Far From Finished

Far From Finished is a phenomenal band with lots of soul that gets poured into each and every song. I first heard the song “Heroes and Ghosts”  many years ago and was instantly hooked. They have a very addictive sound and would recommend them to a fan of any genre. I had a chance to sit down with Pesky and he answered a question that instantly one of my favorite quotes from any interview I’ve ever done which is I can stare at a corner and think, "this corner could have a more right angle". I expect huge things from this band in the future and can’t wait for them to make it down to Texas. Here’s the man himself…

BBM: What’s your name and what do you do for the band? My name is Pesky and i play bass guitar in Far From Finished.

BBM: How’s life treating you? 

Life is going well, we just got the masters for our new 7 inch and they sound great, gearing up for a couple of local shows in Boston and Providence, and trying to hang onto the last days of summer and making full use of the summer harvest.

BBM: Give me a little history on the band how did you form?  

Well the band formed many years ago as a high school band outside of New York City, but never really became a serious endeavor until about '03-'04 i believe. My recollection of the story is hazy as I'm not an original member. That's when the band recorded a little known full length and hopped into the minivan to do their first tour, and things kind of snowballed from there, with a pivotal relocation to Boston thrown in.

BBM: How did you come up with the band’s name Far From Finished?  

I believe it has to do with the whole punk rock ethos, not giving up a the first sign of adversity, not letting the bastards drag you down etc., you know, just because you don't want us around doesn't mean we're leaving.

BBM: What was your first major experience with music and how did you know you wanted to be in a band? My grandparents owned a supermarket that would also sell rock n roll tape collections, (the first time i typed that it was rape collections, yikes), Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, the Everly Brothers, Del Shannon, etc, the rock n roll whites, ha (latinos are considered white before you start judging), and that was my first experience I remember choosing the music i wanted to listen to, though it was every damn tape i could get my hands on. It was a progression from there, finding bands by rifling through my parents long forgotten vinyl and home made tape collections from their college years before they had my entitled ass to deal with, and then we got cable when i was 13 or so and MTV, and that changed everything, watching 120 minutes and seeing Rancid and Social Distortion and Bad Religion and the Descendents and the Bosstones, to buying Minor Threat, No Use For A Name, and Misfits tapes at the strip mall and Face to Face and NOFX records based only on a name found in mail order catalogs without ever hearing the music.

I don't know what attracted me to being in a band, maybe the thought of getting the fuck out of where i was, the opportunity, the travel, the instability, which was such a foreign thing to a kid who saw the same people and heard the same things day in and day out. I mean that's why i took acid, to see something different. If you didn't know acid was much more abundant when I was a kid than world tours. I don't know about now. I guess I just figured it was, if not the easiest, the most fun way out.


BBM: How would you describe the band to someone whos never heard Far From Finished?  

Bunch of assholes. Oh wait, you mean the music? I would say it's definitely an East Coast mentality and sound, though i keep reading about our west coast tendencies, which living on the west coast and being influenced by that sound very much in my formidable years i don't quite understand, we play more up beat mid tempo  stuff than most of those bands.  Social Distortion isn't the only west coast punk band! I'd say aggressive, heartfelt, angry, unapologetic, poetic, romantic, ballsy, and inclusive. The type of music you'd expect to hear at a bar at 3am on a Tuesday when the only people around are the band, the winos, and the staff, and you can't tell the difference between them, or us as it may be.

BBM: How’s the Boston scene?  

The punk scene is still strong though i think it gets overlooked these days as far publicity goes, though i have no idea about the other scenes so they may get overlooked just as much. I often say that if you are touring and playing a show in Boston the local shows will take away from your draw as much as the national shows. It's a family up here, and I've been trying to really understand it since i arrived off of the boat, i mean plane, and it seems that once you get here while touring there is nowhere else to go but back the way you came so even though the scene is strong a lot of bands don't play here, so that fuels the local scene, which in turn produces great, great bands but not a lot of national attention. And i think that the city is lacking in a central venue, where everyone can get to, and everyone knows what to expect from the bands that are playing there, and that's from the gentrification and the revenue stream and zoning and whatever else comes into play that doesn't involve music and the passion and the bare bones.

