Dress It Up In Stereo

8.09 V2.1

Originally from Chattanooga, Actress is an indie pop duo comprised of brothers Aaron and Josh Ficchi. They are currently in Hollywood, California trying to make their mark in the music world. I got the opportunity to chat with Aaron about their latest EP "Dress It Up In Stereo".

RBN: What made you decide to move to California?

Aaron: A lot of reasons really...we were very interested in seeking out a place that was unique, in terms of culture, nightlife, artistic expression...but mostly, we were asking ourselves, "Where can we go with an abundance of opportunities, not just musically y'know, but personally as well?" We thought Hollywood might be a good place to start.

RBN: It seems to have paid off. Your song "Come On" is getting some attention. I read that it will be heard on MTV's new show "The Stylist". How did that come about?

Aaron: Yeah, through shows around town, the EP fell in the hands of a music supervisor at MTV Networks, who was interested in licensing the songs. It's quite funny actually...we got this call from one of the producers of the show at Bunim-Murray (Real World / Road Rules) and the first thing he says is "I'm a fan of the band, I see you're playing in Vegas, I used to get hammered there (the venue we played) when I went to UNLV", which I thought was just great to hear...he later told us they were interested in using it in their new reality show.

RBN: How long did it take you to record "Dress It Up In Stereo"?

Aaron: Oh, not long. Our budget really only allowed for a couple days of tracking for like 4 songs. The producer, Jason Martin (Cold War Kids, Starflyer 59) pushed us to run through the tracks in lightning speed, which I think helped keep the record vibrant.

RBN:What kind of equipment do you guys use in the studio and on stage?

Aaron: Oh Lord! On stage, I have a couple boutique delay pedals, a looping station, a vintage 1963 Sennheiser MD-408 gooseneck microphone, and a Casino through an old hand-built tube amp. My brother (Josh) uses a Tama Superstar drum kit and a sequencer for all the extra loops/beats...That all kinda helps us re-create those sounds you hear on the record. In the studio, we used all kinds of stuff to make the production a little more interesting. We used a baritone guitar, moogs, some old jazz pianos, some guitar EQ through a Dyna-Ranger, some vintage tape machines (for delays) and a homemade plate reverb.

RBN: If you could have any instrument, real or imagined, what would it be?

Aaron: Let's see...I would love to own a Hang. It's this drum / "sound sculpture" created by a company in Switzerland, I think around 2000. You can only get one by writing them and even then, there's no guarantee...but they sound pretty majestic.

RBN: Is there anything you miss about Chattanooga?

Aaron: Oh yeah, North Shore area / Mudpie (we used to rehearse at the Nautilus Building next door), CBC, Picklebarrel, Rhythm & Brews, Lamar's for sure! We miss all our friends and family of course, but also people who we worked with musically, from the clubs to college radio.

RBN: Anything you want to say to the "folks back home"?

Aaron: We want to hear from you! Send us a message and let us know how you're doing and what you're up to. You can write us at myspace.com/actress and on Twitter at twitter.com/actresstheband.

Share

Comments