Set to tour their current album ‘The Sum Of Who We Are’ across the UK and Ireland later this month, Framing Hanley are back on their usual winning streak judging by the fans’ reactions.
We caught up with frontman Kenneth Nixon just before they head out on the road.
Your current album ‘The Sum Of Who We Are’ was released a couple of months ago in the UK, have you been pleased with the response to it?
So far, so good I suppose. It feels great to finally have an album out that I feel reflects who we are currently as musicians and artists, instead of being judged by an album that was released 4 years ago. We’ve certainly changed a bit since then, as is the case with anyone, so yeah, it’s refreshing to see that so far the response has been overwhelmingly positive.
How do you feel this album compares to previous albums in terms of its sound?
It’s just good ol’ fashioned rock n roll. We’re never gonna be that band that releases the same album over and over again. Not only would we be doing a disservice to our fans, but we’d be doing a disservice to ourselves at that point. So we spent a lot of time on this album until we felt it was the album we wanted to release. We forced ourselves outside of our normal comfort zone, and I’d like to think the results speak for themselves. This is who we are in 2014. And that’ll change in 2015, 2016, and so on and so forth.
Talk us through the writing process for some of the songs or how do you go about writing new material in general?
Every song is a different animal. Some songs could start off as a skeleton of an idea I have on an acoustic with a vocal melody (‘Rollercoaster’ for example), or some songs could be an idea that Ryan brings to the table that we run with (‘Crooked Smiles’), or some songs could be a song that we just hash out in the same room together, all 5 of us (‘No Saving Me’). No matter the origins of any given song, though, when we take it to the woodshed, aka our rehearsal space, and all start jamming on the idea together, it takes on an entirely new life each and every time. That’s the beauty about writing songs in Framing Hanley.
I believe the whole thing was funded via a kickstarter campaign? How did it feel to see so many people get behind you and support you for the record?
It was beyond humbling to see our fans come through in the manner they came through. With that, came an extra pressure to deliver an album that was worthy of their support, though, ya know? That’s a side of it that we never thought about. It was unnerving at times, because we put this album up on a pedestal. We wanted it to undoubtedly, no questions asked, be our best album to date because our fans DESERVED that. So time was never an option. We spent so long working on this to ensure we got it right.
You’re set to tour the UK very shortly in support of the album. How have you always found the UK for you in terms of playing live? Are there any new cities or places you’re visiting on this tour?
The UK is like a second home to us. Since our very first trip over, we were embraced like we’d never imagined being embraced. There’s a different level of appreciation for music across the pond than here in the states, it seems. That’s not to say people in the US don’t love them some rock n roll, but the people in the UK go to shows to have a good time. They don’t stand in the audience like zombies. We’ve actually played all the cities we’re revisiting on this tour, but we’re excited as hell for each and every single one of them.
With this album being your first for quite a few years, are you quite nervous as a band to be getting back into the swing of a full length headline tour or do you just feel like it never really stopped?
It definitely felt like we had sea-legs when we first started touring in support of this album again. We had subscribed back to this life of normalcy for the two and a half years we were working on this album, so to get back out on the road and be playing shows every night, it was an awesome reminder of how lucky we are to do what we do as a “job”. Touring is the reward for us after working on an album for so long.
What’s the best thing about touring for you?
Being able to connect with the people one on one that have, for whatever reason, connected with the music that you write. Being able to thank those people personally, give them a hug, high five, or fist bump – that is the most rewarding part of all.
We’ve got a few fan questions for you, but just before going into that, what can all the excited ticket holders expect and look forward to from these tour dates?
Look forward to seeing a band that’s beyond thankful to be doing what we’re doing again, and a band that is gonna bust their asses on the stage to ensure that YOU have a good time at the show. Come out, let your hair down, and let loose; and get ready to rock n roll.
FAN Q’s:
@casstastrophe__ : Do you guys see a Charleston, SC show in the future?
I hope so. We were in Charleston for a few weeks in December of last year. That’s where we recorded ‘Criminal’ and ‘Twisted Halos’. Would love to revisit, and play a show. And then I’d get to have a latte from Muddy Waters, which has THE best coffee in the world!
@rockleonie : What music have you been listening to lately?
I’ve been wearing out ‘Similarities’ by Biffy Clyro, and ‘Evergreen’ by Broods. Those two are hands down my front-runners for Album of the Year.
@inmorpheusarms_ : Will we be hearing some old songs from the other two albums as well as the new ones when you play Dublin?
Yes you will. I can’t tell you which ones though!
@jessicawhobrey : Where do you see yourselves going in the next 5 years? What is the dream you want to achieve?
If I’m able to still be playing music live in front of a crowd of people in five years, whether it’s 10,000 or 10, then I’ll be a happy guy.