Active-Rock band The Failsafe have done it again! Following the success of "Dying to Exist", the four-piece are returning with another heavy-hitter — "Wolves". Of the track, vocalist Jesse Weber states, "'Wolves' paints a picture of addiction, depression, something that you're passionate about even, where somehow you always end-up coming back as that animal. It doesn’t take a lot to get you there although it takes you away from it...It’s the aftermath of what happens when you run with the wolves. It’s left to the imagination of what happened before that with accents of bruises and blood.”
I recently had the chance to chat with Jesse about his creative process, his advice for aspiring young musicians, inspirations, and more!
MSM: How do you approach the songwriting process and where do you draw inspiration?
JESSE: That's a good question that's constantly changing. When we first started as a group, it was basically the the three members at the time coming together with ideas, and then we'd kind of decide what direction we wanted to take it in, and apply lyrics that would make sense. So we would do what we call vocal mapping. We would take the lyrics and we'd fill out syllables and kind of make the lyrics fit the syllables we wanted for the song, to fit the hooks, and we kind of went from there. A lot of our older music, most of our music, honestly, that's kind of how we did things. Up until recently when we started working with different producers just to get another hand in the cookie jar, so to speak, a creative hand. And that process has been definitely transforming. In my opinion, it's better to have more cooks in the kitchen working on stuff, especially if you're working with people who write music 24/7, for years straight. They're really good at it, so kind of teaming up with them on songs, to collaborate and use their production has definitely been a game changer. We've applied that to like, the last two or three songs that we released.
Your lyrics often touch on deeply personal experiences and emotions. How do you go about writing such personal topics and balancing with being vulnerable with a sense of privacy?
We kind of throw the privacy part to the wind. Whatever happens, happens. You know, writings, therapy, lyrics, with therapy, and coming up with that story, and lots of draw from our own experiences, good and bad. You know, maybe we were wrong, maybe we were in the wrong. And we draw on all those experiences when we're writing the music and it helps it just be more real and kind of come across more genuine. And, you know, if people don't like it, unfortunately, that's what I feel, and that's not going to change. That's what we feel. So, yeah.
Just kind of being real and honest and hoping someone connects to it?
Basically, yeah. And honestly, since like before, I used to be very enigmatic with how I wrote, you know, you draw your own meaning, and it didn't really get me anywhere. Once I started being real, it felt like more people, especially in this band, have grabbed on to the songs. More they relate to them more, it's almost like we picked the lane like, Hey, we're going to be sad and upset for this reason on this song, and if you jump on this highway with us, and that's kind of how we've created more die hard fans than just more casual fans that are like, "oh yeah, they don't suck."
Yeah, that's great. So, how do you go about taking the emotion and feeling and translating it into a music video?
That is a really good question. It goes into a lot of different elements. Number one, just kind of putting the situation in your head as you're about to perform, pretend the entity that you're singing about is on the other side of that lens. And, so, really pushing that. Also, what we've learned in our last video, "Wolves," that we recorded— we did three shows on the way to recording that, and it kind of helped us really be in the moment, kind of capture that live feeling while capturing the emotion of the song and everything. So, we came out really well rehearsed and kind of ready to play ball.
Yeah, definitely. So, you have shared the stage with some big names like pierce the veil and secrets in addition to your own headlining tour. Have you picked up any words of wisdom that you would share to any new and aspiring artists?
I'd say just some of the best advice I would give to younger musicians is don't get involved in the whole groupie scene and don't try to run game on people at shows. Be there, be a professional, be a musician. It's not the time for that kind of thing. But also, more importantly, I've been in situations where headliners have been kind of reclusive, evasive, kind of standoffish, and sometimes even rude. And then, you know, situations like with Pierce the Veil where these people were completely amazing, super selfless, and very nice. Looking at that, when I get to that level, I'm going to probably be more like a Pierce the Veil versus someone who was the opposite of that, basically. So, just kind of learning being treated certain ways and seeing how what resonated more with me, and that's how I'm planning on treating bands going forward.
