Record to Rendered

Currently listening to: Coasts – The Way Things Have to Be

The Midwest is often looked over in terms of contributions to the music scene. Other than Chicago star players like Rise Against, Fall Out Boy and Alkaline Trio, there is little hype echoing throughout the four-seasoned states. That is, unless you dig a little deeper. In the center of do-it-yourself music is Indianapolis IN, home of the former band My Hidden Track. Having shared the stage with the likes of 1997 (Victory Records), The Ataris (Fat Wreck) and Forever The Sickest Kids (Universal Motown), the five-piece began alluring music hobbyists from all surrounding cities in 2006.

While My Hidden Track never had problems drawing a crowd to their shows, they did see a change in band lineup more than a couple times. In January of 2009, Elkhart native Chad Forbregd took his turn behind the bass. Having played for nearly a dozen local bands (including Monkey vs. Robot, American Thriller, Black Box Recorder and Lune) over his eight-year bass career, Forbregd took it as a challenge when My Hidden Track called it quits nearly a year after his coalesce. Picking up the pieces and starting anew, the four-piece began their new up-and-coming project, Coasts. The lineup now consisting of Nick Coffing (guitar/vocals), Alex Pantos (guitar), Chad Forbregd (bass) and Patrick Rud (drums), the boys have begun vamping the outlook for Coasts. Chad has been kind enough to fill us in on the reality of their successful past, the drama between bandmates, hardships of transitioning bands and the bright outlook of their new future.

Can you explain a little about the decision to hang up the proverbial My Hidden Track hat?

It was a hard decision and it probably doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to a lot of people and I think that has a lot to do with various rumors floating around. But we shot everyone a straight explanation in the press release. The ending of My Hidden Track was a chaotic and heartbreaking series of events. Chandler (guitar/vocals) had encountered a series of unfortunate and limiting obstacles in his personal life. Concerned for him as a friend we sat him down and asked him if he thought music should be a priority in his life and by the end of the night he told us that he wanted to get his shit together and stepped down from his position in MHT. The story was later manipulated to read he was kicked out of the band, which was far from the case. Originally we had just planned to continue on under the My Hidden Track moniker but we decided it wasn’t worth it. My Hidden Track was done, it had run its three years and out of respect for it we didn’t want to be MHT Version 3.0. I’ll never discredit our accomplishments with Hey Love, I’m in love with that record, but I also didn’t want the new songs that we wrote to be compared to it. So, the three of us started from scratch. It’s an odd feeling to start over again…

I’m not going to lie, Track had a lot of momentum, on a good night no one in Indianapolis locally could out pull us, but we had to work hard for it. At our CD release show we had roughly 200 paid entries. It really felt like we were the next in line to break through to the other side, so it’s an odd sensation to go back to the beginning again. But I’m excited about it. It’s put a lot of things into perspective and really made me reassess the reasons for why I play music.

Everyone seems to be really supportive and excited, but I think deep down no one thinks we can do it.  I think maybe that’s what excites me the most.

You guys haven’t wasted much time getting back on your feet with your new band, Coasts. What made you decide to begin the new project?

Coasts came before MHT even left. The three of us Pat, Nick and I knew that we were going to continue playing music together, we just didn’t know how exactly. I remember Nick talking to me while all that shit with Chandler was going on and he said that he just wanted to play simple, honest music with heart… that’s really the birth place of Coasts is within that idea of simple, honest, heartfelt music.

So what inspired the name “Coasts”?

Truthfully, we communicated via a Google Doc and narrowed a list of about 50 some band names down to Coasts. It was simple, eye appealing, and there was something oddly symbolic about it. This idea that a group of guys in the middle of Indiana would have a name like Coasts… it just really felt like it was time for us to sink or swim and Coasts seemed to evoke that attitude.

You recently posted the band’s first release on MySpace, the acoustic The Way Things Have to Be.  Is this the kind of sound can we expect for the rest of Coast’s first album?

Of the songs we have written The Way Things Have to Be is the simplest of all of our songs. It’s a straightforward indie rock song, I guess. You can expect the same type of honesty and aggression with the other songs but I’m trying to keep in mind a little piece of advice that a friend gave me once while we are writing these songs and that’s “This doesn’t have to sound like anything you’ve heard before.”

