Futurebirds are an alt-country five-piece from Athens Georgia. Their music features great guitar work and homemade harmonies for days (i.e. no dubbing here). Futurebirds sound tends to be easy going, but they can kick it up when necessary. It's just great jamming music, that can at times venture almost into indie territory, we absolutely love their versatility as a group. Check out our conversation with them below and check out their music as well!
1. How did you come to pursue music and how long have you been at it?
"Music has always been a huge part of my life, as long as I can remember. I got a drum set when I was 9, and after taking about 4 years to realize I couldn’t really play drums that well, I switched to guitar."
2. Could you walk us through your process of writing music?
"I don’t really have a process. I don’t force songs to come. I’m constantly taking down notes for lyrics, ideas for songs, and recording melodies on my phone or computer. Sometimes a song comes together in 20 minutes, sometimes it takes 10 years."
3. What artists have inspired you in your career?
"Radiohead has been a huge inspiration in that they continue to evolve and push themselves out of their comfort zone, so as to avoid regurgitating the same formula."
4. Do you have any favorite music gear (guitars, amps, effects pedals, keyboards, etc.) that you love to use? If so, what’s the story on them?
"I’ve played a Fender Telecaster my entire electric career. I borrowed one for the first few years we were a band, and then the owner took it back. Luckily our manager at the time had just recently bought a new tele himself, even though he wasn’t much of a player. He ended up lending that to me and I’ve been using it ever since. Hope he doesn’t ask for it back…
I play an Ampeg Gemini amp. It’s the only “nice” amp I’ve ever owned. I started interning (and then worked) at Chase Park Transduction (recording studio) in Athens in 2007 and everyone who worked there owned one. It’s the only amp I feel like I can really get the sound I want out of, but that’s probably just a function of habit."
5. Can you describe the vibe at your live shows? Also, what do you enjoy most about a venue when you do a show?
"Our live shows are high energy for the most part, although we’ve been able to be much more dynamic as the length of our sets has grown.
The thing I enjoy most about a venue is being able to hear myself clearly in the monitors."
*Author's note: The struggle is real on this one!*
6. What is one thing that you want the public to know about your music?
"It’s meant to be played loud, even the slow stuff."
7. Do you have any upcoming projects you would like fans to know about?
"We’ll be touring our asses off for the rest of the year, with a new release almost finished. Hopefully that comes out in early 2019, and it’s our best effort yet (isn’t it always, haha)!"
FMI on Futurebirds visit http://www.futurebirdsmusic.com/#portico1. To follow Futurebirds on social media, visit Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @futurebirds.