Name: Adam Bernard Home: Fairfield, Connecticut, United States About Me: Entertainment journalist with 15+ years of experience. Supporter of indie music. Lover of day baseball, fringe movies, & chicken shawarma. Part time ninja. Nerdy, but awesome. See my complete profile
For those of you who may openly wonder whatever happened to rock n’ roll, Filmspeed is a band you need to know.
The trio, which currently calls Huntington Beach, CA, home, is two parts Detroit, one part Southern California, and 100% rock n’ roll.
This past fall Filmspeed released their latest album, Hexadecimal, via Awfully Good Records, the latest single off of which is “Just My Luck.”
Wanting to know more about the song, the album, and the band, I caught up with Filmspeed’s frontman, Craig Broomba, to ask him about his “Luck,” as well as the current state of rock, and what you might find the band doing in their tour van.
Let’s start by talking about the video for “Just My Luck.” How’d you come up with the concept for the video, and how do you feel it represents the song?
The concept for the video kinda snowballed and became this Reservoir Dogs inspired vigilante cop show. It was a blast to work on.
Up against the song, it represents the worst of misplaced paranoia, and the times where you're proven right.
“Just My Luck” is a phrase people utter when something’s gone wrong. With that in mind, what would you consider to be the worst luck you’ve ever had?
Does it count if it's basically everyday? {laughs}
The first thing to come to mind is tour vehicles. Those things don't follow the law of averages in our experience. On one trip, the van was out of commission for over a week, so I had to bunk up in the shuttle bus with the band we were touring with, and play acoustic shows until the guys got our rig repaired and drove down to meet me in Baton Rouge. It broke down again just four days later.
Ouch! Flipping the script, on a much more positive note, what have been some of the luckiest moments of your life?
Well, obviously the luckiest thing we got going for us is that we have the GREATEST FANS IN THE WORLD!
Pander much? {laughs}
It's pretty damn true though. It seems our peeps are some of the most insightful, passionate party animals I've ever run across.
The fact that we're still getting to do what we love is more luck than I can begin to explain.
“Just My Luck” is off of your latest album Hexadecimal. If someone is just hearing you for the first time – I know, late to the party – what makes this song a perfect introduction to your catalog?
Hey, better late than never. It just means you've got catching up to do!
I like this track as an intro for a number of reasons. I think first is the swaggy beat. This is one of those tunes where it started as just a short melody that wouldn't get out of my head, and morphed in to something way cooler than expected. Also, even though the lyrics are a bit cynical, at the end of the day we persevere, and stay on top!
Your sound is what I like to call pure rock n’ roll. As much as it’s great that the genre has splintered off into a thousand sub-genres, we don’t hear a lot of pure rock n’ roll anymore. What are your thoughts on the current state of rock, and what inspired you to embrace getting back to the heart of it all?
Well dang! We'll absorb that description and follow it up with a “Thanks!”
On the current state of rock – Muse is using trap hats, and the Decemberists have an electro pop single ... soooo maybe some “pure rock n’ roll” might be good for the soul.
The bottom line is we're moved by an audience that sings back to you.
Rock n’ roll shows are a musical institution, whether or not the Top 40 has it in rotation. As a trio, there's nothing like the energy of sound explosions, and no other style of music really delivers the same way that rock n’ roll does.
You’ve been together for over a decade. In all that time I imagine you’ve logged A LOT of miles touring the country. What are some of your favorites hobbies while on the road, and in the van?
Two-thirds of us are avid gamers, so the most current system we can get hooked up in the van is our salvation from long boring hours on the interstate. GTA, COD, Halo, DOTA, WOW, you name it, this rhythm section has lived it.
Road life also lends itself to great opportunities for lyric writing, so my notebook is always one of the first things packed.
Finally, on your dream bill, if you were to choose two other bands, living or dead, that you could have a show with, who would they be, and why?
Geez, that’s a tall order.
OK, let's start with Prince and the Revolution, and if pressed to answer “why,” I'd simply ask you what your problem is. Secondly, and certainly not least-ly, I'll go with Rage Against The Machine, because there's only one guaranteed way to get a riot going, and it's with them.
I realize that gig would be all over the place, but isn't that the fun of it all?
