Michael d'Avignon Interviews
PETE FRY oF FARCRY
With the exception of Dirty Penny, most of the credit for keeping the 80's style genre of rock alive goes to European bands like Crashdiet, Crazy Lixx, and Reckless Love. While these bands deserve a ton of credit, there are many new bands in the U.S. that are doing there part to keep the flame burning, but are sadly being overlooked. One such band is New Jersey's FarCry. While Dirty Penny and the others are more representative of the sleeze/glam genre, FarCry represents the more melodic side, a la Firehouse, Danger Danger, and early Bon Jovi. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to catch the guys live at this years Melodic Rockfest in Elgin, Illinois. To say I was impressed would be a massive understatement. This band deserves more recognition than most. The set was without a doubt one of the best of the weekend, and that's saying something given the line-up. During our stay in Elgin, I was able to get acquainted with the guys in the band, and I dare say, not a nicer bunch will you find. Guitarist Pete Fry was generous enough to grant an interview for The Rockpit.
Michael d'Avignon: First I wanna thank you for taking the time out to do this.
Pete Fry: My pleasure man, thank YOU for the interest!
Michael d'Avignon: Well, hopefully we can spread the word and get you introduced to some new fans.
Pete Fry: LOL, I never turn down new fans!
Michael d'Avignon: I guess to start, why don't you give us a little background on FarCry.
Pete felt it'd be easier to put in the band bio to answer this question so here it is…
FarCry was formed in 2006 when John Kivel of Kivel Records contacted Pete Fry on a hard rock message board Pete was moderating. John had heard some of Pete’s earlier band demos from the mid‐90’s produced by Scott Metaxas (Prophet, Nuclear Assault) and wanted to know if he would be interested in being part of a new project on the Kivel label. Within a few months the rest of the band had been brought on board, and writing, song selection and rehearsal began in earnest. Unfortunately after a few months the original vocalist was let go due to creative differences.
It was at this time that John met Mark Giovi while on vacation in Vegas, where Mark performs with the “Bite” show nightly at the Stratosphere Hotel. Upon mentioning this find to Pete, John was surprised to find that the two had known each other for over twenty years, and had in fact performed on stage together previously in earlier bands. The two reconnected and the synergy was immediately apparent. The band hit the studio to start recording of “High Gear” in July of 2007 and knocked out the basic tracks in a couple weeks.
Sadly this momentum was short lived, as the tracks went to Producer Ty Sims and due to a variety of technical issues, about 80% of what was recorded in these initial sessions had to be scrapped and re‐recorded. It wasn’t until 2008 that this was completed at Ty’s “Recovery Room” studio. As every cloud has it’s silver lining, the performances at the Recovery Room were the best yet, from a performance perspective as well as sonically, easily topping what had been previously done. Over a period of several months the tracks were meticulously mixed and produced prior to going to
manufacturing.
On April 1 of 2009, all the effort came to fruition with the official release of “High Gear” in the US and Europe. Preorders were filled, new orders were coming in, and within a month the initial pressing had sold out and a reorder was made. By the end of the year the votes were in, and FarCry had received kudos from reviewers and fans alike from all around the world. Not wanting to stop there, FarCry also impressed fans at several high profile shows around the US, sharing the bill with such rock icons as Bret Michaels, Firehouse, Skid Row, April Wine, Dokken, Enuff Z’Nuff, etc.
For 2010, FarCry is well underway working on their second release for late Spring aptly titled “Optimism” as well as bringing their powerhouse live show to venues across the US.
Michael d'Avignon: Cool, I'm glad you put that story about how you hooked up with Mark in there. I find that really cool how things kinda came full circle for you two.
Pete Fry: Seriously, what a small world!
Michael d'Avignon: No doubt! How has the CD, "High Gear" been received so far?
Pete Fry: So far it's been absolutely great, the feedback has been almost unanimously positive from fans and the media. I really couldn't ask for more than to be able to put out our own music and have people love it for what it is! :D
Michael d'Avignon: That's great to hear. Are you also getting good reviews of the live shows? I was lucky enough to see you guys at Melodic Rockfest, and it was definitely one of the top performances of the weekend.
Pete Fry: Hey thanks for that Michael, that really means a lot! We really try to give every performance everything we've got. To have such a good sized crowd that was into it as much as they were was something I won't soon forget! The feedback from all of our shows has been positive across the board, which is great. Honestly I think our live performance is where we really come alive. There's some great chemistry in the band that really translates well in a performance environment.
