☆ Q&A with Far From Away ☆

Far From Away on Performances, Lyrics, and a New Album

Photographer: @jaime.lacuesta (swipe or click arrow to view photo slide)

Filled with emotion and passion - Far From Away's Tyler, Stephan, and Christian are a group of friends who each bring unique elements to their process of creating music. Their genuine, positive energy radiates when they perform as they tell stories of life experiences through their indie-rock inspired songs.

Their love for a good lyric in a song motivates them to create meaningful experiences for their listeners. Their song "Emotion and Passion" radiates exactly what the title expresses as the guitar captivates you throughout the song, especially with its euphonious ending. "Journeys" is a bittersweet song accompanied by soft drums and soothing bells that make the track very calming to listen to.

Over pepperoni pizza and red gatorade, I got to gain a better understanding of what being in a band is like. We discussed how they were formed, albums that inspire them, and what they are planning in the near future. Scroll to read our conversation.

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Ale: Hey, it's so nice to meet all of you! How did you guys meet and how was the band formed?

Tyler: I was already making music prior to Far From Away. I'd been doing shows for about two years before the band was formed. I got my recording setup for my 17th birthday in April of 2019. I was recording stuff and putting it on YouTube at that point. I decided to perform at the artwalk in Calexico in July of 2019, but I didn't want to perform alone. By that point, I had already been producing my own tracks — like "Emotion and Passion" and "Sunsets" — and doing all the instrumentation myself. I remember I followed him [Christian] on Instagram. I am not sure how I found him, but I saw he was a guitarist. I posted an Instagram story asking who wanted to play guitar for me in hopes to get his attention. I almost went with another guitarist but then he replied to it. I had another drummer and bassist at the time. I have a friend named Lester who knew Stephan. He [Lester] planned a bonfire in January and we had a jam sesh there. That was when I asked Stephan to join the band.

Stephan: I remember that day. . . I remember knowing they were in a band and being kinda jealous. I told Lester that if the band ever needed help with drumming that they should hit me up. Lester was like, "Yeah I'll keep that in mind." When they asked me to play, I remember going to the practice they had. It's still up on Instagram, and you can see how different I play "Emotion and Passion". I sucked at drums. I had no musical background, like zero. The only drum set I had was an electric one, so my brother in law gave me his hand-me-down that he had for 13 years. I felt like the coolest person in the world with my drumset. It was nice being able to be let in and get a shot at playing drums.

Christian: I think I was the one who followed him [Tyler] first on Instagram. I saw his songs and thought it was pretty cool. Tyler posted an Instagram story asking for a guitarist, and I replied. I was really shy at the time, like that's not something I would normally do, but I did it. He let me in and we practiced a little bit. I thought they were really cool. Then we met this guy [Stephan]. I remember he came to my house, and he said I gave him bad vibes apparently.

Stephan: Oh yeah he has really bad RBF, and I was really scared of him. I was like, "What do I do? This guy is just mad dogging me while I'm practicing." He really shredded though [laughs].

Ale: Tell me about your journey with your respective instruments! Are you self-taught?

Tyler: I started off with a mini drum set when I was five. I got a guitar at around that same age but never really wanted to pick it up. When I was in 5th grade, I changed schools and my principal knew how to play guitar. He held a beginner class and taught me four basic chords: G, D, E minor, and C. From there, I just started watching YouTube videos and teaching myself how to play acoustic guitar. I grew up playing in church and so I had a lot of great musicians around me that were able to teach me. I picked up on bass and keys as well. I am not super confident about playing keys live but I am able to do so in a production aspect.

Stephan: My dad always wanted me to play music, because everyone in our family plays music. My older sisters were in a mariachi band and played with well-known mariachi players. I felt a lot of pressure to learn how to play guitar — like my dad would always try to get me to play guitar, and I'd be like, "No what the heck, I want to play video games." But I would always beg him to get me a drum set and he agreed. It wasn't a very good one like you couldn't even really play it. In 7th grade, I started to learn guitar and it wasn't until senior year of high school when I started to feel more confident with guitar. My freshman year of high school, I practiced a lot on an electric drum set so that helped me a lot with drums. I didn't start learning how to record and put things together until very recently — like 2019.

Christian: When I was 14, my grandfather gave me an electric guitar for Christmas and I was like, "Okay this is my thing." I learned a lot through YouTube. I did take lessons, but I noticed that they didn't really help me since it was all the basics and I already knew most of the basics. Practicing more and more helped me develop my own playing style though.

Ale: Who came up with the name "Far From Away"?

Tyler: I was in a previous band in middle school. My friend and I were like, "Let's come up with a name for a band. Let's call ourselves 'Far From Awake'". This girl who was our friend at the time was like, "I think it would be cool if the name was 'Far From Away'." That always stuck with me. It wasn't until senior year of high school when I was trying to come up with a band name with Lester and Chen [Christian]. We ended up deciding on "Far From Away".

Ale: I would love to hear about your experiences performing. Do you get nervous and how do you prepare?

Tyler: Show days are some of the most hectic days because you need to gather everything. It seems like time goes by so fast when you're like two hours away and all of a sudden you have to load everything up and get to the show. Thankfully being nervous isn't too much of my thing anymore. I've been performing for a while so I am more confident in my abilities. If they like me, they like me, and if not, it's fine because I know I put my heart and soul into the performance.

