Video Interview With Happy Body Slow Brain

It's not easy to break into the music world. With the accessibility fans have to getting your music, often time for little to no money, the outrageous cost of touring and trying to hold down a solid lineup of band members, the industry can often feel like a daunting career. But inevitably, there will be some who refuse to give up trying- building their band one fan at a time.

Happy Body Slow Brain are one of those bands. The do-it-yourself outfit comprised of ex-Taking Back Sunday guitarist/vocalist Matt Fazzi, guitarist/keyboardist Isaac Bolivar and a rotating group of drummers and bassists have spent the better part of the last year and a half writing, recording and touring the entire United States in hopes of gaining a concrete fan base nationwide.

The band released their debut album, Dreams Of Water, last fall. Taking a step away from the alternative sounds of Taking Back Sunday, Fazzi and crew opted for a more synthetic mix of guitars, keyboards and experimental drum beats.

Ultimately, the decision to shy away from the norm has left the band off the beaten path, but they seem happier than ever. In a recent interview with the band, Fazzi told Backstage Press, "It's a refreshing experience to have a DIY thing and really play music that gets me excited. To have a support system like I do with my fiancée, and with my friends and being in a band with other like-minded musicians just makes the whole thing a lot easier."

"It's such a contrast going from Taking Back Sunday to kind of starting over," continued Fazzi, "but it's like the most rewarding contrast ever because I really get to forge my own path and do it the way I really want to do it."

And the hard work and determination seem to be paying off. At the end of the month, HBSB will be hitting the road with the Rx Bandits - a group that has played a vital role in influencing Fazzi along his musical career. After wrapping up that tour, Fazzi mentioned he will continue writing and hopes to get into the studio by the end of the year to begin work on the band's sophomore effort.

For more on HBSB, visit http://happybodyslowbrain.com

Dreams of Water Review/HBSB Interview

Back in June, Backstage Press brought you an exclusive interview with Matt Fazzi's new band, Happy Body Slow Brain. He, along with bandmates Isaac Bolivar and Eduardo Torres, had just wrapped up recording Dreams of Water, which was released earlier this month.

Though many fans might know Fazzi from his stint in Taking Back Sunday, Dreams of Water proves that he is capable of much more than just fast alternative rock. Each song on Dreams has a different feel - from R&B bass-driven tunes to your standard rock song, it's all there.

One thing is for sure, this is a musical departure from Taking Back Sunday. But, that's not exactly a bad thing. What we have with Dreams is a record that grabs at many different genres to make one cohesive record.

"HBSB is limitless to us," said Fazzi via e-mail. "We don't feel confined to any one genre or style. Mixing it up is just too much fun. With TBS, there was an expectation sonically so you couldn't really mess with the formula all that much."

Happy Body Slow Brain: Making the Record from happybodyslowbrain on Vimeo.

If mixing it up is what HBSB are going after, they certainly accomplished their goal. "Never Loved," the third track on Dreams, switches at the breakdown from a smooth, lightly distorted guitar track to a crunchier, rhythmic tune that will surprise you mid-song.

Listeners should be ready to hear more than your standard guitar, bass and drums lineup, too. There's plenty of synth and piano melodies in the mix. You even get an instrumental piece mid-record ("The Flight"), which Fazzi took the time to explain to us.

"Most of the guitar/bass/synth tones we just kinda figured out along the way," said Fazzi. "We are so pumped and proud of how it turned out. It also rained heavily while we were there which had a big influence on the vibe."

The band are currently streaming Dreams here, as well as selling digital download packages loaded with tons of freebies. If you order, you'll receive the 13-track record download, the official cover art, individual artwork for every song, a documentary of the making of Dreams, an album cover poster, lyrics sheet, a band portrait and a video for "The Flight."

And if you like what you hear, and live on the East Coast, check HBSB out live. They're touring now through mid-October.

