Band happy to be busy and on the road


Ramin Niroomand knows the value of hard work.

A founding member of the San Diego-based post-hardcore band In Fear and Faith, Niroomand has worked for five years to develop the band into what it is today: a mean, lean touring machine that has taken a break not to unwind but to write and record a new album, Imperial.

SoCal sound · Based out of San Diego, post-hardcore six-piece In Fear and Faith will perform later this month in the Vans Warped Tour. - Photo courtesy of Mike Cubillos

“In confidence, we’re probably one of the hardest working bands in the business,” says Niroomand.  With over 300 shows notched in its belt from last year alone, that statement is probably not an exaggeration.

It’s fitting that In Fear and Faith’s growing success was cultivated in a distinctly 21st century foundation, the Internet (MySpace, more specifically).  In many ways, the band is a success story for a new era of music distribution, one that simultaneously makes it superficially easier to be found but also fundamentally harder to stand out in a crowd of thousands of bands trying to be discovered. But In Fear and Faith, Niroomand said, has always gone the extra distance.

“Technology has brought it to a point where you don’t need a million-dollar recording. There are bands out there that don’t even use real drums or bass guitar,” he said.  “What we’ve tried to do is create something with a little longevity.”

It seems to have worked for the new album, which at first glance is more of the post-hardcore that everyone’s heard before — scream-y verses intertwined with hook-laden choruses and heavy bridges — but upon further inspection is something far more intricate.  “The Solitary Life,” for instance, features an intriguing layer of cascading strings, and “Bones” contains more strings and a warmly contrasting piano line in the incredibly melodic chorus.  It’s a great sign for the band, because it allows it to slip free from one of the most common criticisms of the post-hardcore genre — that everyone sounds too much the same.  Niroomand couldn’t agree more.

“I think there are so many bands that are regurgitated attempts at what’s been done before,” he said.  “A lot of stuff sounds too similar … As rude as it may seem, I’m not a fan of much out right now.”

The new album, he said, was recorded with a clear focus on being more creative, more independent from the scene than ever before.  In Fear and Faith probably won’t appeal to listeners who don’t have at least some interest in the post-hardcore genre; however, Imperial is a strong effort toward becoming a band that can truly stand at the top of the scene with a distinctive sound all of its own.

“Our whole goal going into the studio was our heavy parts need to be heavier … but our heavy parts have to also be relatively intelligent,” Niroomand said.  “Our catchy hooks … we wanted to be ten times as memorable.  We tried to enhance everything.”

For the most part, this strategy has panned out as intended.  Although there are some weak points — some of the lyrics perhaps border on cliché, and some riffs could be embellished — the album overall is an impressive effort from a band that is still relatively young, at least in terms of big-time public exposure.

The Vans Warped Tour, which In Fear and Faith is set to play this summer, will go a long way toward introducing the band to a new and hopefully receptive audience. The tour, of course, is one of the most legendary music tours for alternative music genres like indie rock or punk, and Niroomand points out that this year’s Vans Warped Tour boasts a significantly stronger lineup than last year’s.

“I’m very excited for this Warped Tour, and I think it’ll be remembered for a while,” he said.

Life in a band that’s trying to break out is never easy.  The hours are long and decisions, both in and out of the studio, can make or break future success.  But Niroomand is thankful for what the band members have already achieved, and as far as he’s concerned, they’re living the dream.

“It makes me so happy to be busy in the music industry,” he said. Not that being busy also means not having fun.  In Fear and Faith, for all of its hard work, doesn’t seem to show any sign of burning out any time soon, and Niroomand certainly seems to participate in his share of some classic rock ’n’ roll mishaps.

“I’ve embarrassed the hell out of the band on stage while drunk,” he said. It’s indicative of their overwhelming energy and tenacity that the band is able to unwind by living it up on tour.

“We’re definitely the band that likes to party,” he said. “We really try hard to maintain a responsible level of alcohol consumption, though.”

All the same, the musicians still seems to know that nothing comes without hard work.  Maybe that’s why they insist on going the extra mile to provide background production for their live shows. And maybe that’s why they make an effort to actually have a light show. It’s this sort of effort that, looking from the outside in, is undeniably admirable.

“We try to make sure that these cheap 10, 15 dollar tickets are worth it,” Niroomand said.  And for now, the future looks bright for In Fear and Faith.  Perhaps the band name, taken from a song by influential and critically acclaimed indie band Circa Surive will serve as a lucky charm on its way to the top.  But if and when it does get there, at least no one will be able to say it wasn’t from hard work.

“We bust ass and go nuts,” Niroomand asserted with a chuckle.