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Interview with Fredalba
November 2004
by Tim Nydell
 

You guys have a lot of different influences and backgrounds - how did you guys find each other?
Blair:  I'm the newest member.  I came in after they already formed.  I went to audition for them and got the job. 
 
Tiffin:  Eric and I started out as friends - then Paul actually lived down the street - and a mutual friend hooked us up with him.  Charmian - Eric and I were reforming the band at one time so we thought it would be interesting to have a flute player.  Then Grady - his brother knew Eric from a long time ago.  He came in when we were looking for a DJ. 
 
How did you know that all the different musical talents and taste would work together?
Tiffin:  We didn't.  (laughs) 
 
Blair:  I'm not sure that they do.  (laughs)
 
Charmian:  You never know if it's going to work or not - you either like it or you don't.  So far we like it.
 
How would you define your music?  And would you consider it a new sound?
Charmian:  I think it's rock music but flavored with funk and hip hop.  But the basic root of it is rock.  I don't think it's completely ground breaking, but I don't think there's anyone out there doing it exactly the way we are. 
 
Blair:  I think it's Earth shattering.
 
Charmian:   Yes, it is ground breaking and Earth shattering.  (laughs)
 
The band has gone through a few members since starting out - do you finally think it's complete now?
Charmian:  Absolutely.  This is the winning team.
 
So it's a strong family then?
Charmian:  Yes.  Definitely.
 
What do each of your personalities and backgrounds add to the band?
Charmian:  Well, I'm a girl.  (laughs)   My background and influences - I've got a lot of jazz influences - I like instrumental funk.
 
Tiffin:  My parents were pretty much hippies - they were into Grateful Dead and stuff like that.  I wasn't into it while I was growing up, but eventually I did.  So I come more from the classic rock, but I also like old-school funk. 
 
Eric:  My family is Native American Indian - so a lot of my influences not only come from that but the beat of a song or the rythm of a song is very important for me.  I try to take each song to another level.  I think that's what makes us different - our songs are constantly putting layers on top of themselves.  I really like that about the music that we have. 
 
Grady:  I started off as a DJ... so I pretty much love and respect all music. 
 
Blair:  Am I next?  (laughs)  I grew up in Mobile, Alabama... and moved out here after high school.  It's really hard to nail down my influences.  They come anywhere from soundtracks......
 
Eric:  He's the dirty bastard of the band.  (laughs)
 
I really love the song "Revelation" - what's the meaning behind it?
Eric:  Revelation - it's a song I wrote after a car accident.  A drunk driver hit my car - and when he hit my car he bounced my car off of the sidewalk.  The song was just a way for me to release the things I was having about the entire event.  When a think like that happens and you're involved - it's hard to not feel a certain responsibility... it was just my way of dealing with the event.
 
Eric, I have one more question for you.  Is it hard to keep your acting career seperate from this one?
Eric:  It's not hard for me.  It's hard for other people.  For me - I was singing and making music long before I was an actor.  I feel like this is a real band.  Artists are artists - they express themselves in many ways.  Some paint - some write... all artists aren't restricted to just one medium.  I'm shocked that the audience is surprised that an artist wants to do more than one thing. 
 
Charmian:  Unfortunately that's what's different with a lot of these great actors that try to sing - a lot of them haven't been that good. 
 
Blair:  It seems like sometimes the public wont give someone a chance. 
 
Eric:  People do it with musicians too.  If a band or an artist puts out one album - but then if they change on the next...
 
Charmian:  It's like when Metallica cut their hair......
 
Blair:  When they came out with "Fade To Black"  people were like 'what the hell is this?'.  If you do the same type of music for ten years - you'd have to want to branch out and do something different. 
 
What do the rest of you do while Eric is filming?
Charmian:   We write music.  We jam a lot. 
 
Blair:  Absolutely. 
 
What legacy would you guys like to leave behind?
Charmian:   Wow.  I'm not going to speak for the band - I'll speak for Charmian.  I would like to leave the legacy that flutes could be used in rock related music and not sound like Jethro Tull.  (laughs)  
 
Blair:  I just want to make good music.  When people record something - not to be cheesy, but it is moments in time.  It'll be nice to change something about music - do something different.  Set a pallet for other people. 
 
Eric:  It's hard to say what you want your legacy to be -  an album is a moment in time - just one moment in time.  It's what was going on in our lives at that moment.  It's hard to say what it's going to end up being.
 
Tiffin:  As a legacy - many albums that are different from one another and consistently good. 
 
Charmian:  And consistently evolving. 
 
Tiffin:  Consistent so you can listen to one and not have to compare it to another. 
 
Any closing comments?
Charmian:   Well, we just shot our video for "Gimme More".  So we're excited that it got finished and that people are going to be able to see it. 
 
Tiffin:  We're starting to get a street team together - so anyone who's interested in the band can go to our site and join our street team. 
 
Charmian:  Free goodies if you help promote the band. 

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Band members:
Eric Balfour - Vocals
Tiffin "Rooster" Roley - Guitars
Blair Shotts - Drums
Charmian Collon - Flue, Keyboards
Paul Trutner - Bass
Grady Reinagle - Turntables
 

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