineup together we got to writing our songs & yeah that’s pretty much it.
Access All Areas.net.au: You seem to have a range of different sounds & styles to the music you produce, are there many influences you can attribute this to? Front Counter: Well its not like theres one real influence, we all have our own influences you know. We each have our own tastes in music, like myself I’m into the beach boys etc whereas the other guys are into more metal stuff like slipknot & korn, theres the 90’s pop punk like new found glory etc, then theres there other punk like anberlin & cartel, so yeah theres plenty of influences from all of us. We all have these & we all have an input into how a song will sound, we make compromises for each other & we make sure that we all get to try something & if it sounds good, then we will go with it, we find that it keeps a dynamic to us & keeps our sound interesting, not like some bands who may have the same sounds on every song, you know.
Access All Areas.net.au: Your debut EP, ‘A Toast To You & Me, will be released nationally on August 9, how was the process for getting this done, was there a long period of writing & recording involved in getting this produced? Front Counter: Well the thing is, its really been a pretty long process for this release. We started recording the ep on june 2 last year with the production help of Richard Stolts & we had that finished by september of the year. We got the ep finalised by october & released it independantly selling 500 copies we had pressed ourselves, which sold out in a couple months. We picked up a management deal earlier this year & they really liked the songs we had, so they wanted to release it. We have recently recorded 2 new songs which we had finished about 3 weeks ago or so & these along with 4 old songs are what we’ve put out on the epp. So its been a pretty long procedure for the ep to come out, its not like we’ve been held up writing or anything, we’ve just been busy getting this release organised, so yeah its taken a while, but we really hope that it goes well.
Access All Areas.net.au: The first single from the EP, ‘Whats Your Name, seems to be a really pop/punk based song, can you tell us a bit about this one? Front Counter: Well it really came about late in the recording process of the ep, we had the first 5 tracks down & we were in the studio late in the day, well it was 10pm at night, but it was late anyway. We were like “we’ve got this song we’ve been working on” and richard wanted to hear it so we played it & he liked what he heard. The song wasn’t meant to sound as poppy as it probably did, we wanted to put a more crunchier edge onto it, but in the end its turned out pretty good for us. Its been circulating on the radio down here in melbourne for a while, even before its release so we feel, well hope that it does well & people like it. It wasn’t really meant to be as radio friendly as it is, but hey these things happen & I guess it can only be for the best as we’ve got something out there on the radio.
Access All Areas.net.au: During the recording of the record, you used Richard Stolts to assist you with the process, who has done prior work with other artists such as Bodyjar & Behind Crimson Eyes. Do you feel you got what you were looking for in the release by using the assistance Richard provided to the band? Front Counter: Amazing, all I can say is that he really was amazing. The guy was really nice & patient with us, which worked really well & we really feel that he worked for us. We really were thankful of him, for taking faith in what we had, when we first approached him we only had our home-bedroom recordings to play, but he saw through the quality issues to what the songs were & he really took faith in us. The way he worked, which was really good, was he was patient. He would always let us progress & if there was something he thought was not right, he would make suggestions to how it could go, instead of criticising us, which was really cool. We really got all we could possibly hope for by using him & we really appreciate the time & effort he put into us & we hope that people like the finished product we have thanks to him.
Access All Areas.net.au: In the coming weeks, the band will be featured in an upcoming episode of the Network Ten Drama ‘Neighbours. How did this appearance come about, How was it recording & how do you feel this will benefit the band through the exposure gained by the appearance? Front Counter: Yeah… well the thing is, which is funny, none of us guys actually like or watch neighbours, so we’re not sure how it will go. How it came about, well we were in contact with the new a & r management of fremantle media Who were looking at different artists etc to feature & they got hold of our song & they liked it or something & yeah we got the call. It really was a quick but professional experience, we recorded this back in february & basically we got the call on the Monday, we were there on the Wednesday & it was all done in an hour & yeah we were really happy with what we were able to produce in the time we had. With exposure, as I said none of us watch neighbours, its really one of those emo/drama type shows & yeah we don’t like that stuff. Its really good for us though as its one of the biggest shows on national tv along with other shows & we hope that a whole lot of kids who watch the show will like our song & get into our band from our appearance.
