We caught up with Rob from Fei Comodo to talk about the bands current mini album and what they have planned for the rest of the year.

Hello and thank you for taking time out to do this interview.

First of all can you give us a brief history of the band for the people who have never heard of you?
Well altogether the band has been going 5 years, 3 years with the current line-up. We like to think we sound like a mix of hardcore, metal, screamo, punk & pop. I’m pretty confident that all our songs have something to offer most people! Even the odd bit of discord. Perfeckk.

What are your influences and whom would you say contributed to your current musical style?
Our general band influences include the like of Reuben, Sikth, Thrice, Coheed & Cambria, Dillinger, that sort of thing. All these bands influentially contributed to our music.

How did you come up with the band name of Fei Comodo?
I don’t know, I wasn’t in the band at the time! Haha. Stupid name though to be fair. To my knowledge, the “fei” part is made up, and “comodo” is an Italian musical term, which apparently just sounded cool with “fei”. Popular alternatives however, include, Gay Comodo, Gay Commando, Fei C-emo, and many more. All very witty indeed… ahem. haha

When did you start playing music and what made you pick up your first instrument?
Well my darling mother is a music teacher, so I pretty much popped out of her singing the title track from the Sound of Music, if you catch my drift. My first proper instrument, other than trying to sing, was actually clarinet, which I started because my mum played saxophone, but then one thing led to another, and high school made me realise how un-cool the clarinet was, so I stopped after 5 good years, and started the drums. I can’t even explain how much I regret stopping the clarinet, because I would be fucking amazing at it by now and probably really rich! Oh well.

What was it like writing and recording your mini album 'They All Have Two Faces'?
Yeah it was wicked! We did loads of pre-production before hand, so I personally felt really comfortable recording. Although I did have one day where I pretty much couldn’t play drums to save my life, but we got there in the end. One take per track, no editing! I swear it! haha. In between recording we busted out some hardcore XBOX live shit which was pretty entertaining. Although some of us built up a serious anger complex in the process, also known in the Fei camp as “new found confidence”. I wont’ say who, but he plays guitar, has a beard & loves his side bits.

You have not long released 'They all Have Two Faces' are you happy with the response the album has been getting so far?
Oh god yeah definitely! Most of the reviews we’ve had so far have been amazing and it’s a great feeling when you read them. Feedback from fans on our myspace has been over-whelming as well, which is why we read, and almost always reply to any comments we get! We appreciate all the support so much. We did recently get a review from a big cheesy magazine (get it?), and they gave us 2/5! Not happy about that! But you can’t please everyone unfortunately, haha. We got a 1.5/10 for our last EP from some wanker, so anything above that is good for us!

What is your favourite track from 'They all Have Two Faces'?
My favourite is definitely “The Cost Of Living”. I fucking love that song! Its just got everything a song needs in my opinion, and it’s so much fun to play live! Oh and just so we’re clear, liking your own bands song is NOT arrogant; I can’t stand people who think that! Haha.

Your latest single is 'Break The Ice', what made you choose to release this song over the other songs on the album?
We didn’t really choose to be honest, it sort of just happened like that. We all knew we wanted that to be the first single so it just was! Everyone knows it, and seems to love it, so it just sort of made sense.

The artwork for both 'They All Have Two Faces' and 'Break The Ice' looks like the style of artwork you would see on a Fightstar release, did you use the same artist or not?
I don’t think we used the same artist. We used Top-Two studios for all of our recent artwork. They’re just 2 cool guys, with mental hair, who really fucking know what they’re doing. I know that a lot of my mates who are in bands are planning to use them after seeing our stuff, which is awesome for both their bands and top-two. Google Top-Two Studios and check them out. I like the comparison to Fightstar by the way, even if it is only artwork! Both their albums are packed with killer songs.

You have just made a video for your single 'Break The Ice', how did you go about making the video and is it on all the major alternative music channels?
We shot all the footage of the band in a tiny bright green room which was about the size of a train toilet. Bit cramped! The rest was just done with random people we know in good ol’ Chelmsford. The little boy and his dad in the video is actually our singers nephew & step brother! They’ve both hit the big time since the shoot though and are now working out in LA with some pretty shit hot directors. Lucky for some hey! Oh and yeah we were lucky enough to get in on MTV2, Kerrang and Scuzz!

How did the writing and recording process of 'They All Have Two Faces' differ from the writing and recording process of your debut EP 'This One's For Us'?
Oh that’s an easy one really, the TOFU EP is fucking shit, whereas we actually wrote good songs, knew how to play them / our instruments, and spent months on pre-production / recording for TAH2F. We were really young when we did the TOFU EP, and at the time we loved it, but you know, 3 years down the line, we’ve matured so much in a musical sense that I cringe at the thought of that EP. Either way though, please buy that AND the new album! lmao.

