THE FALL OF TROY

Andrew Forsman and Tim Ward on youth, video shoots, and the pain of abandoning a career as a sandwich artist

Photo by Nick Bentham

While most twenty year olds are contemplating their next university exam, or whether to move companies for that sweet-ass golden handshake, prodigious three-piece The Fall Of Troy already have a three album career under their belts - and not just any three album career. Since their arrival in 2003 with their debut self-titled album, The Fall Of Troy have set out their stall as an uncompromising post-hardcore band, capable of tunes that bely a skill for mathy technicality, skittish melody and verbal dexterity rarely seen even in more established bands. Latest album Manipulator is a case in point, vocalist/guitarist Thomas Erak finally giving full reign to his vocal flexibility over tracks that range from the amost ambient 'Quarter Past' to the towering 'Cut Down All The Trees And Name The Streets After Them'.

Laura Havlin caught up with Andrew Forsman (drums) and Tim Ward (bass) ahead of the Manchester date of their UK tour with Daughters to talk about youth, video shoots, and the pain of abandoning a career as a sandwich artist...

How's the European tour so far?

Andrew Forsman - "For the first couple of days I was jetlagged really badly but now its great."

Have there been any culture clashes?

"No, I think that I can get along with you guys pretty well. You like to drink and so do I. The drinking laws are so different in the States - the shows we play won't serve drinks to kids and that's more of our audience so I'd say there are more people drunk at our shows over here. I've also had bottles thrown at me over here, but the show [where] we got bottles thrown at us was also the most fun show we've ever had."

People sometimes do that as a sign of affection, it doesn't mean they hate your band.

"Yeah that day was weird, the kids had waited for three hours to see the show start and it just all fucked up but once we started playing they just went crazy. It was wonderful."

You're currently on tour with Daughters, what's it like being on the road with those guys?

"We're like best friends now and it's only been like four days. They're awesome. We talk about comic books and Star Wars."

Are there any bands that you have played with you didn't get along with?

"We really haven't ever toured with a band that we didn't end up friends with at the end of the tour. Sometimes I think the bands don't like us then afterwards they're like, 'we really want to tour with you again', and I'm like, 'really? You kind of were dicks to us sometimes', but mostly everyone's been really cool."

A lot of people are shocked when they find out you are only a three piece. Does that increase the workload?

AF - "I think so. We all try to do a little bit more because there is only one of each of us on our instruments, so I think we all try to work really hard."
Tim Ward - "We all try to pull our weight."

With there only being the three of you, would you ever consider adding an extra member?

TW - "We had a keyboard player for a while when we were recording a couple of songs. If the song calls for a different element we will use that. Typically we have a touring keyboard player, something that compliments the live show, but it is just us three writing the tunes."
AF - "I don't think we would ever have a permanent person but we are always open to making our sound better."
TW - "I also think that there is a certain charm in being a three piece."

It's weird to think your only around 20 years old. When most people are trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives, you have released three albums, so that's pretty much taken care of.

AF - "Oh I still worry about that."
TW - "We're not secure yet you know, we're still working on that."
AF - "The thing I quit to do this was college, but I was having an awful time."
TW - "I was just working at Subway."
AF - "Yeah he was a 'sandwich artist'!"
TW - "It's definitely been nice to have something that I'm like, 'this is what I want to do', but I have friends that are done with college and they're making like 60 thousand dollars a year. They're set but maybe they're not happy."

Do you ever get any jealousy from other bands that have perhaps had to wait a lot longer for their break?

TW - "If its there its not apparent. Nobody has ever said, 'God damn you young 'uns!' Maybe in a jokey way but noone's ever had it in for us over it."

You're on Equal Vision records. Everyone I've ever interviewed from that label seem really pleased with it - is that the case with you guys?

AF - "There are always times when you're going to be mad at your employer."
TW - "Hey, they work for us!"
AF - "Or your employees!" [laughs] "But they're wonderful to us. I don't know if you guys saw it over here, but there was this whole thing with Victory Records where the Vice President quit and basically wrote about everything f**ked up that that label does. Like they spend their band's royalties on advertising so they don't have to pay the band as much. Like they'll spend like five million dollars that could be paid to a band to advertise more! I love Equal Vision though; it is wonderful to know I'm on a label that is very legit and they're good people."

That's good. There are a couple of bands that when you ask them about their label they go kind of quiet and vague.

AF - "Well Victory usually, but I'm not going to talk sh*t on anyone, because I'm happy with where I am."

What's the significance of the title of your most recent album Manipulator?

TW - "It's to do with a relationship, well just one that our guitarist was in. He kind of turned into not the best person because he was so ...manipulated. You could say 'whipped' but Manipulator is the title. He was so manipulated by somebody who affected his relationship with us."