All four of us listen to a plethora of different things and that comes out in our music. I grew up on pop punk and Puff Daddy and then fell into a 80s rock drunken phase… all of that is in there somewhere. As a whole we are real big on The Get Up Kids, The Dangerous Summer and Gasoline Heart – all three of those bands seem to poke their head into our music from time to time. Hell, now that I think about it we kind of sound like if MHT grew up.

Have any head-spinning plans for Coasts’ first show or the album release?

I can tell you this much, both will happen by the end of January. We are going into the studio this upcoming weekend (January 8-10) and the plan right now is to record a three or four song EP that essentially we will give away for free. We are currently looking into having it pressed in some fashion so it will still look professional. So, the exact details are still being ironed out. We will know exactly what songs are on it and how we are going to present it to the world within the next couple of days. But know this: in one way shape or form these songs will be available for free. I’m going to see to it.

Where will you be recording?

I’m particularly excited about this recording. I suppose mostly for personal reasons. We will be spending two days locked inside Brazil, IN’s own Artisan Recording. The studio is run by Jon Hook (see also the drummer for Canterbury Effect) and I have had the privilege of working with him numerous amounts of times (MvsR’s second unreleased record, The Human Condition, Rialto and Jon even lent his drumming abilities to Lune’s No One Wants To Sleep Alone). There is no one I’d rather be recording Coasts EP with. Hook has recorded some of my favorite bands (The Honour Recital, Cape Renewal), bands that have changed my life. It’s an honor to be able to work with him again, I guess technically for the fifth time.

If you could share the stage with one band, which would it be?

If I’m dreaming here then I am going to be honest with you and say Blink 182. Do I necessarily think that what Coasts is attempting to do belongs on the same bill? No, but fuck it, a guy can dream. My two pipe dreams in this business are to work with Mark Hoppus and to pack the Metro in Chicago. A piece of me refuses to stop until I make these dreams a reality.

So while a guy is dreaming, let’s say you’re being poached by a label. What one would best suit Coasts?

A label that treats their bands the way that Richard and Stefanie Reines from Drive Thru Records treats their bands. I’m just not entirely convinced that it exists anymore. A family atmosphere. I remember hearing stories about those two inviting their bands over for Thanksgiving. They truly treated their bands like a family and that’s what I desire. I desire to work with people who I have equal love, admiration and desire to support but I don’t see too many examples of that. After My Hidden Track’s brief stint with the joke of a label Dare To Dream Records I’d release music on my own for the rest of my life if I thought I could get away with it. Unless you’re Lucero, you need a label at some point within your career but the more labels I monitor and the closer I get to questions like this one make me wish it was easier for bands to get mass distribution without them.

What’s the ultimate goal for your band?

Our goal is to ride it till it dies, push Coasts with every bit of effort we have stored up within us and see how far we can go. I think it’s safe to say that the four of us are prepared to put the rest of our lives on hold at the drop of a dime if Coasts starts doing well. As for me personally, I’m in it for the long haul. I’m fully prepared to extend my absence from college to pursue Coasts for as long as need be. I believe in this band and firmly believe that we can go far if the four of us work together, and keep doing what we do for all the right reasons: because we love it. I guess ultimately our goal is to write music we love, work with people we respect and play it for as many people as we can. I’d love to embark on a two to three week tour this summer and see what kind of response we get and then every couple of months hit the road for a week or two, build a following, etc.

Any last words?

I heard a quote once that went something like “Bands get together by accident but they stay together for a reason.” I guess I feel that way about Coasts. Here I am almost a decade later, in a different city playing music with people I didn’t know two years ago. Music has been an interesting ride and I don’t think I’ve ever taken it for granted. I still say a prayer before every show and I text my Mom to tell her I love her. I’ve learned a lot and I’m suddenly starting to see in a new light. I’m grateful for Coasts. Nick said the other day, sort of as a joke that he wanted to be “Less AP and more Rolling Stone.” I don’t know about Rolling Stone but, I agree. I just want to play good, honest music with people I love and respect… and I want to do it for a very long time.

To keep up-to-date with the progress of Coasts, follow them on Twitter. To hear The Way Things Have To Be, check out their MySpace.

*Photos by Peter Lockhart