The Faim have been on a huge upward swing, landing one of the most anticipated albums of the year and touring heavily with scene favorites. Before their show with Stand Atlantic this week at Crescent Ballroom, drummer Linden Marissen took a moment to talk with Atlas about the band’s new music, the perfect tour and what’s coming up for The Faim.

Atlas Artist Group: Can you tell the origin story of the band? What brought you to this point? 

Linden Marissen: Stephen and Josh started the band while still in high school. Sam was good friends with Josh and had a band called The Faux, who also played some shows with The Faim. I myself was also playing in local bands and when The Faim’s original drummer left the band I was quick to put my hand up for the opportunity. I was already friends with the guys and met them at our local rehearsal studio spot.

Atlas: What artists/bands were most influential growing up as compared to now? 

Marissen: For me, the bands that influenced me growing up still influence me now. A couple of favorites from back in the day include The Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana and Foo Fighters. These days I’m really digging Idles out of the U.K. and Violent Soho from Australia. I was also blown away by The 1975 after their Reading Festival headline set. 

Atlas: Your debut album was incredibly highly anticipated. What’s it been like finally having these songs out, playing them live, and the best responses you’ve gotten to the record?

Marissen: It’s good to have the songs out there for sure. It’s been a long time coming. Longer for some songs than others. The response has been amazing, particularly with some of the new songs like “Tongue Tied,” “Buying Time” and “State of Mind”, which lend themselves to the energy of a live show and our crowd. Personally, it feels great playing on these tracks in particular as all four of us were intimately involved in their creation. 

Atlas: Who have you collaborated with that you’d love to reconnect with? Who’s someone on your list that you haven’t gotten to collaborate with? 

Marissen: Drew Fulk who produced “Tongue Tied” was incredible to work with. He is known for working with heavier bands typically (Motionless in White and Beartooth are examples), but we just clicked with him and created an awesome song with him in “Tongue Tied”. I think the energy and willingness to experiment and explore was just so refreshing. We have all agreed that we want to work with Drew once again on album #2. 

As for other producers to work with – to be honest we worked with so many different producers on this album that we are more inclined to just focus on one or two producers that we know, like, and are comfortable with. So I think for album #2 it will be less about too many new producers. 

Atlas: If you could build your dream tour, who would be joining you on the road?

Marissen: The tour we are currently on has been pretty much damn near perfect to be honest. Stand Atlantic, WSTR, Hold Close and Point North felt like my dream tour and I want to give a big shout out to all the bands. Touring with bands you become friends with is so much fun. We’ve had days off in national parks like Joshua Tree and Death Valley and we have a little travelling family.

Atlas: What message do you hope your fans take away from your music? What message are you all actively trying to communicate to the world? 

Marissen: I hope they can find their own meaning in the songs. We’re not really trying to preach anything in our music, we’re just four guys writing music that we love and are passionate about. The big thing we’d like to say to the fans is simply thank you. Because without them there simply is no way we could do what we do. Hearing them sing loud and proud at every show is what gives us the energy to keep on playing and do this night in and night out. Especially when you are missing loved ones and a long way from home. 

Atlas: What’s coming up for The Faim? More new music, touring, etc? 

Marissen: We have a headline run in the U.K. and Europe starting in November. And apart from that I think a good amount of time off is on the cards. It’s been a grueling 18 months. I think by the end of the year it will be 232 shows over 21 countries…so a break is definitely in order and then I think we will begin working on album #2. Which we are all very excited about. 

Atlas: Where do you hope this project takes you? What’s your master plan? 

Marissen: I don’t really know if there is a scripted play-by-play master plan. Let’s just see what happens. In many respects the journey we have been on has already been more outrageous than I could have imagined. Having said that, we have a special chemistry…have laid a global foundation for our band are feeling more confident in our ability than ever before! Time will tell!

Story by Olivia Khiel
Photos courtesy of The Faim