Interview: Catching Up with Famous Strangers

It has been a little while since we checked in with the hard rock and heavy metal band, Famous Strangers. In this interview, we catch up with them and find out what they’ve been up to since we last spoke.

Answered by Amanda Kiernan

Hello! Welcome back. It’s been a little while, so first things first, how are you and have there been any significant changes since we last spoke?

Hello! Thank you. Yes, it has been a while and we’re doing great. There’s been so many changes. It seems like even just for three years, two years being out into the world, we’ve come so far and we’ve already done so many things. We’ve definitely released more singles with music videos, which has been so much fun. We’re all done with our seven-song full-length album recording, and it’s going to be coming out on vinyl. So we’re very excited for that. And before that, we’re gonna release a couple singles with a music videos.

We’ve been playing so many awesome shows with so many incredible bands at so many incredible venues, and we’ve just been working our butts off. This is like an every day, all day thing. There’s lots of work to be done, especially when we are managing ourselves. We own this business and we’re definitely putting in the effort and the time.

So what’s new? What’s keeping you busy this time around? A new album, EP, single release, a new video? Playing live, or planning ahead?

I guess I just answered all those questions! But we have learned how to communicate better and plan things better. When you get in a new group, especially when you’re managing your own band, there’s lots to do and we make mistakes, but then we learn from them and we grow. So there’s been a lot of growing and learning and communication.

Something really fun that we plan to do once a month… not as a band, as friends. Because friends first. Once a month someone chooses where to go and the band talk is off the table. It’s just friends going out, hanging out, and bonding. I think in a company that’s called team building. We went bowling last month and I think this month we were talking about an escape room, or I’d love to take the boys to the Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd experience at the TELUS World of Science. That would be really cool to see.

We have our album coming out, singles and music videos, and we are playing Decimate Metalfest in Millet, Alberta, June 26th and 27th. We’re playing on the Saturday there. We’re really excited for that, we are booking a bunch of other shows for a western Canadian tour in August.

August 6th, we are playing The Exchange, which is for me, Amanda, like my other home. When I was with Into Eternity, that’s where they’re from, Regina, and we would always play and jam at The Exchange. And luckily and amazingly, Tim Roth’s cover band Metal Theater is playing with us, and then Troy Blythe’s band Cruel as the Grave is playing with us. So it is going to be like a sort of Into Eternity reunion, but not Into Eternity. It’s going to be very diverse and a really cool genre-bending show, so I’m really excited for that.

And of course, we just want to play more shows and get on more festivals. Who knows, anything can happen. Fingers crossed, we are working with some epic friends in Europe. So yes, we will be getting over there.

Describe what fans and listeners can expect for this new album.

You can expect ups and downs and all around. I feel like there are moments of grit and passion and uplifting lyrics with really heavy riffs, but also unpredictable. And then there are moments of really beautiful soft moments that will go deep inside your heart and soul and just make you feel all the things.

The single plus the music video coming out May 29 is vulnerable and fun and silly and kind of ridiculous. I’ve had this idea in my mind for a really long time, and I’ve been humming and hawing about it for a while now, and now it’s coming out. So I really hope that the message gets through and the video just gives people a laugh, but also an understanding.

The track is called Ghosts of Men, so the lyrics are very deep and about how someone might feel when they are ghosted. The emotional state that you go into when you’re all alone, wondering, sitting at home, wondering and waiting. And then the music video is the complete opposite of that… the overexaggerated feelings and thoughts you might have of where that person is and what they might be doing while they’re ghosting you.

Tell me about the work that has gone into making it a reality and what it means to you to see it come to fruition.

The journey has been intense in all the best ways. This is what I wanted. I’ve been in music for a really long time and I’ve never tapped into the business side, which is silly. I wish that I did. So the fact that I’m hopping right in with these boys on the business side of things, it’s been crazy. I knew there was effort and work put into this, and all the work that promoters and labels and all these people do. But oh my goodness, especially managing your own band, it can get very, very overwhelming at times. And for someone like me who’s just learning about this, it’s a lot. It’s all day, every day and there’s always something.

But we are creating an incredible team of amazing, talented people who are smart and know what they’re doing, and thank goodness for them. It’s seriously non-stop. Every little detail and everything you think goes into all this, add more on to it. It’s wild. It’s a wild ride, but that does make it feel even more so good when things come out into the world. When your art is finally ready for everyone to see, it’s that much more satisfying.

I know that I am not used to having my ideas, my complete ideas from my heart and soul, out for people to take and go with. So it has been such a trip to see something that was just a thought, and then my band and our team listens to what I have to say, and then it comes out, and then it’s recording day and then it’s music video day. I feel like I’m out of my body in those moments and I’m looking in and seeing everything come to reality.

