Interview With Fall From Grace Frontman/Guitarist Tryg Littlefield
March 10th, 2009 by Stephanie Stevens
FALL FROM GRACE, the band that never dies. That quote has stuck with them throughout their career this far. This is not only a rock band from Seattle, WA, they are TV stars (in a way) thanks to Fuse TV Battle of the Bands in 2007. The band walked away on top and gained themselves a one million dollar recording contract.
In Nov. of 2008 the guys released their debut album for Bunk Rock Entertainment entitled SIFTING THROUGH THE WRECKAGE; An album that jumps from mid tempo rock songs to punk rock anthems. The band has been getting a great buzz from their first single and video BURNED. Plus they keep building their fan base with extensive touring. Along with the person to person contact through touring, the mighty Ol’ Myspace helps this band gain even more fans with thousands of hits on the site per day. I must admit that is where I listened to them and stayed in contact with them and became friends with the guy that was nice enough to sit with me the day he rolled into Worcester, MA on the Alesana tour, frontman/guitarist Tryg LittleField.
Rock n roll is fun, it’s a tease and its sassy as hell and FALL FROM GRACE has it in their music and on a personal level. So get to know the band because they are not going to be out of sight anytime soon. Remember they are the band that never dies!! So check out what Tryg thinks of the simple things in music, the next record, touring and enjoy my little sassy teasing time with him. All in good fun and that is what FALL FROM GRACE is all about.
WHAT MADE YOU GET INTO THE WHOLE FUSE ROCK COMPETITION, REALITY DRIVEN SHOW?
We got added by Bodog battle of the bands Myspace and we put an mp3 up as a joke. So we basically joined it as a joke.
SO THERE WAS NO SERIOUS INTENTIONS OF DOING THIS?
Absolutely not, we were touring, we were doing our own thing so we had no intentions. We actually cancelled two tours to fit to their scheduling and we would always yell at them for it.
SO LET US FAST FORWARD TO GETTING INTO THE WHOLE REALITY SHOW WITH A BUNCH OF BANDS THAT ARE GOING TO COMPETE?
Right well they didn’t tell us anything, they flew us to Cleveland, they said be available January 15th to get on a plane, so we had no idea where we were going, what we were doing or even how long we were going to be gone for.
SO DID YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU WERE GOING TO WIN?
We knew it was a million dollar record deal but we didn’t know it was going to be a TV show. We found that out right after we won the regionals, which was in Seattle. We had to do three rounds at home. Then after the third round they were like oh yea by the way we are filming you for a reality TV show. So we were like WTF.
WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU GUYS TOOK AWAY FROM THIS WHOLE PROCESS ON A PERSONAL LEVEL AND AN ARTIST LEVEL?
Well TV has nothing to do with music and music has nothing to do with TV, so that was the first thing that we understood. We just rolled with the punches and had as much fun as possible but we knew it had nothing to do with music, it was all about ratings.
SO THE CRAZIER YOU WERE THE BETTER THE SHOW RATINGS WENT UP?
Right and it turned out we were crazy anyway, like we didn’t have to try that hard but we wanted to make sure we were ourselves because reality TV can cut you anyway, they want to do it and you sign an agreement basically saying they can do that.
HONESTLY I DON’T THINK I EVEN WATCHED IT. I THINK I SAW ONE SHOW AND IT WAS WHEN YOU GUYS HAD TO EAT A SHIT TON OF STUFF.
Oh yea in Austin
YEA AND I WAS LIKE WHAT IS THIS RIDICULOUS THING!!
During that episode we were thinking the same thing. They got us drunk while we were filming that and we ended up chasing the camera crew down the street.
SO YOU RELEASED TWO ALBUMS PRIOR TO THIS NEW ONE?
Yes 2004 we released an EP and right after we did the filming of the show in 2007 we released COVERED IN SCARS, our full length album
SO DURING THE SHOW WERE YOU DOING SONGS OFF THAT ALBUM?
Yes
ANY SONGS MAKE IT TO THIS ALBUM?
