Interview with Nick from Final Fight

Devan: Who are you/what do you do in the band?

Nick: Nick, I play guitar

D: Everyone I've talked to is super stoked on your new lp, "Half Head, Full Shred". What do you think are some of your influences on this new record?

N: Its awesome to hear that people are stoked on our new album, we put a ton of work into making it. Personally, a major influence for me was the desire to put out another album. When we started writing new songs we all began to see that we were taking a different path than from Under Attack, or even the split with Life Long Tragedy. We didn't intentionally change the overall sound of our songs, but it was more the way in which they started coming out. We gave ourselves a little more freedom when it came to writing, and we opened our minds more to different possibilities. I expect whatever we release next will take another step to being more progressive, whether people like it or not.

D: How was it making this record?

N: Incredible, and terrible at the same time. Every time we wrote a new song, we essentially developed a new favorite final fight song. I can remember several times leaving practice just being stoked on a new song we wrote, especially considering it was a major piece in the upcoming album. On the other hand, we put a lot of pressure on ourselves to make sure the songs were as good as we felt they could be. We have never been a band that writes songs quickly; we like to be perfectionists. When our recording session was booked, we still hadn't finished every song on the album, so that really put us in a tough spot.

D: Its been a few since your first full length and the split with life long tragedy. What have you guys been up to since then?

N: Well we started final fight when I was barely 18 years old. I'm 23 now, so of course there are going to be a lot more responsibilities in life other than the band. Last year David and James both graduated college, and I'll be joining them in June. We have all had full time commitments, whether it be jobs, school, or both, so it takes time away from what we can do for the band. I don't want to say that the band was a secondary priority, we all still love playing shows, meeting new people, and traveling. But sometimes you have to put the band aside to straighten out other shit that's going on in your life. Its a tough thing to balance, but so far I think we have done a pretty good job of doing it.

D: What do you think has changed since your first full length, as far as sounds or influences?

N: Probably everything. Shaun, the other guitar player, and I both agreed that the old songs just aren't that much fun to play on guitar outside of a show. We wanted to change that, and we wanted to challenge ourselves a bit more. It may not sound like it, but a lot of our new songs are pretty tough to play, especially considering the way in which we have strayed away from using just standard power chords. We have all gotten a lot better at our instruments, and now we have luxuries that other bands may not have. We have a really good drummer, a really good bass player that actually writes song, and has a major input on the writing of songs, and a singer that has constantly gotten better not only in how he sounds, but the lyrics he writes. Also, we party a lot more. Way more.

D: How's your home scene?

N: Our home scene has always been awesome. It started out as a tight group of friends that went to every single final fight show, regardless of how far it was. Now we see a lot of new faces at our shows, as well as some of the old familiar faces that have been there the whole time.

D: Do you still stay active in it?

N: Not as much as I used to. I still love hardcore, and listen to it just about everyday, but we all started to explore life outside of shows. When we started out, we were playing shows just about every weekend, so after a while I got kind of burned out on going to shows.

D: What kinda of music have you been into lately?

N: Pygmy Lush, Pink Floyd,

D: Are there any bands you think show potential? Any we should look out for in the future?

N: Xiabalba and Run with the Hunted are the first two to come to mind. Both bands are full of awesome dudes, and they are doing shit that most bands aren't. Considering how many bands start out attempting to sound like an already established band, its nice to hear bands coming up with new styles of music. Add Let Live, Purple Mercy, and The Sunset Limited to that list as well.

D: Anything planned for the future? Anymore tours or projects we can look forward to?d

N: We have had talks about writing an ep and trying to release it sometime in the future, but nothing is set in stone yet. Were also looking to try to tour more in 2009. Were planning an east coast weekend in Spring, as well as a European tour sometime this summer.

D: Last but not least, spits or swallows?

N: Those two aren't mutually exclusive. I think I speak for everyone when I say Snowball is the only acceptable answer.

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