Artist description A captivating combination of Jimmy Eat World, Deftones, and Glassjaw.

Similar Artists Deftones, Glassjaw, Incubus, New Found GLory, Saves The Day, Get Up Kids, Thrice, Thursday, Jimmy Eat World, The Ataris, Rufio, MxPx, Blink 182, Midtown, Alien Ant Farm, NOFX, Millencolin, Strung Out

Artist History Have you heard the one about the Drive-Thru band that started off in high school sounding suspiciously like one of its major influences before finding its own sound and catching the ear of the eminent label? Sure you have — only the story didn’t go quite the way this one does. Finch didn’t start off by aping the sounds of Blink 182, or Jimmy Eat World, or any of the other usual suspects. In fact, that was the furthest thing from their minds. “We were pretty much a Deftones ripoff band,” singer Nate admits sheepishly. In those days, the Temecula, California based band was called Numb, but it was essentially the same band. That is, until Randy came along. Recruited as a second guitarist to bolster the band’s sound, he wound up doing much more than just that. “Randy’s totally influenced by punk, so he brought that element, and it started changing things,” says Nate. “He introduced us to things like Jimmy Eat World and emo-ish stuff, too. Everyone started listening to it and getting our own ideas. It’s been a little over a year and a half since we started working together, and the music has changed so much since then.” It’s not that Randy became the architect of a new sound for the band, but the clash of his punk and emo influences with their heavier ones brought Finch collectively to something that wasn’t exactly any of those things. “We’re waiting for someone to throw us into a category — because we don’t really know what genre we are, either,” says Nate. “There are so many different elements and different ideas in our music that it’s hard to classify.” “It’s just our style now,” echoes Randy. “We’re all on the same wavelength. We developed our style together, we built it up, so now we all write similar songs.” If the addition of Randy broadened Finch’s approach to music, the core of the band remains its singer. Nate doesn’t just set the tone for the songs, as he stretches his voice from a whisper to a soulful croon to a determined roar; he also authors Finch’s melodies. As important, though, are Nate’s vivid, revealing lyrics, which bob and weave through almost poetic turns. “Usually my songs are less of a story, and more of just an expression,” he explains. “Sometimes I’ll write about something specific, but often it can be something as simple as a feeling put into different words and phrases. I’m really influenced by art and psychology when I write. If I see the right image, it makes me start thinking and want to create.” As Nate delves deeper into the psyche for his lyrical inspiration, Finch has in turn made its oddly natural mix of emo, metal, and punk sound ever more fluid and distinct. Which brings the story back to Randy, if only for a moment. It was the longtime Drive-Thru devotee’s persistence that won Finch the chance to play in front of the label. “Richard (Drive-Thru’s owner) finally agreed to let us play for him,’” says Randy. “So we rented a studio. Richard wasn’t even stoked, he was just doing it as a favor. But we went up there and played, and he was blown away.” So blown away, in fact, that he called his sister and Drive-Thru co-owner Stefanie into the studio to check the band out. She was duly impressed , and Finch was offered a contract on the spot. And that just about brings us up to date. Finch’s debut, a four-song EP produced by Chris Fudurich (The Hippos, Rx Bandits), will be out on Drive-Thru in October. The band has been working on its first full length with producer Mark Trombino (Blink 182, Jimmy Eat World), which ought to give you an idea of the faith the label has in its new signing. Finch’s sound continues to grow in new directions, although they’re no closer to being able to tell you just what genre that sound fits into. And the plan from here is simple: “We’re gonna finish our album, and then we’re gonna go on tour and get homesick,” says Randy. “And then we’ll come back for a little bit, and go on tour and get homesick again, until we turn 30 and we’re Drive-Thru has-beens.”

Group Members Derek Doherty, Nate Barcalow, Randy Strohmeyer, Alex Linares, Alex Pappas.

Albums Falling Into Place EP (Drive-Thru Records), What It Is To Burn (Drive-Thru Records) IN STORES 03.11.02

Location Temecula, CA - USA

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