Yes.
THAT BRINGS US TO THIS QUESTION, ON YOUR REG. WEBSITE PAGE YOU HAVE THE SONGS UP BUT……
Are different it’s because they are from the old album COVERED IN SCARS because we took those songs for the new album and changed them so the website has not been updated
THE ALBUM IS VERY DIVERSE IN SOUND AND ESPECIALLY ON THE VOCAL END OF IT, WAS THAT SOMETHING INTENTIONAL YOU WANTED FOR THE RECORD?
Yes and no the thing is that we have so many influences in the band that everybody brings something else to the table so when we write a song we write what the song requires. We wrote LAST STRAW originally I was influenced to put traditional hardcore breakdown in the middle of it but we never did so when we re did it I was like it would be so rad to have Johnny on the song. So we wrote this killer really nice breakdown in the middle of it, Johnny loved it and came in and did the part. We do flirt with a lot of different genres but we do what we feel is appropriate for the song. So we were not trying to be extremely diverse we just wanted to release the best album we could, with the best songs we have.
HOW LONG DID THE WHOLE PROCESS TAKE TO RECORD, WRITE?
6 months.
DO YOU FEEL THAT WAS TOO LONG OR NEEDED MORE TIME?
It was too long to do a record but at the same time we grew and we learnt so much about songwriting and everything else involved in it. So at the end of the day for us, no it wasn’t long it was worth it.
YOU ALSO BRING IN TWO PRODUCERS WITH TWO DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, WAS THAT ANOTHER ASPECT YOU WANTED ON THE DISC?
Yes that was something we requested to the label in the beginning and they said no. Then after a couple of months of talking to them about it we convinced them. We wanted someone to help with pre production and someone with songwriting background and then someone who could do the post production who was known for their wall of sound and that is why Terry Date came aboard because he is known for his sound, his guitar tones mainly.
WHAT IS THE MAIN WRITING PROCESS FOR THE BAND?
Brian and I usually write most of the lyrics but on a lot of the songs on SIFTING, we all wrote lyrics.
WHAT DO YOU THINK STRENGTHEN YOU MORE AS ARTIST WRITING MUSIC OR WRITING STORYLINES AND LYRICS?
I don’t see there is a difference because if you have a melancholy song you are not going to write happy lyrics like I went to puppy shop and I got a dog and I gave him a hair cut and we took a walk….nooooo your going to be like this bitch broke my heart I’m going to wreck her fuckin car and burn her house down. Right? HAHAHA I am kidding. But what I am saying is we try to make the music and the words fit together as one.
DOES THAT MEAN YOU WRITE MUSIC BEFORE THE LYRICS ARE SET INTO MOTION?
There really isn’t a set way of writing but some of the time what we do or what we are doing now since we are writing on the road is we are coming up with music and melody on top of it. Then we write around that so vocal melody, music and then once we get a melody we are sold on we put the words that describe the theme of the song.
THIS ALBUM SEEMS LIKE YOU PUT A LOT OF PERSONAL EXPERIENCE INTO THE SONGS, ON THE NEXT ALBUM ARE YOU GOING TO STAY WITH THAT WAY OF WRITING OR EXPAND IT MORE AND MORE EACH ALBUM?
It just really is going to depend on the song. We wrote a song for the new record before we left which is called BURY YOUR KIDS and it’s about growing too fast and letting go of your youth forgetting your childhood and forgetting how to live life as a child or kid. It’s great but it’s not about life experience its more about how about we touch on this subject.
BEING THAT YOUR BAND MEMBERS ARE OLDER THEN SAY YOUR FANS DO YOU WRITE SONGS TO MARKET THEM?
Not really
DO YOU GUYS TEND TO TRY TO STAY ON THEIR LEVEL OR DOES PUBLICITY TRY TO MARKET YOU AS THE YOUNG TEEN?
No we are honest with everything. There are a lot of bands that target marketing. People in the industry have told us to lie about our age and we were like no we are who we are. If you don’t like us cause we are in our thirties then that’s just fine
IMAGE VS MUSIC, DO YOU THINK BOTH GO HAND AND HAND?