The artwork for manipulator is pretty good as well, weird, but ina good way. Who did that?

AF - "That was this guy right here." [points to Tim]

Oh, you did it yourself?

TW - "Yeah, I drew it up when we were on tour."
AF - "Yeah he's a weirdo, a beautiful weirdo."

Do you get free choice and control over that side of things?

AF - "Yeah they can fight us a little, but it's our album, man!"

Fall Of Troy - 'Cut Down All The Trees And Name Streets After Them'

What about making videos, how do you find that?

AF - "I don't like it anymore."
TW - "We just haven't had a good experience making a music video. We haven't got to work with somebody we really respect. The last videos we've done we didn't really research exactly what we were getting into. We weren't entirely satisfied with the finished product. We've just never been super happy with a video yet. Actually I take that back - I was really happy with the FCP video [For F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X. - Ed.]. I'm super happy with that. It's just the newest one [For 'Cut Down All The Trees And Name Streets After Them - Ed.] I'm not super happy with. It turned out just way different than I thought."
AF - "Yeah it doesn't fit with what I think we are. I'd rather just people came and saw a live show and see the music live."

So it's something you're not too comfortable with?

TW - "Hmm. I mean, I'll put it like this; on our last video shoot there was a girl who in between takes came over and made sure that I wasn't shining."
AF - "That is f**king weird to me. It's a little too much attention on me."
TW - "Every video I've ever really liked for music was based around live performances cut up and put together smartly."
AF - "I like Chris Cunningham." [Lauded director, responsible for promos for Aphex Twin's 'Come To Daddy' and Madonna's 'Frozen', amongst others - Ed.] I heard he retired, but he just did a video for that band The Horrors and that's like the only video he has done in forever. I don't know what they sound like, but it might be decent if he did it."

Manipulator was produced by Matt Balis. What is the difference between what you came to the studio with, all your raw tracks, and the final finished product?

AF - "He didn't put too much into the actual structure of the songs but if he thought that something really wasn't working, he was like you got to do something else."
TW - "He'd have suggestions for certain parts of a song, He kind of gave us professional opinion, I guess."
AF - "We'd like to work with him again, and next time I want him to be a little more involved with the structure and things like that. For that album we wrote half of it over 6 or 7 months and the other half of it was done in like two months really quick. We needed to get it done but we were lucky we got to do it with someone we really respect."

What is the writing process for you as a band, your sound is so sporadic and unconventional I just wondered how some tracks come about?

"Thomas will write like the skeleton of the song usually and he will have little guitar parts that go into other parts. He'll know what he wants to do then we'll figure out what we want to do with the drums and then the bass. Usually at practice he will like sing, but he won't say words - like he will just do a melody so it will just be like 'haaashalllaanerner' and stuff like that, then he works out lyrics later. It kind of starts with him."

Fall Of Troy - 'F.C.P.R.E.M.I.X'

What kind of things were you listening to during the writing and recording process which may have had an effect on the sound of your album?

AF - "I try not to listen to too much music when I'm recording. Do you guys have like talk radio over here?"
TW - "Yeah its usually like political stuff and I always listen to that when I'm recording just because I want what you hear to come from me."

In case you hear something and accidentally repeat it?

AF - "I think a lot of times that's ok. It will happen subconsciously, and will be like, 'oh, maybe I did that because of that', but its always a part that I think is good, so at least I'm stealing from something good."

What is your favourite song on off your album?

"'Sledgehammer', because there is only a little bit of double kick in it so it sounds kind of punk and its really fun to play."

Do you notice a difference in the type of people who come to your shows back in the States compared to over here?

"No not really, a lot of the same haircuts, I don't know. In the US we get kind of more weird people. I feel like we're more of a scene band here, just because we're not super big. I like the crowds here they're really enthusiastic.

"You have good music over here and you have good bands come through, but I never can tell what's going to be hot or not. Like we played, I'm not trying to insult your taste in music or anything, with Bring Me The Horizon, in America and I'm not a big fan, but they were huge, more kids came to see them than us. It was their first US tour so that may have had something to do with it."

I think they had to come back early because of Ollie's court case.

"Yeah ...haha I heard about that. That's okay though. That's rock and roll, that's what happens."

So do you think he did it?

"I mean, I wouldn't be surprised, but I not going to say anything. I wasn't there so I don't know. I've felt like throwing bottles at people's faces before - not over not getting laid but I've definitely been there."

by Laura Havlin

Further links

Equal Vision.com

Home to Bane, Coheed and Cambria, Converge, and more...

The Fall Of Troy.com

Official website of the awesome Seattle prog-mentalists