MUEN: SO HOW DID YOUR BAND COME TOGETHER? YOU MUST HAVE BEEN TOGETHER A LONG TIME, THE CHEMISTRY IS AMAZING!

BRIAN: FBP started in October of 2007. We're made up of veterans of the music scene in DC/Baltimore. Geoff and Brian have been playing together (Previously in PRODUCT) for along time and met up with Ken in the band Kali Celeste. Donice was in Power Movement Project and fronted The Sikes. KaliCeleste and The Sikes would play together all the time and we were all envious of each other. Donice, of the boys in the band and the boys, of Donice's stage presense, raw emotion and vocal abilities. We decided to get together accidentally when Brian and Donice got together to write a song for 'fun'. We all ended up quitting our bands and going with our 'fall back plan'...

MUEN: WE'VE BEEN NOTICING THAT YOU HAVE A LOT OF LIVE SHOWS LATELY... HOW MANY SHOWS DO YOU USUALLY DO A YEAR, AND WHERE ARE THEY USUALLY BOOKED?

BAND: We play as much as we can, so long as it makes sense. We're trying to build a fanbase and get to the next level. We have played over 20 shows since our record came out. We play mostly on the East Coast but are entertaining offers to go national and international. This is our passion and our goal to bring our music to the biggest audiences possible. We're looking at some booking agents that can potentially put us on the road full time. So far, everything has been done independently, including appearances on Comcast on Demand and the national TV Show 'Back Stage with Barry Nolan'.

MUEN: IS THERE A MUSIC SCENE AT ALL NEAR WHERE YOU ARE? AND IF NOT, WHAT DO YOU FEEL WOULD MAKE THE CHANCES FOR ONE BETTER?

BRIAN: We live in Baltimore. The scene here is loaded with talent. The challenge is that clubs and booking agents are in business to make money, which is understandable, but are requiring local bands to sell tickets to shows and 'rating' the bands on how many tickets they sell. We understand that draw is important, but it's very much a 'what have you done for me lately' type of scene. How do you expect a band to build an audience if you are not facilitating the cross-pollination between established bands and talented up and comers. If the shittiest band in america sells the most tickets, does that make them the best band? Obviously not. It may just mean they have a lot of friends, and since they are not concentrating on honing their music and their material, they could be all image and promotion. Without substance, music invariably will not be relevent beyond a finite scale. We concentrate on our music and trying to do bigger things than sell 200 tickets to a local venue. How can we expand our audience when the playlists for major rock radio stations are controlled by Clear Channel and very limited to being able to add regional/local bands that are doing it themselves.

We're not knocking the booking agents because they are critical to our success. Everyone needs to make a living. However.. if you keep burning bands out by making them kill themselves to bring their friends out and are not helping them build a fanbase by giving them the opportunities for exposure, then the reality is that you're killing the entire scene. We work hard and do decent numbers at our gigs. We sold out our CD Release party through promotion, but have been on the road since then. It is difficult to do it all, so we're just focused on making the best music possible. I think the scene would improve if bands focused more on writing great material, as opposed to selling the most tickets for a show, and if clubs and agents would look at some creative ways to build augment promotion. For example: Our audience is a drinking audience.. suppose an agent/club owner goes to Duff Beer and gets a drink special and some marketing dollars to advertise shows for bands and get people in the room. If a band is good, the audience would be captive and help to buy CD's/Merch and support the bands in future endeavors.

In short.. the scene is loaded with talent, but the drive to play shows in front of audiences without any true Radio Support on mainstream rock radio for local bands makes it increasingly difficult for bands to grow in a scene. Finding a solution to partner radio, clubs and bands would really help the scene.

MUEN: WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR MUSICAL INFLUENCES? DONICE REMINDS ME A LITTLE OF GWEN STEFANI... WAS SHE AN INSPIRATION FOR YOU AT ALL, AND WHAT ABOUT THE REST OF THE BAND?

DONICE: I'd say my influences are a little bit of this and a little bit of that. I was a big No Doubt fan back in the day, so yes I would call Gwen an influence. I grew up listening to Gospel and R&B and later took an interest in rock. I'm a big GnR and Green Day fan also,so my influences are pretty much across the board and I hope that comes across in my music.

KEN: I think I'm a very "old school" drummer with some modern influences. I started playing jazz before I ever did any rock work. I'm really into the meshing of styles. I tend to use some drum and bass licks mixed in with a jazz feel. Then to round it out, I'll throw in some straight, heavy, Bonham-like grooves to put the rock edge on the tunes.

MUEN: WHAT TYPE OF EQUIPMENT DOES GEOFF USE FOR BASS... HE SEEMS TO HAVE ACQUIRED A UNIQUE STYLE AND HAS A REAL ORIGINAL SOUND...

GEOFF: I use an Ashdown amp with a Mesa 4x10 cab for amplification. But my baby is a 1984 New York Original Stuart Spector 4 string with custom EMG pickups. Beat to hell by a DC legend in the GoGo scene. It was once owned by the infamous, Sugarbear, of the band Experience Unlimited, one of the first GoGo bands in DC. Bought from a used instrument shop in Silver Spring, Sugarbear went to buy back his bass, only the clerks told him he was too late; a skinny little white kid bought it just a few days ago! It has been part of my signature sound ever since.

MUEN: DONICE, DO YOU WRITE MOST OF THE LYRICS, AND WHAT SORT OF THINGS INSPIRE YOU THE MOST WITH WRITING? AND WHEN YOU WRITE, DO YOU DO IT WITH AN INSTRUMENT, OR DO YOU BRING THE LYRICS TO THE BAND FOR THEM TO COMPLETE THAT PART?

DONICE: I do write most of the lyrics. Writing normally starts with the completed instrumental. The guys will come up with a song from start to finish, we'll tweak it at practice, and I'll sit on it for a week or two until I am inspired to write. I usually write the melody first, then the lyrics. I'd say my biggest inspiration is life. To me, life is a movie that needs a soundtrack. I tend to write songs about my life and things that I have experienced as well as the lives of others and situations that happen to them.

MUEN: TELL US ABOUT ANY RECORDINGS, WHO HELPED, AND WHERE ARE THEY AVAILABLE?

BRIAN: The Starting Over EP came out Feb. 1st. It was release independently and is selling well through our MySpace site and at shows. Brian and Geoff engineered the record at our studio, Chesley Studios. Drew Mazurek Mixed it at Highview Studios. JJ Elduce mastered it somewhere in cyberspace. It was co-produced by Drew and Fall Back Plan. They will soon be on iTunes and everyone digitally.

MUEN: WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR THE REST OF THE YEAR, AND ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A LABEL, OR WOULD YOU RATHER DO IT ON YOUR OWN?

BRIAN: We're looking for any help we can get that makes sense. Signing with a Major or good Indie Label is definitely a goal. This year, we're looking to grow our fanbase and continue to tour. We'd like to get hooked up with a good booking agent and label by the end of the summer and get on the road.

Interview by G. Cataline