Yeah, definitely. So, can you tell me about a particularly memorable performance so far in your career?
Yeah, actually. So, we just came off of a three week tour through the western part of the US, so everything from Oklahoma to Hollywood up to Oregon and back to Iowa or Idaho and Kansas. And there was a spot in Wyoming. I've never been to Wyoming. I never planned on going to Wyoming. And there was this place called the Lincoln Theater. And it really especially kind of coming off of some some rougher shows with some rough treatment, you know, getting a place to set up my merch, and it's a chance to make my money, all that stuff. They really treated us well there, the audience there showed up at the beginning of the show when we were on, and they stayed all the way till the end. They were super compliant when, you know, you tell them, put your hands up, you know, get your light on your phone. We got a lot of amazing memorable footage from that show. We were able to meet some really cool industry people that happened to be at that show as well. And this could be potentially life changing, depending on how we how we go about it. So I have that show to thank for it.
Things you would never expect to happen in Wyoming.
Yeah, absolutely.
So, what do you think sets your music apart?
Well, we're kind of in the metalcore genre, but we focus more on being melodic than just screaming, and we also try to really wrap in, especially more of late, the storytelling with the lyrics. We're really kind of drawing elements from country lyric writing that kind of paints the story without it being boring, and kind of keeping with the theme, and trying to mix that with the poppiness and the hooks with, you know, our metalcore background, and keeping things melodic, but at the same time, you know, adding the screams in those those moments, versus just kind of all throughout. So I guess that's kind of us in a nutshell. It's very dynamic. It's never going to be too soft. And we're going to always try to tell a story that is relatable and that will get stuck in your head.
Okay, awesome. So, what artists have been inspiring you the most lately, or artists that you kind of feel are really like pushing boundaries and changing the game?
Well, I always will say that my top one, my biggest inspiration, would be Bring Me The Horizon, just because I've watched these guys go through so many transitions, try so many different things, and that's inspired me to try different things. You know, like I mentioned when we started, we were just three guys, right? Now we're bringing in other songwriters, other producers, similar to the vein that they would do and, you know, trying to experiment with our sound a little bit. Try to take it to different different peaks and valleys and different things like that. So they've been huge for us. I've also always had a soft spot for synth wave, and especially 80s synth wave, so anything kind of retro like that, it always finds a way to creep into my music somehow over the years. And then, lastly, just from a live perspective, a band called A Killers Confession, another band we went on tour with, their lead singer, Waylon, is just an amazing frontman. He's in a completely different genre than I'm in, but so much of it translates when it comes to connecting with the audience on what I can do and what in my music, that he does with his music, and I've drawn a lot of inspiration from him.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to see them live someday.
Yeah, it's definitely a treat.
So, what is your motto or good advice that you live by?
There's a lot of mottos, a lot of advice trying to I always try to keep in mind, but try to think twice and speak once. That's something I've been developing over the years. That way I'm not talking out a turn, I'm analyzing more, and I'm being more calculated with my with my thoughts, my words, and my actions. The other big piece, especially coming just coming off of a lengthy three week tour where it was very chaotic, is just kind of that things aren't always going to be perfect, so deal at the moment and assess later, versus just kind of getting worked up in the moment and not being able to function properly.
Then my last question, is there anything else that you'd like to share with your fans?
Yes, if you're listening to this, thank you so much. If it wasn't for you and your support, we wouldn't be doing what we're doing today and trying to constantly push the envelope and have the strength to move forward with our next endeavor. So, thank you to all our fans. We just released "Wolves" a couple weeks back - the latest and greatest. Check it out on Spotify and YouTube. Or if you want to support our band in any capacity, the easiest way is to follow us on social media, on our Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, X, YouTube, Spotify, and all that fun stuff. That's my elevator speech.
