According to his wikipedia page, Fred has a degree in Jazz Guitar. I wonder if he'll ever make any music again, he's been pretty quiet since 2012.
i saw terrible things open for streetlight manifesto and teenage girls were yelling out tell all your friends song titles to fred
I saw them on that tour too, people were awful during their set. This is usually a trend when a non-ska band opens up for Streetlight unfortunately
I think Matt was an under rated singer. His vocals on their live acoustic dvd were amazing. I also loved his energy live. John has the best voice but I don't think I can even tell what he brings to the guitar side. Fred seemed like the best mix of the two.
I definitely saw an interview where he said he hated Blue Channel. I saw a list the other day by Adam of his favourite TBS songs. Not a single song off the first 2 records on there. I also think that had something to do with Best Places not being a single. Because it had been around since before John and Shaun left and it sounded like their old stuff. I suspect the band wanted to show their newer direction off with fresh material.
Matt was definitely an underrated member. It's a shame for him that he only got to showcase his stuff once. His other projects are awesome.
Noooooooooooooooo. What's the quote from? So sad. Do you remember why he said he hated Blue Channel? Yeah, Adam's list struck me as strange lol. Your explanation of Best Places makes sense. Agreed.
Fazzi was the best vocalist and most inventive guitarist and songwriter but Fred was the best fit for the band imo. More often than not, I find myself kind of unimpressed with what (I assume) John brings to the table. I don't really like his voice much anymore, his guitar playing never "wows" me, and just overall the songs they've released since reuniting with him have been pretty hit or miss and the ones I have liked haven't really stuck with me much either.
Not word for word but to paraphrase heavily : "I hate the way my vocals sound" "The lyrics are cringey" "I just dont like the song but the fans seem to love it"
Matts a stunningly good guitarist and songwriter. His fingerprints are all over NA, jazzier chords and lush textures and even some heavier riffs like on Catholic Knees
To me the vocals and the lyrics match everything else on the album, but that's a bummer he feels that way. At least he knows that song is in demand lol.
Well said and I agree with most of it. I think John brings a straylight vibe to certain songs like the bridge to Flicker, Fade and Call me in the Morning. I don't think those songs would have turned out the same with him not in the band. Can't help but to feel like I expected more from him rejoining like you.
Agreed as well! He's def influencing the song writing, I just think as far as guitar he's sticking to simple rhythm cords and even though he may have a bigger hand in the song writing, he might not want to do the back and forth vocals anymore and would rather just do sparing backing vocals.
I felt like there was a lot of John influence on Happiness Is? I love the vibe of that record so much. The production too.
like i feel like the entire band are kinda over it, and only work it into the songs when it feels right
I can never have too much Nolan but I like how it is now for the most part. If they did back and forth vocals the whole time just for the sake of "John's back, we have to" it'd probably feel forced. I really wasn't too into New Again cause it was pretty strictly Adam. I couldn't even tell where Fazzi sang on there. They have enough trading off to make me happy now.
Thinking about it, I can't either. Is it possible that Fazzi didn't sing at all on the album and only did singing duties live?
The first album that Matt did when he left TBS was awesome! i don't like John's music post-Straylight Run. His voice is so irritating to me now. I'd take anything Matt and Fred have done over John's solo material any day.