BBM: Three words that describe the band?  

Shit, did i already answer this? I'd say we are passionate, energetic, and mental.

BBM: Favorite place to tour and why? 

Since we haven't toured everywhere, unfortunately, to anyone reading from Australia or South America, i would have to say the general consensus in the band is Europe, especially Germany. The people over their seem to appreciate this type of music, especially live music in general, more than anyone I've ever met. They also understand the sacrifices one has to make to bring them what they want to experience, so you get fed, a novel idea i know, and you get a place to sleep, whether it's someones floor or a hostel bed or whatever, it's offered, where in the US you might get a pizza and a discount on drinks at the bar if you're lucky.  The first few times over there I always thought "what a great place to live, everyone likes rock music and appreciates it and supports it one way or another, and then i realized that i only thought that because that was the only side of the country i saw, where as there are jerk offs and assholes (especially in Bavaria) and intolerant folks there too, they just  weren't in the same place i was.


BBM: Funniest touring moment? 

Shit, that's a tough one, and if you asked me tomorrow I'd probably tell you something different depending on what triggered the memory, but 'd have to say watching our guitar player Adam, who has a fragile digestive system, shit on the side of the highway in a traffic jam outside of Seattle, Washington. That was pretty damn funny.

BBM: Where do you find inspiration in life?  

Well to risk sounding cliche, in life itself, oh, and substances, they usually inspire me immensely, until i wake up and realize I'm a dipshit. It also comes down to what makes you happy and how you can fulfill whatever need your brain seems to create for you. I mean look around, there is something beautiful and something ugly on every street corner in every city, in every newspaper, i mean blog, and every town in this world. If you look around and don't want to change one damn thing, then invite me over to see how awesome things are where you are, or unimaginative you are, but maybe that's just my OCD, i can stare at a corner and think, "this corner could have a more right angle".

BBM: How would you say the sound as a band is evolving for this 7 inch?

It's actually devolving. We attempted to go out of our comfort zone on the last record, well i should say we did, and it didn't end up so well, so now we are back to the path we were running on before on "Living in the Fallout", and we are much more satisfied with it, and i think it will carry over to the full length we have planned to record next year.

BBM: Whats the name of the 7 inch and how did you come up with it?

It's called "Let's Be Frank" which has a double meaning. It refers to an inside joke about calling everyone Frank, that i won't go into, and it evokes the the literal meaning of not trying to sugarcoat or step around what you're talking about, and just get to the point, we don't have time to be fucking around, well not anymore anyway.

BBM: What are some words of wisdom you would give a youth wanting to be in a band?  

Don't do it, ha. I guess i would tell them that as  important as being able to play your instrument is, and it is don't get me wrong, it's not everything. You need to find people who share the same ideas and the same interests and same habits as you, if possible, which is rare. It's like being in a relationship with 4 other people instead of one. You live with them, eat with them, work with them, and it can be incredibly beautiful when things are going well and incredibly horrific when they are not. Make sure it's what you really want to do, and be fucking serious about it, and i don't mean take yourself so seriously, but what you are trying to accomplish, and what other people that are giving up their time and their security are trying to accomplish, and show each other respect, as hard as that can be at some points. Mutual respect is the key. Living in close quarters with others isn't easy, especially if they can't respect each other. As far as being a musician i would say don't get stuck as a technician, you need feeling and soul and life when you play, no one wants to listen to or watch a robot.


BBM: Where can fans find the latest news on the band as well as merch?  

Our facebook is up and running, I'm trying to get our bandcamp up to date, our soundcloud as well, and shit our tumbler, or tmblr, or whatever. Those are the places you will hopefully find everything you need, or would want to know. Oh, and twitter. I assume this is the point where you want links. ok. https://www.facebook.com/farfromfinished, and you can search the rest from the websites homepage. I'm not too up on this technology stuff, if you couldn't tell by the cassette tape diatribe earlier, so i'm assuming whoever is reading this already found what I'm talking about so I'm going to stop looking.

BBM: Any last words anything you want to add?  
Get off the fucking couch! Your parents have made it so comfortable for you, rebel!