A Photo Finish – Growing Pains

Listen to the new song from A Photo Finish – Growing Pains

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Exclusive Interview

Tell us about where you are from and how you got to this position today.
We are from Wheaton, IL. Brian, Adam, and Tom had been jamming together for the past few years and had been in various different projects. They began formulating ideas that were different from those projects with a focus on just having fun with it.

Originally, Tom was the vocalist, but he decided that singing and playing guitar took too much away from our live performances. Pat came in and re-recorded all of Tom’s vocals and added the much needed energy to our shows. Everything fit nicely and we were able to release an album and Pat began writing material of his own.

Our music now reflects an additional influence with Pat. When our drummer left to pursue other opportunities, Joe replaced him. The addition of Joe and Pat propelled us forward and inspired us to produce a more polished product that we can all be proud of.

What do you have coming up? What are some of the new projects we can expect to see?
We are working on new material for a second album. Our first album was pretty aggressive, so now we are looking to develop a style that will appeal to a wider audience and hope to be playing many more shows in the future.

Tell us more about the current song you are promoting to everyone.
Growing Pains is very different than our other songs because it is slower and more melodic than what we usually write. It conveys a positive message, giving hope to those who are feeling regret in their lives and think that their youth is stolen from them too early. Life goes by so fast, sometimes it’s hard to enjoy the present.

How does your music separate yourself from other artists and bands out there?
First and foremost, the focus of our message is based heavily in the lyrics. We’re a fun, positive group of guys that enjoy playing together and we’re not afraid to be goofy once in a while. We try to write about experiences that everyone can relate to and connect with. We don’t fall into one specific genre of music because our songs differ greatly from one another. We hope that our melodies and our message will get stuck in your head for days.

Tell us about one of the hardest challenges you had to face in the industry?
Knowing that we have a quality product, but struggling to find ways to expand the fan base. Nowadays, we have very limited resources for promotion and the digital media world is constantly changing.

What was one of the biggest set backs in your career and how did you bounce back?
Finding the right people when a band member was unable to continue playing with the group. It takes a lot of time and effort to search for a new vocalist and we struggled with that for 1 year. Also, we have gone through many different drummers as well. We feel that this group’s cohesion is the best we’ve ever had and we are tighter as a band because of it.

What are some things artists need to be careful of?
Be wary of promoters. Some are good, but some do not fully understand the nature of the business. Try to get on a bill with other bands that have a similar style.

What suggestions do you have for other artists like yourself?
Don’t try to be something you are not just to please the current trend or scene. Be yourself and make sure you have fun with it because when it starts to feel like work it’s not worth it.

What is one of your favorite ways to promote yourself and your music?
We network with other bands and fans at shows we play. We also enjoy attending local shows and promoting for the people that enjoy going to local shows as much as us.

Where can people visit you?
Facebook: www.facebook.com/aphotofinish
Reverbnation: www.reverbnation.com/aphotofinish

If you want a sneak peek of what we’re working on, visit Adam’s Soundcloud at www.soundcloud.com/akalkman. Check out our music on iTunes and Spotify too!