The average high temperature in Phoenix in July is one
hundred and five degrees. The average for St. Petersburg, Florida
is ninety degrees. However, no one could argue that in fact it
was Phoenix quintet Greeley Estates who brought the real heat
to Warped Tour this year. The band had recently announced
Tyler "Telle" Smith (former lead singer/front man of In Fear and
Faith, former guitarist/vocals of Emarosa, and former
guitarist/keyboardist/vocals of March and Collapse) as their
new bassist. Telle played his first show with the band on
February 9, 2008 at the Clubhouse in Tempe, Arizona, and was
the man for the job when it came down to sitting through an
interview with Nyght Scene.
“I am the newest member. All the recent promo shots were
taken before I got in the band.” He laughs. “I don’t think anyone
knows what I look like. That kind of bums me out sometimes at
signings and stuff. Everyone gets everyone else’s autograph, and
I’m all ‘um...I’m in the band too!’” He shrugs, blushing a bit.
“But it’s not a big worry. It just takes time.”
It may take time, but that doesn’t mean the fans don’t already
adore what Smith has brought to the table. “I’ve had a lot of
people come up to me and tell me they were happy I am with
the band. That’s probably the best feeling.”
Greeley met Smith in California when he was with his band, In
Fear and Faith. After he quit in the beginning of January 2008,
the band was doing a tour for Science Records. The label got in
touch with the bassist and had him do some auditioning and
recording for Blessthefall. While at the studio, Greeley heard the
young man’s music and quickly scooped him up. “The guys
were really upfront about what they expected and what they
wanted, but at the same time, they put it in a way that was
really appealing. We had a lot of long talks before I actually
joined the band. I wouldn’t have if it would have felt like I was
just a ‘member,’ you know? They wanted me as ‘the family’
and that was what I wanted.”
hundred and five degrees. The average for St. Petersburg, Florida
is ninety degrees. However, no one could argue that in fact it
was Phoenix quintet Greeley Estates who brought the real heat
to Warped Tour this year. The band had recently announced
Tyler "Telle" Smith (former lead singer/front man of In Fear and
Faith, former guitarist/vocals of Emarosa, and former
guitarist/keyboardist/vocals of March and Collapse) as their
new bassist. Telle played his first show with the band on
February 9, 2008 at the Clubhouse in Tempe, Arizona, and was
the man for the job when it came down to sitting through an
interview with Nyght Scene.
“I am the newest member. All the recent promo shots were
taken before I got in the band.” He laughs. “I don’t think anyone
knows what I look like. That kind of bums me out sometimes at
signings and stuff. Everyone gets everyone else’s autograph, and
I’m all ‘um...I’m in the band too!’” He shrugs, blushing a bit.
“But it’s not a big worry. It just takes time.”
It may take time, but that doesn’t mean the fans don’t already
adore what Smith has brought to the table. “I’ve had a lot of
people come up to me and tell me they were happy I am with
the band. That’s probably the best feeling.”
Greeley met Smith in California when he was with his band, In
Fear and Faith. After he quit in the beginning of January 2008,
the band was doing a tour for Science Records. The label got in
touch with the bassist and had him do some auditioning and
recording for Blessthefall. While at the studio, Greeley heard the
young man’s music and quickly scooped him up. “The guys
were really upfront about what they expected and what they
wanted, but at the same time, they put it in a way that was
really appealing. We had a lot of long talks before I actually
joined the band. I wouldn’t have if it would have felt like I was
just a ‘member,’ you know? They wanted me as ‘the family’
and that was what I wanted.”
The third album is the one fans generally have to worry about.
It's usually the one in which a band has exhausted its supply of
genuinely inspired musical ideas and now has to come up with
brilliance on the fly. It has to point to some fearless new
direction, one that risks alienating half the fan base while
potentially letting a new group of transients in. Metal bands, in
this case, use this time to get lighter in their music. Greeley
Estates took that and shoved it in everyone’s face. The new
album, Go West Young Man, Let The Evil Go East released on
May 6th, 2008 is the hardest thing the band as ever put out.
“It is way more technical then anything the guys have done
before. It isn’t a CD you’re just going to be able to pick up and
jam along to. But at the same time it’s still melodic, it’s fun, its
fast. It takes the live show and puts it on the CD. You know
how you go to a show and it’s that big, epic feeling? We wanted
to put that on the album, to have that huge effect. It’s all about
the live show. It pushes us. I hate to say anybody can go
lighter, but it is easier to make pop music. To write a good
‘pop’ song isn’t that hard these days. It’s a lot harder to stand
out on the hardcore/metal scene.”
After Warped, the band kicks off a tour with August Burns
Red, A Skylit Drive and Sky Eats Airplane. Check out the band’
s respective Myspaces for dates. The tour begins on August
29th in Pennsylvania and ends October 12th in New York City.
It's usually the one in which a band has exhausted its supply of
genuinely inspired musical ideas and now has to come up with
brilliance on the fly. It has to point to some fearless new
direction, one that risks alienating half the fan base while
potentially letting a new group of transients in. Metal bands, in
this case, use this time to get lighter in their music. Greeley
Estates took that and shoved it in everyone’s face. The new
album, Go West Young Man, Let The Evil Go East released on
May 6th, 2008 is the hardest thing the band as ever put out.
“It is way more technical then anything the guys have done
before. It isn’t a CD you’re just going to be able to pick up and
jam along to. But at the same time it’s still melodic, it’s fun, its
fast. It takes the live show and puts it on the CD. You know
how you go to a show and it’s that big, epic feeling? We wanted
to put that on the album, to have that huge effect. It’s all about
the live show. It pushes us. I hate to say anybody can go
lighter, but it is easier to make pop music. To write a good
‘pop’ song isn’t that hard these days. It’s a lot harder to stand
out on the hardcore/metal scene.”
After Warped, the band kicks off a tour with August Burns
Red, A Skylit Drive and Sky Eats Airplane. Check out the band’
s respective Myspaces for dates. The tour begins on August
29th in Pennsylvania and ends October 12th in New York City.
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