Tyler: Thanks guys for taking some time out and talking with us. Let’s start off by having you say your names and what you do in Funeral For A Friend.
Darran: I am Darran, I play guitar.
Ryan: I am Ryan and I play drums.
Tyler: So it is time to make a new CD, and you get to choose three guest vocalists, who do you pick?
Ryan: One of mine would be Nathan Gray from boysetsfire. We are good friends with those guys and we have talked about doing that before, you know. But our schedules didn’t quite allow that to happen. He is just one of those people that has such a unique voice; he has such a passionate voice and such a powerful voice. Maybe that will happen in the future.
Darran: Maybe John Lennon or Paul McCartney. They always sung such wicked harmonies in The Beatles’ stuff. I would pick them as sort of a combo.
Ryan: I would have to also pick Freddie Mercury; he would make the album just amazing.
Tyler: What is your guilty pleasure?
Darran: I really like Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love”. I love that track; I love the beat.
Ryan: The beats always gotta be there; otherwise I would be out of a job. Guilty pleasures… (Thinks) I think mine is how I’m into watching pop idol and reality types of things. It’s so terrible, it’s so bad, but man it’s addictive.
Tyler: What specific reality shows are you a fan of?
Ryan: I think my favorite reality show was probably… when we were doing the record in Seattle there was a show on at the time called The Ultimate Fighter. We made sure we would watch that every single week.
Tyler: In your opinion, what are the three most important elements in a live show?
Darran: Energy, [and] let me think… a great sound.
Ryan: I definitely think that there is some X factor, which you can’t really put your finger on. There is a vibe when everything just seems [to] fall into place. I think that comes from the band; there is just that chemistry from the band. It’s just everything that makes a great show, but you can’t really put your finger on it.
Tyler: What were your expectations for your latest release, Hours? Were they fulfilled?
Darran: I think so, yeah. We certainly felt that we fulfilled what were hoping to do. We felt that we progressed with our song writing and musicianship. We concentrated more on songs, as supposed to fitting into a particular scene or genre, just doing what we thought was right. We were happy with it, you know?
Ryan: Yea, I mean we definitely think that it is a record that stands on its own two feet. Not really reliant on any particular scene.
Tyler: So if the scene were to die today, you think your CD would still be strong?
Ryan: Of course, we think so.
Darran: There are very diverse songs on there, songs for everyone. That is kind of what we aimed for really, with this CD.
Tyler: Where do you guys feel, personally, the happiest?
Ryan: Probably right on stage, that has to be one of the places. I think that everything we do, date to date, all culminates in that 30 minutes or however long we are up on stage for. That also sets the tone for that day and the next day. If you play a great gig, it makes you feel good; it makes you happy about everything else. It really does have that much of an effect.
Tyler: You guys have traveled all over. After seeing so many places, where would you like to retire to?
Ryan: I am looking forward to seeing Australia. We are going to Australia for the first time in a couple of weeks.
Darran: Yeah, see how that’s like. We are also going to South America in January I think. That will be interesting… see some of the places. One place that I have really kind of liked… I have spent time there before… is Toronto. But really, I look forward Australia and the other places that we’re going to see.
Tyler: Being from the United Kingdom, compare and contrast the music scene there versus the one here.
Ryan: Obviously the U.S. is a much bigger place; there’s a lot more bands. But I think in the UK there’s definitely more of a feeling of an event, when a band comes through town. Where we’re from… we’re from a small town in Whales… that’s how most of us met. There would be one place in the country where a band would come through. You know, if you’re into heavy metal, if you’re into rock, you all would meet up at that place.
Tyler: Lastly, what one living person do you admire the most?
Darran: Again, as I mentioned [before], Paul McCartney… the way he has kind of gone through different changes and is still so popular. He is still writing great songs and he is in his sixties. Also how he can play so many different instruments.
Ryan: I definitely have an admiration for any who does this in a band. Anyone who goes out and devotes pretty much their life to music, and that is pretty much what you have to do. So I would say pretty much everyone we tour with, in that sense.
