LESLII: Thanks for taking the time to talk to The Rockpit. You’re currently on tour with Nonpoint and Redline Chemistry how’s the tour going and how are you all getting along?
JARED- We’ve toured with Nonpoint several times in the past. They have always been family to STF so we are having a great time. The RLC camp is awesome & we are stoked to be on tour with them as well!
LESLII: What’s been the best thing about the tour so far?
JARED- New places & new faces every nite! We love to tour & making new friends as well as seeing familiar faces makes it even better.
LESLII: The album Burn in the Spotlight was released in back September last year, which are the songs from there that really get the crowd involved?
JARED- Everybody loves Love Hate Masquerade. Some Kind of Perfect has been doing well. The crowd likes to jump when we play Nothing. Those have been a few key songs in the tour so far.
LESLII: The Debut album is amazing, such a huge sound with some nods to influences but at the same time sounding very distinctive rather than derivative, how long have the songs been around?
JARED- They say you have your whole life to write your 1st record…so it goes without saying that these songs were created through life experiance. Some have been around for years before creation..some not. We took a catalog of songs in with us to record so several of them had some years in them.
LESLII: “Love Hate Masquerade” and “Some Kind of Perfect,” got good airplay on Rock Radio are you pleased overall with the reception to the album and how things are going in general?
JARED- Yes! We have been lucky to have both singles reach Top 30 on active rock charts & we have gotten a lot of positive feedback as well! Starting to get people singing the entire song at shows now & it feels great!
LESLII: There are some great riffs and monster hooks on the album, tell us a little about how you write? Does inspiration strike at any time?
JARED- Like a time bomb! I can’t tell you how many random pieces of paper I have with lyrics, notebooks full, voice notes on our phones, emails, etc! We are always writing & we write as a collective so the process is always shifting & changing. We always seek out new ways to write.
LESLII: One of our favourites from the album “Deeper Inside” has a great groove to it who came up with that one?
JARED- Again, it’s all a collective effort. I think that’s what makes STF set apart. A song will start as one thing & be finished completely different. Deeper Inside has become a crowd favorite too!
LESLII: We also loved “40 & 12” tell us about that song and what it means to you?
JARED- 40&12 is about the struggle in changing your life because someone else isn’t changing with you. It’s about realizing who you are & what you’re capable of & how that changes the outcome of situations we get ourselves into.
LESLII: Do you have any particular favourites on there? (Especially to play live).
JARED- Love Hate is probably my favorite. As well as Everything You Want Me To Be. I like the faster songs best.
LESLII: Stepping back a bit how did you guys get together?
JARED- Well, Eddie came from Hurricane Katrina. Anthony came from a bad football accident that completely took him out of the sport. Devin, we met through mutual friends in the local Memphis scene. Rick, our newest member, we also met through mutual friends in the music scene.
LESLII: What do each of you bring to the sound of the band, what diverse influences do you have?
JARED- We are all about music without prejudice. We are influenced by everything from rock to hip hop, blues to metal so our sound comes together pretty easily for us.
LESLII: What did you grow up listening to?
JARED- Aerosmith, Metallica, Prince, Micheal Jackson, U2, Pantera, Soundgarden, AIC, Movie Scores, SRV, Jimi Hendrix…the list goes on & on &….
LESLII: After the tour what are the plans for the rest of 2013?
JARED- We’ll probably spend a week or so back home & then get back to work on our 2nd Record. We got no plans of slowing down anytime soon. We’ll be touring as well in support for our 3rd single from our debut release, “Burn In The Spotlight”.
LESLII: Memphis seems to be a very happening town musically is it a very inspiring town to base yourselves in?
JARED- There’s a lot of musical culture in Memphis & we’re always attached to that shadow of the greats that came from our area. We wanna continue the trend that has come from our hometown, so I’d say it’s pretty inspiring, yes.
LESLII: Out on the road, for a triple bill and you can pick the other two bands – who would they be and why?
JARED- Deftones & Stone Sour. Why? Deftones are an all time favorite & I’m really into the new Stone Sour material. We played a couple shows with them this year & it would be amazing to do a tour with them.
LESLII: Is Hard Rock on the way back? Surely it’s the only possible saviour of the dire straits we find the music industry in these days?
JARED- I think so. Everything has its day in the sun. This is classic history repeating itself. I think Rock & Roll will come back when you start seeing & hearing about the game changers. The ones that aren’t afraid to rock the boat.
LESLII: If you could have been a fly on the wall for the recording of any album at any point in time just to see how the magic happened what would it have been for you and why?
JARED- Aerosmith Get A Grip. It was one of my favorite records. Tyler is an amazing vocalist & I wouldve loved to see it in action.
LESLII: What is the meaning of life?
JARED- It’s different for everyone. The common thread is finding where you belong in this life. No matter what. Give up the option to fail–Surrender The Fall