Foundry Town Survivors hit us with a massive classic southern rock masterpiece that comes through laden with cinematic power guitar tones, and an anthemic chorus that can make the hair on your arms stand up.
"Hopes and Dreams" is packed with tons of heart and soul that shines through with every guitar note and vocal that's belted out on this release.
Righteous and fierce guitars wail in and dive bomb into huge choruses that feel nothing short of epic as slide guitars float through the songs atmosphere and vocals cry out.
This track has many elements to it that beckons a real deal genuine classic hard rock vibe, but it also carries with it a heavy-handed message.
This is one of those songs that have layers to it. There's more than meets the ears at first listen.
This can be better taken in by watching the music video that accompanies the song.
Well-acted and shot, the video for "Hopes and Dreams" plays out more cinematically than the standard music video and does a great job of portraying that message and feel that song puts out.
With such a great release, we wanted to have a chat with the band to find out where this came from and what may be next for them.
Here's what happened.
Buzz Slayers: Where did this song come from?
We had the story idea of a clandestine “deal” gone sour percolating for a while. We banged on it through a couple of incarnations. The more we got into it, the more we realized it was really about making choices. Some choices are obvious, they’re very black and white. Some choices are shades of gray. “Hopes and Dreams” is about the shades of gray. Like, sometimes you don’t have a choice when faced with making a choice. That’s the world of “Hopes and Dreams.” There is a desperation factor, the lesser of evils, in the choices made by the “hero” and the results are unpredictable.
Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing several styles on this release. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Oh Lordy, that’s a pretty long list. It’s hard to whittle it down to just a few. We’ve been around for a while and experienced several lifetimes of music and influences. The shortlist would be The Who, Pink Floyd, Motown, Stephen King and Rod Serling…
Buzz Slayers: The video really came out great! Is it what you expected?
Thank you! First of all, we could see this song in our mind’s eye when we were writing it. It’s always been a cinematic piece for us. When we pitched the song and our impressions to our director/collaborator, Paul Crowder, he was instantly intrigued and dove in headfirst. He cast Bren Holmes as our “hero” and after we saw the video, we knew it couldn’t have been anyone else. Paul filled out the story with gorgeous images that were complimentary as well as narrative. So to finally answer your question, it actually exceeded our expectations!
So much so that we decided to do a “Behind The Scenes” video about the making of the video.
Buzz Slayers: So how did this all begin for you guys really?
Definitely after high school. We both had bands and we both knew of each other. Our individual bands had pretty much run their course and both of us were looking for a change, or a shot in the arm, or some such nonsense. Tommy’s band was playing more challenging material and my band had died on the vine. It made perfect sense to combine our talents. We learned a lot from each other during that time and a lot of that knowledge is still serving us well.
Buzz Slayers: When did you fall in love with making music?
Mark replies: Hmmm. Maybe as far back as I can remember. I fell in love with creativity first. Music is a component of that desire but not the only component. Like a lot of artists, we enjoy many different creative endeavors. Art, theater, writing, cooking, building things, whatever allows you to exercise that creative muscle. I experimented with as many creative things as I could growing up, music took hold around 12 or 13 years old.
Buzz Slayers: What's next for you as a band?
Right now, we’re knee deep in getting our next release ready. It’s more up-tempo than anything we’ve done and the lyrics are basically a commentary. The message is simple and we hope it’ll make you think. All in all it’s infectious and very positive. We have Paul Crowder directing again. For the video we hijacked a concept from what many consider the first music video and we’re in post production turning it on it’s ear! We’re looking at a late May release.
Buzz Slayers: What are you all doing when you're NOT working on music?
You mean there’s something besides music?
Buzz Slayers: This single seems like a big undertaking. What kind of advice might you have for other up and coming bands out there?
Do it because you love doing it. Do it because it’s the most fun you can have!