Artist vs. Poet Connects with Fans on “Favorite Fix”

By: Angelina Berube
Posted In: Entertainment

It’s 11:30 p.m. on a Sunday night and the sidewalk outside of Lupo’s in Providence, R.I. is crowded with fans of Artist vs. Poet listening to acoustic songs performed by a few of its band members. After their performance with We The Kings and The Maine, Artist vs. Poet gave fans after the show a special treat by playing some older songs along with a new track from their recent full length CD.

This spring, Artist vs. Poet opened for We The Kings and The Maine on tour in support of their new album, “Favorite Fix.” On Sunday May 2nd, the tour came to Providence, R.I. During their set, the band played songs off of the new CD including “Car Crash” and “Damn Rough Night.”

Tarcy Thomason, lead singer of Artist vs. Poet, started the band after one of his previous bands broke up. Thomason posted a MySpace bulletin looking for people interested in writing music with him. Craig Calloway, one of the guitarists in Artist vs. Poet, replied to his message. “We wrote like three songs on our first night and it just sort of clicked,” Thomason said. Later, drummer Joe Westbrook, who was in a previous band with Thomason, and bassist Jason Dean, who was the band’s merch guy, joined the band. To round off the group, Joe Kirkland, another of the band’s guitarists, was found on YouTube.

This past March, Artist vs. Poet released their first full length CD entitled, “Favorite Fix.” Previously, the band released two EPs, a self-titled EP in 2008 and the “Damn Rough Night” EP in 2009. With “Favorite Fix,” the band was given more room to experiment with different tracks. “Since we got twelve tracks to play with, we got to put some slower jams on it and a ballad, stuff we’ve been wanting to be able to do, but didn’t have a big enough track listing to do it,” Thomason said. Those slower jams and ballads include songs such as “Miserably Loving You,” “Alive” and the infectious “Adorable.”

The band also found themselves writing more on the road for this album. “With the first EP, we did a lot of writing at home,” Thomason said. “This one we did a lot [of writing] on the road because we write everything acoustic and then it translates to full band when we get to the studio.” With the addition of Kirkland a few months after the release of their first EP, the band also gained a writer, which Thomason says strengths their song writing.

One thing that hasn’t changed, however, is the personal experience Artist vs. Poet puts into their songs which they feel help fans relate to their music. “Honestly, in this industry, for me, it just comes second nature because I want to have a connection with our fans,” Thomason said. “I don’t think there is anything to hide. I mean, literally we go through the same things that everyone else does. We want to be able to bring music that people would be able to relate to and understand.”

In addition to connecting with fans through their music, the band also makes every effort to write back to fans on Twitter, as they try to reply to anyone who “at replies” them. They also feel it is important to hang out with fans after the shows. “After the show we want to meet everybody and if they want to hear another song, we’ll play it for them acoustic,” Thomason said. “Our fans mean a lot to us. If it wasn’t for them we wouldn’t be here. We’re no different than anyone else out there.”

The band hopes both fans and anyone else who hears their music will identify with the band and also create their own meanings of their music. “I hope that when they listen to it, they want to come to the show and see what it’s like live and that what we sing about makes them want to get to know us better,” Calloway said. “I hope that each song means something different. We understand some of the songs we write are about something specific to us, but we also like to make it open-minded enough to where it can mean several different things for several different people.” After watching the fans sing along to their acoustic set on the streets of Providence and request their favorite songs, it is evident that the band is reaching out to their audience and these fans can relate to their music.

After this tour, the band will take a short break before touring in Japan. After Japan, Artist vs. Poet can be seen on the Vans Warped Tour all summer. The band is still planning on their fall schedule. “We’re going to try to get on some bigger tours and gain a bigger fan base,” Thomason. “This is our first full length record and we have amazing fans, but there are a lot of people we haven’t played for yet.”

For more information on Artist vs. Poet and tour dates, check out myspace.com/artistvspoet.