Happy Body Slow Brain Interview

Life's been a whirlwind for musician Matt Fazzi over the past year. From releasing New Again with Taking Back Sunday (which debuted at #7 on the Billboard Top 200), to touring the world alongside some of the biggest names in music and then suddenly finding himself without a band this past March, it's safe to say the fresh-faced San Jose native has been chewed up and spit out by the music industry.

But will any of that stop him from giving it another try? Don't count on it.

With his new found freedom, Fazzi and fellow musicians Isaac Bolivar and Eduardo Torres have turned their sites on their newest project, Happy Body Slow Brain. In fact, the trio recently finished recording a new record in Michigan with producer Marc Hudson (Saves The Day).

"It was the most fun I've ever had making an album," said Fazzi via email, "because it was incredibly relaxed, productive and super efficient."

The band spent two and a half weeks with Hudson working a variety of sounds that they refer to as "Prog-R&B." Trying out an incredible number of guitar, bass and keyboard effects, HBSB created an incredibly complex and layered record.

"It was such a blast experimenting with pedals/tones/different guitars while making the record," said Fazzi. "I think we got some really beautiful tones and some really gnarly alien sounding guitars on the record as well."

While this might be a step away from the power-chord rock 'n' roll of TBS, Fazzi said this is exactly where he wants to be.

"Happy Body Slow Brain is just a more pure reflection of the broader overall tastes of Isaac and I," he said. "We prefer to make more challenging music with lots of mixed elements. With TBS, there was an expectation sonically so you couldn't really mess with the formula all that much."

So what can the fans expect to hear? Well, that might be a little of everything explained Fazzi. "We had ideas going all over the place," he said. "It also rained heavily while we were there which had a big influence on the vibe of the record."

HBSB are currently label-less, yet they hope to put out their new record as soon as possible. The band said to keep a close eye on their websites as some new music should be uploaded in the coming weeks. Also, if things can come together, look for HBSB to be doing some West Coast touring by August.

Technicalities aside though, Fazzi said he loves what he's doing.

"We made EXACTLY [the record] we wanted to make, and I can easily say it's the best music I've ever been a part of to date. We can't wait to share it with everyone."

I Used To Be In Taking Back Sunday

"Sometimes it takes some time to remember where you were headed in the first place and the people you intended to go there with. There's no hard feelings, just the future." -Taking Back Sunday, March 31, 2010

Apparently a monumental record release, an opening slot on blink-182's reunion tour, multiple headlining US and

international tours, and being named Band of the Year by a certain blog doesn't exactly mean you're heading in the right direction with your band. Or maybe the dudes in TBS just don't like guys named Matt.

Whatever the case, it came as a surprise to thousands of fans worldwide earlier this week when TBS bassist Matt Rubano and guitarist Matt Fazzi both called it quits from the band within hours of each other. Of course, there was mass confusion over the announcement. Hell, we don't even really know what's going on now. The band have yet to go on record in any great detail about the situation.

Just today they released the following video, showing current TBS members Adam Lazzara, Eddie Reyes and Mark O'Connell shooting guns with Shaun Cooper and John Nolan (both ex-members of TBS who may be reinstated).

Honestly, as if the rumors weren't weird enough, why are they shooting guns? Don't bother trying to answer that.

Anyway, a lot of us were hoping this was an early April Fool's joke or some dumb way to make Matt Rubano a trending topic on Twitter. But, it looks like the guys were serious.

Rubano's bio on his Twitter page recently changed from "I slappa da bass for Taking Back Sunday" to "I slappa da bass. hard." He even went so far as to tweet, "As soon as I know what Im doing next, you'll know. Definitely music, possibly other things as well."

Fazzi has yet to tweet anything after his original announcement.

Though it will be cool to have the old old TBS back, it's safe to say we're gonna miss Faz and the little guy. I can't say I'm ready for another lineup change, but who cares? I don't play in the band... yet.

So what do you think? Is this the right move or not?