Alter The Press! Presents: The Felix Culpa
Today we are launching the first in a series of regular features on Alter The Press. 'Alter The Press! Presents' is a new feature which will see us introduce readers to new bands twice a week (every Tuesday and Thursday).The Felix Culpa
Chicago-based band The Felix Culpa have already scored a 5/5 album review with ATP! If you haven't checked them out yet then you are missing a trick. Not many bands produce near perfect albums but this band have done exactly that, with their progressive indie mixed with post-hardcore elements the band create music that genuinely sends shivers down your spine. Do yourself a favour and grab their latest album 'Sever Your Roots' now, you won't regret it.
For fans of: Brand New, Glassjaw, Circa Survive
Interview with Marky Hladish
ATP: Why should Alter The Press readers check you out?
The Felix Culpa: We just self-released a new album called "Sever Your Roots" and over the course of recording it, it literally took everything that we had out of us. We not only almost broke up during the making of it, but it almost drove some of us mad. Ha. Since we put it out though, we've been honestly overwhelmed and incredibly surprised by the amount of positive response. It's fueled us to stay together as a band and get back out on the road and enjoy being a band again.
ATP: What's the story behind the band?
TFC: We had a good amount of success and some national exposure with a couple releases a few years back, but after touring relentlessly, doing all the big festivals, and seeing the hoops that you had to jump through in order to get people's attention, we were left with a bitter taste in our mouths. We took the next couple years off to write, record, and see if we still even wanted to be a band. What came out of that time period was this album ('Sever Your Roots') that summed up what we all were feeling. I know we all feel proud of it, not just because it's sonically what we wanted, but because of what it means to us and what went into it on our end.
ATP: Single highlight as a band so far?
TFC: Well, when your band is almost 7 years old, there are quite a few highlights. But I'd have to say our most recent one was at our CD release show for "Sever Your Roots" at the Metro in Chicago this past January. We hadn't played a headlining Chicago show in years, and we didn't know how many people would even be interested in us putting out a new album. But as the date drew closer, we started hearing that there were tons of pre-sale tickets being sold. It ended up that there were over 700 people there to support and see what we were up to. The best part was hearing people singing along to songs we hadn't even released yet.
ATP: What are your plans for the 12 months?
TFC: Well we just got off a great tour with an amazing band called Sainthood Reps; people are going to be hearing a lot more from them in the future. Coming up we have a brief stint with a super rad band called O' Brother, and then the plan is to try and record in October for a split release. We'll see how that pans out. Other than that, just more touring and enjoying making the music that we do for people that want to hear it. We can't ask for more than that.
Official The Felix Culpa website
The Felix Culpa on MySpace, Twitter and Facebook.
Words by Matt Buck
