Freeze Time Talks To Fanbase Music Magazine About Their Music, Past And Current albums, Recording in Abbey Road Studios, And How It Is being In A Family Band

Interviewed by Duzzy Clayton

Intro

Freeze Time is a very cool Father and Sons band with an amazing sound and great songs, I catch up with the band to talk about their music, and albums, being in a band with family as well as recording in the legendary studio Abbey Road.

This a special interview with a special band, I think one of the best things a father can do with his kids is have and share a love for music, this family and band get to perform together and do that feeling all the time.

Enjoy the interview

Interview

Hi, there, and welcome to Fanbase Music Magazine, Freeze Time is quite an interesting band name, can you tell us how that name came about?

Life is a series of moments – each one of them frozen in time. We can view our lives as a series of stills which, when put together, form a movie we call life – hence, Freeze Time.

Freeze Time is made up of a father and sons in the band, can you tell us who does what in the band?

There are three of us in the band. We are fortunate in that all of us play multiple instruments. I usually play guitar, write songs, and sing but can also be found playing drums and even occasionally keyboards. Keith plays drums on most songs but can also be found playing lead guitar as well as bass. He writes as well. Elliott plays bass on most songs but can also be found playing keyboards, writing songs, and singing. We are fortunate!

How has the experience been playing with family in the band and how do you separate band to family with any creative difference?

We have total creative flexibility in the band, and rarely do we do a song where the writer instructs each player on exactly what to play. It is very much an iterative process where we will play new songs repeatedly until we get something that we like. Of course, there are infrequent creative differences, but we can disagree without being disagreeable – it really is lovely.

How would you describe your band’s sound and genre?

With great difficulty! We really don’t fit easily into any one particular genre. Overall, I would say we have great respect for melody and that’s where most of our songs “live”. Broadly speaking I would say most of our songs are melodic rock/pop.

Who are some of the band’s influences and have those bands determined the kind of music you are releasing?

These are also very varied and you can hear glimpses of each influence depending on the song. Some of the influences include Low Cut Connie, Portugal the Man, Tom Petty, Beatles, Ramones, Blink 182, Jimi Hendrix, Squeeze, Stones, and Marshall Crenshaw.

Some of you also do music outside the band, can you tell us about some of those projects?

Keith has a band in London called Casana and also several solo projects which are identified at the end of the interview. I do the occasional solo acoustic shows as well.

Let’s talk about the new single namely, I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know, can you tell us what that song is about?

I Don’t Know What I Don’t Know, taken from our album NW8, is a reflection on what is going on in the world today. A number of our songs discuss current situations but in a bit of an opaque way. That song in particular mentions what is relatively easy to understand – babies being born, people dying, lighting candles in the darkness but then reminds us of some of what we don’t understand – namely how can people mistreat each other so harshly? The album is available on all digital platforms.

Who worked and produced on the track and where was it recorded?

This song, and indeed, all of NW8 was produced by Keith and myself. Recorded in Studio Two at Abbey Road, engineered by Gordon Davidson; mastered by Andy Walter at Abbey Road.

What was the recording process like?

The preparation was typical for how we go about producing music. We start by sharing a number of songs from which we select several to be recorded. This is usually done over the internet where we trade acoustic songs back and forth. Once we settle on the song and who is going to play what on the track, we get together to record. Given that we recorded this in Studio Two Abbey Road (where Pink Floyd, Elton John, ELO, Jeff Lynne, Traveling Wilburys, and the Beatles have recorded) we were very buttoned up and managed to do the whole album (eight songs) in ten hours.

There is also another song that we discussed – “You’ll Find Yourself Knocking” on the brand-new album, can you tell us the name of the album and how you came to that album title?

Our new album is called Hear & There. Originally it was to be called Here & There given our geographic spread (Keith lives in London while Elliott and I live outside of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania) but Keith suggested Hear as a play on words and we went with it. Available on all digital platforms.

Okay let’s talk about the latest track, You’ll Find Yourself Knocking, what is that song about?

Many of us have been in a situation where one party believes the relationship has come to a conclusion while the other party believes there is good reason to keep the relationship going. This song is one person saying to another although you’re leaving now – you’ll be back – and when you come back I will rush to open the door with my arms wide open ready to embrace you.

Where was the track recorded and who worked on it?

This song was recorded at Bush Studios in Hammersmith in London. Essentially it was me playing guitar and singing while Keith did everything else – including mixing while mastering was done in Pennsylvania.

What was the recording process of recording it?

All of the basic tracks were done live – either at Bush Studios in Hammersmith or Range Recording in Ardmore, Pennsylvania. Keith mixed the album in London and then it was mastered by Erik Scattereggia in Philadelphia.

How many tracks are on the Hear & There album?

There are 15 songs on the album – including a French version of the song (You Hide It Well) which I wrote a couple of years back. It is performed by Breezy Pete – one of my university professors from long ago.

How does it differ from past albums you have released?

This album benefitted from a songwriting seminar I recently attended which was hosted by Chris Difford of Squeeze at Pennard House in Somerset England. I would say the songs are lyrically somewhat tighter than they have been in the past. All of our songs are like stories with a beginning, middle, and end.

You have recorded at the iconic studio’s Abbey Road Studios, can you tell us how that experience was?

In a word, fantastic. A few key points. First is, you have no idea of the size of studio two until you get in. It is the size of a high school gym – massive. Second, the professionalism of the engineers is second to none. They get the best sound and are very humble doing it. So easy to work with. Next, the equipment itself is superb. Lastly, the privilege of recording in that atmosphere can’t be overstated.

Do you play live and can you tell us about that experience?

Given our geographic spread, playing live is a rare occurrence although we did manage to get together in December and played at Langley Castle in Northampton, England.

That being said, we have played a number of our venues in prior bands – including Max’s Kansas City, The Other End, Home, Trocadero, and CBGB’s to name a few.

Thank you for doing this interview, do you have any last messages for our readers?

I’d like to thank you and Catherine of CJC Promotions for arranging this interview. I thoroughly enjoyed the interview from your podcast as well as this.