Filmspeed

Filmspeed are a three piece band from Orange County… Well not really. They play out of Orange County, While Nick (Bass) & Craig (Lead Vocals/Guitar) actually come from Detroit, MI and James (Drums) from Ecuador.


As we keep adding more and more bands to the Kilson Street Episode Roster, we keep getting weirder and weirder combos. Weird in a sense that these people, if existing at their current age over 20 years ago, would probably never find each other. Not to say it wouldn’t be possible but the chances would have been slimmer as you take into account the modern day technology we have today that let’s us see and meet people from the comfort of our toilet. Social Networking has indeed benefited these guys and us as listeners.

Filmspeed are a group dedicated to roots Rock & Roll. Although if you dig back long enough you will find them poking around in the pop halls of rock. I personally love a good, hard, badass sounding rock and roll band. James is always a beast on drums. He had previously performed on Kilson Street with Blue Eyed Lucy about two years ago, but has since moved to Filmspeed and found his calling. I think this band is a really good fit for him. Craig is a very well polished vocalist and guitarist while Nick provides the glue that brings the whole band together. If you’re looking for a good time, Filmspeed will bring it. Check their Facebookout and go to a show to see and feel the energy these musicians bring to the stage.

Side Note: When we book musicians, we NEVER ask them to play specific songs. It’s entirely up to them to decide which song YOU will listen to. 99% of the time we are treated to their best anyway. Why? Because they know we have some of the best listeners out there. And if you keep listening and watching, you will be treated to only the best. - Kilson Street

How did you guys meet?

Craig: In high school Nick and I worked at the same grocery store in the same small town right outside of Detroit. Redford Township, no one would know where it is. We moved to California about 10 years ago to go do the big band thing. We moved out here with other band mates, grinded and worked a few years in the pop punk scene, did touring did all that and it got burned up. It fizzled, faded away and then we came back. We started writing together again reached out to our old drummer, but he was already deeply committed in an astrophysics degree at UCLA so we said, uh good luck with that and started looking for someone else to complete the puzzle. We work best as a three piece so we wanted to find someone that fit all around not just chemistry wise, but like stylistic as well. So, we went through a whole bunch of auditions and actually worked with a couple of drummers and recorded some things with other people. We stumbled across Dr. Mo and it was really drawn out of a hat, but we had a good rehearsal and it was clear that this dude had a different style about him. He just had a different drive. He understood music in a different way and that was kind of a selling point for us, it really helped shape the sound and it’s been at least two years. Dr. Mo, is that right?

James (Dr. Mo): Uh, no it’s been three years man.

Craig: Three years? Son of a bitch all right.

James: Long story short I moved around to different states and then I decided to move to California and I knew that it was much better than the other states. I met Craig and Nick in a practice room and we liked each other very much and now we’re here.

What are your plans for this year?

Nick: I know that right now we have a few gigs that are in the pipeline, but in June we’re going to be recording a five or six song EP with all new songs. It’s time for us to put out new material and were hoping at the end of the summer to tour regional. West coast, maybe go up through California and down to Arizona. Then hopefully a full album at the end of the year.

Are your songs inspired by anything? Another artist? A life event?

Craig: Almost everything is a life event, but what’s interesting about it is that the music always comes first. It’s so rare that we have an entire song of lyrics written out before the music is even thought about. I would say 99% of the time there’s like, a line, a lyric that’s swinging around that won’t go away and then it bothers you enough to write an entire piece of music about it. Most of the time it’s a really cool groove or riff and you just wake up and it’s stuck in your head. You can’t get rid of it all day it’s just crazy. There’s always a million things happening so it’s not that tough to choose a song and play it with the guys in the room and be like, you know, this really sounds like that one time at the bar or this sounds like a memory back home. It kind of ranges to what we’re listening to at the time or whether its old or new. It’s always something different that sparks an idea and it really kind of snowballs from there. Back in the day when I was writing songs for other people to listen to it was all about what would sound good to other people. There’s a much more formulaic process, like, what sounds catchy, what sounds like these people on the radio? You know, you aim for a target in some way and its cool because you get a lot of material out quicker, but it’s nowhere near as fulfilling or satisfying. It doesn’t mean as much, it doesn’t make me excited to play over and over again. It becomes more of a job than an expression. There’s nothing wrong with that. There’s so many successful songwriters and that’s what they do for a living, but this whole project is the anti-that. When we’re playing it live we want to be able to feel it, to have those moments in the songs where It’s like, oh, I can’t wait for this part and then it comes and it’s like boom, yeah, that was killer.