There is an image and there will always be an image within music I don’t care what anyone says. Slipknot said it best when they said even with the Dave Matthews band there is an image. We dress this way and look this way because it’s our fashion and style and we have always dressed this way. What other people do is cool but we don’t follow trends if that is what you are asking. We don’t follow fashion trends, our pocketbooks can’t afford it.
UNLESS YOU GET SPONSORED BY THEM!
Then I’ll go from black stretch jeans to Diesel jeans but still will be black.(laughing)
YOU GUYS DID VIDEOS ALREADY AND BURN HAS BEEN GETTING A GOOD RESPONSE. HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU FEEL THE VIDEOS CAN HELP A BAND IN THIS DAY N AGE?
I think it is with MTV, MTV2, Fuse who have been great to us and VH1, Youtube everything and anything that gets your stuff out there is great. But now they don’t have a budget for them and that’s the same with albums and recordings too
SO BACK TO THE NEW MUSIC YOUR WRITING ANYTHING TOTALLY DIFFERENT?
Yea BURY YOUR KIDS is different somebody said it’s like Franz Ferdinand meets FALL FROM GRACE. It was very weird. It has kind of a “take me out” groove that I didn’t even hear their song until we had finished our song, which was really cool. We are trying to grow as musicians. Our goal for the next record, we are trying to grow but simplify
WHY?
Simplifying sounds better. If you simplify, for example BURY YOUR KIDS the chorus is one line SO LONG WE BURIED OUR KIDS NOW, repeated twice. Melody is different it took us 4 hours to come up with that line and it sounds super simple. We had a bunch of different things and four hours over a course of two days this one line came out. We are trying to SIMPLYFY.
HOW EASY IS IT WRITING ON THE ROAD?
Not easy at all. You have to set up the studio in your hotel room and then shift gears in your brain being like OK now we have to write and now we got to play but now we got to write. So it’s hard to get a set mind frame but its getting done.
SO WE TALKED A LOT ABOUT ONE OF YOUR NEW SONGS BUT THE OTHER SONG YOU HAVE JUST FINISHED HOW DOES THAT COMPARE TO BURY YOUR KIDS?
Well I guess when FALL FROM GRACE writes songs we think of our songs like children. Somebody asked me a year ago what my favorite song on the record and how can I say Tommy is my favorite kid when Allie is right up there with Tommy
YES UNDERSTANDABLE BUT YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FAVORITE
Nope you can never have a favorite.
HMMM I DON’T BELIEVE YOU!
Well I mean, I favor parts of songs
FAVORITE SONG TO PLAY LIVE?
My favorite song to play live is DESTROY THE CHAMPION because it’s such a good groove. I can feel the groove. I was raised on traditional R&B like BB King, Albert King and Blues Brothers that was what my dad use to listen to and play when I was a kid so I love a really thick groove. So playing it live I read off the audience so it’s a big feel situation. Its not like we show up and we are going to hit play and then hit stop we are going to show up and feel it out and have fun during our show and that song has a groove so that is why its my favorite.
WHERE DO YOU LEARN MORE, IN THE STUDIO OR ON THE ROAD?
You really can’t compare the two honestly. I learn a lot about songwriting when I’m in the studio and I learn a lot about endurance when I’m on the road. If I never went on the road then I would be what I guess would be extremely spoiled and wouldn’t have the mileage underneath me to sing the way that I can or able to write the way that I can. The way that I have learnt to write as a musician is that I just honestly learn on the road. I use to always listen to top 40 when I was a kid, like top 40 rock not top 40 dance like throw your booty in the air.
OH COME ON I CAN PICTURE YOU DOING IT UP!!
Ok maybe I did but I don’t admit to it (laughing). Anyway I just started to see what creditability really meant in the early days of me as a musician and that is how I became interested in a lot of different genres of music including not rock but hardcore and metal and punk. So at the end of the day we are a rock band and we like to flirt with all these different genres because we are so influenced by them
YOU LIKE THAT WORD….FLIRT..HUH?
