Moosic: First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
Olivia Lowe, guitar, flute, vocals: Henry [Zagarella, keys and vocals] came up with it before even getting the group together. We’ve asked him if there’s a story, but he just says he thought it sounded cool (he’s right.) There was never any debate, we all came on board with The Far Out in mind and knew that’s what we’d be.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
Lowe: This is going to sound so dumb, but I’m very competitive, and as a child I always wanted to be the best at everything. So I was skipping way ahead in our recorder books, I was the first kid to be able to make a sound on my flute, and I practiced all the time. But what’s funny is I didn’t consider myself a singer in the slightest until Colin’s wife, Jennelle, convinced me to audition for our high school’s a cappella club.
Colin Senechal, saxophone, guitar: Ryan [Fremont-Smith, bass, saxophone, vocals], Henry, and I have been playing together forever. As middle schoolers we had bands called Rainbow Pants, Take No Prisoners, and Stereotype — early iterations that spent countless hours deafening our parents in basements and garages. Through school, we played in jazz and pep bands with Ellie [Dolan, trumpet and vocals] and Drew [Phillips, drums] and we all met Liv a little later on.
Lowe: Yep, I was lucky enough to meet Henry and Drew at a high school theatre competition and the rest is history!
Senechal: Then there was Steve and the Believers, which was our early-college summer project where we all kind of started dialing in on our instruments and each other. After all of that time working together, we can all pretty much read each other’s minds on stage.
Phillips: In fourth grade we had to join concert band but I had no idea what instrument to play. After failing at nearly every instrument, I was given a set of concert bells as my first instrument. From then on I was a percussionist. Alongside this, I fell in love with the game Guitar Hero and its eventual spin off Rock Band which then included drums and vocals. I give nearly all the credit of my entire skill set to the game as a self taught drummer since it’s provided the foundation of how to play drums. I was able to implement these skills on to a real drum set in our schools pep band, in our jazz improv group Better Than Clams with Colin and Henry, the aforementioned Steve and the Believers with the addition of Ryan, and now The Far Out.
Dolan: I started playing music really young as a classical violinist, starting around age five and continuing until college. Later on, I learned the trumpet. Playing a string and a brass instrument allowed me to play in all types of orchestras and jazz bands which is how I bonded with Henry, Ryan, Colin and Drew in middle school and high school. In terms of singing, I’ve been singing as long as I can remember. My parents recently told me a story about how I used to sing myself to sleep as a kid and how I constantly made up songs for myself. It’s always been part of my life and my musical interest!
How would you describe your sound?
Senechal: I call it party music. A mix of old-school and modern pop/funk colors. A “blast to the past, Funkadelic Gas,” if you will.
Lowe: Definitely, I think of it as live dance music. High energy, funky, fun.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Lowe: Bands with multiple singers and big harmonies like Fleetwood Mac, Eagles, and The Doobie Brothers have a huge influence on our vocal arrangements, and I often look to Springsteen for horn inspiration believe it or not. But I think modern artists like Lake Street Dive and Ripe have had the most direct impact on our genre. Boston is clearly the place to be for us.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Senechal: Novelists, “Coda”
Lowe: buffchick, “Here Forever”
Phillips: Akintoye, “Imposter Syndrome”
Dolan: Linda Ronstadt, “You’re No Good“
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Lowe: Local shows and music publications – GRRRL Music is one of my faves. I’m also a lifelong radio listener, 92.5 the River has introduced me to so many of my favorite artists.
Phillips: I use Spotify’s “DJ” a lot with mixed results, but I tend to have a better variety of new music listening to the created “Radio” of my preferred artists or a specific song I have on repeat.
Dolan: I find a lot of new music from my bandmates! We have such a range of musical tastes so I discover a lot of different artists across a lot of genres. We’re usually sending around new songs we’ve discovered and nerding out about them together. I found Trousdale through Liv sending me their song “This is It” and Henry and Ryan are usually sending me lots of different funk artists.
Who is your dream producer?
Lowe: Cory Wong, 1000%.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Senechal: Chromeo! They seem like dudes that genuinely love making music and do it mostly for fun. I like working with people like that.
Lowe: Trousdale. The harmonies alone would go insane and I feel like we’d vibe really well.
Phillips: Lettuce or CASIOPEA would make for some insane big band jazz funk and I would be all over it (if I could keep up).
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Senechal: Growing up, my parents always had music in the house or car. Bruce Springsteen, Peter Frampton, Dave Brubeck, Pink Floyd, and The Police records were burned into my ears early on, so it’s probably no surprise that I gravitated to sax and guitar.
Nowadays, there’s so much cool music being put out in every genre, and I just want to be able to contribute to it. I love playing live music too, so I don’t think that will ever get old for me.
Lowe: A lot of the same, except that I grew up on early U2, Coldplay, and Dave Matthews! Then John Mayer and Jason Mraz entered the picture a little later on. But I don’t think it was until I discovered more folk music in my high school years (The Avett Brothers, City and Colour, Gregory Alan Isakov) that I thought I might want to step out of the classical and jazz world. I credit the Avetts’ Emotionalism and Mignonette with teaching me guitar. I’m motivated by the storytelling.
Phillips: I honestly don’t come from much of a musical family, however my older sister always had the newest NOW That’s What I Call Music CD, so I think a lot of my younger music taste was formed around that. My early childhood was a far cry from what I listen to now as it was a lot of punk/rap/R&B. Since then, thanks candidly to the very wide selection of music on the Rock Band Network, I have been introduced to many different genres and tend to gravitate more towards funk and rap as my playstyle fits these genres the most.
Dolan: I grew up in a very musical household with my Dad as a music teacher! I was raised on jazz musicians such as Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, and Louis Armstrong so it’s no surprise that jazz would be a huge influence on the music I want to perform and write. Similarly to Colin, music was always playing in my house, especially The Beatles, Wings, and Stevie Wonder. I really feel like I learned how to harmonize by singing along in the car with The Beatles. I’ve always loved ‘60s girl groups like the Ronettes and the Supremes and that influence has really stuck with me in my taste and how I like to perform as a vocalist.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
Lowe: Typically one of us will have a concept ready to go and bring it to the rest of the group to test out. Sometimes it’s just lyrics or a chord progression, sometimes it’s almost fully fleshed out, but a TFO song is never really done until we’ve all had a chance to play around with it together. We’re constantly throwing out wild ideas, and most of the time they make it into the final product.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Dolan: We love to dance, move, and have fun with each other on stage! Our goal is to connect with our audience and invite them to share the joy with us. When you see a band having a great time, you’ll have a great time too!
Homepage: https://thefarout.band/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefarout/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefarout
Bandcamp: https://wearethefarout.bandcamp.com/
What’s next for you?
Senechal:
Lowe: BIG things, both personally and band-wise. All I can say right now is stay tuned.
Bio:
The Far Out is a high-energy funk and soul-pop group from Boston, MA. The six powerhouse musicians engage their audiences with lush vocals and groovy horn lines, supported by the undeniable chemistry of a group of lifelong friends. Their goal is to include audiences in their infectious joy and spread the love of funk and soul music to younger generations. Taking after the likes of Eagles, Earth, Wind & Fire, and Fleetwood Mac, The Far Out is stacked with multiple lead singers and songwriters. Their genre is a cohesion of their individual tastes and influences, brought together by a shared aim to entertain and inspire. You’ll often catch the group of multi-instrumentalists switching roles during their shows, passing guitars around or joining the horn section between vocal harmonies.
