The hard rock band Fairoff, from São Paulo, has been around since 2004 with Allan Lee (drums), Mark Love (guitar), Rick Lawyer (bass) e Lu Sinner (vocals).
As soon as we start listening to their songs, we have absolutely no doubt that we´re going to hear a pure Hard Rock from the 80´s glam and sticky style.
And yes! This is their purpose and something they´re really proud of. The band´s name has no meaning in English but it sounds funny in Portuguese since “farofa” is the nick name given to the glam rock style because of its melody, sticky choruses and exaggerated outfit. They chose the name and decided to make fun of it using the English language.
Their influences go around Harem Scarem, Danger Danger, Mötley Crüe, Jaded Heart, Warrant, Firehouse, Dokken, besides Queensryche and Dream Theater. Listening to their available songs at http://www.myspace.com/fairoff it is impossible not to see clearly Dokken and I´d say also a very strong Scorpions influence, maybe because of the singer´s “nasal voice” that reminds a lot Klaus´style.
Fairoff is a band of experienced musicians that have been into hard rock since it has begun and they want to show the style is still alive. It´s not only a teen fad.
In 2007 they were elected by the European website STRUTTER (http://www.strutter.8m.com) as the second best independent band of the year. At that time they had released the EP OUT OF CONTROL (their only album until now) and they got two of their songs on the website´s hit parade (Not in Paradise, top 69 and U, top 106), next to bands like Scorpions, Dream Theater, Manowar and Nightwish.
Check them out!
Maila-Kaarina: The band exists since 2004 with the purpose to show the world that hard rock is still solid as an influencing style. However, these days, if you compare the current scene to the 80’s and 90’s boom, you can see that hard rock music now figures in the underground. Back then that was unthinkable, for it’s style has pop characteristics. How do you compare such distinct times?
Fairoff: Back in the 80’s and 90’s hard rock was mainstream, something new. In our opinion what contributed to the decadence of this style in the 90’s was the market’s saturation, because every band followed the same formula. Today we believe that what is left are bands that really cared and that still contribute to the style. If we analyze from the early 2000’s to today, hard rock is still growing solider every year.
Maila: Why hard rock and why Fairoff?
Fairoff: Hard rock is a state of spirit. For us, it represents happiness, parties and stuff. The name Fairoff came from a joke, as compared to “farofa” hard rock (in Portuguese, a kind of hard rock that is sticky in harmony). Fairoff translated by the book means nothing.
Maila: Who decided to put the band together?
Fairoff (Rick): I always wanted to put up a hard rock band, where the band members really enjoyed hard rock, and this came to happen when I once met with Allan (a long time friend that had been playing in sold-out hard rock parties around São Paulo), so we decided to have a band with our own songs. This is how conversations started.
Maila: Is it an easy process to pick the members, write songs?
Fairoff: It’s not easy to find the right people for this kind of sound. The important is that we’ve assembled a good team and try to work seriously writing and arranging the songs.
Maila: Is there a single composer or everybody helps in the song writing process?
Fairoff: Usually the idea comes from one of the members (Rick or Allan most of the times). That idea is then taken to everyone’s during rehearsals for better development and testing
Maila: What inspires you the most when writing lyrics?
Fairoff: Life stories, positive messages that helps us reach our objectives and dreams. And of course, good old love, always addressed in rock ‘n roll.
Maila: In Rio de Janeiro we have the feeling that São Paulo is currently a “city of rock ‘n roll” with many different options and fans for many rock styles. There’s always a gig, places to go. Is that just my feeling or is São Paulo really the city where rock ‘n roll can offer the best opportunities for bands?
Fairoff: There’s a lot going on in São Paulo, many alternative clubs. But for our style, we have to go where people are at. We sometimes get resistance from different cultures and different places. Every rock ‘n roll style has it’s space, but sometimes those different styles do not integrate between themselves, what makes it harder to show your work. There’s a rock ‘n roll party every weekend, from hard rock to metal.
Maila: Do you do many concerts? Can you make your living from music?
Fairoff: Each of us has a profession, from a lawyer to a systems analyst, to a photographer. We do many cover gigs and we do make some money from that. We cannot afford to make a living from music because there is no support and no advertising. But with regards to our own material, we have to show our stuff when we play, show that we have potential and that the crowd can be proud to have a national hard rock band going after their dreams.
Maila: What is the most difficult thing in booking concerts?
Fairoff: The hardest is not to have the culture for this sort of music here in Brazil. The clubs will open their doors for bands playing their self-produced material, but usually on the worst dates, because it’s hard to have a full house with bands that are not known.
Maila: How about the audience? Do you feel them receptive to hard rock? Do hard rock fans show up on events?
Fairoff: Hard rock fans are very loyal and are always filling up clubs. We manage to show our work in the middle of cover shows. We’ve managed to please the audiences lately, as a matter of fact last weekend people actually sang our choruses and that’s pretty exciting.
Maila: What has been the band’s greatest moment so far?
Fairoff: The band had a very good phase during 2006 and 2007, playing in many gigs and receiving great feedback from the media, including websites and magazines. The gig where we launched our EP was also great, as the opening band for Cavalo Vapor.
We have also been featured on European website Strutter, in their “The Best in AOR, Melodic Rock and Progressive” list among the best independent bands in the year 2007. On their top 250 best songs in the year we had two songs ranked 69 and 106 (“Not in Paradise” and “U”, respectively), among songs from bands like Scorpions, Dream Theater, Manowar, Sympony X, After Forever, Nightwish, Primal Fear, Rush, Gotthard and others.
One of our songs, “Time Has Come”, has been broadcast over radio programs.
Maila: What are the plans for this year? Any new project?
Fairoff: We’re currently finishing the production for our CD and should start recording in September. We’re doing some gigs, advertising our name and showing the new songs.
Maila: What do you hope to achieve with your work? Do you envision the international market?
Fairoff: We trust we have much to say on our songs. Definitely our market is no good here in Brazil, but we did manage to achieve good results with our EP. But yes, we are also trying to sell our work for international markets and we are slowly gaining space.
Maila: Do you have a manager, producer, agency?
Fairoff: We’re working with great people and recording at our own studio. We’re currently negotiating with an European producer so we can work with him for the new CD, and mixing and mastering will most likely be done outside our country as well. We will hopefully have a new album early 2009.
Maila: Please leave your contact information here. Email, phone, website, myspace, and whatever else you’ve got
Maila: Use this space to leave whatever message you wish.
Fairoff: Our message to fans, friends and bands is: go after your objectives, no matter how hard they sound. Always do your best and be legitimate, without going over anyone’s body. Take care, everyone, and thanks to Hard Blast for the help.
