Interview By: Pablo CortezPC: How is Greensboro these days? Are you guys home or out on the road at this point?
Marshall: Greensboro is great! We've been home for a few weeks, just practicing and partying a lot. Our CD release show was on the 22nd, then we shoot our music video for "Devoid (That's What I Think About It)", then we leave for over a month on the AP.net Next Favorite Band Tour. Busy, busy, busy.
PC: Where was your first show as Farewell? How did it go?
Marshall: The first show for us was at a place called The Salty Dawg in New Bern, NC. It was a redneck bar with no PA, no stage, and no fans. It was a horrible experience, BUT we did get to arm-wrestle the owner for our money at the end. Buddy won it for us.
PC: How did you hook up with Epitaph?
Marshall: From what I hear, Brett was just surfing the net and stumbled upon our Myspace page. He liked what he saw/heard, and my number was listed at the time, so he called me. We were really excited to have interest from an independent label for once. It seemed like that was a better option for us than the majors that had been stalking us.
PC: Tell us about your first recording studio experience.
Marshall: Our first recording sessions were really weird. I had never sung in a band before, but the singer at the time was told to leave by our producer.
Apparently he was THAT bad. I was just the keyboard player then, but they all pushed me in the vocal room and made me try it out. I guess they liked it, cause here we are four years later, and they're still pushing me out on stage every night.
PC: What was it like to work with Marc McClusky? What did he bring to your upcoming LP?
Marshall: Marc is a really good producer, but he's also a pain in the ass. I swear he played World of Warcraft more than he worked on our record! He did bring a lot to the table on this record, and he definitely knew what we were trying to do and say, so that helped.
PC: Who does your album art? I especially like the cover for "Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun!?"
Marshall: Thanks! I actually did the art for "Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun!?" I'm a graphic designer in my down time. I do band merch, as well as corporate bullshit. We wanted to go a slightly different route with the new album art, so we asked my friend Derek Deal to get involved. I wrote him and told him what I wanted and he did it perfectly. I couldn't be happier with how things turned out.
PC: Speaking of which, how did that title come about?
Marshall: The title, "Isn't This Supposed To Be Fun!?" was a response to all the critics who were coming down on pop-punk and trivializing it's value. We started this band because music SHOULD be fun and far too many people take it WAY too seriously. That's not to say that we don't, but we know when to act professional and when to say "screw it" and party.
PC: Do all the members of Farewell get involved in the writing/composing process?
Marshall: Musically, yes. Lyrically, not too much. They add ideas here and there, but that responsibility rests on my shoulders.
PC: What can we expect from your upcoming release? Have you changed up your sound from your previous album?
Marshall: The new record is very straight-forward. It's a little less synth-pop, but still VERY pop/pop-punk. There is a bit more "substance" I guess, but it's basically a story-telling album. We love to share our lives with our fans, and we've found that most can really relate to the things I've been through. It's nice to have that connection with our fans.
PC: What's the game plan for you guys in the upcoming months?
Marshall: We plan on touring our asses off for the next 6 months while trying to get this record in every person's hands we meet. We hope to make it back over to Japan and Europe this fall too. All I know is that this is still the beginning for Farewell. We're going stronger than ever now.