Did you always see yourself in a band?

James: I always wanted to play drums. After I started playing drums I just had to play somewhere with some other bands, but yeah, the answer is yes I always saw myself in a band. I guess drummers can’t be singers at the same time and if you do you’re like an alien or something. I mean, I would love to sing, play drums, play guitar, and play bass at the same time, but I can’t. I love playing drums, but I always saw myself in a band. I love to interact with people.

Nick: Yeah, since I was a kid my parents always played music around me. I guess after seeing Mick Jagger live I’ve always had that daydream of being in a band and being on stage. I went through life just collecting music and playing music, but yeah, I’ve always saw myself being in a band.

Craig: I’m like a singer songwriter guy. I guess I was writing songs as early as thirteen, but you know, as cool as it is to be that singer dude there’s nothing more exciting, more satisfying, more energetic and fulfilling than having a band and putting on a live show. To be loud and move people you don’t get the same thing playing covers with an acoustic. It’s no way the same thing to have those changes, those dynamics, just a massive wall of noise out to an entire crowd of people. It’s completely irreplaceable. So, I have always seen myself in a band and will always see myself in a band. You know, if it all falls apart tomorrow I will still actively try to put together band projects because for me, playing music live, there’s nothing that compares to a unit all making noise together.

Who are you listening to right now?

James: Right now I’m listening to Alabama Shakes a lot. I think the singer is pretty soulful. I really like her. I guess, also Daft Punk. The last album they put out, I really like that album.

Nick: I got hooked on Run the Jewels which is like a two-part rap group. They are just phenomenal right now and I’ve been revisiting Dr. John too. I like to get a little funky.

Craig: Let’s see, right now I think I’m just listening to active rock charts. We’re going to the studio in like a month and a half so I’m listening to active rock to listen to the most current production cues. Not necessarily for inspiration. Not that there’s a whole lot of bad stuff going on in active rock right now, but since were going to be recording it we got hooked up with a great spot to create the EP, but I’ll be mixing and doing the production so I’m listening to a lot of the most recent products. To get tips really and get kind of landscapes to see who’s doing what and what I think the drums might sound like or different types of guitar tones and different vocal productions and stuff like that. So, I’m currently listening to that, but for a different reason I guess.

Do you have any current projects?

Craig: We’re going to do an EP and the aim right now is six songs. We have five songs that we did last year. We pushed out one of them as a full produced single. That’s the Werewolf single that we did a few months back. Then last month we put up one of the other, I guess you can call it a demo, but we put it up on SoundCloud and we may or may not be re-recording that, but it kind of depends on if the new material pushes it out of the queue.

Why should people check you out?

Nick: I’m trying to not make this sound so like, oh we’re so cool. I think we’re a very unique rock band that gives you a broad spectrum of rock. Not just garage or synth rock or heavy rock. We really hit all spectrums and we have a really big love for all kinds of music. I think we really put that in our music. We’ve been told our live shows are even better than the cd’s we record just because we have a great passion for that. Playing live is pretty irreplaceable to any other feeling on the planet so when we get up there we really just let it loose. - Hit the Stage

Two parts Motown, one part South American, all parts moving – that is in essence the alternative rock, indie, blues and grunge trio, Filmspeed. The band actually began under a different name back in 2004, with Nick Stout (bass) and Craig Broombaugh (vocals) growing up in the same neighbourhood on the outskirts of Detroit, Michigan. A few years into college, Broombaugh started a new band project with another neighbourhood friend and drummer, recruited from a fellow local band and together they began recording home demos. A few dozen local showcases later and the band had become a trio – strengthening the core group and giving way to a new creativity.

Filmspeed

Deciding on the drastic change took some time and as much Motown had raised and shaped them, the landscape of opportunity was fairly limited. Not long before expanding to the West, they were contacted by a musician in search of a new band. They pressed a professional recording on their own budget and another new sound took shape. It was just four guys in a van with a trailer carrying everything they owned driving toward Long Beach, California. Things became serious from then, with countless nights spent outside local Southern California venues to meet concert-goers. Popularity came quickly with the advent of MySpace and whilst everything seemed simple, the dedication to the music forced the band back into a core trio again.

A new sound, a new stage show and a renewed commitment followed. The band began embarking on national DIY tours, Warped Tour and SWSX with hundreds of kids outside the gig on a weeknight; label interest and as much fun as jobless musicians could have. After a long tenure on the road however, the band found themselves in debt and without a residence. The generosity of close friends allowed them to recover and the some decisions needed to be made.

