Here I Come Falling, from Springfield, Mo., on the surface may sound and even look like your typical screamo band. But if you look further, guitarist Kasey Smith, screamer Colby Moore, guitarist Parker Danials, synth player and vocalist Jeff Choate, bassist Rick Griffith and drummer Princeton Patterson’s main focus is their message, and they are not shy or afraid to come right out and say that they are a Christian band. And with lyrics like “The Lord has made my soul stand firm,” they scream their message loud and clear and that message wont be changed for anyone.
“We are a Christian band, above all,” said Smith. “We are not afraid to go into the secular market, but we won’t change our message for anyone. We do reference God a lot on this album. We are very forward and mention God by name, we don’t say things like ‘Him’ or something, and you would just guess what we are talking about. There is no question on what we sing about.”
Here I Come Falling started out with the same message in its music, but the music sounded much different than the much heavier sound now.
“We started off with a softer sound. We used to do Switchfoot and Third Eye Blind covers,” said Smith. “But then we started getting into heavier music. We started listening to bands like Underoath and other bands on Solid State. After that, we completely changed our sound. When we changed our sound, we added a screamer because no one in the band, at the time, could really scream. We went to high school with Colby, he was a couple years older than us, but a couple years later our very first bass player heard him scream while at an Underoath show, and for some reason he thought he was really good and we asked him to join the band. We really progressed in our sound when Colby was added.”
The band has been on tour to promote its message and music, and will be until March. The tour includes a stop at the Italian Club in Pittston on Friday, Feb. 1 with Oceana, To Outlive the Beginning, Turns to Fall, Mayella and Motionless In White.
“We came from the Midwest and we did the Southern states then down through Florida, and now we are going back North and then back to the Midwest,” Smith said. “We are actually doing a similar tour schedule from late February to March with other bands.”
On Jan. 8, Here I Come Falling released its newest record, “Oh Grave, Where Is Thy Victory” on Rise Records, and according to the band and more importantly its fans, the hard work making the record and touring to get its name out there has paid off.
“The reaction has been really good,” said Smith. “We got back our first week sales and we got 900 sales the first week, and we have been receiving lots of positive comments on our MySpace, and today we’re number five in sales on Hottopic.com.”
But in a digital age where music can be downloaded and shared by anyone with a computer, CD sales may not play a big a factor into an artist’s goal as it did in the past, as opposed to touring and live shows.
“We would rather people buy it and support us that way, but listening to our message is more important,” said Smith. “People of course are going to burn and download our music, so above all we just need people to hear it and come to see us to keep us on the road.”
w
go:
Who: Here I Come Falling, Oceana, To Outlive the Beginning, Motionless in White
Where: The Italian Club, 120 Oak St., Pittston
When: Fri. Feb. 1, doors 6 p.m., show 6:30 p.m.
Admission: $10, all ages
Info: www.myspace.com/hicf