You are now signed to Small Town Records, are you happy with your choice of record label and are your fans of other bands on the label?
Yeah, definitely. We’ve had a few offers from other labels, but none of them compared to be honest. Small Town aren’t the biggest of labels, but that is perfect for us. They’re wicked guys, they know what they’re doing and their loyalty lies with the band and our music. We couldn’t ask for more really. I wouldn’t say we’re ‘fans’ of any of the other bands to be honest, I mean we’ve played with a few of them, and Flood Of Red & Dividing The Line are great, other than that I don’t really know any of the others!

You are heading out on tour with Devil Sold His Soul in October, are you fans of the band and are you looking forward to any one show the most?
Fuck yeah we’re fans of the band. I fucking love them! And they are absolutely amazing live. We’ve toured with them before, back in May 2007, and it was unbelievable. They’re all such wicked guys too. I’m looking forward to every bloody show I tell thee! Me and Leks (DSHS drummer) might play a song in each others set again, was well funny last time! Although my pedal fell off halfway through playing with them, which was pretty disastrous, but still! All good fun! If you haven’t got their debut album “A Fragile Hope”, go buy it! I’ve listened to it non-stop since I got it and I’m sure you will too! If you’re short on cash though, wait ‘till ours is out and buy that instead. =P

Straight after your tour with Devil Sold His Soul you have a week or two off before heading out on tour again with Blessed By A Broken Heart, I Am Ghost and August Burns Red which takes you pretty much up to Christmas, how do you manage to keep sane when you are on the road so much?
Alcohol! haha if I’m not driving that is… But nah touring is amazing. It can be pretty rough sleeping in the van, or on sofas in service stations, but its all worth it. The hardest part is money though, having to pay your bills back home whilst you’re on the road earning ballsack-all. That is pretty damn stressful. But we get through it; the banks just fucking hate us!

What can someone who has never seen you live before expect from your live shows?
Lots and lots of energy / guitar swinging / head-banging / limb waving / merch! All that sort of stuff! We try to go as mental as possible whilst still staying together musically. It can be pretty interesting to be fair! So come down to a show and have a machinehead (end of a guitar) smashed into your face. FUCK that sounded metal. lmao

Do you prefer being on the road touring or in the studio recording?
On the road touring definitely! Recording is wicked, but it can be v.stressful and the novelty does wear off. Especially for our guitarist Mike who records all our stuff! He may be small but his temper is like no other.

If you could play with any band / artist past or present, who would it be and why?
All the band I mentioned earlier in the influences question, + Queen, Michael Jackson (provided there was no groping involved) Meatloaf, Slipknot, Bonjovi, AC/DC, JT, Iron Maiden, Metallica, god there’s so many. I’d want to play with all them and more because they all were, or are top of their game, and it’s always amazing to learn from other artists / bands.

What is the most memorable gig you have played so far and why?
Probably the Camden Barfly back in July. We sold it out and it was absolutely mental. To have the whole room there for us, shouting every lyric back at us was quite thrilling.

What do you think of the current music scene?
I don’t know really, I think it’s getting a lot better lately, with actual good bands getting a bit more attention. There was a phase not long ago where all these shocking bands were getting boned the shit out of by all the magazines etc and I was like what the fuck?!?! Bring Me The Horizon for example, what is all that about. I saw them just over a year ago and they are the worst live band I’ve ever seen, yet everyone was going on about how amazing they were! Nevermind. I’m not overly into the whole hardcore movement, which seems to have taken over lately, but I went to see a band called Dead Swans recently, and they were really fucking good. Lots of energy, short in your face set. It was wicked. It’s nice to see that at least some of the bands getting hype lately are actually good at what they do. Rant over.

Where do you hope to see Fei Comodo in 5 years time?
Hopefully with a 2nd or 3rd full length album out, touring the UK, EU & USA relentlessly, selling out big venues, getting loads of press! I don’t know though to be honest, it could go either way, so long as I’m writing music with my 4 best mates, I’m happy, anything else is a bonus.

Okay, one final random question; if you had a choice, what animal would you be out of a Zebra and a Giraffe?
Zebra fo’ sho’. Being a giraffe must be so annoying, so tall, and just yeah. I’d be so cba with that. The female giraffes aren’t even hot for fuck sake. XD

Thanks for your time, is there a message you would like to give to your fans reading this?
Thanks for reading guys! Album is out on the 8th of September, it should be available be in every HMV up and down the country along with all the online stores including play.com, amazon.com, whsmith.com, smalltownrecords.com. So check it out! Thanks for all your support and we’ll hopefully see you at a show soon.

Interview By Trigger