San Francisco-based alternative rock band Finish Ticket mesmerized the sold-out crowd at Chapel Hill’s Local 506 Saturday night with their powerful sound and stage presence. They went from playing locally in the Bay Area to co-headlining a tour with Vinyl Theatre. Lead singer Brendan Hoye spoke with staff writer Paige Connelly to talk about the band's evolution, musical influences and touring.
The Daily Tar Heel: So how do you and your band members all know each other, and what has your evolution to this moment been like?
BH: We started in 2008, when we were all 14, 15 or 16 — I don’t remember now. It kind of started when we were playing around in other bands, and basically decided one day to try this group. It was just a mixture from different bands. We met at Alex’s house, and we just jammed on a song I had written. We finished the song in like one practice and it clicked way better than any of the other bands we were doing at the time, so we basically decided that we kind of wanted to make this band our full time thing. With this band, the focus was to really go out and play shows in Alameda, where we’re from, and San Francisco, which is right next door. So, we really started making goals, like playing certain venues, playing in certain cities, all this stuff, and we started to actually achieve those and the more and more we did that stuff, the more and more we realized this is something we could really see ourselves doing.
DTH: What was it like opening for Ed Sheeran and twenty one pilots?
BH: Playing with all those artists, it’s very different with everyone, but Ed Sheeran for example, it’s really cool to see him — how he’s just one guy and he handled all of it. He’s still so impressive, but he’s also just a genuine guy. All this press, all the fans, all the production and he’s so humble. It’s insane. When we walked in and played with him in New York, he just — in the middle of soundcheck — hopped down and started talking to us. He was in the middle of stuff and he didn't have to talk to us there. He could’ve finished up and then maybe said ‘Hi,’ but he totally just came down and had a whole conversation, put everything on hold, and it was really nice of him. So that was really awesome.
twenty one pilots were incredible as well, really kind people. They’re a band that has really built a following out of nothing. They started in their hometown, built a following there, then used that to kind of start conquering certain places, and now they have this huge following around the world, and that’s more similar to something that we’re doing because we started in San Francisco and built from there. So, we really kind of use them as an example for what we want our career path to be like. And then also seeing how successful they are. They’re also very humble.
DTH: How was the process of your first LP, “Tears You Apart," different from your newest EP, “When Night Becomes Day"?
BH: The processes were completely different. “When Night Becomes Day” was the new EP, and that was drastically different because this was the first time we had ever written and recorded anything while signed to a record label, while we had this kind of management, everything.
Back when we did “Tears You Apart,” it was just us and our old manager. We had one manager, and that was it, and so no eyes, no people kind of expecting anything in particular from us. You know, there was no real pressure — it was more like we just wanted to make something we loved, and that was it . And hopefully that would eventually get us somewhere, and it did, and that was so great. But it was really easy in that sense to make something great because there was no pressure — there were no expectations.
This time around, it was a lot harder because now we have all these people at the record label involved. We have new management involved, we have so many more people, we have publishers — all this stuff. And they’re all just expecting certain things. They’re all expecting different things, so it’s hard to please everyone. At the same time you’re trying to please everyone, but you’re also then kind of realizing you don’t want to. You want to stay true to yourself. It’s a whole new world when all that happens.
DTH: You've covered The Killers. Who else influences you?
BH: Other than The Killers, another huge one, at least for Alex in particular, is The Strokes. With the the guitar playing and everything, he’s a huge fan of them...
I had been listening to a ton of the earlier Coldplay, like “A Rush Of Blood To The Head.” I love that album. Their earlier records, and just what they did with their tones and stuff, and how lush everything was. The earlier Coldplay stuff, really, all of us love. The production, the writing and everything, that definitely has a big influence on our recordings, and just our approach to writing.
I love the Beatles. I’ve always loved the Beatles since I was younger, and what I admire about them is their songwriting the most. Obviously, everyone does. I know this is very cliche to talk about, but just as a songwriter, I love the pop sensibility they have, but also their ability to make everything sound so different. Every song is so different from the other one — very unique, and just still can be a pop song.
DTH: You all have been a lot of places. What’s it like coming to the east coast? Are crowds different in different places?
BH: Different regions — I don’t think it’s all that different. Just depends, I guess. I’ve always found that you hear that in L.A. or New York that the crowds aren’t really that great because they’re music industry folks, and people who are around it all the time, and everyone goes to those cities.
I’ve always enjoyed New York and L.A. a lot. I’ve never noticed a huge difference in those ones. We’re still learning the different personalities, I guess, in a headline setting with all the crowds. But I think the one thing is that if you go to places where people never go — certain places like Boise, Idaho, for example — you really do find that they’re really appreciative when you’re onstage and offstage. There’s something about it that you can tell they’re even more — not that other people aren’t appreciative — but they’re just so much more appreciative that you’re there because no one comes there. There is something about that to be said.
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