Unless you’ve been living in a cave for the last several months, you’re probably well aware that SoCal punk veterans Face to Face are set to release their seventh studio album, “Laugh Now…Laugh Later,” through People Like You Records tomorrow.
The band are also currently in the early stages of a sixty-plus date tour with Strung Out. Frontman Trever Keith recently took time out of his insane schedule to answer a few questions for Dying Scene. Topics covered include the new album, the current tour, and the band’s plans going forward. Click here to check it out.
First off, you’re on the road for a marathon tour this summer. How’s it going now that you are about a couple of weeks in? You are hitting some places you’ve either never played or only hit on the Warped Tour. How are crowds responding to the new material?
Crowds are responding very well to the new stuff. Tour has been going great. It’s been awesome to go back to Canada and play places like Edmonton where we haven’t been for a long time.
When Face to Face reunited a couple of years ago to play gigs, the story at the time was that there wouldn’t be new music. What prompted the return to the studio?
We say we won’t do a lot of things that we end up doing. You can’t listen to us. The whole face to face thing has just started to take on a life of its own. We’re just along for the ride.
Upon first listen to the new album, the thought that jumped in my head was that “Laugh Now…Laugh Later” is a perfect amalgam of the self-titled album and Melancholics Anonymous. Thus my surprise when song #10 brought around “Pushover,” my personal favorite from the solo record. Why the decision to re-record it as a full Face To Face song?
“Pushover” always felt like a face to face song for me, even when I put it on my solo record. So it just seemed right to do a face to face version on the new record.
Aside from the above-mentioned “Pushover,” was everything that appears on “Laugh Now…Laugh Later” written specifically for a new Face album, or was some of it written for other projects?
No the rest of the songs were written specifically for the new face to face record.
As a follow-up, what was the songwriting process like? Was it primarily you and Scott as the last few albums were, or were Chad, Danny and even Dennis involved throughout?
No Scott and I wrote this record together. We demo-ed up all of the songs and gave the demos to Chad and Danny before we started pre-production.
This is the first time that Chad Yaro has been involved on a studio album in a decade. Was it like he never left?
Pretty much. He’s always been a part of this band. He’s awesome. We love Chad.
Also, it’s the first album with Danny Thompson on drums. It sounds to me like he comes from a background that is a little more ‘metal.’ What does he bring to the table?
Not at all. Danny’s more punk rock than we are. Danny brings a perfect blend of Rob’s and Pete’s style while keeping his own style intact.
Now that you and Chad Blinman have moved out of LA, you went into the studio with the guys from The Bronx. After so many years of working almost exclusively with Chad on solo stuff, Viva Death, and Legion of Doom in addition to Face to Face, did that change how you went about things in the studio?
We worked with Joby Ford who plays in the Bronx, not really the guys from the Bronx. He really just kinda stayed out of the way and let us do what we do.
“Laugh Now…Laugh Later” was recorded prior to last year’s Warped Tour, which means it has been complete for close to a year. Has your opinion on any of the material changed in that layoff, and have you continued writing since the album wrapped?
No, our opinion hasn’t really changed. We didn’t get the record mixed until October 2010 and then it was mastered even later. So it has been an incremental sort of thing.
What approach is the band taking to this album/touring cycle: is everybody in with both feet toward the goal of keeping the F2F machine running as long as possible, or is it a more “wait and see” approach based on how the album is received?
It’s really just enjoying our time together. Don’t really care about how well the record sells or not. People are stoked to see us live and we’re stoked to be there. We’ll keep going as long as it’s fun.
It has been twenty years since you started doing the Face to Face “thing.” Now that you are firmly entrenched in modern punk’s “old guard,” what are your thoughts on the punk “scene” now compared to when you were starting two decades ago?
It’s like it’s always been: there are good and bad bands out there. Nothing changes.
In all your free time, you’ve gone to work with Dying Scene Band Spotlight artist Big Awesome. How did that come about?
They contacted me and I said yes. Cool band. We’ll be working more together later this year.
Thanks again for your time. Best of luck with the new album, and see you on the road!
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