Whilst the previous incarnation of the band had brought many great things, it had become clear that the road they had built was founded solely on catering to an audience. This sparked a change in direction, style and sound to become Filmspeed. A project of self-expression, material was written without the thought of having to cater to the kids. The garage was the home for writing, producing and recording everything in-house.

The band started from ground zero essentially and this therefore meant an unbuilt fan base. However, following the release of their debut record, the guys in the band saw a dramatic change in concert attendance and an inevitable hiatus became a reality. The rhythm section started up their own business, offering professional band merchandise at a DIY bands budget. The singer meanwhile played solo acoustic shows on and off and started working with other musicians – sometimes as a fill-in stage player and other times as an album producer or engineer.

Eventually the two neighbourhood friends found themselves writing songs together again. This time it was completely different; nobody to impress and nothing to prove. They reformed Filmspeed, but this time without the original drummer who was too far travelled down his own path to recommit. The recruitment process for a new drummer began, with the blessing of their former comrade and after countless auditions; they set up a meeting with James Mozina (drums). Originally from Ecuador, James showed a dynamic, controlled intensity in his playing that was irresistibly appealing and within 18 months they had written, recorded, engineered, produced, mixed, mastered and released their Heavy Decibels LP.

Performing is in Broombaugh’s blood with musical theatre and singing essential in his upbringing. He’s been hooked ever since he wrote his first song. Stout meanwhile was guided by his parents’ musical taste with records constantly spinning whilst he was growing up. When he began playing flute in the elementary school band, his parents ‘geeked out’ and did everything they could to help him progress. For Mozina, it was mainly his father, who used to play bass with bands in his auto-mechanic shop; that inspired him to pursue music. Mozina knew he wanted to play drums after this father took him to one of his rehearsals and on his next birthday he asked and received a drum-kit and since then it became clear to him that he wanted to continually play and take it to another level.

The trio listens to so many styles of music that they all seem to find their own way of shaping the Filmspeed sound. Each song tells a different story and the music behind it plays just as big of a role. In fact, the music is almost always written before the lyrics can take shape. It is a sound influenced by all the classics – the Beatles, Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin along with Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and all things Motown. There is also a little of Jay Z, hair metal, Mutemouth, Muse, ACDC, Elvis Costello, Prince and Earth, Wind and Fire thrown in for good measure, but there are in fact many more than these.

It all comes together on a track from the band called Quite Like You; a song that describes the feeling of total frustration of becoming infatuated with someone you can never have and the madness that accompanies it. It is the latest track lifted from the aforementioned 11-track Heavy Decibels LP, with each song on the release unique in its message. Big Brother, for instance, is that constant paranoia that everything you say and do is being tracked, recorded and kept in a giant bunker in the middle of nowhere. The Aftermath, meanwhile, is about trying to reconcile the initial adrenaline that shows up in the wake of trauma and Skyward is about finding hope that you will overcome any obstacle.

Filmspeed feel their music is on a different level and infuse their songs with heart, soul and a deep down desire to not only move the listener, but themselves. That is their point of difference. Given the history of the band, the release of their current album was something of a milestone for the trio and its release has become much more important than any of them could have realised. Having it out in the world gives Filmspeed complete vindication to put the pedal to the metal moving forward. Perhaps in that moving forward, the trio may one day play the likes of Carnegie Hall or Glastonbury, maybe Lollapalooza. They love the feel of festival audiences and the more people you can have singing something back to you the better.

In the short term though, Filmspeed will actually be heading back into the studio in May, as they have enough material to at least record an EP. They have released two singles over the last year, but it hasn’t been as satisfying as a record. With a record, you get to take a bunch of new songs onto the stage and have fun with them. Filmspeed are also looking to engage with some regional touring over the summer. As far as they are concerned, the future is now wide open. - AMNplify (Australian Music Network)

Summer is halfway over, but that does not mean the music has slowed down at all. As I am recovering from the holiday food coma and festival scene, a new group has been helping me through it all. The band Filmspeed are the saviors of the day. Right before the celebration of our nation’s independence, I jumped on a Skype call with these fine gentlemen as they regaled me with their love of music. In case many of you are wondering, Filmspeed is made up of three fellas; the enthusiastic Craig Broombaugh, the ever-chilled Nick Stout and Jerry Garcia reincarnated James Mozina.