Michael d'Avignon: I agree with that. You actually have a few new additions in the band that did not perform on the CD. They all seem to have it down perfectly though, and I really think it's a good line-up.
Pete Fry: I'm really happy with the current lineup. The lineup we have now is the permanent lineup, and to me really is what FarCry is about.
Michael d'Avignon: With the good responses to the live shows, are you getting more offers to play?
Pete Fry: We have been getting more offers, and I wish we could take them all. The tough part about being a geographically challenged band (Mark in Vegas, Angelo in Massachusetts, and the rest of us in Jersey) is that the logistics for both timing and financial concerns is really a tough nut to crack. However, yesterday we just announced that we will be opening up for Vince Neil at Maximum Capacity in Chicopee, MA on October 15th so we're doing everything we can to get out there!
Michael d'Avignon: That is a great opportunity for you all. With the new CD being released soon, do you see any possibility of maybe a tour? Even something small here in the states?
Pete Fry: I would never say no to that, and we've had some informal discussions with a few people, we'll have to see how that turns out, as well as what the response to the new album is when that comes out.
Michael d'Avignon: Any interest from anybody over seas to have you come play? I know you were trying for Firefest, any word on that?
Pete Fry: It's definitely not going to happen for this year's Firefest, or any other overseas festivals. Next year is a whole other story, we'll have to see what the interest is in the new album from the overseas fan-base, the media and of course the organisers of the event in question. Obviously we'd love to get over there and spread the word of FarCry, and we already have some great friends and fans over there! In fact at MRF2 this year we met up with some new fans from the UK who started a Facebook group specifically to get us over to Firefest in '11. So if anyone reading this is from Europe and/or planning to attend Firefest join up and let everyone know you'd like to see us over there! http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/group.php?gid=119840011370785&ref=ts
Michael d'Avignon: Hopefully, we can make this happen you guys deserve it. Speaking of the new CD, how's that coming along?
Pete Fry: The new CD is coming along great, better than I could even hope for. It feels like all the planets have aligned, with some great new material, the new version of the band that's played live together, Ty Sims producing... I think it's really going to raise some eyebrows. We're hoping to have it out soon but I can't really give a date just yet!
Michael d'Avignon: Again, I was lucky enough to hear a couple of the new tracks live, and they were amazing! How does the new CD compare to High Gear?
Pete Fry: I'd say if you liked High Gear, you're definitely going to like this one. It's got big hooks, big guitars, great vocals, all of the ingredients that made High Gear what it was. What sets it apart I think and kicks it up just one more notch is the cohesiveness of the band, we've spent the last couple years playing together and getting to know each other and I think that really comes through not just in the technical aspects of the recorded performance, but also in the attitude. In short... I'm psyched!
Michael d'Avignon: Well, I for one can't wait for the release date. We'll have to do a review of it for the Rockpit.
Pete Fry: I would be honored!
Michael d'Avignon: Do you have anything else you'd like to tell everybody reading this?
Pete Fry: Hmm... only that if you'd like to see FarCry in your town, make sure to tell your local promoters! Anything else you'd like to ask me Michael?
Michael d'Avignon: The last question is one we ask everyone we interview, and that is, according to you, what is the meaning of life?
Pete Fry: Ha-ha, the meaning of life... interesting question. I guess for me it's all about getting everything I can out of life, and making it count. I'm also a firm believer in karma and doing the right thing and not just whatever benefits me.
Michael d'Avignon: Well, Pete, I want to say thank you again for spending some time with us. Hopefully we'll be seeing and hearing a lot more from you and FarCry.
Pete Fry: I hope so Michael, and if you think of any other questions, give me a shout! Thank you so much for spending some time and giving me the opportunity to talk about FarCry!
If you have not heard FarCry, please check them out, and pick up the first CD, "High Gear", and be on the lookout for the new release "Optimism" coming soon. And if you are in an area they are playing, go see the live show, it is really something special.
Michael d’Avignon
http://www.facebook.com/FarCryBand
http://www.myspace.com/farcrytherockband
http://www.farcryband.net
Thanks to Pete for the interview and Mike for his first interview for theRockpit.net. Mike plays bass with the band Heaven's Rain out of Oklahoma City