Best Not Broken
I had the best time interviewing indie alternative band Best Not Broken. They are talented and most definitely fun at parties! This is one post where you’re going to have to break down and watch the video ~ guaranteed to make you smile.
At one time, Best Not Broken was a cover band. They were waiting for the right mix of musicians to become a strong original project. The current Best Not Broken lineup includes Eric Jackson on vocals and guitar, Nik Farr also on vocals and guitar, Carlo Carluccio on drums and Brad Boyle on bass. Their 5-track EP Falling In has launched the band into the northeastern US indie limelight.
Like many bands, Best Not Broken met each other on Craigslist. Eric Jackson told me the story about how he met Nik Farr back in 2011: “It is kindda funny. At the time, my girlfriend was working with Nik’s sister. On a number of occasions, they both told me: ‘You ought to call Nik; he’s a great musician.’ We ran into each other on Craigslist, not knowing who we were. About a month after he joined the band, I realized this is the guy that I was being told about for a long, long time.”
Last year, the Best Not Broken added Carlo Carluccio, a well-known drummer on the New England circuit. He used to play drums for British heart throb Tom Jones. Carlo tells me that he’s a pants man; he likes to wear colorful pants.
Bassist Brad Boyle wore a hot dog hat to his second audition, and that’s how he got into the band. Brad minored in music history and theory. He’s been playing electric bass for bands in Washington, DC and Ohio, where he grew up, since 1995. This is the first group he’s played with in New England.
Lessons learned: Craigslist is a wonderful place to meet great musicians, and what you wear is what gets you noticed.
As for the band’s sound, Eric says, “We all have overlapping influences. There’s a classic rock influence in some of what we do. Nik and I are fans and students of 80’s and 90’s bands like The Police and R.E.M. I’ve always come back to the indie alt rock thing. That’s where we’ve been, and now we’re going to some new places. We all bring something unique to the mix.”
I adore the song and video for I Won’t Stop Loving You. This wonderful video lovingly follows the story told by the song. Although Nik jokingly takes credit for the video, Eric shared the true back story: “We worked with an awesome producer, Tanit Sakakini, who came up with the video story line, cast and concept for that song. We shot it right here in southern New Hampshire, in a town called Hollis. It was a 2-day shoot. One day, we stood in a very cold barn. The other day was a crazy, wild day, where we had a bunch of volunteers and a couple paid actors drive around this small town, filming and trying to avoid major car accidents. We had about 15 scenes to shoot in about 10 hours. It was a mad rush to get people from the staging area to the car location.”
The mature couple in the video was played by Eric’s grandfather, who is 91 years old, and his new bride, who is 89. Eric told me: “It was pretty cool having a lot of friends and my grandparents be a part of the video.”
Best Not Broken takes advantage of Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to get the word out about their music and to connect with fans. The band also had a fabulous new website. Nik Farr is the band’s social media expert. Most of the time, if you are talking to Best Not Broken on social media, you are talking to Nik.
When I asked Best Not Broken what advice they have for other artists, Nik joked: “Quit, and let us be free to be #1. We don’t want anyone in our way; we want a free ride to the top!”
After the laughter subsided, Eric added: “You’ve got to have a good product to start, but you’ve also got to find your audience and the best way to connect with them. Maybe it’s social media or maybe it’s doing a bunch of shows. It’s probably different for everybody. It’s an evolution that everybody has to go through, and we’re doing it, just like everybody else. Bottom line: it’s a lot of hard work and that’s the key.”
Best Not Broken is working on a new batch of songs that may become a new EP or album. Eric told me: “There’s talk of a single. Sometime in early 2015, you can count on a new release from us, and there will probably be a string of shows thereafter to promote that release. We’re looking forward to recording some new stuff.”
If you want to see Best Not Broken perform live, you can see them in the New England area, mostly in New Hampshire and Boston, Massachusetts. In 2015, the band expects to grow their touring area.
Follow them on the internet. If you can see them live, don’t miss that opportunity. They are tons of fun!
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Cynthia Kahn, Founder of Amused Now
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