Photo Credit: Rita Iovine

Feeling like William Miller amid a Cameron Crowe-created realm throughout “Tell Me a Lie” by Fair Visions, I knew straight away that this was a band I was going to be entertained by, and the sentiment continued as I made my way through the handful of singles that can be found on their debut LP, ‘Quite An End.’ Due out May 7th, we talked to their own Ryan Work about the new music, sad lines, working with local legends, and more in this back-and-forth exchange.

Kendra: There has to be something quite grand in the water down in Franklin, TN. Not just you, but a little band by the name of Paramore started there. What’s in the water, not just in Franklin, but Tennessee as a whole that causes a great deal of musical wonder?

Ryan Work: Nashville and Memphis have always had unavoidable musical influence in Tennessee. Personally, growing up with country and classic rock radio influenced me greatly. I started playing guitar when I was three, my parents, grandmother, and uncle being early proponents of getting instruments in front of me and my brother. To me, music was always at least as important as school and socializing.

Kendra: However, you made the move up north to New York City. In a city full of creative types all doing the most to make their mark – how did you manage to initially find your footing and build your own community when you arrived? 

Ryan: I moved after a year home in Tennessee after college and moved to NYC with friends from Boston in the Summer of 2017 – our little community made the big city less intimidating. A good bit of that group is still pretty tight here, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens. After getting here, writing for a magazine, taking photos for bands, and working at venues and coffee shops helped me meet a lot of creative folks. In witnessing the synth scene I was fortunate enough to meet producer Abe Seiferth, who has now been an essential part of each Fair Visions release.

Kendra: Now let’s get to the music because you’ve already dropped a couple of EPs, but this year you’ll be releasing ‘Quite An End,’ the debut LP. How do you feel those two records – released amid the pandemic – compare to the LP, a record that’s being released in a realm where concerts and whatnot are 100% back?

Ryan: The three are from a pretty condensed amount of time though the record leans into the early pandemic more so than the EPs – but all songs from ’16-’21. ‘During the A Way Out’ and ‘Modern Kids’ phase we played as a trio – me, John Miller, and Leah Lavigne. I sequenced the drums and we would all play the parts live.

Both John and Leah made contributions to the LP. Abe brought in session players Tim Lappin and Chris Egan for the rhythm section, and the rest are friends of mine from New York and Boston. Opening up sonically from the intense sound of ‘Modern Kids’ has been really refreshing. 

‘Quite An End’ was recorded in the Summer of 2021. In a post-pandemic New York, the task of pulling a band together and playing these songs had been difficult for me to navigate. Only in the last year or so has it all begun to feel like it’s getting easier to get back to playing. Now I’ve got some talented friends helping to bring the music to life in front of an audience and I couldn’t be more grateful to all involved – it’s been a pleasure to find my footing again alongside them.

Kendra: As for the likes of “I Want You, Babe,” on the service, this could be a rather sweet love song, but once you press play it’s apparent that this is about the yearning one is left with after heartbreak with one of the saddest lines is “At least I can say you were a friend” One a relationship has run its course, do you think losing the friendship hurts more than losing the romance? 

Ryan: That’s only one of the saddest lines sheesh, I’ll work on making happier music y’all. That song was spurred by leaving Boston where I lived with my partner for two years and being back home in Tennessee without them. Between friendship or romance being more difficult to lose – my mind always goes back to the experiences and laughter shared with a person and losing that, especially initially, is really tough to stomach.

Kendra: Speaking of friends, you’re not doing this alone. You’ve got Tim and Chris by your side on bass and drums. Were they people you met early on once you landed in New York City?

Ryan: Tim and Chris are local legends Abe was able to call in while no one was touring in the pandemic. The friends of the project have always had a huge influence in making the music more than I could imagine. John and Leah are big influences on the EPs, and Miles Hewitt and Abe also helping to guide the LP.

Kendra: Time for a side note – With it being May, there are a lot of graduations happening across the country right now, and I’d love for you to share a song with the collective class of 2024. So what song would you dedicate to them? Can be one of yours, or another artist’s.

Ryan: “Passion Babe” by Aldous Harding has stuck with me. Finding and maintaining passion is an important and difficult thing. Our album track “Come Back” kind of speaks to that sentiment.

Kendra: Lastly, with ‘Quite An End’ out on May 7th, what else can the people expect from you as we start to roll into summer? 

Ryan: You can expect us to be here playing shows this summer for sure – we’ll have the record on vinyl! We’re at Rubulad on June 5 and TV Eye on June 24.