A Conversation with Finch’s Nate Barcalow – HuffPost 9.19.14

Mike Ragogna: Back To Oblivion is the title to your new album. It’s been nine years since your last intended studio album, so that title seems a bit ominous considering the band’s breakups and reformations, no?

Nate Barcalow: It’s a little deeper than that. As we were writing the record, the word oblivion would become synonymous with hope. The hope that things can get better no matter what the situation may be. “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. For man has closed himself up, till he sees all things through narrow chinks of his cavern.” – William Blake

MR: What have you and the gang been doing since the last project?

NB: We all kind of started doing our own thing. I started a band called Reverend Crow that I play guitar and sing in, which is still active and I am very excited about. We have an e.p. available on iTunes.

MR: What was the reunion like and how did the band create and record the new material?

NB: The reunion was a lot of fun. After stepping out of the scene for a while we had the unique opportunity to go back out as a band and play What It Is To Burn in its entirety for our fans. I think everyone involved in the experience, both band and fans, realized they were a part of something special. After the tour ended we were in a very positive place mentally, and I think we took that energy and headed straight into writing new material that, at the time, we did not realize would become the third Finch record in nine years.

MR: Were there any surprises that happened during the process?

NB: I was surprised how challenging the process actually was. There is a lot of work that goes into making a record and since we hadn’t done it in so many years, I guess I forgot that it takes time and a substantial amount of focus.

MR: Are there any tracks that you’re particularly fond of now that the album is completed?

NB: One of my favorite tracks on the new record is Play Dead. It is a dark track through the mud narrated by a man who has had “enough” and has found a way to transform himself into something greater while trying to lead others out of the swamp, figuratively speaking.

MR: What do you think Finch’s major musical contributions to music, and I guess that would include the hardcore scene, right?

NB: I never considered ourselves a hardcore band. We are just a band. Whatever we may contribute to any scene is never intentional, we just play what we play and if that inspires other people, then that is a positive impact.

MR: In your opinion, who are your contemporaries and do you guys listen to any of them for enjoyment?

NB: There were slew of bands coming up alongside of us when we started on Drive Thru records. It was an exciting time for us because we were just starting out and we were so young. I guess the only band that I still listen to from that era would be the RX Bandits. They are an extremely talented and inspiring band and very wonderful people.

MR: What advice do you have for new artists?

NB: Never give up and never give in.

MR: What’s the best advice ever given to you?

NB: I saw a line written on a wall once that said: “Stay True To Your Music.” It has always stuck with me and I think it works on many different levels.

MR: What are Finch’s future plans?

NB: “The future’s not set. There is no fate but what we make for ourselves.”