There are moments where, especially with this Ghosts of Men music video, I had the idea in my head for so long that it might not come out the way that I envisioned it. But that’s where you tweak it and change things and make changes, and also get out of your own way with your self-doubt. It feels surreal and incredible and I’m really proud of us. I’m really proud of Famous Strangers, and I’m really proud of our team, and I couldn’t be happier with how things are going.

Sum up what this latest development says about you and where you find yourself at this moment in time.

I feel like I speak for the whole band when I say we’re almost on autopilot, if that’s the right word. Just every day putting in the work, putting in the effort. We’re kind of just going through the motions of every day, checking off a massive list as if we’re in some kind of dream world. And I guess the moments where it feels really real is when you hit the stage, which only ever feels like a blip. Like a second. You black out and you wake up and the show’s over.

I feel like we forget how far we’ve come and how much we’ve done until we actually sit back and look at what we’ve done. We’re really proud of ourselves and really excited for what we’ve done and what is to come. For every band member, we’re all going through ups and downs in our lives, but this is one thing that we look forward to that helps us balance it all out. Keeping us busy and working towards something that we’re passionate about. I know it’s a fact out there that when you have something to be passionate about, it adds purpose to your life.

For me personally, I have been doing really good with routine. So I’m really thankful for that. Every day seems like little accomplishments every single day. But also feeling this massive energy that’s beyond me and beyond this band. I have faith so much in this band. I always have with every band, but this band feels very different and the energy surrounding it is very exciting. I’m really excited to see where we take this and where it goes, because we are definitely putting in the effort and the time and all the things that go along with it.

Has the time since we last spoke been a mostly positive period, and has there been any one thing that stands out as being good?

It’s just life. Life is always up and down and all around. Obviously we are so happy and so thankful to have everything that we have, grateful for everything that has happened with our lives and the band and the opportunities that have come out of this.

Personally, I know that there have been some challenges with everybody. It does feel good to come to jam when you’re not feeling well, and then you leave jam feeling so happy and you just feel better. It’s good for the soul. It’s nice to have band practice and be with people that put a smile on your face and make you feel better.

I feel like there’s been huge accomplishments with us, whether it be April 25th, we did our very own hall show and it was so fun and once again so incredible to see it come to life. We created some beautiful memories, because it was all ages, so I’m sure some of those kids will never forget that show. Creating a core memory for them. And recording the album and making the music videos, those are huge accomplishments that we are really excited about.

How about something that has challenged you since we last spoke? Has there been any particular thing that tested you, and if so, how did you overcome it?

Like I said, anything to do with the business side of this music industry is not easy. This is what we want to do, so we are all in. But yes, it can be very overwhelming. This is a brand new band. We are all friends, but it’s four brand new people coming in together as a band and creating art together and seeing each other more than we see anybody. So every day isn’t going to be all happy and smiles.

I think we are learning how to be with each other no matter how we feel. I don’t want these boys coming into jam and having to feel forced to put a smile on. If you’re not okay, you’re not okay. And I feel honored that we can be together, whether it’s be together sad, be together stressed out, be together happy. Because your band should be a safe space where you can feel your emotions together, or feel comfortable enough to reach out to one another and talk to each other in a real way.

We’ve definitely been noticing that with each other, where when you finally open up and then you’re like, “Oh wow, I can talk to these people and they’re going to have my back and they’re going to listen to me.” The support with each other is beautiful. So of course there are challenges, but with challenges come learning and growing, and it’s honestly a beautiful thing.

All the stuff we have to do for the band, managing the band, that is the challenge, and overcoming it is a daily task. But instead of… I think a lot of people say this, instead of looking at the whole page, like when we’re going through all the tasks that we have to do, I have a tendency to get overwhelmed very easily because I look at the whole thing and it’s scary. But just one thing at a time, one day at a time. And we’re really honored to have Art Szabo, who literally put together a daily sheet of what to do. And that’s how I work. I love to see a list. I like to see, “Okay, this is what you have to do today. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Don’t worry about a week from now. This is your task today.” So we’re thankful that he put together daily tasks for us. It makes it more organized and better to see and look at.

What is a realistic goal you’d like to achieve over the next twelve months?

I think we all would love to go to Europe. That’s just, I think, every metalhead’s dream. I want to go all around the world. I want to play every town on this planet. But definitely we want to get to Europe and we want to spread our love and our art in other places.

Twelve months… like, what we’ve done in just two years, imagine what we could do in twelve months. So not just a Europe tour, but it’d be so cool to have another album written. We’re already working on that because you gotta stay ahead of it. More music videos, more singles coming out, and to shop our new album out and promote it and play with more epic bands and play at more incredible venues and do all the networking and just enjoy the ride.

Thank you so much for interviewing us again. It’s an honor.

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