From Autumn To Ashes
Interview with Francis Mark
Words: Michael Spadoni
Photos: Jake Lowry

After going through some dramatic changes to their lineup, From Autumn To Ashes are back on track and moving forward with their collective lives.  Francis Mark, drummer and new front man/vocalist for the band, wanted to talk with Reax and clear the air before they come down to Florida in support of their new album, Holding A Wolf By The Ears.  They seem to have overcome the obstacle of losing a band member fairly easily and are ready to show their fans around Florida that they have more energy now then ever before.

REAX:  How did you prepare for the tour this time around… have you found a new drummer?
Francis Mark:  The hardest part was finding a new drummer.  We have a gentleman named Jeff Gretz playing with us now.  He was the missing link; I feel that everything is really solid now.  We put in a great deal of practice and we played one show on Long Island for a warm-up show in our old hometown.  Then I actually went on vacation for a few days to relax and clear my head so I could go into the tour feeling fresh.

REAX:  Can you tell us what Ben’s departure meant for the band at the time he left and how you were able to overcome that obstacle together and carry on without him?
FM:  When we started writing this record, it was pretty clear that Ben wasn’t going to have any involvement in the writing process.  He said that he was going to be a part of it and he said he had a lot of good material, but that’s something I’ve heard before.  I just wanted to be prepared in the event that he didn’t have anything so I started penning lyrics so we had something to fall back on.  He didn’t come to any of the practices… so it was pretty obvious that this was starting to happen.  The day that we found out that he definitely wasn’t coming it was a pretty big blow.  We were well into tracking and the record was almost done.  It sucked because everyone was so excited about how the music was coming out.  It had such an energetic feel and things were happening with the band.  It was coming together so quickly and it was one of the best recording experiences I’ve ever had.  So to have it countered with something like this was a bit overwhelming at the time.  Our record label immediately called… and you would think most record labels would be freaking out at this kind of situation.  You know, they just threw down all this money to make a record and the singer quits, but they were amazingly supportive about it.  They told me not to stress out, the answer was right in front of me… and that I should sing for the band now.

REAX:  So after all that time and effort, Ben just decided he didn’t want a part of it anymore…
FM:  Everyone invested a lot of time and effort.  I think the biggest thing that hurt was that I didn’t think we had really reached the full potential of what we were trying to do as a band.  If it would of ended before we finished this record, I would have been really disappointed that I had given the last seven years of my life to this band and never got to really hit the nail on the head.  Don’t get me wrong…I absolutely love every record that we’ve done and I’m very proud of them, but I think this new one is exactly what we’re trying to do.

REAX:  Do you think it was the stress of fame that ultimately got to him?
FM:  His priorities just changed, he doesn’t have the passion for playing music anymore.  I think that the band got bigger than any of us any expected.  We started this as a little hardcore band and we were going to play some shows on weekends and maybe do a little tour.  We didn’t expect that this was going to become our entire lives.  I think that it grew into something that was more than he was really prepared for.

REAX:  Would you say the new album is a more aggressive approach to the sound you’ve been molding over the years?
FM:  I think it comes from having faced the possibility that our band was about to be done.  After Abandon Your Friends, we went through some hard times.  I think that playing music is the main outlet and release for us in the band.  I think all the pent up energy comes through in the music.  We were really excited and felt lucky to be back in the studio again and have another chance at it.  Sometimes it’s easy to forget that the reason I play music is because I love it.