Interview: Matt Baird and Scoop Roberts of Spoken

With the hectic nature of the night, I didn’t get to sit down with Matt Baird (Vocalist) and Scoop Roberts (Guitarist) of Spoken so they gave me the opportunity to submit my questions for an email interview. Check out their responses below and be sure to pick up Breathe Again which is out now via Artery Recordings! 

PROMO_HIRES

BearlySinister: Your new album, Breathe Again, was released this past Friday and was crowd-funded using the popular platform Kickstarter. Why did the band decide to use crowd-funding for this album?

We felt Crowd-funding gave us the best opportunity to get reconnected and involved with our fan-base in way that was fun and exciting. Although every band claims their fans are the best, we literally could not have done this without them!

BearlySinister: You worked with Cameron Mizell of Chango Studios on this record. What was the experience with him like?

Cameron is amazingly talented and we grew really close with him and his assistant Ricky during the tracking process. I don’t think we’ve ever seen anyone work as fast as Cameron can; he’s a wizard behind the screen.

BearlySinister: You released a version of the title track, “Breathe Again” and then announced that the final album version would feature Matty Mullins of Memphis May Fire. How did the decision come about to feature Matty and what was it like working with him? 

We’ve been friends with Matty for quite some time now, so it came about in a super unofficial way. We had a song ready to record, so we asked him to be on it and of course he said yes. It was a nerve wracking day though. Matty recorded his part during the NFC Championship game where the Seahawks came back for an unlikely win. So he was upstairs recording while we (by we I mean I) was downstairs losing my mind.

BearlySinister: You just wrapped up a short Texas run with 10 Years and Skytown Riot. How was Spoken approached about the direct support slot?

Our manager is good friends with their manager, so when he heard they had some shows and needed support, our name was added to the hat and we were confirmed a short time later.

BearlySinister: How do you feel that the tour went? I can say, without a doubt, that the Beaumont date was one of my favorite shows I’ve been to this year and meeting you guys was absolutely amazing!

The tour was great! Unfortunately there just weren’t enough shows. We had a great time being out with those guys, being able to meet their fans and play some of our new songs.

BearlySinister: What can people expect out of a live show from Spoken?

They can expect honesty and a great, energetic live show. Although we’re the ones on stage, Spoken prides ourselves at removing the barrier between band and fan. We’re lucky to play music and lucky to have people who support what we do.

BearlySInister: Now that the album is out, will future tours feature mainly songs from “Breathe Again” or will it be a mixture of new and old like we saw for this last tour?

Since we just released an album and our current job is to sell those records, we will play a heavy dose of songs from Breathe Again, but we will still find ways to put songs from Illusion and previous albums into the set too.

BearlySinister: How have the new singles, “Breathe Again” and “Falling Apart” been fairing so far?

They have been fairing really well, actually. The response has been better than hoped, and Falling Apart has even been charting on the Active Rock charts. We’re very thankful people have responded the way they have.

BearlySinister: That’s about all I have, unfortunately but thank you so much for doing this. Also, thank you for mingling with the crowd and talking to fans for the entire night when I saw you guys in Beaumont! You don’t see that too often these days, anymore. Is there anything else you’d like to say to your fans, our readers and the general public?

Thank you for coming to the show, hanging out and being interested in talking to us! And thank you to everyone who came to the shows, who bought merch from any of the bands and for supporting music. God Bless.

Buy Breathe Again
iTunes | MerchNow 

“Falling Apart” (Official Music Video)