Access All Areas.net.au: In the past 12 months or so, you have done some pretty big live appearances, including slots at the 2007 Taste Of Chaos event & more recently a slot on the melbourne Bon Jovi Concert. How exactly did these appearances come about & how was it playing alongside the likes of the artists who were on the lineups at the shows? Front Counter: Well the taste of chaos appearance was won through a battle of the bands competition which we entered & won, it was really a great experience to play, the show was at vodafone arena in front of like 10000 people, so yeah that was cool. The thing about that show was the stage we were on you could see if the kids were interested in you, like one of the bands before us you could see that the kids were just sitting around talking & stuff, but for us we got them entertained & moving so it was a good set. With Bon Jovi, this was through a competition on triple m radio, where you entered a song & did an interview & all that & there were 5 finalists which we were one of & the listeners voted on who they thought should win. Luckily we got up & we got the show. This show was really phenominal, for us it was really the way Bon Jovi went about the show, for a band who have been around for so long to still have the passion & the live energy they brought it was just inspiring to us. The crowd was into us & were actually singing along to our songs they had heard on the radio, which was so crazy as we couldn’t believe something like that could happen, it was just amazing for us.
Access All Areas.net.au: In the near future, the band will be doing a rather large tour in support of the release, how did the tour come about with all the supporting artists & are you guys excited to get out & polay to a large portion of the country? Front Counter: Well, the thing is we really just took a backseat to this & our management organised everything for us. I mean, its not like it took a week or something to throw it together, but they really organised everything well for us. We really are looking forward to playing in these places, especially sydney as we hear its hard to get shows up there when you are a small band coming up, but there are other places we are looking forward to playing. These are the queensland shows & most of the shows around victoria, as we have played a lot of our shows here over the last 4 or so years, we are hoping that the people know us by now & will come out to the shows. We are excited & are looking forward to the time on the road, we are taking a van with a trailor & will just be having some time as the boys as we tour the east coast of australia.
Access All Areas.net.au: Well I’d like to thank you for your time today, I would just like to ask if you have any final words to say to the Front Counter fans out there? Front Counter: Oh, this is tough, its kinda like Jerry’s final thought. Well I guess I wanna say that we hope you like the single that we have out at the moment & will listen to our music, we have the ep out on august 9. If you like our songs come see our myspace & home page websites & yeah we hope to see as many of you at one of our shows over the next couple of months as we are really excited to be playing our music to the people of australia.
Interview by Ben Coby
Front Counter
BIOGRAPHY
Front Counter’s goal has been simple since day one, to make catchy, energetic rock songs.
Inspired by the thriving 90’s pop-punk scene, the melodic sounds of 60’s pop and the punch of modern day rock, and such a diverse string of personal influences ranging from Greenday to Korn, Front Counter have moulded a sound that they are truly proud of.
Front Counter formed in the summer of 2004 with Adin Constan (Bass), Josh Sforzin (Drums), and Anton Hockey (Vocals), then in 2007 the band was completed with the addition of Rhys Thompson (Guitar/Vocals) and Josh Bagdadi (Guitars) in 2008.
In 2007, Front Counter – the name deriving from a fast food fix, set the wheels in motion stepping in to the studio to record the band’s debut EP release, with accredited music producer Richard Stolz (Behind Crimson Eyes, Bodyjar, After The Fall) behind the helm.
“One day Josh, Anton and I where at a Hungry Jacks, and there was a sign that said 'Front Counter employee of the month,” bassist Adin Constan begun. “Josh piped up and said, how about the name ‘Front Counter’, and we where like, hell yeah, sounds different, so it stuck”.
The EP features punchy, uplifting and diverse tracks that make you want to “get up out of your seats” and also features the debut single ‘Whats Your Name’ – the song written about an experience everyone faces at one time or another – with the track carrying all the builds and peaks that you want from a top forty song in this genre.
“[The song] is about the whole first contact with a girl,” explains singer, Anton Hockey.
“It’s about the simple idea of seeing a girl at a bar or club, and building up the courage to go up to her and ask for her name,” adds Rhys. “I love how the song is about the simplicity of asking one question, but how intense that question is.”
‘What’s Your Name’ has already been added to instant rotation on Triple M and will see the band perform the track on an episode of Network Ten’s ‘Neighbours’ in July broadcast throughout Australia, UK and Europe.
Having worked the touring scene constantly over the past twelve months, Front Counter have supported many high profile artists including Behind Crimson Eyes (AUS), The Butterfly Effect (AUS), Dopamine (UK); a support slot on the coveted Taste Of Chaos tour playing alongside bands including The Used, Rise Against, Aiden and the Gallows; and more recently a spot supporting Bon Jovi at Melbourne's Sidney Meyer Music Bowl where the band performed in front of 15,000 people.
“We always have fun on stage and we love getting the crowd involved,” says Rhys of the band’s live shows.
With a Rockstar Energy Drink sponsorship under their belts, the EP release in July and a string of tours lined up, this is a band you’re about to hear a whole lot more of!!!
Front Counter will release their debut EP in July 2008.
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