Say hello to 'ABL':
Tim Cook-Berry lead guitarist/back-up vocalist,
James Christopher Lane drummer,
Tara Lightfoot, lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist
2. What makes you different musically than other Orlando bands?
Zach – “Mostly, the writing connection that we have within our band and the vast backgrounds of musical upbringing is what really sets our sound apart from those around us. We have finally decided that
our “genre” would be classified more or less as “Think-Outside-The-Box” Alternative Rock. At the end of the day we are just another rock band, but there are traces of indie/folky influences, as well as pop punk and hard rock undertones. With that being said, I think we have been able to bring those elements together and create a cohesive “sound” for A Brilliant Lie.”
Tim - “We try to challenge our listeners with unexpected structures and we rely heavily on ambitious lyrical content.”
Chris - “We play straight up the middle rock and take as many chances as we can with it”
Tara –” Luckily, we are in a situation where we can write as a group. Not only do we try to write material that our audience will enjoy, but also songs that challenge us as musicians. I think the outcome is a sound that is fun and unique.”
3. What kind of imprint do you want to leave on society?
Zach – “Hope…nothing more”
Tim - “We want to have a positive effect on our listeners. Our music tends to be more or less an expression of our recognition of our flaws, but only in a positive way because we wish to better ourselves.”
Chris - “There is light at the end of the tunnel. There is hope.”
Tara – “Hope, community, and creativity.”
4. ‘One’ word to describe your sound?
Tim - “Radiant.”,
Zach – “Quirky.”,
Chris – “Rock.”,
Tara –“Sincere.”
5. What style of music do you draw the most inspiration from?
Zach – “I couldn’t stick to just one are as there are influences in all sorts of genres for many reasons, whether it be from songwriting, to performance, to style and grace, to legendary musicianship. I have
personally been enjoying as of recently, bass work and composition from Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, Muse, and Cake. Really groovy stuff that no one musician over plays the next.”
Tim – “Alternative rock.”,
Chris- “Alternative of the nineties. And true rock bands such as Foo Fighters.”,
Tara – “I love anything creative and distinct. Artists who (to me) actually ”created” a sound of their own…such as: Bjork, At The Drive-In, Ani Difranco, etc etc.”
6. Your dream venue to perform in?
Zach – “My dream when A.B.L. started was to play Orlando House of Blues. Since we are coming up on our 3rd time in a year performing there I guess I’ll have to pick a new one… maybe Red Rocks amphitheater in Denver… yeah.”,
Tim – “The Fillmore: San Francisco, CA”,
Chris- “Milton Keynes bowl in the UK.”
Tara – “Hmm….I don’t know about a specific venue, per se. But I’ve always wanted to play overseas…like somewhere in Japan. It would be so interesting to share music with a different culture.”
7. Why did you choose that particular band name?
Zach – *turns to look at Tim*,
Tim – “Because we believe the worst lies you can tell are the ones you tell yourself rather than others. Being honest with yourself helps to be honest with others. Because of honesty, things like friendship, inspiration, love, relaxation, and ultimately happiness are made possible.”
Chris- *turns to look at Tim*,
Tara - *turns to look at Tim*
8. For Tara (unless there are more girls in the band, we don’t judge) how does it feel being a female in an industry dominated by male artists?
Zach – *turns to look at Tara*,
Tim – *turns to look at Tara*,
Chris - *turns to look at Tara*,
Tara – “I’m not really sure that it’s dominated by male artists. There are a number of great female artists out there….so from what I can tell, it’s a healthy balance of both sexes. Gender isn’t a huge factor for me when it comes to art, music, and expression. So, I guess it doesn’t affect me too much at the end of the day.”
