|
MM -
Introduce the band members to us.
Jeff- I am Jeff and I play guitar. We have Jon on guitar as well,
Jennifer on vocals, Chris on bass, and Rob on drums.
MM - Where in the world do the band call home?
Jeff- Well, that's a tough one. We are essentially from NY/NJ/CT. Our
home base used to be NY while Jon would travel from NJ to practice. I
moved to CT back in October of 2000, so now we have the entire tri-state
area as our home.
MM - When was the band first formed and how has it evolved to it's
current membership status?
Jeff- I started getting the band together in 1996 and it was definitely
not an easy task. We went through a few different drummers, guitarists,
and bass players since then. The line up now has been the same since
fall 1999 and we are continually growing and evolving as band mates,
song writers, and friends.
MM - What other bands have the members of Windfall appeared in in the
past?
Jeff- I was in Up Front and Jon was in Supertouch. The other members
were not in any bands that ever really recorded and released anything on
a label so their names would not be known or even recognized.
MM - Who designs the logo's/artwork for the merchandise the band have?
Jeff- We pretty much design it all ourselves. I do most of the layouts
for the cds and the artwork. We were fortunate enough to find an artist
who did the cover picture for our "awaken" cd/ep. She agreed
to let us use the artwork and she emailed me the art. We put it all
together into a layout and are very happy with it.
MM - Does the band consider itself a fan orientated and accessible band?
Do you get out amongst the fans for photo's and autographs after a gig?
Jennifer- We are a very accessible band. Now I cannot speak for the rest
of the guys, but the fans and friendship I make along the way make being
in Windfall worth while.
Jeff- In all my years in Up Front, one of the best parts of the tours
and the shows was meeting and hanging out with people at the shows. We
are a very accessible band and always enjoy meeting new people and
hanging out.
MM - Have you had any scary fans at your shows yet? Or are they all
scary?
Jennifer- Yes a Goth chick with fangs, grabbed my wrist and would not
let go for a few seconds while I was singing. Very Scary!
Jeff- Nothing more than the one guy from every show that seems to follow
you around and is pretty much incomprehensible when he speaks.
MM - How would you best describe your music to anyone who hasn't heard
it before and who would it most appeal to?
Jeff- We consider ourselves a hardcore/rock band and I think that we
would appeal to anyone who likes hardcore, punk, and rock and roll.
Anyone who enjoys originality and well written personal lyrics will
enjoy us. No gimmicks, no controversy, no shock, just good, heavy,
hardcore rock!
MM - How has the rock media in general responded to the band?
Jeff- The response has been very good so far and I can see it only
getting better. The new cd "loud with the windows open so the
neighbours can hear" will be out the beginning of May and I know
that the responses will be positive.
MM - Which Windfall song is your personal favourite and why?
Jennifer- Dessert is definitely my favourite. Lyrically it is the best I
have ever done. It is full of double meanings. It expresses perfectly
how I feel. The analogies, the melody, the music moves me with such
triumphant passion.
Jeff- Well, my favourite song to play live right now is Sourpuss and my
favourite song to listen to at home is Foolproof. I don't know why but
certain songs are more fun to play than others and certain songs are
more fun to just sit back and listen to.
MM - How do the band like to relax when not out on the road or
recording?
Jennifer- Relax? Wow. I guess it's your interpretation of relaxing. But
when Windfall is not rocking. I compete in races. I am a triathlete
hoping to win enough races to turn professional. I am about to do
Ironman California in May and then Ironman Florida in November.
They consist if a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run. So I
spend lots of time training.
Oh yeah RELAXING, I strip down to my tank top and panties, put on my
mickey mouse slippers, turn on my night light next to my bed and make
shadows on the wall to drive my cats completely insane.
Jeff- I never seem to relax. If I am not running Smorgasbord records or
playing in Windfall I am working on the computer or hanging out with my
girlfriend. When I do actually have free time to just hang out, I will
usually watch a movie or listen to music.
To be honest, I like to be doing things and to do nothing bores the hell
out of me. It's nice to go on vacation and go to the beach and swim and
get a sun tan, but after about 3 days of that, I am bored and need to
play music or work on the computer or something.
MM - Do you have any plans for a UK or European tour in the near future?
Jeff- I sure hope that we can make it back to Europe and visit the UK in
the near future. We did an 18 day European tour back in November of 2000
and we are hoping to make it back again soon.
With the new cd coming out, I would like to be able to license it to a
European label so that we can get our music out there and be able to
tour there again.
MM - The band will shortly be releasing their new album 'Loud'. Tell us
a little bit about it and from where will your fans be able to obtain
it?
Jennifer- " Loud With the Windows Open So the Neighbours Can
Hear" rocks even more with our new drummer Rob. The musicianship
and song writing has grown so much through our love for a common thing
and love for each other that I believe comes across in our new stuff.
Jeff- The new cd will be out in early May like I said and until we work
out a licensing deal for outside of the USA, the best way to get it is
to go to www.smorgasbordrecords.com
or www.windfall-go.com
to order it once it is out.
