When I think of artists starting a band, I picture a group of friends getting together in a garage. For some, that’s as far as they get. For others, they go the distance. The Strokes, Radiohead and U2 were all made up of friends who met in high school or college and went on to become some of the most popular bands of our parents’ generation. Many Vanderbilt student bands, including Edgehill, Colorado Straightedge and the Deltamen, share similar stories of meeting in college and forming a band out of a shared creative vision. Fizz’s story is a little different.
Orla Gartland, Dodie, Greta Isaac and Martin Luke Brown all had fairly successful solo careers in London before combining their talents and forming a band two years ago. Within two weeks, the band managed to brainstorm and record enough material for their first album together, “The Secret to Life.”
Prior to the release of their debut album, Fizz dropped five singles. Their music is loud and all over the place, with some of their tracks having five key changes within three minutes. The band makes sure to not put too much stock in perfection and focuses on having fun together.
A day before their first album dropped on Spotify and Apple Music, The Hustler was invited to a Zoom press conference with other news outlets from around the country. Many of the questions focused on the album, as well as the meaning of its title.
“The secret to life is us, our friendship,” Dodie said.
It is a rare phenomenon for a group of solo artists to come together, and Fizz asserted that their transition was made relatively seamless by the decade of friendship they shared before the band’s genesis.
In fact, the group determined that working together on the album was actually a respite from the stress of their solo careers.
“[It was] easier to write with these guys than it ever has been for my own projects,” Dodie said.
The band went on to share that writing together takes the ego out of the creative process, allowing the artist to become less consumed by whether they are getting out the exact message they wish to pass along to their listeners. They said being a part of a band also takes the responsibility off one person’s shoulders to come up with the perfect lyrics.
“The story is written for us — it’s already there,” Dodie said.
However, suddenly having to talk decisions over with three other people isn’t without its own challenges.
“Having a unified band voice has been hard when you have four different personalities,” Brown said.
To ensure that every member’s talent and specific skill set is appreciated, the band works to delegate different parts of their creative process. However, even though they make sure to highlight the individual talents of their members, Fizz also is not afraid to challenge each other.
“[We] push each other to be quite different versions of themselves,” Gartland said.
Despite having their own solo careers, Fizz is a great example of how friendship can serve as a draw even greater than one of individual success. When describing the band’s creative process, Martin referred to it as “hilariously simple,” and the others seemed to agree that making music is more fun when you don’t go it alone.
We all know college is a great place to try new things and enjoy new experiences. However, sometimes we forget that it is one of the few times that we will live in such a close radius to all of our friends. After graduation, most of us will go our own separate ways, leaving the Nashville area. If we can learn anything from Fizz’s creative process, we must take advantage of the opportunity to collaborate with our closest friends. It won’t always be this easy, so start a band, create a club or invent something. We have our whole lives to go solo, so follow Fizz’s lead and do something creative with your closest friends here at Vandy.
“The Secret to Life” dropped on Oct. 27, so make sure to give it a listen!
