The following was carried out by Andy Ritchie on Senses fail‘s recent UK tour. He is talking to ex-Midtown guitarist, Heath.
PT: How are you guys doing today?
SF: Doing great, we’re in cardiff today and this is the last show of the tour. Needless to say we’re all very sad this tour is over, but we’re looking forward to going home for 2 days.
PT: Have you enjoyed the Taste of Chaos tour so far? It’s taken you to places you’ve never been to like Australia, as well as giving you time on stage with some massive bands you’ve not ever played with before. How has that affected the whole experience?
SF: The tour has been incredible. we got to spend a bunch of time with bands that we kinda knew before but never really got to hang with. we’ve made a lot of friends on this tour. of course, going to places like australia and japan were great experiences too, we have had a blast.
PT: Has it all been quite daunting or have you not had the chance to really sit down and reflect on it all yet?
SF: It was overwhelming at times, but on a whole i think we were fully prepared for a tour of this caliber.
PT: Tell me about what goes on when you’re off stage. Any classic ‘tour stories’ you’ve got to share?
SF: Honestly, we are a bunch of boring guys.
PT: Between now and the end of January you’re touring constantly. How do you unwind on the road when things get a bit stressful?
SF: Well, theres always alcohol, but there comes a time when you realize you have maybe been drinking a bit too much and need to cut back, for your own sanity. it’s at those times when i like to read a book, watch a tv show i’ve downloaded off of itunes, or call someone i miss talking to.
PT: Have you had much of a chance to take a look around the cities you’ve played at on the TOC, and soak up the local culture?
SF: Yeah, the whole of europe has been great for that. i was amazed with the gran platz in brussels. i just kind of stumbled into it and spent about a half hour staring at the incredible architecture.
PT: Brian Mcternan produced ‘Still Searching’. What was it like for you to work with someone who has produced albums for some of your biggest influences like Fairweather and Texas is the Reason?
SF: Brian had been a friend of mine for quite some time, so going with him was a really easy situation to get comfortable with. besides the fact that he is one of the best dudes you’ll ever meet in your life, he is somewhat of a genius behind the board. sometimes when we were trying to get an effect just right, he would get down on the floor and twiddle the knobs and get this maniacal glare on his face. things like that make you really appreciate how much effort and love he puts into his recordings, it’s like an art form for him.
PT: How much input did he have on the overall sound of the record? It’s a lot more polished than ‘Let it Enfold You’ and ‘From the Depths of Dreams’.
SF: We told brian what we wanted and let him go with it. we really trusted him to mold our sound and make it a little bigger than the previous records.
PT: How do you think the new album’s been received?
SF: As soon as we hit the uk it was like a total turn around from the rest of europe. germany and belgium were the european standouts, but here in the uk kids were super siked to see us play. apparently “calling all cars” is going over really well here. the true test will be this week when we get back to the states and see what our american fans think of the new songs live. im very excited to play at home again.
PT: What are each of your favourite tracks on ‘Still Searching’?
SF: My favorites are “the priest and the matador” and “the rapture”.
PT: How different is the Senses Fail experience to that of being in Midtown? Has it given you the chance to explore musical avenues you’ve not entered before with your previous band?
SF: Well, towards the end of midtown, it veered far away from any sort of resemblance to a democracy that it once had. one person in particular took all the control, and the rest of us were just kinda stuck there trying to give input and being shut down at almost every turn. it got to the point where i stopped writing at all because i knew that none of my songs would make it to the record anyway. being in senses fail has given me the opportunity to get creative again.
PT: And what abut the rest of the band? Was it a hard transition when you joined or did it come naturally to them?
SF: I think they would say it was pretty seemless, at least that’s what they say around me, haha.