(Ryan Brasher) We started the band back in 2005 when we were all in high school together. It wasn't this lineup of course, and we weren't called A Phoenix Forever. Back then we were known as 'Fletch'. Tony and I are the only original members left now. As Fletch we became pretty popular in Las Vegas and some of the cities we toured to regularly. We ended up signing a deal with a new label that was started by Richard Daschut, the producer for Fleetwood Mac, and Kevin Moran from Warner Brothers. We were getting a lot of attention as Fletch. We toured a lot and kids loved our music and our show. We did shows with Panic At The Disco, Hawthorne Heights, Paramore, Amber Pacific, Bayside, , Hanson, The Higher, The Cab, Escape The Fate, Meg & Dia and a whole bunch of other great bands. Tony and I actually did a stint with a Disney band called Valora. We did an entire east coast leg of a Jonas Brothers tour. It was fun and exciting but it wasn't what we really wanted. It didn't feel like we were playing from the heart. Anyway, a lot of things happened that made us rethink what we wanted to do. The biggest thing was that the label went bankrupt before we released our first album. That sucked. Tony and I finally decided we wanted to get back to our pop-punk roots so we changed everything. We dropped the name Fletch, started writing more pop-punk and less pop rock and we changed the lineup a couple times. Nick has been with us since Fletch and after trying a couple of different people we finally picked up Chase and Kyle when their band The Countdown fell apart.We're really happy with the new direction, the songs and the lineup. The experience we had on the road with Fletch gave us a real education in how the business works and we found out what we really wanted. In my mind it's all about playing music you love with people you love and respect. If that's not what you're doing then it's just not worth doing at all. We have that now in APF. We're excited to get back out there and see what happens this time around. No matter what though, we're happier now with APF than we ever were with Fletch.We make music we love. We hope you love the music we make.
(Ryan Brasher) Oh yeah, we have all toured a lot. All over the U.S. We love it. Playing live is the ultimate. I guess one of our best experiences was playing a festival in Las Vegas called Red, White and Boom. It was a huge July 4th celebration. We played for over 40,000 people. It was amazing. When Tony and I were on the Jonas Brothers tour that was pretty epic too. That was an all arena tour up and down the east coast. Huge shows night after night.
(Ryan Brasher) Blink 182, New Found Glory, The Ataris, anything pop-punk. Blink is by far our biggest influence. That band influenced our whole generation. They made music that really defined who we are as a generation. There are a lot of other great pop-punk bands. We love them all. It's just who we are.
(Ryan Brasher) Orange cabinets and amps are my favorite. I've used a lot of other stuff but I love the sound my Orange gets. I am kinda partial to Gibson guitars. I have a few.
(Ryan Brasher) Just want to say that we're doing what we love and we hope you love what we do.