Fools for Rowan have been touring the US in support of their new album, Twisted. Tied Up. Tangled. and have been collecting fans like Pokemon cards. With a new music video for their single, “Dead” this Nashville five-some knows what it takes to give the fans what they want and keep it coming.

Fools for Rowan is a unique band name, who is Rowan and how did you come up with the name?

I came up with the name Rowan when I combined my mother’s name, Robyn, with my grandfather’s name, Darwin.  They were both instrumental in me following my dream of becoming a singer.  So when I was putting this band together and we needed a name, I thought why not give credit where credit is due!

You’ve shared the stage with some big name acts such as Sick Puppies and Halestorm, what has been your favorite live experience so far?

That’s a tough one, but performing at Summerfest 2010 with Sick Puppies and Halestorm was definitely a show we will never forget!  The stage was awesome, the crowd was amazing, and overall it was just an incredible experience!  If we had to pick another show that was up there in the ranks of Summerfest, we’d have to say the October 2010 show we played in Milwaukee, WI.  The energy the fans brought to that show was unbeatable!

Which song off the new album Twisted. Tied Up, Tangled. seems to get the crowd excited the most?

“It’s Alright” or “Tangled,” it’s a tie!  We play our songs a little different in concert than they are on the record.  During “It’s Alright” we like to have the crowd help us out and they always rock it!!!  “Tangled” just seems to bring out some crazy energy in our fans!

Having both a female lead singer and lead guitarist is not very common in the rock world, how has this been a challenge or has it made it easier to set you apart?

The fact that having both a female lead singer and a female lead guitarist is such a novelty in rock, and really any genre of music, has been a major blessing to FFR!  It has really helped to further set us apart in a world saturated by so many bands with similar songs and similar looks and builds.  FFR is not your stereotypical rock band and Erin and Rachel are not your stereotypical female accents to the rock and roll boy’s club.  They show up ready to lay down the riffs and send the vocals soaring.

Fools for Rowan is known to have great relationships with their fans, however there must be one or two crazy fans stories, care to share one?

We have so many fantastic fans!  We’ve had fans drive across states for hours just to see us perform!  We try to keep up with our fans as well as we can on Facebook, but we did end up with one fan who got a little too attached to the band via Facebook.  We’re pretty sure he took out a mortgage, built a house, and lived on our Facebook page…  At one point he emailed our label requesting a few autographed items, so we sent them to him!  But then a few days later we got some angry hate mail from the guy because we didn’t send him every single thing he asked for… Talk about touchy!

Recently you shot a music video for your song “Dead,” what was the best part about filming?

Filming for the video for “Dead” was awesome and painful at the same time, haha!  Awesome part… We had an amazing director, and an awesome crew that helped everything run smoothly and turn out perfect!  Plus we pretty much have a blast in everything we do, and making a video is no exception!  Painful part… it was freezing cold in just about every shot!  The church we filmed in didn’t have heat, so it was 35 degrees in there and Erin had to stand in a sleeveless dress for hours!

One of the albums final tracks is called “Living Dangerously,” what are some of the most dangerous things the band has done together?

Ha!  Well one night in particular comes to mind, I think it was in Ohio.  After the show we heard a lot of sirens so we looked outside and it looked like there was a house on fire a few blocks away, so we decided to walk down that way and see what was going on.  We got one block away from the venue and ended up in the sketchiest neighborhood ever!  I mean I don’t scare very easily, I like to think I’m pretty tough, but I knew it was getting serious when Aaron grabbed my shoulder and said ‘just keep walking and don’t say anything’.  As a general rule, I don’t like to live quite so dangerously that there is an actual chance that I might get shanked.

Check them out here or on Facebook

They’re only nineteen
Antonio Paul Treasures
Making bouncy songs

Australian duo Antonio Paul

What’s the origin of the name Antonio Paul? I’ve heard that it’s a combination of your last names, but I’ve read that your last names are Papalia and Edwards. Can you set the record straight?

Yeah, we can see how that would confuse people haha but Antonio Paul is actually our middle names. We used our middle names because Papalia Edwards or Marc & Michael didn’t have the best ring to it. Haha Originally we called ourselves Paul Antonio but we thought it sounded too much like a European DJ so we made a last minute swap.

So what famous girls do you talk about when you should be practicing?

Haha good question! Me, I like the generic mainstream type of girls like Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift. They’re pretty close to my age. Michael prefers the older and mature girls like fellow Australian, Miranda Kerr and sex bomb Megan Fox. Haha We sound so seedy.

What’s the best part about having only two people in a band?

We’re best friends so we have super similar thoughts on music ideas and we are always hanging out so it makes it easier to make decisions and to jam heaps. Having multiple members in a band makes it hard to get them all on the same thought train and getting everyone on time for practiso (practice)

Your music has some hip hop and punk undertones, was that intentional?

