An Interview With The Pop-Rock San Jose Band, TILL I FALL!

Get to know the pop-rock band, Till I Fall! On May 27th, they released a special acoustic EP.

Based out of San Jose, CA, Till I Fall was formed in 2011 by Brandon Leland. The group has been actively touring and releasing music through the independent circuit, allowing collaboration with multiple musicians and songwriters over the years, producing 3 EP’s, 1 LP, and a single. After the bands 2014 release of “Lessons,” lead guitarist and backing vocalist Zax Avila joined the trio, adding to the creative process and expansion of the brand.

Connect With Till I Fall Here:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tillifall
Instagram: @TilliFallSJ

Learn more about Till I Fall in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time, Till I Fall! So how has 2018 been treating you all? What is one musical goal that you have had for this year and how close are you to reaching it?

Hey, thanks for having us! 2018 has been great so far. We had a successful tour in April with our friends Young, Planetary and spent some time working on our Acoustic EP. A goal for us this year is to tour out to some new states–primarily the East Coast and Midwest, both of which we’re hoping to see this Fall.

Can you recall the moment when you thought you could be in this band together? Has anything surprised you about it all so far?

Zax and I (Brandon) grew up playing shows in the same circuit. We met at a local show and ended up playing in TiF together after reconnecting at a pickup hockey game.

How difficult was it to come up with a band name? What other names were you considering?

Before starting Till i Fall I had been involved in others bands, all of which had broken up or had kicked me out. I wanted Till i Fall to always be more of less my thing–at the time I started it, there wasn’t anyone else–So it’s always kind of been a “I’m gonna do this till the wheels fall off” concept I guess.

How do you think this group’s hometown has influenced the sound and how you all carry yourselves in this group? If you don’t think that it has, why is that?

San Jose is dope, we all grew up in different parts of the city and each have a connection with where we’re from. There are several different sounds and artists out here and we’re all individually influenced by different genres and styles. I think everybody is influenced by where they’re from in some way or another.

How have you all grown as a band since forming in 2011? What has remained the same about the kind of music that you create?

Since starting the band I’ve had the privilege to play music with about 6 or 7 different musicians who each had their particular sound and influence to them. Zax joined the band in 2014 and has definitely played a role in shaping the sound we have today. Our drummer Scott Deimler and live bassist Anthony Corrigan are also experienced musicians with their own sound. Right now we have the best live sound we’ve been able to make and it’s due to the lineup and our different backgrounds vibing.

Till I Fall has shared the stage with so many incredible bands so I am curious to know what has been one of your favorite moments with them? Who would you say that you have learned the most from?

Every band has their own energy, some that you want to carry with you and some that are heavy and negative. Being on tour with Young, Planetary was really positive and we all became instant friends. Being able to open for them at The Shredder in their hometown of Boise was awesome–everybody wanted to be there for the environment and music, it was what you hope to find on tour. We’ve been fortunate to meet a lot of people while out on tour who are good hearted and accepting of new people, I think those are the things you remember most and hope to find.

Let’s talk about your acoustic EP that will be released at the end of this month. What was it like putting this collection together? Why did you decide to release an all-acoustic EP?

After we released our Self-Titled EP, Brandon and I (Zax) started writing more music together, and the way we brought together our ideas was with two acoustic guitars. We also enjoy getting to play stripped down renditions of current songs so we knew it would be perfect fit where our band is today.

Where do you think you are all happiest- in the studio recording new music, on stage performing or elsewhere? Do you have any upcoming shows that you would like to tell our readers about?

We really enjoy going on tour and consistently playing shows! Our last show was on May 25th at Cafe Zoe in Menlo Park, CA  to celebrate the release of our newest Acoustic EP.

How do you think being a musician and in this band gives you all the most joy in life today?

Being able to have music in our lives, whether on tour, in the studio, or just practicing at home, is something we’re very thankful for and encourage everybody to try. It’s a big part of each of our lives for several reasons, and it’s comforting to know that with this band, another, or no band at all, music is something you can almost always have in your life.

We are currently living through a very trying and politically charged time right now so I am curious to know how your own music is reflecting this time period? If you don’t think it is, why is that? Would you say that other musicians are making music that has been influenced by this climate?

All forms of art reflect some point in time, whether it’s something personal or public. We are absolutely going through challenging times as a country, whether everyone is talking about how they feel due to the things they are seeing/hearing or not, our lives and how we choose to act reflect that. Some bands and artists don’t like talking about political stuff, and they have the right to use their platform for other things. We will always choose to express our belief and disapproval of the things we see and hear in our country because we feel that we have perspectives that we want to share with other people. Whether or not you’re going to agree with us doesn’t matter, the conversation around what’s going on is important–the worst thing we can do in bad times is ignore each other. So hopefully we can attract the attention and conversation of people on all ends of the spectrum.

How important do you think social media has been to this band? Do all you help to maintain all your sites or is one of you more into it all? Or do you rely on your PR/management team to handle it?

Social media has always played a vital role in how our band works, both myself and Brandon are the ones who maintain all of our different accounts. Having solid content effectively helped grow our online fan-base and we’re continuing to discover new ways we can help grow our brand.

Who would you love to work with in the future? Who are some of your favorite artists right now? What do you think would be a dream collaboration for this group?

Zax – I’d like to have our next record produced by Rian Dawson (All Time Low). They’ve always been one of my favorite bands growing up and what influenced me to play music. A dream collaboration would have to be a song we could write and have Justin Timberlake kill the chorus.

Brandon-It would be awesome writing music with Hayley Williams or Lynn Gunn from PVRIS, Tom Delonge, or Dave Grohl. I’m a big fan of Hip Hop too so I think a dream collaboration would be with artists like Dr Dre, Eminem, Kendrick, J. Cole, Anderson Paak or Snoop Dogg.

What do you hope is the message of your music? What do you hope people continue to take away from your songs?

I think our greatest accomplishment would be to encourage listeners to do good or to inspire positivity and the strength to keep moving forward. Although we write about upsetting things it’s always with the intention to spark reflection and to create conversation for how we can all improve things, whether for yourself or for others.

Would you like to share anything else about your music or this band with our readers?

We have a lot of new stuff happening over this year and look forward to getting back out on the road!