Melodic Magazine had the chance to talk with Duncan Fellows right before the start of their upcoming tour, and we also had the chance to shoot one of their first shows!
MM: You have recently released an EP and you’re now touring, does that mean we can look forward to new music?
DF: It does! That’s exactly what it means! Even throughout the process of making the EP we have been working on the new album. Not sure when it’s coming quite yet, but it is coming.
MM: What was the inspiration behind your latest EP, Eyelids Shut?
DF: Lets see, we went up to Chicago to record with Brian Beck, which was something we had never done before. It was the middle of winter, and that atmosphere definitely worked it’s way into the EP. It was a little darker that=n our usual stuff. As far as direct inspiration, we had a bunch of songs with different vibes, and we tried to find a way to make them all come together. The main theme though was loss and reflection, and how that makes you grow as a person.
MM: What are you most looking forward to on this tour?
DF: We’re hitting a lot of cities that we haven’t been to together as a band before. We get to see and explore these new cities, and since it’s a proper fall tour the weather is going to be great! It’s also our first co-headlining tour!
MM: What has been your favorite show you have ever played/ a career highlight?
DF: We had a show a long time ago right after the release of our EP Marrow. It was our release show at a local venue and that was the first time we ever really gelled as a band. A big highlight was when we played ACL in Austin. We had been going together since we were teenagers and we finally got to play there ourselves which was a crazy moment for us.
MM: You talk a lot about being honest in your music, can you elaborate on what that means to you?
DF: You can still tell stories and be honest. You can write about things that are true to you and your environment. If you aren’t truthful it feels like you aren’t giving people what they deserve. When that honesty is there, it really kickstarts everything and it feels more natural and right.
MM: Who is your biggest musical influence?
DF: We get this a lot, and it’s always so hard to answer. I don’t think there is a sole influence, and it changes all the time. For us we often look back on bands like The Beatles and Sublime, it’s those bands you find when you’re like 16-19, like Modest Mouse, Death Cab for Cutie, Animal Collective. That’s really where you find it, and even though it changes we look back on those bands and their sound a lot. Whether you’re drawing influence on purpose or subconsciously, music you make is just a conglomerate of other music you enjoy.