I love to flirt
NO I MEAN YOU LIKE THE WORD YOU HAVE USED IT MANY MANY TIMES DURING MY TIME OF BEING WITH YOU!
It’s a great word I have used that in relationships in the past. The day that I stop flirting is the day that I die. So in a relationship I have to flirt.
HE IS JUST A PLAYER. (LAUGHING)
Don’t hate the player hate the game (laughing)
(Laughing) OH GOD.
I am so kidding. That’s the cheesiest thing I have ever said.
HE IS NOT KIDDING…
Shut up (laughing)
PLAYER!!!
I’m not a player; seriously, I like smart girls thank you.
OKIE ENOUGH OF THE TEASING YOU…TRYG IS REALLY A SWEETIE..TO ANYONE READING THIS. BACK TO THE TOPIC ON HAND TOURING. YOU GUYS STARTED WITH ALESANA . HOW LONG IS THIS?
This tour goes until April 29th. Then the Protest The Hero tour
HOW DO YOU GUYS ADAPT TO DIFFERENT TOUR PACKAGES LIKE THESE?
This is the first package tour we have ever been on.
VIRGINS!!!
Yes New York City popped our package tour cherry! But what I thought originally was pending upon the genre of band that is the headliner adequate your songs to fit into their genre if you have any songs that are like that or can pull it off, play those songs that’s the way I thought last night, Last night was a great time, tonight due to vocal restraints because I’m a little sick we decided to cut a few songs out of the set but replace with mid tempo rock songs and this crowd was amazing they let us play what we would normally would play and there was no problem with it. So that leads me to believe we are growing and everything is new and FALL FROM GRACE is not the type of band that comes up with a set list, plans it all out, has lights and sound and everything that goes along with it we just show up and play, that’s our whole thing we are all about the feel. The connection with the audience, like tonight there was hecklers in the crowd so I decided to go out of my comfort zone and make sure I made fun of them during a middle of a song and it was great the crowd loved it and it was awesome and then the hecklers loved it and gave me a handshake after the set. That was cool because everyone wins. But it’s all about the feeling and the connection we are about giving an experience. When I was a kid that is what I enjoyed
ARE YOU WRITING A BOOK?
Yes I am writing a book but that will take a couple of years to write.
ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT THAT?
Yes I am. Oh were you joking? You were just shooting from the hip?
YES
Oh I thought I had told you that. No I really am, wow that’s weird you just asked me that but I am
I JUST THOUGHT MUSICIAN GOES INTO WRITING HIS LIFE EXPERIENCE! SMELLS LIKE A BOOK TO ME
My life story didn’t make the bio of the band, my mother became schizophrenic when I was 12 and I divorced her pretty much. Then my dad got remarried and I was adopted by my stepmother and they raised me
SO YOU HAVE A STORY!
Yea I do kind have a story but it’s a good story though.
IT COMES OUT POSITIVE
Yea totally my step mom paved the way of the healthy side of Tryg!
HMM SO A BOOK….
It will be an entertainment read.
I’LL BUY IT…WILL YOU SIGN IT FOR ME?
Oh shut up
NO REALLY…WILL YOU?
Of course
SO WHAT ELSE IS GOING ON, YOU’RE GOING BACK INTO THE STUDIO THIS NOVEMBER?
Yea this year to record a new record it probably won’t be out till 2010.
ANYTHING ELSE?
You have pretty eyes
AWWW THANKS…..PLAYER LOL
Oh come on….
ANYWAY ANY FAMOUS LAST WORDS MR. LITTLEFIELD
Thanks!!!!
“Burned”
good ol tryg!
Tryg! It’s AWESOME to see guys making it in the BIGTIME!! Keep up the the Great tunes! Maybe I can get you to come to Ketchikan Alaska for a concert?!!! I used to work for Ketchikan Drywall as the Texture Guy! My son is Brian. Big Fan of yours. Keep in touch Rock Star!!