Basically it's a nine song follow up to our 6 song cd/ep entitled
"awaken" which came out on Smorgasbord Records back in July of
1999. Like Jennifer said, our love for the band and writing and playing
together really does come through in the new material and in our live
shows.
MM - What's sort of feedback did you get from your debut album 'Awaken'
and how do you think your fans will react with this new album?
Jeff- The feedback on "awaken" has been really good and the cd
was very well received. I feel that the new cd will be received even
better than "awaken" was due to the improvements in the band
and the song writing over the past year.
MM - If you weren't in a rock band right now what would you most likely
be doing?
Jennifer- That's a tough one. Maybe on the warm beaches of St. Thomas
completely living life selfishly poor and tan. Or more realistically,
joining the peace corp and working with children in some foreign land.
Or going to school to study Marine life. Or living in a home to devote
my life to pregnant teen runaways. Or be married and just spend my days
training to be the best triathlete ever. There are so many things.
Jeff- I would be looking for a rock band to play in.
MM - What other bands are you listening to at the minute?
Jennifer- Mainstream. Well Vertical Horizon, Judy Garland, Catherine
Wheel, Matchbox 20, Janis Joplin, Pearl Jam, The Cranberries, Gene,
Aretha Franklin, Echobelly, Led Zepplin, Harry Connick Jr., Underground.
Boy Sets Fire, Dead 50s, Joshua, Sense Field, Bambix (from the
Netherlands), Face to Face, The Get up Kids, Lady Luck.
Jeff- The Hellacopters, Gluecifer, Psychopunch, Catherine Wheel, Sense
Field, all the Smorgasbord bands, Big Country, Iron Maiden.
MM - Which artists/bands do you think have influenced your style of
music the most over the years?
Jennifer- Boy Sets Fire and Whitney Houston. Pretty weird huh?
Jeff- Iron Maiden, Big Country, AC/DC.
MM - What in your opinion makes a truly great performer?
Jennifer- A true performer would still be using there talent no matter
how little or big in status they were. I think a great performer must be
able to perform live and captivate an audience. I think a truly great
performer is gracious, kind and true to there art and following.
Jeff- 1st of all, someone who can match live what they do in the studio.
I hate it when you hear a song recorded and the singer is great and then
you see the band play live and the singer cannot even hold a note.
A great performer is talented enough to perform live what they recorded
in the studio and they know how to work a crowd but are humble and
sincere while on stage as well as off of the stage. They remain true to
what they believe and what they want to play and if there isn't a market
for the music that they are playing, they create their own.
MM - How you like to prepare for a gig before going onstage?
Jennifer- Some throat spray, throat drops, no talking( which is almost
impossible for me), and 10 push -ups.
Jeff- I usually stretch out my muscles and try my best to not let the
anxiety and excitement of playing to make me lose focus of what I need
to do.
MM - At what age did you start to take an interest in being a musician?
Jennifer- I think this is 2 separate things for me. I knew I would be
singing since I could speak at age 2. But being in this hard rock band I
did not discover until about 4 or 5 years ago.
Jeff- I started playing bass guitar back when I was 13-14 years old. I
played in a few bands in Jr. High and I realized that I loved it and
wanted to do it full time.
I was fortunate enough to play in Up Front for over 12 years and record
records and tour the world. By doing all of that, it just confirmed the
fact that I wanted to play and tour all of the time and not that
Windfall is going strong, I may actually be able to do that.
MM - If you were a new kind of super-hero, what would your name be and
what special powers would you have?
Jennifer- I would be Super Woman of Menstruation. I would be able to do
such marvellous things like take away the cramps, leaking pads or
tampons and pick one man every week to experience the bloating,
irrational behaviour, and pain.
And I could control the cycle based on swim parties, weddings, bike
races, and sexual encounters.
Jeff- I would be AWAKE man. I would never have to sleep and I could
offer sleep to people who were lacking. By just one touch on the
shoulder I could regenerate up to a full 8 hours of sleep to someone.
MM - Tell us one thing about yourself that very few people know about
you.
Jennifer- That I am scared of falling. Of falling off my bike downhill @
50mph. Of falling off the diving block before a swim race. Of Falling in
love and not being loved back.
Jeff- I don't know, most people know everything about me. I harbour no
secrets and live my life in the spotlight of magazine interviews,
freelance articles, etc.
MM - Lastly, is there anything you would like to say to all your fans
out there?
Jennifer- I love meeting new people and would welcome any communication.
SO if you e-mail our label smorgbrd@ix.netcom.com i will definitely
write back and keep it real.
Jeff- Thanks Linda for the opportunity to speak our minds and get our
name out to people who otherwise may not have heard of us.
Feel free to visit our web page at: www.windfall-go.com.
You can write to us through Smorgasbord Records at P.O. Box 5392 /
Milford, CT 06460. Stay Alive!
|