The NAMM Show 2018 Interviews: Behind The Fallen

The NAMM Show 2018 Interviews: Behind The Fallen

Behind The Fallen has been in a band in transition with a lot happening between our previous interview at NAMM 2017 and our recent chat which took place in The NAMM Media Center at the Anaheim Convention Center last month  After losing their former lead vocalist, Behind The Fallen would reflect upon their career and decided that giving up was not an option.  Taking a good amount of time and care in securing a rock solid front man, a chance encounter with Nathan Spades at Chain Reaction would turn into the next vibrant chapter for this hard working band on the rise.  With a new single Revenant on ITunes and an high profile show with Nathan Spades taking place at Malone Concert Venue on March 9th, Behind The Fallen is ready to take over the music world in a vast and epic way!  Read on as Highwire Daze Online interviews the members of Behind The Fallen about their discovery of Nathan Spades, the meaning behind the brand new song Revenant, musical instruments of choice, and other topics of intrigue…

Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in Behind The Fallen.
David Bruno: I’m David – I play the guitar.

Dylan Roy: I’m Dylan – I’m the drummer.

Nathan Spades: I’m Nate – I’m vocals.

Chris Khaos: I’m Chris – I play guitar.

Eric Sinful: I’m Eric and I still try to play bass.

Since we are NAMM, here is the question of the hour. What are your instruments of choice and why?
David: My main guitar was initially a Schecter C1 because we had a good relationship with Schecter. Actually, we’ve been in the market. We have been talking to a company called Legator Guitars. We’re going to be working with them. We’re gonna set up a good relationship and we should get some new access pretty soon, so I’m stoked about that.

Dylan: I gotta give a shout out to DW Drums and DW hardware, Sabian Cymbals, Evans and Promark Stix by D’Addario. And Ultimate Ears all the way for my ear monitors.

Nathan: I prefer a Sennheiser Mic – the 935. It gives me a better high end to my vocals which is where my range usually lies. Ultimate Ears has been pretty good – helping me not fight the PA so much so I could deliver a full sound the whole set. So I’m looking forward to using them a lot too.

Chris: So like my compadre over here said – we had been playing Schecters for a while. We’re talking with Legator right now, and hopeful I get to play a few of their guitars – they’re phenomenal. Marshall Amps, Shure wireless, D’Addarrio strings and Ernie Ball strings for this guy.

Eric: Hands down Ernie Ball. Best basses out there – if you’re not playing them, you should be. And for my in ears, I’m using Ultimate Ears UE13’s – for the bass it’s got two end drivers and it’s amazing for all you bass players out there – you guys should all check them out. My Seinnheiser wireless and Orange and Ampeg are so sexy!

Behind The Fallen now has a new vocalist. Nathan, how did you become involved with the band?
Nathan: I was playing a show with my other band on Father’s Day at Chain Reaction. And Mr. Eric Sinful was watching me perform the entire time. He messaged me about a day later and said, “Hey, I don’t know if you are looking to do anything else, but we’re looking for a singer.” And I was like “Yeah, let’s do a tryout.” I was really interested and their music was great! It was big opportunity for me. And that’s why I kind of feel like I’m the baby, because these are all like rock stars and I’m not really on that level. That’s how it all came together.

Chris: We welcomed this guy with open arms. Love him.

Eric: This is the boring version. Let Eric tell you the real version! So I was naked one time – just kidding. Well, two of my friends were playing at Chain Reaction, and they were like “Hey, are you going to come out?” And I was like, “Yeah, sure.” So I went out, and I was outside with two of my friends – and one of them was like, “Hey its cold. Could we go inside?” And it was right when Nate’s old band was setting up. So I said, “Okay, let’s go inside and hang out a little bit.” So they were setting up, and I was talking to a couple of people, and I hear him start singing. I don’t remember who exactly I was talking to, but I said, “Hold on. I’m going to go steal the singer from their band.” So I’m taking videos and sending it to our band chat. And they’re like “Why are you doing this?” And I said “This kid wants to audition for our band.” And they were like, “Cool! Have you talked to him?” I was like “No.” I think it was the same day or not the next day that I had messaged him on Instagram and told him I really liked his performance. So he ended up coming to our studio, and we talked and talked and talked – and I got a really good vibe from him. I think you already had a song learned that day…

