Dan MacFarlane of Sinch

Can you give us a little bit of insight as to who Sinch is?

We're just a bunch of dudes who grew up together. We formed a band in high school and never got around to quitting. Any more than that, you'll have to buy us dinner first.


How did you guys form?

We formed kind of organically out of another band that a few of the members were in. It started out with Mike and I, both playing guitar, with another drummer and bassist. For some reason (well mainly because none of us were very good at the instruments we were playing anyway) we decided to play different instruments: I picked the drums. Mike picked the bass. The original drummer picked vocals. And the original bass player picked doing something else with his life, so we needed someone new to play guitar. I blew a call in to Tony who I had known since we were in 2nd grade. He had a sweet BC Rich Warlock so I knew we were on the same page.

We wrote a few songs with that lineup (we called ourselves "Regret") and eventually got a gig at a party thrown by a bunch of jocks that probably hated us. In those days, Jamie was known to associate with certain jocks so he was actually at the party and saw us play. An offer was made and a rendezvous scheduled. Before long we were in my parent's basement writing what would become the first Sinch song ever written. The end.


What goes into the creative process for the band? What are your muses?

In the early days we had a rule: If you showed up for practice, you had better be tripping your face off on acid. Or cough syrup or whatever. Something to get the juices flowing. These days we stick with coffee, Gatorade and cheese sandwiches, but the idea is the same. Everyone brings something to the table. Nothing is off limits. Everything is in play.

To be a little more specific, we pretty much just "jam out". When we hear something we like, we put it in our back pocket. After a while we can't even sit down. Our ass is a bulge of random parts that we have to somehow piece together into something coherent (or not).

Sometimes it happens right away. Sometimes it takes years (literally). We still have unfinished songs from 5+ years ago.

When we have enough songs to fill an album we move things into the studio. It tends to get a lot more serious at this point. I can't say too much about what actually goes on as it's illegal to talk about in some states. (it has to do with infinity) But by the time we come out we have a new collection of songs recorded and a new place in the universe.


How did the Ocular Noise Machine come about?

While we were all putting in our hard time and paying our dues, Jay was coasting through art school, playing around with motion sensors and video projectors and generally just confusing the hell out of everyone. Being fans of both video and mass confusion we thought there might be something worth exploring in a joint venture. Through a series of conversations and sit-downs we convinced him to work with us. Soon we were playing our old favorites to the new backdrop of live video, but it wasn't yet being "played" like a "guitar" so we went back to the drawing board.

The initial design was made of heavy wood and had more wires than your Uncle Louie's Hot Shit Machine. But it worked. And worked. And worked some more. Then Jay built a new one. It was made of clear plastic so you could see how smart Jay was (because of all the wires). Most people still thought it was a musical instrument, but really it was the best thing since Sliced Bread 2: Electric Boogaloo.

After a while, Jay realized there's money to made in them thar hills so he started a business, called Livid Instruments. They sell both the software he uses and some not-so-much-guitar-shaped-but-still-capable consoles that you can use to perform live (or in your mom's basement. They work anywhere!)

And that's the story of the Ocular Noise Machine.

How difficult is it touring with such a visual intensive setup?

It all depends on the situation. When we're headlining it's a lot easier because we can use the stage however we want and we usually have plenty of time to set up, although even then we're limited by the venue size. Sometimes, no matter how much time we have, we just can't fit our stuff on stage. So we carry a smaller, alternate setup that can be used in smaller venues.

It becomes more of a challenge when we're opening for someone. They usually take up most of the stage before we can even start setting up, so it's a matter of working around what's there. Also, there's always the chance that the headlining act won't let us use any video screens at all. It's really their call. So if you're an up and coming band trying to do live video or some other elaborate stage production, make sure you're nice to the headliners (kiss their ass) because they can shut you down at a moment's notice.


How important is visual art to your band?

It's very important but at the same time, it's always been about the music for us. We usually don't get into the visual side of things during the writing process, so for a while we're definitely more focused on just writing good songs. It works out well actually since Jay started his business as he's pretty busy a lot of the time and can't be at every single rehearsal.

As far as the live show goes it's an integral part of the show. We always try to write the songs to stand on their own, but as a band we put together a performance that always includes the visual stuff... that's what we want to present to our fans. The whole package. We don't even really think about the live show without thinking of what kind of things we want to do visually. We have to give credit to Jay for most of that, but it is a collaborative process. Tony has contributed some visual elements over the years and we all bring ideas to the table, just like with any other aspect of the band.

Beyond all that though, we really just wanted a bald guy in the band. And Jay was the first one that came to mind.


What's a tour like for Sinch for the moments that you aren't on stage?

We're usually in a van that smells like someone's ass wondering how much longer it's going to be until we can stop at a gas station and get something to eat. If we're lucky, we get into town early and we can actually do something fun like antiquing or what have you. Sometimes Jay will buy a pair of cowboy boots, just because.

Another sizable portion of our time is spent waiting for nothing in particular to happen. Sometimes we're lucky in that we get to the venue with plenty of time to spare, but we're also unlucky in that the venue is located in Combined Locks, WI and there's nothing worth mentioning within a 50 mile radius. So we hurry up and unload our equipment and hurry up and do sound check and then we sit around for 4 hours. Luckily, we live in modern times and have things like Mad Libs and Travel Connect-4 to keep us busy.

Also, I can't forget that other important activity that takes up a lot of our time while not on stage: drinking. When you don't have to go to work and people would rather pay you in free beer than cash, it's kinda hard to avoid.


Anything that really helps you unwind?

Sleeping
Hotel rooms (as opposed to sleeping in the van)
Alcohol
Not having to drive very far
Video games
Listening to samples of Mike's farts
Flushing stuff down the toilet
Throwing food in the dressing room
Making fun of CDs that other people give us (sorry, most of your bands' just aren't that good)
Annoying whoever is driving
Fucking with anyone who falls asleep
Announcing that you have to piss and/or that you just farted.


Was there a great tour that you can remember you guys being on? Any favorite shows?

I can only speak for myself but our tour with Stone Sour and Chevelle back in 2002 is probably my favorite one. We honestly haven't done a tour that big since then so it's not surprising.

I'd say my favorite show on that tour would have to be Tampa, FL. For whatever reason the crowd there was really into us, more so than any other show I can remember. It feels good to be the opening band and get a reaction like everyone is there to see you. The crowds were good for most of the tour but in some cities we got more of a mixed reaction. Tampa was all about us.

Anything you'd like to plug or add?

We just recently launched our newly redesigned website: http://www. sinch. net
Everyone should check it out. We have a blog, a message board, a bunch of free downloads and tons of other stuff (and we're adding more every day).

We also have a store where we sell our music as digital downloads (there's links to buy CDs and shirts and stuff too). The downloads are directly from us though so none of your money goes to a label or anything like that... it's all directly supporting what we're doing.

http://www. sinch. net/store

And if anyone wants to stay updated they can sign up for our mailing list:
http://www. sinch. net/mailing_list

Thanks!
Dan