Finabah

Mon 22nd Feb, 2010 in Features

Toowoomba band Finabah has been around for six years now and continues to evolve and grow. Having played Taste Of Chaos and Sounds of Spring festivals, this band sure has an impressive number of live shows under its belt. With their single Everybody Jump being the #2 most added song to commercial radio stations in recent weeks, Finabah have shown that hard work and persistence pays off. Brendan Langfield answered some questions for FL about what they’ve been up to.

It seems as though 2010 is going to be the year of Finabah with the upcoming tours and commercial radio play. Does this make you excited or nervous about Finabah’s future?

There are so many times in your career, whether it be as a musician or anything else, where you say to yourself ‘this is make or break’. Approaching the commercial industry is sort of a once off experience, and you either take off or burst your bubble, so we are excited about what could happen for us over the next 6 months, but equally as nervous about how the industry and the broader public will take to our music… but so far so good.

Your recent big successes include Rock The Schools tour and radio air time, but having been around for a while was there ever a time you doubted whether the band was destined for success or if you should just give up?

I think no matter how much you love something, there are always times when you question why you are doing it, especially when it’s such hard work. There have been times when you think ‘shit, it would be so much easier to work a cruisy 9-5 job and party on the weekends’ ... but we have always been pretty level headed and realized that breaking this industry is usually a 10 year apprenticeship. We have been lucky enough to have little victories along the way, from playing Schoolies and Taste of Chaos in 07, to Sounds Of Spring last year. Those small victories go a long way to keeping your eye on the prize at the end of the road.

What has kept Finabah together when other bands spilt up after one or two years?

The fact we really enjoy what we do, and we really like each other. We have somehow stumbled across the long lost formula for a band who are genuinely best friends and love the music they play. It seems a rarity for a band to last for more than a few years now and so many of the artists being thrust into the lime-light haven’t really built the foundations in their camp. We certainly aren’t new kids on the block, so when things have got tough, we have been able to rely on each other and stick together.

Is there any resentment from the other unsigned bands in the area after your recent radio play or has the general consensus been positive from the local scene?

So far I haven’t seen any negativity, thats not to say it doesn’t exist, but at least it’s not being thrown into our faces. We have always worked really hard to not only maintain good music, but to maintain a good reputation and attitude. I have always looked at ourself as the ‘Sweden’ of the local scene. We just chill out and do our own thing and try our best not to offend anyone, so the only comments we have heard so far have been about how we deserve the success for all our hard work. Its really good to hear that sort of stuff from other artists.

What is your favourite Finabah song to play live?

We have added a lot of new songs to our set lately because we are starting to put together our album and it’s really good to play the stuff live and gauge a response from the audience. For me though, there are two main factors that I enjoy when playing live- I love hearing people sing along and I love playing something fresh that we can really get into and enjoy on stage. This usually works out quite well, because by the time the song isn’t quite as new and exciting to play, a lot of people know the words and that helps keep you motivated to play a song you have played 500 times before.

Have you gained a new fanbase after being played on the radio?

We are only in week one of our radio play and we are getting played more and more every day as the momentum grows. We are lucky enough to have some pretty high rotation on some stations, so we have already noticed randoms commenting on our web-sites and the activity on places like Youtube increase dramatically. It takes the average punter several listens of a song before they remember it and connect with it, so if we can maintain the exposure, we should be able to really expand our fanbase over the next few months.

What is Finabah looking forward to the most this year?

From a band point of view, we are really looking forward to getting on the road and playing packed out shows across the country. After spending years working to the bone to pull payers to all your shows and playing in sleazy pubs and the corners of cafes, there is nothing more rewarding than going to a show and having people line up to see you because they have fallen in love with your music. Commercial radio is the platform for us to show the country our music, and let them decide if they love it or not. From a personal point of view, and I know I can speak for all of us, we can’t wait to share a bit of our success with the people around us… To say to the doubting Thomas that we have accomplished something amazing, and to say to the people that have stood by us all these years that their good faith was not wasted will be one of the sweetest moments in our careers. In saying that, both of the aforementioned are by no means set in stone, so we are working our asses off to make it happen.

Everybody Jump was described by Finabah as describing the struggle often seen in society regarding people trying to fit in and be trendy and unique. Do you see yourselves ever struggling to be trendy or unique?

I think our music really does the talking in this regards. We don’t sound like anything else. People can always point out elements in our music that remind them of artists, but we have never been pigeon-holed as a ‘Nickleback’ band or a ‘Blink 182’ rip off. We will keep playing what we enjoy, and let the scene and what’s cool do whatever it wants to do.

Does Finabah still have the same fans they had back when the band began or has the fanbase changed and evolved with the music?

Funnily enough, a lot of the fans we had when we started have turned into good friends. We have a little cork-board at home with a heap of fan mail stuck to it and to this day there is the first ever ‘fan mail’ we received hanging on it. The girl who wrote it is now a really good friend, and every time she is around the fina-house , we don’t hesitate to remind her where she came from!

What has the highlight been in Finabah’s history so far?

The last 6 months for us has been more than we could have ever hoped for. Last year we were lucky enough to be invited to the ACRAs (Australian Commercial Radio Awards), and be surrounded by celebs, who for some reason thought we were celebs. We sat at the table next to Kisschasy – a band we have aspired to be like for so many years – and got a very intimate performance from guy Sebastian… nothing suss. To be treated in such high regards by an industry that can make or break your career was a moment we certainly wont forget.

How would you compare playing Taste of Chaos back in 2007 to Sounds of Spring in 2009?

They were hugely different experiences for a few reasons. In 2007 we were far less experienced artists, and getting up in front of such a huge crowd scared the crap out of us. I think we played our 4 songs at warp speed and were off the stage in under ten minutes! We matured so much in the two years until Sounds of Spring and it showed in the way we performed and carried ourselves. Being a large festival, Sounds of Spring was amazing, as we were able to wander around backstage and mingle with people we have dreamed of meeting for years. I wont forget standing directly side-stage while Johnny Toogood from Shihad stirred the crowd, and played songs that helped get me through my high school years.

Who has been the biggest influence on Finabah over the past 6 years?

Honestly… ourselves. Nothing inspires me more than taking a song into the studio and hearing Dale (our guitarist) lay a lick over the top that I couldn’t play if I tried…or when we pin a chorus harmony that gives you the shivers and at the end of the song look at each other and don’t say a word. Little moments like that remind you why you haven’t held down a job for longer than 6 months and why your version of a fancy restaurant is sizzler. Because you have to live and breathe music to make it your future, and when you have the talent, all it takes is time.

Catch Finabah on the last legs of their Everybody Jump tour:

Friday, March 5: X&Y Bar, Brisbane, QLD (18+ Unplugged set)
Saturday, March 6: The Hive, Brisbane, QLD (All Ages)
Saturday, March 6: Thriller, Brisbane, QLD (All Ages)
Sunday, March 7: The Gladstone Hotel, Toowoomba, QLD (18+)