We’ve known the FUD guys for a long time. Super dudes, super tunes, an all around rad band. they’ve done some amazing things over the years, and just put out a new record! Check it out! Tyler answered some questions for me.
1-Who are you and what do you do in FUD?
-Tyler Stenlund and I play guitar,
2-Who are the other guys in your band?
-James Livingston is our vocalist, Levi Rogers is our bassist, and Dolan Duck is on drums.
3-Can you explain to me the meaning of Faithful Unto Death?
-It comes from a verse of the bible which states that those who are Faithful Unto Death will receive a crown of life. It has to do with commitment and steadfastness, which are two characteristics we believe our generation has lost touch of.
4-You guys began around the same time we did. How has the band changed since it’s inception?
-Massively. Firstly we lost a bassist and a drummer which changed the dynamic of the band a good deal. We’ve gone through a couple of lights guys as well and that has helped shaped us. I would say we’ve probably changed the most in terms of musical direction though. We’ve matured a lot, learned to write more cohesively and all together better. But we’ve also changed some of the goals of having this band, or rather those goals have slowly morphed into different ideas than we first had. I know I personally wanted us to be basically an “evangelize from stage” kind of band, and now that couldn’t be farther from what I want. We understand better how a Christian band should run things, at least I THINK we’ve grown in that understanding.
5-Like us, you guys are a band based in faith. How do other bands react when they find out you’re a ‘Christian’ band?
-Depends on the band, but we have generally been lucky in this regard. We hangout with bands that have completely different beliefs than us all the time and generally have no problem hanging out. We understand that you don’t need to necessarily believe the same thing to work towards the same purpose. If the question is has any band totally hated us for our beliefs? Not to my knowledge, but the possibility is there, hahaha.
6-You also get on some amazing shows…..sometimes where you are the heaviest band….we’ve played those too. how do crowds react?
-It’s funny because those shows are some of the shows where we have had the most success. We’ve often had the amazing opportunity to be some kids introduction to heavy music, and I remember a kid randomly running into James old band at a church event and being blown away, so I know what that’s like. I guess it’s hard for us to say how crowds react because we don’t REALLY know what their thinking, but I would say we have had marginal success on those bills.
7-You’ve played some amazing shows this year. What has been your favourite so far?
-Definitely the E.P. release show for me personally. We had a good 170 people show up and mosh hard, and had all the openers we wanted to play. A local band called Legions played and I’ve been waiting to see them again for a while hahaha. It was just one of those shows we worked at making great, and practice paid off. Plus it’s amazing to see how your community can come through for you. You don’t hear about shows with 170 people for all locals very often.
8-Likewise, what are the big plans for the rest of 2012?
-Tour, tour, tour. Play lots of shows and write more music! We have a music video coming out VERY soon, and a new single probably coming atcha by the end of the summer!
9-Every band with a crappy van has had problems on the road. Any funny van stories?
-We’re no exception. One time we thought we smelled smoke and decided to pull over after a couple minutes just to be safe. We popped the hood to a fountain of smoke and than literally watched our serpentine belt disintegrate before our eyes. Good thing we pulled over.
We also got stranded right before Pitch and Praise one year and had a buddy come with his van and drive us all there. We arrived ten minutes before playing and than won the battle of the bands. Solid day.
10-I love talking gear. What do you use live?
-Me too! Right now I am running a 6505+ through a Garnet 4X12. For rack gear I use a Shure Wireless System and an Alesis 3630 Compressor/Gate. On channel of the compressor is run through the front, and one through the FX loop for super tightness. For guitars I find myself constantly switching between my Ibanez RG7321, and my Ibanez RG 130 backup guitar. One is a 6 string, one is a seven string, both tuned to drop f, thanks to thick strings and magic. The 6 string is super tight, but obviously hard to play because it was never meant for drop f. The seven string plays like a dream but lacks definition and clarity I find. There may or may not be a custom Carvin seven in the works for me as we speak…
11-Everyone who knows me knows my hatred for trends in modern music. What is one trend you wish would die an awful death?
-Techno Breakdowns
12-Dream tour! FUD and three others! Who do you take?
-Oh man, uhhh if we’re talking famous bands?
– Bury Your Dead
-Fellsilent
-A Plea For Purging
13-Now turn it around, you can form a super band with 5 band members of any band together or not. You must include yourself in it. Who is in the band?
-Oh goodness gracious. I’m going to veto the 5 member rule and say that If I could just kick out a guitarist from Fellsilent and reform that band with me in it? DONE.
14-If FUD decided to change genres into something completely different, what genre would you be?
-Straight up old school hardcore.
15-Every guitar player has their favourite ”stage move”. I love to throw my guitar across the stage. What’s yours?
-I’m a fan of classic headbanging, though yelling in peoples faces is good times as well.
16- Every band has their favourite place for pre/post show eats. What restaraunt do you guys stop at the most eats?
-Pizza Pizza. We are there WAY too often.
17- Being in a band, In know this feeling. If there was one person in your band who you could take in a wrestling rig for 5 minutes to blow off some steam, who would it be?
-Probabaly Dylan, he can rub me the wrong way on occasion, but even than I don’t think id ever wanna fight the guy. Firstly, he’d kick the shit out of me, and secondly at the end of the day I love the dude.
18- Bands often have a lot of free time pre show. You load in, then have nothing to do for 3 or 4 hours until you play. How do you guys occupy your time?
-We play a ton of n64 lately, but usually we try to find activities in whatever city were in. Usually something outdoorsie. And we bring longboards with us in the summer.
19- Most bands have a family dynamic. In FUD, who’s the dad, mom, etc.
19. James is the dad, I’m his gay life partner, Levi is the kid, and Dylan is the weird uncle that you probably don’t want to let your kid spend TOO much time with.
20- If you described your band dynamic as a sitcom group (Friends, Big Bang Theory, Seinfeld etc) who would it be?
20. Arrested Development.
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