
Field of Bronze Interview
Q: Can you talk about the history of the band?
A: Field of Bronze started as a studio project. I (Josh Pitt) had composed a collection of songs and set out to record an album. I enlisted the help of my close friends Adam McFarland (current bassist) to engineer and Bobby Westmoreland (former bassist) to collaborate with me on various instrumentation. A lot of musicians contributed parts on certain songs. Eventually we had recorded God Bless You, and Goodnight our first LP. Bobby and I asked our good friend Jonathan Hoffman to join us on drums to form a band after we finished the album. He has since beenour rock and backbone.
Soon after we had finished recording the core of our latest LP MemoryPotion Bobby passed away in a car accident. We took our time and re-grouped with Adam joining us on bass. He had engineered both of our records and was very familiar with our music, along with being a quite talented bassist and musician. Most importantly, he was close to us and Bobby. We are all very close friends.
Q: What are some of the themes and topics that run through your album Memory Potion?
A: For me it portrays confusion that comes with being human, dealing with pressures of the world. Anything from internal struggles to cope, challenges with interpersonal relationships, failed attempts at success...delusions, desperation and some optimism. There's a theme of falling short, or not ever getting quite enough.
Truly I hope people who feel connected to the music are able to interpret what it means to them. There are specific references but
people may decipher their own.
Q: Can you talk about your creative process?
A: Melodies and lyrical phrases are always floating around in my head. I used to try to capture them all. But the ones worth pursuing usually stick around. I'm not particularly diligent until a real idea surfaces naturally. Then it is all I can think about.
Once I have a song mostly outlined I'll bring it to the band. Everyone contributes in the song shaping process. A lot of times it goes in
fantastic directions I never imagined. Jonathan wrote one of our more recent, not yet recorded songs. We took a similar approach with that one. Bringing a song to life with the band is one of the most fun and rewarding parts of what we do. I never get tired of that process.
Q: Can you talk about the history of the band?
A: Field of Bronze started as a studio project. I (Josh Pitt) had composed a collection of songs and set out to record an album. I enlisted the help of my close friends Adam McFarland (current bassist) to engineer and Bobby Westmoreland (former bassist) to collaborate with me on various instrumentation. A lot of musicians contributed parts on certain songs. Eventually we had recorded God Bless You, and Goodnight our first LP. Bobby and I asked our good friend Jonathan Hoffman to join us on drums to form a band after we finished the album. He has since beenour rock and backbone.
Soon after we had finished recording the core of our latest LP MemoryPotion Bobby passed away in a car accident. We took our time and re-grouped with Adam joining us on bass. He had engineered both of our records and was very familiar with our music, along with being a quite talented bassist and musician. Most importantly, he was close to us and Bobby. We are all very close friends.
Q: What are some of the themes and topics that run through your album Memory Potion?
A: For me it portrays confusion that comes with being human, dealing with pressures of the world. Anything from internal struggles to cope, challenges with interpersonal relationships, failed attempts at success...delusions, desperation and some optimism. There's a theme of falling short, or not ever getting quite enough.
Truly I hope people who feel connected to the music are able to interpret what it means to them. There are specific references but
people may decipher their own.
Q: Can you talk about your creative process?
A: Melodies and lyrical phrases are always floating around in my head. I used to try to capture them all. But the ones worth pursuing usually stick around. I'm not particularly diligent until a real idea surfaces naturally. Then it is all I can think about.
Once I have a song mostly outlined I'll bring it to the band. Everyone contributes in the song shaping process. A lot of times it goes in
fantastic directions I never imagined. Jonathan wrote one of our more recent, not yet recorded songs. We took a similar approach with that one. Bringing a song to life with the band is one of the most fun and rewarding parts of what we do. I never get tired of that process.
Q: I want to get a little into the weeds with your time recording. You recorded to 2" tape and also had plenty of beautiful analog gear to send your music through. What was that experience like and how do you think it played into the creation of the album?
A: We were fortunate enough to record Memory Potion at the legendary Sugar Hill Studios in Houston. Just being there you feel an overwhelming magical vibe you can't shake. I remember crying tears of joy and disbelief when we were tracking our first song. I was literally weeping while playing in the iso booth, next to my amp, trying to hide my face so I wouldn't distract the other guys. So many greats have recorded there. Running signals through those beautiful analog paths gave us a sense of purpose. None of us had ever recorded to tape before. I'm of mind that it alters the sound in a pleasing way. Beyond that the tape inspired us to play each note passionately. There is finality and limitations with using tape. We believe that enhanced our performances.
Q: The album is fairly stripped back but sounds very full which is somewhat due in part to the fantastic production. I imagine your live shows are very close in sound to the record but wanted to ask if you guys change anything up live and what your live shows are like in general?
A: Thank you. We wanted the album to sound like us playing in a really good room. Our live sound is very close to the record. The most consistent comment we get is how full we sound as a three-piece. I've always found magic in watching a band you love play their songs, but they sound just a slightly grittier and more raw live than the on their records. It's something about the amps and the people being present, right in front of you. It's alive.
We do like to change some things up to keep it fresh for ourselves. Sometimes we'll extend an instrumental section and divert it into something new. We find places to build space for improvisation, depending on the show. At our core, we try to execute our parts well and be as solid as we can. We practice hard so we can be free in the moment while on stage.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: It's alive and well! We're enjoying the season of Memory Potion and trying to build up our fan base. We have new tunes we're working on and plans in the making for our next project. But for now we want to enjoy the fruits of our labor by giving Memory Potion the support it deserves.Friendship and close bonds are the greatest strength of our band. We all love and support each other through it all.
A: We were fortunate enough to record Memory Potion at the legendary Sugar Hill Studios in Houston. Just being there you feel an overwhelming magical vibe you can't shake. I remember crying tears of joy and disbelief when we were tracking our first song. I was literally weeping while playing in the iso booth, next to my amp, trying to hide my face so I wouldn't distract the other guys. So many greats have recorded there. Running signals through those beautiful analog paths gave us a sense of purpose. None of us had ever recorded to tape before. I'm of mind that it alters the sound in a pleasing way. Beyond that the tape inspired us to play each note passionately. There is finality and limitations with using tape. We believe that enhanced our performances.
Q: The album is fairly stripped back but sounds very full which is somewhat due in part to the fantastic production. I imagine your live shows are very close in sound to the record but wanted to ask if you guys change anything up live and what your live shows are like in general?
A: Thank you. We wanted the album to sound like us playing in a really good room. Our live sound is very close to the record. The most consistent comment we get is how full we sound as a three-piece. I've always found magic in watching a band you love play their songs, but they sound just a slightly grittier and more raw live than the on their records. It's something about the amps and the people being present, right in front of you. It's alive.
We do like to change some things up to keep it fresh for ourselves. Sometimes we'll extend an instrumental section and divert it into something new. We find places to build space for improvisation, depending on the show. At our core, we try to execute our parts well and be as solid as we can. We practice hard so we can be free in the moment while on stage.
Q: What else should we know about your music?
A: It's alive and well! We're enjoying the season of Memory Potion and trying to build up our fan base. We have new tunes we're working on and plans in the making for our next project. But for now we want to enjoy the fruits of our labor by giving Memory Potion the support it deserves.Friendship and close bonds are the greatest strength of our band. We all love and support each other through it all.