Fallstar | Demanding Attention
orthwest hardcore giants Fallstar have been toiling away for several years now, perfecting their lineup and their sound. Finally, with a batch of new songs and a drive to find their new home with a label, the five piece, best known for their affiliation with Come&Live!, is looking to the future. These guys have one of the most insane live shows I’ve witnessed in recent years and the genuine hearts behind the music reflect a wave of love that shines through in every effort. Fallstar may be the best kept secret in hardcore. Vocalist and founder Chris Ratzlaff briefly filled us in on the waiting game while the band searches for a label and whatever is to come next.
Give us a brief history of Fallstar to fill readers in on who you guys are and where you are from…
Chris Ratzlaff: We are a hardcore band from Portland Oregon. We’ve been playing since 2005, but things got serious for us about two years ago. Since then we’ve been touring and pushing our music really hard. We’re just wild dudes. Our live shows end with blood, staples in heads and chipped teeth. We break lots of stuff. We’re all really happy, love to play music and hang out with lots of people.
We are very excited about you guys. We have heard some of the tracks off your new record (release date TBA), a few of which are on your MySpace right now, and we can’t stop listening. Your sound is unique to what is out today. It is very diverse. What are your main influences? Whether it is music or life experiences…
CR: Thanks! Honestly we credit our scene here in the Northwest. It’s super heavy and violent up here at shows, so it really shaped how we write and perform music. We also love strong choruses and some ambient parts, but we never get too spacey. It’s hard to pin down specific influences because all of us in Fallstar love such different music. We can safely say we’re all fans of Drop Dead, Gorgeous, As Cities Burn, Anberlin and Alexisonfire. We’ve got lots to sing about. Our God is wild, and the life he’s given us is beautiful. We’re so stoked to share that with people.
You guys have been working along side Come&Live! correct? But you are also shopping labels right now right?
CR: Yeah. We met Chad Johnson when we played The Wake tour with Sleeping Giant and The Glorious Unseen. He and the rest of the guys at Come&Live! have been an amazing support to us over the last two years. They have really worked hard to develop us and bring us to the point where we are now. They play the role of management and spiritual support for us. God’s doing amazing things through that community of believers and it’s exciting to be a part of it so even when we find a label home, we will still be very involved in that ministry!
It looks like it may still be a while before we get to hear the full-length in its entirety, so can you talk to us about the messages behind the two tracks that are on your MySpace right now?
CR: The two tracks we’ve posted so far are “Hunters”(Track 1 on the album) and the title track, “Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter.”. “Hunters” is based on the Bible verse Matthew 11:12 about seeking God violently. Deciding to follow Christ is the best and probably the hardest decision you will ever make, the cost is so high but unimaginably worth it. “Reconciler” is about the process of being reconciled back to God, refined and healed by him and ignited into a new life.
If there was a message that encapsulated the record what would it be?
CR: The title track “Reconciler. Refiner. Igniter.” pretty much sums it up. All these songs were written in worship of our God, and when we sing we sing to Him, but to music that has power and can harness the dance. We’re not super into a message of “Don’t do that cause it’s immoral.” or “Believe this cause it says so in the Bible.” That’s not how we came to Christ. Our message is “Look what we’ve found! This is what Jesus has done for me.” Our lyrics are honest and can be brutal at times, but it’s everything we’ve come to know about God.
Why should readers keep their eyes and ears peeled for Fallstar?
CR: Cause we’re coming up. We’re quickly moving from just a local band to something that doesn’t just deserve, but demands attention.
Check out the new Fallstar tracks up now at www.myspace.com/fallstar as well as their performance at The Eminence Conference August 14th in New Mexico.