Nate: I had two. I had learned You’re Just A Friend for our first tryout because that was the most popular one. And I think the second one I had gotten down was “We Travel Alone.” But I was learning them all back to back at that point.

Eric: We had been auditioning vocalists for a couple of months now. We had people come in who – oh yeah, they could sing, but they didn’t have the drive – they weren’t willing to learn the songs. We had one guy who was extremely good, and a month later he still only learned ¾’s of one song. Within one week, Nate had the entire set down. After two months of vigorous practices and other things that we can’t talk about in this interview, I finally threw him the key and said, “You want to be a part of this band or what?”

Nate: You want to tell them the embarrassing version of that?

Eric: He was naked half the time. No, I don’t remember.

Nate: About the 4th of July.

Eric: On the 4th of July, Nate starts calling everybody – and I didn’t know that until after I received my call. This young gentlemen was extremely intoxicated – he had been drinking a little too much – which too much for him is one Mike’s Hard Lemonade. (Laughter) And he calls me and he’s like “Dude! I really want to be part of this band! I’m really into it! I’m really like it! I just want you to know that I’m all about it.” And he’s just confessing to me like how happy he is and how excited he is to be a part of this project and how he really wants in it. So I was like “You’re drunk, aren’t you! Just go get some rest.” I’m trying to play video games. But he had called all of us apparently and told us all the same thing. And I was like if he’s trying this hard – the motivation is there – the talent is there. And we were super happy to have him play.

What’s the story behind your upcoming single Revenant?
Nate: Basically the song is about living in a world where you’re faced with choices – and every choice you make is going to have a consequence. And some people make specific choices that make them hate themselves, but they become addicted to a specific lifestyle or a certain way of living. And sometimes it’s hard to stop. You could be addicted to anything – not just drugs. You’re either a good person or a bad person – or you try to be the best you can be with the best intentions. Sometimes people cave in. It was just kind of about me going through the last six years of my life – how I’ve struggled with who I knew I wanted to be and how I was falling short of that person. And it takes lot of balls to really look yourself in the mirror – just reflect on your life and go like, “Dude, I need to stop doing these things because this is not who I am. And that’s who I want to be. That’s not how I want people to look at me. I don’t want that kind of reputation.” It was a lot of personal stuff like that. Just about how you have to have a sense of humanity in all of the chaos that’s involved with just everything in life. From your career, to the people you are dating, whatever it is.

Are you guys going to still be playing the older songs as well or do you want to focus on the newer material at this point?
Chris: This guy, Nate over here, came in and learned all of the old songs, but he’s putting a new spin on it that we haven’t heard – that nobody’s heard yet. He just destroys all the old songs and makes them so much better now. He brings everything new to the table. God, I love this man!

When could we expect a new EP or album from Behind The Fallen?
David: Right now, we’re just constantly writing. We’re back and forth between the studio and us writing in our studio. We’re working with a producer named Augustus Cryns. It’s so humbling to work with a great producer like that, because he “gets” us. It’s definitely easy to work with him. He pushes Nate and he pushes me – and all of us – to be better musicians. It’s great to do that. So we are going to be writing a bunch of songs now. And we’re hoping to pump out new music as soon as possible. Of course with our single Revenant coming out in February – we’re going to be shooting a music video for that and everything too. We’re going to have a lot of material coming out. We’re just looking forward to that – hitting the road and playing shows. We’re stoked to get back out there. We want people to hear this kid’s voice.

(Interview and Band Photo by Ken Morton)

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