Kyle Bylin, Associate Editor
Read Part One (Here)
Q: The song 'Here's To The Night' has found its place in graduations and proms alike, what's it like seeing a song of yours take on a different meaning?
Fagenson: We certainly didn't have any clue that it would become what it has, and that it would have such staying power. It's been terrific! It's probably the main reason why so many young people are still interested in this band. If people want to attach a certain feeling to a song of ours, no matter how differently we intended the tune's original meaning, they rightly should!
Q: What about are you most excited coming into the new year, of course the possibility releasing an album, anything else?
Fagenson: New Eve 6 music, yeah, that's the main thing. It's been a royal blast playing all the shows last year, some of the best of my career. But we're indeed ready to have new songs in the set, and get some new material out there that we're proud of...
We also have some songwriting projects for other artists coming out in 2009 that I'm pumped about; it's fun to watch it happen from both sides, as the artist on one hand, and the producer/writer on the other. We have lots to juggle now but it's an exciting time.
Q: Here on Hypebot.com we've talked quite a bit about the possibility of a New Musical Middle Class of Musicians, do you think the changes in the industry have allowed for that? How about for those without previous Major Label exposure?
Fagenson: Well I'll first say I think it's very hard for new bands to quit their day jobs. I guess it's always been hard, and I was very fortunate to have things happen early on, so my case is in the minority. But I've produced some unsigned, up-and-coming bands, and even with all the trappings of MySpace and the Internet and such, it's just very hard to break through and start earning money. It's just an uphill battle all the way. Too many bands, too many MySpace pages, not enough label spots or money in the industry. You gotta really blow people away right out of the gate. And so much of it is based on looks and visuals now anyway. MySpace has really only exacerbated that. I think many young people check out what a band looks like before listening to the music. And everyone and their mother is a producer with an Mbox now also, whether you have any skill or not. Maybe there's a new middle class, but to me that'll be made up of artists that broke before the bottom started falling out in like '01-'02. At the end of the day people still need their music, and there will always be money to be made somehow for people with music making skills. But I feel it's still several years off before the music world can feel hopeful or comfortable again.
Q: Both you and your dad (Don Was) are producers, what's it like comparing his experiences with the big studios and yours with the rise of new technology?
Fagenson: Well I've sort of straddled the line between big budget major studio recording and project studio Pro Tools LE type stuff. I've gotten to do both throughout my career, and I think the future will be (is) a hybrid of the two. Even major major artists aren't doing things entirely from scratch in big studios anymore; a lot of times they are adding to the demos or are working on large chunks in home studios and getting the “big dollar" stuff like drums and lead vocals in major facilities. My pops is comfortable working in any environment, a sign of a good producer. He can make quality stuff with a four track tape recorder. He's pretty on top of new technology also; he's not living in an analog world per se. The fact that you can make pretty high quality tracks in a bedroom with Pro Tools LE and plugins has revolutionized the industry. For example, I wrote a song with Max Collins from Eve 6 and did a fairly extensive demo in my bedroom. Little did we know that that song and recording would end up being the third single off of the new Puddle of Mudd album ("We Don't Have To Look Back Now" from the album “Famous") and get played all over the radio. And 90% was done in my bedroom! That couldn't happen 10 years ago; now it's a reality.
Read Part One (Here)
