Interview: Fighting Courtney
Fighting Courtney is a young band that has already gained a strong fan base in an extremely musical area without having released any music at all. Their experience with past bands and great local musicians has quickly made them a local favorite among all ages. High expectations have been set for this young band, and seeing them go big in the future will be no shock to any of the locals. An album review can be expected soon. For more on Fighting Courtney, visit http://www.myspace.com/fightingcourtney or http://www.purevolume.com/fightingcourtney. A quick interview with them went as follows:
Independent Clauses.com- How long would you say you guys have been playing music, and how long have you guys been playing together as Fighting Courtney?
Fighting Courtney- Many member changes have taken place, but now we are stable. We’ve probably been since around January, and we all have about 3 years musical experience.
IC- Who is everyone in the band?
FC- Dustin Totten – Vocals, 15 years old
Sam Gomon – Drums, 15 yrs
Ryan Whitney – Guitar, 14 yrs
Trevor Mathews – Guitar, 15 yrs
Derrek Zoelle – Bass/Vocals, 14 yrs
Branden Gast – Synth/Vocals, 15 yrs
IC- You guys are all really young, yet have so much experience. Do you feel any pressure to live up to any standards of older bands?
FC- Yes, very much, like from our local influences Chiodos, The Weakend, and so many more. Most of the locals here have some type of record label or sponsorships, and yet a lot of them are our friends that we play shows with.
IC- It must be difficult to make a name for yourselves growing up in an area like Flint/Detroit given its very large and famous musical past and present. The talent in this area is stunning. What would be your greatest influences thus far as musicians and what keeps you motivated to keep playing?
FC- I know for a fact Dustin’s is Craigery Owens From Chiodos, and Cinematic Sunrise and Andrew Loehr of The Weakend. Trevor is just “out there”. Sam Gomon would probably be Conor Oberst, although Sam plays drums. Derrek would be Black Dahlia Murder, and Ryan would probably be any guitarist from any band he likes. Branden’s is any keyboardist that lives and plays.
IC- Does your music reflect your influences?
FC- We’re not very sure. If you listen to us you would have to see yourself.
IC- What’s one band you sound the most like?
FC- Probably Chiodos, or the Blood Brothers.
IC- So your long-awaited first demo/album is in the process, what can you say about it so far? What will it be called?
FC- It will be a good one indeed. It shall be called “I Hope You Phathom the Taste Of My Bullets”- a song that will be on our EP.
IC- What are your expectations and goals for the band this early on?
FC- Not too much. Hopefully get a record label- no matter from what record label. To try and do something with our lives, because like Dustin, most of us have nothing going for us but music.
IC- Can we expect a lot of live appearences and shows by the band anytime soon?
FC- Somewhere around November 2005, and/or January 2006.
IC- Here’s your turn to give some thank you’s, shout outs, dates, anything you want.
FC- Some thanks to everyone who have supported us, Tony from Independent Clauses for taking his time with us, and whoever wants to take a gander at our music in the near future.
-Interview conducted by Tony Kennedy in the month of August.
kookemonster2003@yahoo.com