Funny you should ask that, I am currently writing this from the back seat of Michael’s car going up to Perth for a punk and hardcore show. Haha But to answer your question, was it intentional? I would say yes, but the local music scene in our area is mainly punk and hardcore, so I guess the punk undertones came out naturally. As for the hip hop, I didn’t mind some beats and rhymes as a kid, but I love the flow and the rhythm of rappers and how they are so coooool

Every musician has a moment, either a mind-blowing show or the first sacred listening to what might be a major influence or something else that makes them decide to do music. What was that moment for you?

Sitting on the couch watching the music channel being like hmmm…I can do that haha, nah we have always been into music and playing instruments from a young age so it wasn’t really a sudden decision to start doing music. But a collective experience would be Michael and I playing at a school talent show with Michael pump’n tunes out on his guitar and me slam’n out some vox. I don’t know if we were any good but it felt cool.

You newest EP is called Treasures. Tell us, what is it that you value the most in life? Besides family and friends of course.

Weekends, money, driving and girls…Haha family and friends who values that? Haha we value being happy and not surrounding ourselves with negative or stressful things, just enjoying life

How long did the EP take to record? What was the process like?

It took about 2 months to get everything organized, polished, recorded and mixed. What was the process like?….hmm you know how you see music videos of artists in the studio having fun, doing it on the first go, being all happy and meaningful…yeah for us it was the opposite, just two guys hating on each other, yelling, arguing and a lot of hurt feelings. We finished recording all the guitar, bass, drum and synth tracks for “City Dreams” and I finished mixing it ready to move on to the next song and then I saved over it. You can imagine we would be pretty grumpy and that was only in the first week haha

Check them out here and listen to their song “City Dreams” it’ll make you happy

GaGa’s future son
Might be like Sir Castanon
He’s a true artist

Sir Castanon

Where do you get your clothes from? Do you make them yourself?

I love shopping at vintage stores, and at Speed in LA and yes, I have made some of my clothes before.

Who influences your style?

I really love theatrical artists like David Bowie and Kiss, but I also love the classics like Frank Sinatra and Etta James.

What events contribute to your lyrics?

I like to write about parties and having fun and yes… sometimes love.

What do you think makes a true artist?

Most people say its fashion, music and good performances, but I think the definition of a true artist is passion. You have to love what you do and embrace your love on stage.

What has been your favorite acting moment?

I loved working on Ghost Whisperer and Click a lot! Jennifer Love Hewitt threw me a birthday party on set She and Adam were SO sweet.

Does your work as an actor influence your music?

Definitely. There is no way I would get inspiration for my music without acting, and there is no way I would get inspiration for acting without my music.

Did you have to be knighted to get the name Sir Castanon?

I haven’t been knighted, but we have a royal crest in my family. I adopted the name because it represents my family and my theatricality.

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If you listen to today’s mainstream music, you’ve probably arrived at the conclusion that art for art’s sake is a thing of the past. Now, the consumer seems to rule the airwaves and labels, so the focus is more on high quantity than high quality. Walk into any supermarket and count up the different kinds of cheese, beer, pickles, potato chips, or just about any other product you can think of. You’ll notice that the American consumer is fixated on having a decidedly wide variety of options. Unfortunately, the supermarket phenomenon has manifested itself in music – where a few talented mavericks used to get more attention, now pop stars with cult followings are producing more music for more money. And while they focus on keeping their fans happy with more hit singles, they’re not holding themselves accountable to their music.

A Shift in Focus

In a sweeping and unfair generalization, I would like to point out that mainstream music is no longer about music. It’s a consumer-driven popularity contest that has almost nothing to do with talent, skill, or musical innovation. Just compare a chord analysis from any song by The Beatles, The Eagles, Pink Floyd, or even Lynyrd Skynyrd to Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus, The Jonas Brothers, or Lady Gaga. Even the demographic has changed – much of modern music is aimed at teens (and the teen at heart), and it shows. There’s a distinct discrepancy over the past few decades between music of substance and random variations on the simplest of chord progressions.

Much of American culture, including literature and TV, has been “dumbed down” over the years to accommodate an audience composed of individuals who don’t want to think while they’re being entertained. Music is no exception, and it goes far beyond the chord progressions – the lyrics, melodic lines, and even instrumentation are simplistic at best. Phrases repeated over and over again are now called songs, and even nonsense syllables are becoming a staple of modern mainstream music. If you’re looking for complex harmonies, any instrument besides the keytar, or words you can find in the English dictionary, you’ll just have to look to the past. Classic rock is dead, and we haven’t found anything better to replace it yet. So instead of music, we have onstage costume parties, shouting contests, and circus acts. I wouldn’t call that progress.

Exceptions to the Rule

Of course, I’m no music hater and this rant isn’t aimed at all modern musicians. It’s just the big picture, and it’s pretty disappointing. But there are plenty of talented groups and individuals out there now who are providing us with high-quality music. For example, Tori Amos, Sufjan Stevens, Muse, Iron & Wine, and even OK Go’s latest album have a little more to offer in the way of innovation, complexity, and fresh perspective. Hopefully, musicians like these will be a bigger part of the future than today’s popular “artists.”

Helen is a freelance writer and the resident blogger for gocollege.com, a free informational website offering tips and advice about online schools.