So as I already said it earlier, I got the chance to interview Brian 10 days ago for Daily Rock Magazine where I write.
It was really great, he's a cool and interessting guy. My microphone was off for the 4 firsts questions, so they're not written here. (yes I know, next time I'll check two times!)
If there are any french speaking people here, here's the link for the interview translated in french on Daily Rock Magazine: http://www.daily-rock.com/interview-brian-fallon-m4music-painkillers
And the original version:
What will happen will The Horrible Crowes and Molly and the Zombies now that you are touring solo?
I’m gonna do under my own name. If I decided to do another Horrible Crowes record I would just do it under my own name and it would still be the same. With too many bands it’s hard to separate them, because if you do an Horrible Crowes tour you can only do some Horrible Crowes songs and it’s too hard so I figured it would be easier to be just Gaslight Anthem and Brian Fallon and that’s it. That’s why I named it “and the crowes”. And Molly and the Zombies was just supposed to be a temporary thing, it wasn’t ever supposed to be a long live project.
Are you tired of people asking you if The Gaslight Anthem are ever gonna do another album together?
No, I think that people are curious. But right now, I just don’t know. The option is always there, I can definitely see it happening for sure, like we’re not broken up. I think it would be a couple of year through, I do, I don’t think it’s gonna be like five minutes. You know that’s what I wish that people would get, like just give it a break for five minutes, it needs a couple of years to get re-energised. We all wanna do other stuffs during this time, just let it breathe a little. I think that it’s not a bad thing, it’s good. It just makes a better band you know?
Yes I get it, but I listened to a few interview you had, and you always get this question like “are you breaking up?”…
Yes, I feel like we explained it pretty well. We’re not breaking up, it’s just a break. That why I don’t do too many Gaslight songs ever in the show because the band’s not broken up. If it was broken up, you know like Morrisey, he does Smiths songs, but that’s because they’re broken up they’re not gonna play them again, that’s why he does them. It’s the same with Noel Gallagher, he does Oasis’ songs because they’re broken up, they’re not gonna play again. But I’m not gonna play these songs because it’s the guys and me. I would do an acoustic version just for fun. But that’s more to honor the band, to say that I still remember this, it’s still important to me and that it’s not a bad thing and it’s ok. No one got in a fight, we’re not mad at each other. We just don’t have any ideas. We did so many records so quick, you just don’t know what’s going on next, plus rock music isn’t very popular right now and I wouldn’t want a record to get lost in the shuffle because it wasn’t … that would be terrible if it got lost! But mainly the idea is that we don’t have any ideas. I don’t have any Ideas.
You said in an interview that you regret your tattoos (Kids interview bands) and I saw on Instagram that you just recovered one.
I think that regret is a tough word. I don’t think I regret them, I just think that I wouldn’t have done them if I started over. But what I’m doing now is just that I’m kind of covering the ones that I really don’t like, the ones that I don’t think are done that great or maybe don’t mean anyting to me anymore. So I’m kind of redoing the pictures, but it’s tough because I have to do a lot of black work so it takes a really skilled tattoo artist, which I found a lot in Germany. There’s a lot of great tattoo artists in Germany. So everytime I go to Germany I try to get one. But it’s just a personal thing, I don’t hate my tattoos, I just think that I wouldn’t do them again. But now that I’ve got them, I think that I should make them the best that I can.
And you said that you never encourage someone to get a tattoo. If someone told you that he’s planning to get a tattoo, what would you say?
It depends on who it is. If it’s my family, am I caution them? Are you gonna like this in twenty years? Do you wanna be a hundred with that tattoo? But as far as regular tattoos, that’s their choice. I try not to get involved in anything that’s someone else’s choice, unless I think it might hurt them.
A lot of fans get Gaslight Anthem tattoos. Have you already seen them, what do you think about it? Is it weird to see you words tattooed on someone else’s skin?
No I think it’s cool, I think it’s really cool! That’s like the highest compliment you can get, I think it’s awesome. When I started getting tattoos I got a lot of bands tattoos and actually these are the ones that I wouldn’t cover. My first tattoo ever was a Boucing Soul tattoo and I would never cover that up, that was hardcore man, I believed in that and I still love the Bouncing Souls and hardcore music. Those bands shaped my life and my writing and all that stuff you know. I never get a Bob Dylan tattoo. I should probably get a Bob Dylan tattoo?
You should!
No matter the stories of your songs, there is always a message that comes up, something like don’t give up, keep the faith. Am I right?
Yes, because I don’t want people to lose hope. I did a lot of depression in my twenties and in my thirties and anxiety, and I just want to encourage people that it’s not as bad as you think and there is always a way out. So don’t give up.
So you say it to the people who listen to your music, but do you say it to yourself too when you sing it?
Yes, oh sure! Always, it’s always a message to yourself. Every song ever is a message to yourself.
Would you like to try some other kind of music?
Yes! I have always wanted to do a gospel album but not necessarly like religious, just like that style. There is a great English band called the Soul Savers and they did a song with Mark Lanegan and it was called “Revival” and I thought that was a great song. It was kind of drum loops and sampled music, ethereal and gentle and strings and pianos… but it also had that gospel feeling you know, like Tom Waits when he has that gospel thing. I love that. I’d like to do a strictly folk record, just acoustic with drums and base and piano and that’s it. I’d love to do a lot of different music. I hope I get the chance.
Last question: name tree things you couln’t live without.
Probably my family… I try not to get attached to things, like things you know? So there’s nothing that I own that I feel I couldn’t live without. I try to stay in a state of non-possession. I’m just not into possession, I like things, I own and buy things, but I don’t get attached to them. I’m not very sentimental with things. I’m more sentimental with people, there are some people I think I would have a hard time living without like your friends and your loved ones but not possessions. I think that it would be a better world if people didn’t hold on to their possessions so much.
Subject: Me interviewing Brian Fallon for Daily Rock 
Mon Apr 25, 2016 2:26 pm
