Today we are thrilled to be joined by Maddison Falls! Before we dive in, can you take a moment to introduce yourselves?
Hello, Im Julien Fiore. I’m 13 years old, I play drums, and I’m the Lead Vocalist.
Hi, I am Joel Soto. I’m 14 years old and I play Lead Guitar and also sing background vocals and vocals.
Where does the name Maddison Falls come from?
Funny story, we were on our way to our first photo shoot and were trying to come up with a name that felt right to the band. We passed a street called “Maddison” in the city of Pasadena, California. We had a car full of family and friends, and we yelled, “How about Maddison?” Everyone reacted positively. Then someone said, “How about Maddison Falls?” Again, everyone liked it immediately. We thought if everyone is reacting this positively, this fast, it must stick! So it did. We gave it meaning by saying that we (Julien and Joel) are “Maddison” and “Falls” is our way of saying we will protect our listeners from falling by making great music. Ya know, get you through hard times, fun times, music does that all the time.
Congratulations on the release of your new single “Both Sides!” Can you tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the song and what the process was like writing it?
Julien: My dad and I were driving and it was raining pretty hard out. The windshield wipers were creating this rhythmic beat in my head and I immediately started singing, “I spilled some beats, on the drums, it reminds me of, when I was young,” in the melody that is in the final song now. My dad was like, “What was that?!” And I said, “I don’t know, I just made it up.” He said to do it again, so I did. When we got home, we picked up guitars and “Both Sides” was born. The lyrics came to me very easily, sort of like the melody did. We have a studio at home and started recording that very day. Later, we played it with Joel at the studio and he added his flavors to it, as did my mom and dad. They produced it and helped arrange it, as they have both been professional musicians most of their lives, which comes in handy! The song was born and completed within a couple sessions. We love it and hope audiences do too. We are grateful for every single listen we get!
What was the recording process like? Did you work with a producer in the studio?
Julien: We built a home recording studio at home in the back house… we call it The Back House Music Company. We record everything there. It’s just a room, but set up really cool with some great gear.
Joel: when I got there, the basic tracks were laid down and I just started hearing all kinds of melody, so did Shayna, (Julien’s mom) and she kept singing these wild guitar melodies. What a blast it was to create them together. Julien’s dad had really crushed the recording, it was sounding so good. Julien and I just got so inspired, the song came out awesome, at least we love it!
The video for “Both Sides” is visually stunning and adds another layer to the song’s narrative. What was the creative process like for making the video?
Julien: My dad is an Emmy award winning director and my oldest brother is a cinematographer. They pulled together an amazing crew. We found this old parking garage that felt like the song. The lyric talks about “the dark and the light” and we wanted to capture that, so an old garage was the perfect place. My dad, along with our producers Justin Schwan, Taylor, and Andrew wrote this cool concept: a mix of live performance and us hanging out, it just worked. It was such a fun day for us.
Julien, you handle both vocals and drums for the band, which is quite unique. How do you balance these two roles, and do you find one influences the other in your creative process?
Julien: I’ve been playing drums pretty much my whole life. Having musicians as parents helps. There was always a drum around, a guitar around, instruments everywhere. I was always inspired to beat on things vs playing with toys. Singing was tough at first. Being 13, I felt like my voice sounded so young, so I kept grinding to get it to a place where it felt natural. It is a little hard to really rock out as a drummer. Like, moving around a lot because I have to keep my head still to sing, but I love them both equally, so it just turned out like a Don Henley or Phil Collins Vibe.
Joel, your guitar work is a defining element of Maddison Falls’ sound. Who would you say are some of your musical influences and how they shape your playing style?
Joel: I would say I’m an old soul, at least people tell me that. Eddie Van Halen is my biggest influence, he was just so incredible in every way. I also love Jimi Hendrix and David Gilmore, so I idolize classic rock guitar legends. I also love funk, blues, reggae, and certainly don’t want to be one style. I keep learning everyday and I do play my guitar a lot. I hope to be seen as a great guitar player one day. I think the best part of Maddison Falls is that we have these two unique kids that are influenced by different styles of music, but also like the same stuff, so bringing our own flair to the songs is what really makes us stand apart and we are loving that. It’s so new, I know, but it’s fresh and exciting.
Maddison Falls has been described as a band that woodsheds daily. Can you elaborate on your commitment to practice and how it contributes to your musical evolution?
We both say practice, practice, practice, daily. There is not a day that goes by that we are not playing something, that’s the truth!
“Both Sides” showcases a blend of catchy melodies and powerful lyrics. What comes first in your songwriting process, the music or the lyrics?
On ‘Both Sides,” it was the lyrics, then melody. It just came to Julien in the car listening to the beat of the windshield wipers. That’s just so cool. Sometimes its a guitar riff or melody that starts a song, but in this case it was windshield wipers!
Did you come from musical families? What are some of your earliest musical memories from growing up?
Julien: My mom and dad are both musicians, my mom has 2 albums out on all streaming platforms www.everythingshayna.com. My dad toured for 14 years with Gary Puckett and the Union Gap, and before that in a rock band opening for the likes of Van Halen, Poison, and Warrant. My dad’s on many records and is now writing with the band Always Will (made up of my mom and my dad) with releases coming soon. My dad is also releasing The Michael Perspective songs that are more rock, which he’s writing now.
Joel: My dad plays a little guitar and music has always flowed around my house. I have so much support from my mom and dad and its clear they believe in me, makes wanting to play so much fun. I play guitar and piano and truly play daily. Most importantly, we have a tribe of family that support us and want us to be rock stars, we are really lucky.
As a relatively young band, what have been some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced in your journey so far, and how have you overcome them?
The hardest part so far is time really. We have to be driven around to places because we are too young to drive, so that’s a challenge. However, technology has allowed us to see each other everyday via FaceTime or Zoom, so we are constantly collaborating. There is nothing like being in person though. The other challenges are school and life’s other responsibilities. Next year Julien and I are both attending CSARTs in San Gabriel Valley and that’s gonna be amazing to be together that much!
Can you give us a glimpse into what the future holds for Maddison Falls? Are there any upcoming projects or performances on the horizon?
We have a battle of the Bands at Bonita High School in La Verne on May 17, 2024. After that, we are focusing a lot on recording. We expect to have a full hour-long set of originals by the end of the year and plan on releasing a single every 4-6 weeks. Buckle up we say, here we come!
Finally, if you could collaborate with any artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Oh man, Julien you go first: Ummmm SO SO many… Twenty One Pilots’ Tyler Joseph would be amazing but so would Stevie Wonder or Bob Marley, Tyler the Creator and so many more. I truly am diverse in what I listen to and hope we find a niche where we can explore all our styles in our music. Joel: Well that’s easy, Eddie Van Halen and Jimi Hendrix. But then there is David Gilmore (who’s alive) so that’s possible too! I love guitar players and guitar music, finding ways to make classic guitar new is what we are going for.
Thanks so much for spending some time with us, Maddison Falls! Best of luck with the new single, “Both Sides” which is out now! Where can people go to find out more about you and your music?
We are so lucky! You can find our music (well the one song so far) on all streaming platforms… Go to: www.wearemaddisonfalls.com/links to get to a few of them and the music video. But we are on everything from Spotify, to Tidal, to Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube, Pandora and many more. We are on TikTok and Instagram as well, all are linked on our website: www.wearemaddisonfalls.com. Thank you so very much for having us, wow that was fun. Thanks again!