To start things off, I was curious to hear about their start into music. Craig immediately shared his tale, “Well, Nick and I have known each other for 15 years. We were born in same town in Detroit. Our town was so small the grocery store was in the mall. Once we were in high school and started college, we began playing around. While we were in various bands, we changed modes and styles. Then, with some forward thinking, we moved out to California for a start in pop punk. We did a couple of Warped Tours but then dropped it all and changed styles again to do something all three of us wanted to do. We have experienced the music scene all over from big studios to small. We realized the cost and time it takes so, it made more sense to record ourselves. Eventually, we went through many drummers and through a referral, James jammed one time and the magic happened. One of biggest bonds of our lives is the fact that James sleeps, lives and breathes music. He is able to make it through music and share it with us.” These guys have seen the good, the bad and the ugly of the music world and have since made it their goal to try to do it their own way. I think they will and have found some great success there.

It was at this point where the four of us all went on a long conversation about puppetry and the frustrations of bad puppeteers and the hilarity of bad lip-reading. However, I digress. We shifted back to their music. “Currently, we are finishing our new EP of five songs. We may finish it or re-record, we are not sure yet. We love to record at home and we have been successful in making our music sound clear and good,” remarks Craig. My favorite song of theirs is Voices, which can be found on their album Heavy Decibels. Filmspeed was kind enough to share the story of that song. “Voices was lingering on the GarageBand software for years. Some songs take a few minutes yet some you are stuck on one part while the rest isn’t there. Voices was one of those songs that you played, put it back and came back to it after a while. It morphed into this ballad for being heard. It talks about passion and how you are always striving to do things to the best of your ability.”

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What do the men of Filmspeed love the most about their music life? Touring seems to be something they enjoy. “We would love to traveling across the United States. We love just to play, drink, smoke and enjoy our time,” Craig states. James then gave a little bit of his fascination about NYC. “Every time I am on the subways, I always see so many junkies just being crazy. My favorite thing is watching that one guy who is so tired that he keeps almost falling over.” It is best when those guys do fall or land on people on the train, the reactions of the other bystanders is hilarious! Believe me, I have suffered through this before here in the city.

Filmspeed explained a bit on their music worldviews that they live in nowadays. “The modern industry is a strange commercial money grab. Today’s attention span is 15 seconds or less. Same to be said with music choruses that are bent on whatever can be featured on a commercial or put into a movie trailer. Music is not really about the lyrics anymore. We just stream everything. Technology is caught up with demand. Napster really started it all. ITunes is essence of it all now and has developed music into tiny files. You don’t have to get records anymore. Now a pissed off teenager can stream it all. The only way to make money is to tour or sell a lot of merchandise.”

I asked what some of the band’s favorite musicians were. They all chimed in to this. “Oh, we are all across the board. We love the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Less Than Jake, Jay-Z and The Band. This year we have really be into alt-J and Vampire Weekend.” Craig said proudly. “My mom put the radio on every night before I went to sleep. So, at that time adult contemporary music was playing. This opened doors for us into The Carpenters, Motown and Earth, Wind and Fire.”

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You can sense the myriad of influences in Filmspeed’s music. “We like to rock on both spectrums with blues and alternative. We like to hold true to the vibes of songs and focus less on cookie cutter themes. The next song we write cannot be in the same key or tempo as one we have played before. We always want a new vibe to test and be moved by the melody and verse. We want our music to turn into the something.” This then went into an entertaining analysis of Rock-onomatopoeia. It is defined as when a mixture of beat boxing and miming comes along a musician, similar to how an auto-mechanic attempts to describe the noises from the car. Filmspeed uses this skill often to help grow their sound as musicians tap into something valuable.

Now, I have interviewed and met with many musicians this past year who have been nothing but wonderful people. However, Filmspeed were perhaps the easiest guys to talk to. I have never felt so relaxed and at ease chatting with the trio about music and life. Their musicianship is only matched by their enthusiasm, dedication and spirit for their craft. As testament to their character, they have offered Punchland to unveil their latest music video, Quite Like You (Please see below). If you do not get hooked on their music, I do not know what will. Perhaps, just become friends with them and have a ball instead! - Puncland

Metro Detroit. 2004. A basement with a drum set and a P.A. A band of loud ideas and louder aspirations. From the most humble of beginnings, the core of Filmspeed had a plan to make sounds that truly moved people. Born of a brotherhood and passion for great music. Over the last 10 years, Filmspeed has survived the roller coaster that is the record business. From the biggest festival stages to the smallest VFW halls. From Orange County residencies to sleeping in parking lots. They live for a live crowd, and the sound is a direct reflection. It’s this unique consideration that puts soul in to every second of every song. - A&R Ready