9. If you could open for any of the touring bands who would it be?
Zach – “Sick Puppies, Foo Fighters, Thrice, Dredge, Man Overboard, Modest Mouse. We fall in a weird in-between-genre category that’s been tough to place but kind of helps us reach different demographics of bands.”,
Tim – “Foo Fighters.”,
Chris- “Foo fighters hands down.”,
Tara – “Hmm….At The Drive-In because they are my fav, and they’re actually playing shows again. Foo Fighters because our sounds would go well together (and I think they’d be super fun to hang out with). But I think we’d go well with a number of bands because our sound is pretty vast.”
10.. How important are fans to you? Would you treat the tween the same as the Steven Tyler generation?
Zach – “Fans are everything. Without them we would have never left the local watering hole. We love what we do and the directions that we are heading in, but without reaching out to wider and wider fan bases we could not grow as a band/fan family. It’s important to us to be a fan of the bands around us and on tour as well. Being a fan of music and just seeing all of what’s out there can expose you to new concepts, ideas, talented musicians, fantastic bands…and all of this makes you want to work harder than you ever have before. Now tween or Tyler generation, someone who appreciates music or what you’re doing is a fan no matter what the age. Even if they don’t like what you’re doing and voice constructive criticism that’s all food for thought and shouldn’t be disregarded.”,
Tim – “Fans mean everything to us.”,
Chris- “They are the heartbeat of us. We try to give back as much as we receive.”,
Tara – “I know this probably sounds trite and silly, but our fans are like an extended family. They are so kind and generous to us – from the folks we see all the time, to the people we’ve never met but who still take the time to come chat with us after the shows. We are beyond lucky. And the connections we’ve made with people because of this band are wonderful and genuine. As far as the generations go, music-lovers are music-lovers. That’s a beautiful thing.”
11. You have said your music is “thought-provoking” how so?
Zach – “Every bit of our music from the melodies and lyrics down to the rhythm and structure has a ton of work put in it to keep the musicianship entertaining, but yet still easily accessible to mainstream radio listening.”,
Tim – “We write songs about moments of specific emotional clarity or distress in order to explore ideas/methods of proceeding towards happiness and clarity. We would never write a song simply stating “I love you, I miss you” because we are more focused on things like “I made a mistake, this is why, and these are the reasons I’ll never do it again.” In other words we try to be optimistic through self-evaluation.”,
Chris- “We aren’t a run of the mill band. Our structures are a little off the beaten path and sometimes it will take more than one listen to truly “get” a song.”,
Tara – “We work really hard to make music that’s digestible, but not cliché. With this mission in mind, we create music, structures, and lyrical content that are relatable, but still interesting to the four of us. Lyrically, we like to explore traits of humanity…things that we can all understand, but don’t always consider on the forefronts of our minds. There are already lots of great songs about relationships & boyfriend/girlfriend issues….so we figured we’d take a different approach and write about what makes us all (and the universe around us all) tick.”
12. Now, if we dared you to tell our audience something weird or unexpected about you in 10 seconds, what might you say ?
Zach –“My ears are two completely different shapes yet hardly anyone ever notices. FACT!!!!”,
Tim –” We are fans of mischief, at least the kind that does not harm others.”,
Chris-“I, Chris Lane, can go for over 10 minutes without blinking.”,
Tara – “I learned how to drive a tractor before I learned how to drive a car.”
13. Do you have a favorite book/novel on your downtime?
Zach – “Well I just started reading again. I read my first book since 9th grade. The book was Tolkien’s “The Hobbit”. I guess I picked it up because I love the fantasy of the Lord of the Rings movies and finally noticed a chance to read a book before the movie premiered. That way I could finally be THAT GUY… you know…the one that says, “Well that’s not how the book portrayed the story” as the credits role.”,
Tim – “My favorite novel might “Ender’s Game” but I prefer films to books.”,
Chris-” I will forever be in love with Brian Greene’s “Elegant Universe.””,
Tara – “I am a big fan of books of poetry. My favorite authors/poets of all time are Denis Johnson and Emily Dickinson. So any of their collections would be winners in my book.”
THANKS! We will see you guy’s at House Of Blues this Saturday!
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