Stephan: I remember when we played at the fair for the first time. That was probably the most nervous day of my life. On the car ride to the fair, I listened to Naruto music to pump myself up. I notice everything, like every mistake I make, so it just feels like a weight on me which makes me more nervous. With time, I got way better at controlling my nerves. I still get nervous but I feed off of it instead of going crazy. We practice so much that the songs are engraved like it's pure muscle memory.

Christian: I don't get nervous as much. I just hope people are at the performance and that they like it.

Stephan: I agree. Audience matters so much. When you're with an audience that's not really vibing with you, it sucks so much because you can't really do much about it. You just feel awkward and out of place. When you have an audience that matches your vibe and attitude, it's the best thing ever. When we played at the fair, that was my favorite show we've ever done. The crowd was yelling at us and getting really into it. I ask myself the same thing about whether an audience will like us or not, but [it's] how Tyler said — if you're putting your heart and soul into it, it should not matter.

Ale: What about music motivates you to create?

Tyler: It's always been a part of me. There's a home video of me writing a song at the age of four or five. The way music connects people and has the power to heal people or even bring them down. Like the power of it is unreal.

Stephan: When I hear a good sound, it feels good. I am my own motivation in a way. I am the creator and I like the idea of me creating.

Christian: Listening to different kinds of music opens up my palette a lot more. It helps me think differently about music and how I compose. When it comes to lyrics though, a good lyric is really motivating. It's like poetry, like how does someone come up with that.

Stephan: I agree. There's this one lyric from the song Obsession by The Cairos. It says, "Love is questionable, it hurts and there's no gain". That's something I really love about lyrics. It just hits you and you're like, "This. This is really good."

Ale: With that in mind, is there a song you've written that holds a deep meaning for you that you hope is communicated to listeners?

Stephan: When we were writing the lyrics and creating the story for "Boppers" [unreleased song], I really wanted to make the lyrics tell a story about lost love. A love that you wish you could just keep holding on to but you can't because it's unhealthy. You have to just let it go. The whole song is just you trying to let go of that attachment that you built up. I want people to really feel the pain that love can bring. Something that's so beautiful but can just burn you up.

Ale: What upcoming plans do you guys have? Are you working on any new music?

Tyler: The plan is to possibly go on a small tour in November. I am in the works of planning that now.

Christian: I went to school for audio engineering and I'm constantly working on my mixing and mastering. I really want to show the skills I picked up on the new album. I would like for it to be out by November.

Ale: Now for the fun part, I want to ask some quick questions so people can get to know you a bit better. . . What is your go-to restaurant/fast food place?

Tyler: Daaang honestly this guy [Christian] got me hooked on the donut shop [Donut Avenue]. The one in Imperial, it slaps so hard. The burgers they sell there.

Christian: That burger slaps a little too hard.

Stephan: I tried the burger and I was like, "What even is this?" [laughs]. For me, I'm gonna have to say McDonalds. Specifically the one in El Centro that's across the street from Domino's. I am in love with the way they serve their Coke, it's perfectly carbonated and the fries come out hot. The burger is always good too.

Christian: Starbucks? Wait no [laughs]. . . probably In-n-Out or the Donut Shop [Donut Avenue].

Ale: If you were on a world tour, what cities must be a part of the tour dates and why?

Tyler: I feel like Tokyo would be such a cool place.

Stephan: I would like to go to the Netherlands. . . oh Liverpool [City in England] because that's where Her's is from.

Christian: I'll probably say Belgium to try the waffles.

Tyler: Of course it would be to try the waffles.

Ale: Favorite album of all time?

Tyler: Heaven Surrounds you by Surf Curse. It changed my perspective and their songwriting made an impact on me.

Stephan: CINEMA by The Marías. Another one is High Visceral, Pt. 2 by Psychedelic Porn Crumpets. They're just so amazing.

Christian: Lonerism by Tame Impala and Revolver by The Beatles. The instrumentals on Lonerism always blew me away as a high school kid. I didn't know music could be made like that and it inspired me to create psychedelic, almost shoegaze kind of things. Revolver is just classic Beatles — I don't know I'm a sucker for the Beatles.

Ale: Dream collaboration?

Tyler: Tyler, the Creator. He's definitely one of the top producers. I would love to see how he works from a production standpoint. I think we could create something really cool. Like some rock-rap type stuff. Also maybe Jordan from Snail Mail. She's so vulnerable in her songwriting and I want to get vulnerable.

Stephan: Definitely Mac DeMarco. Just listening to some of his stuff, like I could totally vibe with that.

Christian: My Bloody Valentine. I want to see what that guy is doing and I want him to teach me.

Ale: If you were stranded on an island, what is one item you would take with you, assuming that you have the necessary basic stuff for survival.

Tyler: Probably my guitar.

Stephan: Probably a camera and I could be like "Hey what's up you guys, I'm stranded on an island!" and record it all. If I die and they find me there, then there would be so many hours worth of video of me just talking.

Christian: My guitar.

Photographer: @jaime.lacuesta (swipe or click arrow to view photo slide)

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Follow them on Instagram and Spotify to be up to date on the new album that will be released in the coming months! Check out their album "Life Goes On" below!

Click here to view my Summer playlist "car ride but if i was in a movie".

Click here to view my playlist filled with artists you need to "keep on ur radar".

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Article was written by: @alejandrmor

Article was edited by: @marthaa.22

Photos were taken and edited by: @jaime.lacuesta