While college might be the perfect atmosphere for learning and drinking, it is not the best place to create a band. Still, the UB students of Fighting for First make it work.
Originated in 2007, the pop rock outfit now features Matt Schultz on vocals and bass and Brian MacLeod and David Miller Jr. on guitar.
"We play everything, really. We usually say All Time Low or Blink 182, those kinds of things, but really everything," Macleod said. "One of the biggest criticisms of our band is that we don't really have a single sound. It changes with each song we make because it just happens to be what band we're listening to that day. Really anything from classical to hardcore metal."
The band tries to play shows every six weeks, making it tough to build up a lot of income. According to MacLeod, the band's money intake ranges between $10 and $400 per show. The band takes that money and mostly spends it on merchandise and equipment maintenance.
Though live shows don't occur frequently, Fighting for First doesn't find it difficult to secure Buffalo venues to play in.
"We've been playing at Club Infinity a lot, Town Ballroom once in a while, and Xtreme Wheels," MacLeod said. "A lot of local shows are at Xtreme Wheels just because it's smaller and cheaper I guess."
With ticket prices ranging from $10-$12, Fighting for First shows are not very expensive to attend.
"We try to get out to support the local shows if we can. If nothing else, it's just nice to be out there and talking to people, trying to help build that fan base," MacLeod said.
Merchandise, ranging from T-shirts to CDs, is a main staple in band income. However, both items also require funds to create.
"Usually you have to find someone who does screen-printing [for T-shirts]," MacLeod said. "It depends on how many colors you're getting, what kind of design you're doing. We usually pay about $200 for 25 or 50 shirts. Those usually go pretty quick so you make your money back and then some."
Recording is the most expensive task. According to MacLeod, it costs $100 to record a song. Add that to the eight hours it takes to record a song, and the band ends up investing a lot of time and money recording.
"I think we were going to try and do eight songs, which would have been $1,300… but we just finished our EP kind of thing so we were going to try making a full length, but we decided to do it ourselves," MacLeod said. "With mics and recording stuff we figured it would be about $800 all together, plus packaging for jewel cases and any artwork we need."
As shows and merchandise bring in little profit, which is then funneled into further recordings, the band members must hold down other jobs while in school.
"One guy works at Target, another guy is washing cars at a dealership. I work as a janitor at a high school. So we all do what we can to get by at the moment," MacLeod said.
With homework, work and classes, it can be difficult to schedule practice times, show times, and studio time. The guys practice only once a week because of homework and work commitments.
Although college presents its own unique obstacles for student bands, Fighting for First has managed a way to balance studies, finances and music. MacLeod hopes to continue with the band after college ends, at a time when they will have more resources to devote to the project.
E-mail: arts@ubspectrum.com
