Interview- Fearpassage - Releasing of Inner Demons

First appearing in 2004 Fearpassage are a band that have made a big impact on their fans. I personally first experienced their amazing music a few years ago purely by chance and found myself captivated by the wonderful alluring ability of the music, its alluring yet in many ways wonderfully demonic. What started out as Micheal Fear releasing his inner demons has now spawned a new member in the form of Jay Towsley, Jay and Michael work so well together as a band and it shows in the music. Grave Concerns Ezine got chance to catch up with Michael and Jay, here is how it went.

Phill – Hiya and thank you for giving Grave Concerns Ezine this interview, can you tell our readers a little bit about yourselves?

Fearpassage – We are an EBM-Industrial band, which I (Michael Fear) started in 2004 from Orlando Florida. It has been a release for my fears, pains and anger. I handle vocals, lyrics, synths and programming and Jay Towsley handles lyrics, arrangements and live synths.

Phill – Michael you started Fearpassage in 2004, what brought about your decision into bringing Jay into what was your own personal project?

Fearpassage – We met about 6 months ago through friends and instantly connected. We hung out a few times and truly bonded, from music to women . I have wanted to start gigging again and also wanted to challenge myself musically. Meaning when your a solo project for 9 years it’s easy to get stuck in ruts, musically and lyrically. I offered Jay a spot in Fearpassage and luckily he said YES! In the short 3 months, we’ve really set the bar higher with the stage show and the title track of the next album.

Phill – And what was it about Jay that made you feel he would have the ability to become an integral part of Fearpassage?

Fearpassage – Most of all we bonded as brothers, that simple...It wouldn’t have mattered to me if he played an instrument in his life. He understood and respected what Fearpassage was and only wanted to contribute where ever I felt comfortable.

Phill – Jay, what were your thoughts at the time when Michael asked you to be part of Fearpassage and what was it in the end that made you say yes?

Fearpassage – At the time of him mentioning to me that he thought it could work, I felt excited and privileged and saying yes was the only option at that point. It was obvious to both of us that collaborating together felt natural and the outcome only solidified that feeling.

Phill – Michael Fearpassage started as a therapy for you personally, what has it evolved into now in your mind?

Fearpassage – It has not changed in that way, Jay has felt and experienced similar things over the years and understands. He has the job of helping me to extract some of these fears and experiences and together develop them into better songs.

Phill – Describe to people your remixing ability and what remixes have you done that have made you proud as a musician?

Fearpassage – As far as remixing, it’s doesn’t come easy to me actually. The only trademark I do have is always adding some of my own vocals to the remix. I’m most proud of the remixes for Attrition and Sonik Foundry, two amazing talents which I hold in high regard.

Phill – So Jay you have joined Fearpassage, for those who don’t know can you tell us your musical journey in life up until your arrival in Fearpassage?

Fearpassage – I guess its safe to say i’ve always been drawn to the darker, angst side of music. I have a strong allegiance to old skool punk rock and the like. As my musical tastes expanded as i got older I realised that the feeling i would get by listening to the clash or social distortion can be realised thru out many genres. Growing up in the clubs over the years, I have always been into Industrial and later on as EBM became part of the scene. The driving beats and passionate lyrics behind Fearpassage reached me to the core.

Phill – Falling For You especially from a video’s point of view is very haunting and distinct, to me it’s unmistakably Fearpassage. Can you describe for your fans how you gave it life and what was it about Falling For You that made it perfect to be released visually as well?

Fearpassage – First off, the reason we picked “Falling For You” as our first combined video effort was because there has been a fan made YouTube video out for it for awhile, with just a single image of a girl.

Take a Listen and Look at: Falling For You

We had been playing with the idea of doing some footage to start moving the songs to youtube. Earlier this month while rehearsing, we just said “fuck” let’s go shoot some footage downtown. We loaded up some gear and a video camera and headed downtown and just started randomly looking for area’s to shoot some footage.

We spent a few hours editing and there you have it, Ha!

Phill – What do you feel has been the most important event in the life of Fearpassage so far?

Fearpassage – That’s easy Phill, gotta be Jay coming onboard. It has really kicked my ass in gear and we are onto greater things!

Phill – You have done a few gigs recently, which one stands out as being the most memorable?

Fearpassage – Would definitely have to be opening for nolongerhuman at Thee Grotto in Orlando. Amazing venue, home crowd and both Jay and I had a wonderful time hanging out with Clint from nolongerhuman the days leading up to the gig.

  Our Children

Phill – I hear there is a new album in the pipeline, is there any teasers about the new album that you can tell us?

Fearpassage – Indeed Phill, the next release will be, “Love, Hate and Devotion”. Jay and I worked out the title track and debuted the song at the gig at Thee Grotto.

Phill – What’s the most memorable line lyrically in a song that you have heard and what makes it so special?

Fearpassage – Not sure if this question pertains to Fearpassage songs our any general..but...Fearpassage wise it would be the song “Cry Out” and the line is,“my eyes cry out... for the love of a child’s heart..can you see what you do, to our child’s point of view”. This song was very hard for me and was written when my youngest daughter’s mother and I were separated.

Phill – Did the music that your parents would listen to have any bearing on your musical tastes and direction or were you like me and you ended up listening to completely the opposite sort of music as that you were exposed to as a child?

Fearpassage – Not really music wise honestly, but my(Michael’s) father has been a singer for his whole life and still performs to this day.

Phill – Is there a song that when you hear it gives you memories of a certain event in life, if so what is the song and what does it remind you of?

Fearpassage – For me(Michael), I would say Apop’s “Unicorn”. Many memories of my youngest daughter’s mother in the beginnings of our relationship.

For Jay, it would be The Smiths “A Light that Never Goes Out”. It was after getting out of a bad marriage of 16 years and finding a person who helped me become whole again.

Phill – You must have a lot of fans, but has any fan given you a suggestion regarding music that you have picked up on and altered your music even if only slightly?

Fearpassage – I have had many in fact, HA! Let’s see....uh...mmm...If I did, I forgot to thank them....So...Thank you to all who have offered advice to me over the years!

Phill – Thank you so much for giving Grave Concerns this interview, is there anything you would like to add?

Fearpassage – Most of all thank you to you Phill and to Grave Concerns for the opportunity to share with you all. Please look for our 3rd album towards the end of the year. Anyone who wants to connect with us, we are on FB, VF, Reverbnation. If any promoters want to know about bookings please contact our manager at

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

 https://www.facebook.com/Fearpassage

 https://www.reverbnation.com/Fearpassage