Q: tell the readers who you are and what you do
Rebekah: We are The Neuro Farm, and we’re a gothic rock band from the DC/Baltimore area. Rebekah sings and plays violin, Brian sings and plays guitar, Tim is on keyboards, and Colin plays drums. We like to create music that is not only dark and beautiful but also interesting and unconventional. Some of our songs are more stompy, think Sisters of Mercy or Rammstein, while other songs are more sentimental and symphonic. If our music moves you and makes you think, then we’ve done our job.
Q: Favorite road snack?
Rebekah: Brian, Colin, and I love to eat nuts! Have you ever watched Best in Show, the 2000 mockumentary by Christopher Guest? We love pretty much every nut, "Peanut. Hazelnut. Cashew nut. Macadamia nut." (it’s a reference from the movie… If you haven’t watched it, you need to!) In particular, we love almonds and cashews! They’re delicious, healthy, and keep you full for a while.
Tim: Pop Tarts.
Q: If you were a salad what dressing would it have?
Brian: Red wine balsamic Vinaigrette, maybe? Very dark, but also good and it goes well with so many thing!
Q: Tell a story about a song that had a big impact on you when you were growing up.
Brian: The first that comes to mind is “Comfortably Numb”, by Pink Floyd. The first time I heard that song it completely blew my mind, and I feel like I was never the same afterward. It’s on an album that tells a cohesive story from the first song to the last, which is something I knew I wanted to do someday, and we achieved this with our Vampyre album… the album even begins and ends with the same musical theme, just like The Wall. Also, Dave Gilmour is the single biggest reason I decided to pick up a guitar, and that last guitar solo on Comfortably Numb might just be the best of all time.
Colin: One song that had an impact on me growing up was Tea in The Sahara. The songs and
sound of The Police were so identifiable and so original, and that track put me in a
trance when I first heard it. Still does now.
Rebekah: I listened to a lot of classical music growing up. When I was about six, someone gave me a cassette tape with the Dvořák: Humoresque No. 7 in G-Flat Major piece on it. This is not really a song but a piece of music that had a big impact on me - it’s just so emotional and beautiful but somehow playful at the same time. I’m pretty sure this is when I decided to play the violin.
Tim: It may sound weird, but The Human League “Don’t you want me”. When I was 8, I used to hear this as a lead-in to many TV shows and it always stuck with me how much I loved the synth and the driving beat of that song more than the lyrics. The synth hooks just shaped how I thought about how a synth hook can be a lead instead of a guitar.
Q: How did you develop your sound?
Brian: It took us a while to find our sound. Rekebah and I started playing music, but our first two albums were more dark indie rock with a leaning toward goth, especially in a few songs like Black Wings. But as we played out around town, we noticed those songs were connecting with people the most, and as we started leaning more and more in that direction, I think our shows became more and more fun, both for us and the audience. Then we started writing and recording our Vampyre album with Tim joining the band, and it leans heavily in that direction and has really defined our sound now. Our music pulls from a lot of genres, but our music is very dark and the aesthetic is very goth.
Q: Who is your dream collab?
Colin: It would be a dream to collaborate with Nick Cave. How unspeakably cool would that be? Hard to imagine that not being a professional pinnacle, if one were lucky enough to have that experience.
Rebekah: Chelsea Wolfe! I love her music and have bought all the Earthquaker pedals because of her. The way that she runs her vocals through guitar effects pedals is very cool. She’s my main inspiration for my pedalboard. In the unlikely scenario where she reads this, Chelsea, I’d LOVE to collaborate with you!!!
Tim: Chino Moreno of Deftones - his lyrics and vocal styling are so unique and emotive and fit so well into my idea of a musical project. Similar to his side project, Crosses.
Brian: Maybe Trent Reznor? He seems to have a deep understanding of pretty much all aspects of making music, and I feel I could learn a whole lot from him. Though I also feel that if there were an opportunity to work with him, I’d just wind up doing the Wayne’s World “We’re not worthy! We’re not worthy!” thing.
Q: If you couldn’t do what you do, what would you do?
Brian: When Rebekah and I aren’t playing music, we are scientists! Neuroscientists, in fact. Life is short and there are so many interesting things to do, we can’t settle on just one.
Rebekah: Besides neuroscience and music, my other passion is animal rescue. I’ve been volunteering for City Dogs Rescue since 2013. I try to help out whenever I can, but I’d like to do more. There are always more animals that need us.
Tim: If i weren’t in a band, I would produce other artists. I’d try to help them reach their potential and have my own creative spin on their work.
Colin: If I couldn’t play music and were going to reinvent myself, I would be involved in aviation. If not actually a pilot, perhaps involved in aeronautical engineering and design. There’s not a lot of crossover skills between drumming and flying, but they are both fascinating disciplines that require a lot of dedication and passion.
Q: What is your motivation?
Brian: Music had such an impact on me growing up and becoming who I am today, and it has brought my life so much joy and meaning. Music is one of those rare things in life that is just an unqualified force for good, so if I can contribute to that and connect with people and make their lives just a little better during the five minutes they’re listening to one of our songs, then I call that a success.
Colin: Music still moves people, including myself, like few other simple pleasures on earth do. It’s a dark thought to imagine not being immersed in it and finding purpose with something that’s so enjoyable and brings so much joy to others top. It’s also gratifying to be in a band which is a unique shared experience and full of the good, bad, and ugly.
Rebekah: My motivation in life in general is to seek wisdom and to be virtuous. When it comes to music, I suppose it’s an indulgence. Playing music is a form of release and can be quite meditative.
Tim: I would like to leave behind a legacy made up of my body of work. Having my musical DNA to live on beyond my physical existence and continue to inspire other ideas for eternity.
Q: Have you had any weird fan interactions?
Brian: One that was weird in a good way was a really young (10 years old?) fan we had regularly coming to our shows a few years back. He was learning to play the drums, and during his class recital where students were doing a drum karaoke thing, while the other students were playing along to bands like the Beatles and Guns and Roses, he was playing along to The Neuro Farm! We were flattered, so we showed up to that recital to listen and cheer him on… it may have made him a bit nervous, but it was most definitely a good time.
Q: Do you have any pets?
Rebekah: Oh my god yes! Between the four band members, we have four dogs and three cats: (woof) Nash, Nellie, Barkly, Max; (meow) Figgy, Dexter, Dante. We love them so much!
Tim: follow Figgy on @figgyFriday!
Q: Where can people follow you?
Rebekah: Just type “The Neuro Farm” into your favorite search engine and there we are. We are easy to find. :)
Q: What do you want to say to your fans?
Brian: A new single or two are coming this fall, and a new album next year. Stay tuned!
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