Radiofix Brings Me Back in a Good Way

The ‘90s (And Then Some) Alternative Fix I didn’t know I Needed

Radiofix consists of Daniel Charles Martin (Vocals/Guitar), Benjamin Thurston (Bass), and Tim Schultz (drums). Based in the valley of the sun (Phoenix, AZ), their music is fueled by narratives just as much as vocals and instrumentation. Versatile and emotive, they hit listeners in the feels while maintaining an aesthetic befitting of international radio play. Buzzing by way of a new visual that doubles as a desert jam session (“The End”) and an eclectic but cohesive new project (“Meet Me At The End”), now seemed like the time to chop it up with what I’m confident is a band on the cusp of something major:

Every hero has an origin story. Tell me yours (namely how and where you grew up, early and evolving interests, your beginnings as a musician):

Daniel: I was born and raised in Phoenix, Arizona, with both my parents being heavily into music, which in my opinion was most excellent. I was classically trained on violin starting at age 4 by my mother and her best friend Nancy Livingston, who has spent decades in the Phoenix Symphony. This training definitely molded my young brain into how I perceive and write music. I continued to train on violin until about the age 16 or so. At around age 10, my father gave me a guitar for my birthday and showed me a few chords, and from there I never put it down. Around this time, he also gave me my first albums, Led Zeppelin best of, Cream of Clapton, to name a few. This is how I really learned how to play guitar. I played along with these albums for hours on end until I got it right, as I grew a love for these great artists. I soon discovered the Counting Crows, which to this day I consider August and Everything After one of my all time favorite albums and Adam Duritz a major influence as he is in my opinion one of the greats when it comes to songwriting. The Crows albums also pushed me into learning piano which has helped me dramatically in my songwriting.

Tell me more about your influences and how would you categorize your brand of Rock (sub genres and all)?

Most notable influences for me would have to be Led Zeppelin and the Counting Crows. While I have too many number 1 favorite bands to list, these two overwhelmingly stick out as influences that got me playing and writing at a young age and to this day. This gives Radiofix the great mix of guitar rock, and singer-songwriter vibe that we feel sets us apart. Benjamin definitely has a broad array of influences both aligned with mine and quite different, which brings a nice prog vibe to the writing and rhythm section, some of his favorite bands being Styx, Rush, Marillion to name a few.

Are you all full-time with music? If not, what’s the day job situation/juggling act like? As stressful as it was to teach English and essentially pursue music full-time, I must admit that breaks and afternoon exits made things more manageable. I’m wondering if you any of you had/are having similar experiences.

We do share this same experience. While it is difficult, as we’ve grown with this project together we have learned that planning and having set schedules is key. We set goals and identify tasks to accomplish which helps make sure the ball is always rolling without missing a step. We work together to make sure the needs of the band are getting accomplished. This requires being honest and having a solid relationship with open communication and good work ethic.

We are not too far gone, but I believe we need to put less concern into what other people think, and their perception of how we should be.

Do you have a process you utilize to shape a project conceptually and sonically? How does your most recent work fit into the bigger equation?

Our latest release, ‘Meet Me at the End’, was more traditionally put together for us. I would bring a song, music and lyric idea to the group and we would structure it and lay it down a couple different ways and pick our favorite. At this time, Benjamin and myself are putting together more of an actual concept album that will tie together front to back, instead of a group of 10 or so songs with differing stories. We are quite excited to finish this new project and record it in spring of 2021.

I’m a big fan of the concept album! Along those lines, I know you guys hang your hat on lyric storylines and did so throughout “Meet Me At The End.” What specifically about your lyrics/storytelling makes Radiofix stand out?

I try to be as honest as possible with what I’m writing about. Whether about love gained or lost, or another theatrical scene whether fiction or nonfiction with regard to my personal life, if you dig deep enough into the story, that’s when you get the really good lines that stick out and give people goosebumps. That’s what we try to do, and I believe what makes us unique.

You can tell that you put a lot into your visuals. Who are some of the directors/filmmakers you admire the most? Why?

I’m a huge mob movie fan. Coppola and Scorsese are definitely up there in my favorite filmmaker list. In late 2019, we met Mark Maryanovich and Carolyne Stossel who film, shoot, and direct our visuals. You will definitely see some of this mob like filmmaking in our upcoming music video for ‘Amends’, the 10th track on our latest album ‘Meet Me at the End’.

That’s dope! I’m looking forward to that and share the sentiment. I don’t know if I can date a girl if she hasn’t seen the first two Godfather films. Before my ADHD takes over…I enjoyed “Beauty Queen” as a song and visual. With that concept in mind, how much do you think the nature of social media today has propelled vanity, insecurity, and warped self-image? Any ideas on how to slow this issue down or are we too far gone?

Social media definitely gives us a skewed reality, as everything always seems perfect, filters included, which can make people look at themselves as imperfect, which we all are in reality, but should always be proud of exactly who we are. We are not too far gone, but I believe we need to put less concern into what other people think, and their perception of how we should be. We should spend less time obsessing over social media, and spend more time with our friends and family. After all, we are all perfectly and wonderfully made by God.

This is ever the loaded question, but why is seemingly everything so polarizing today? Why do you think we’re divided to such an extent? Why do you think something that was once as innocent as social media has largely devolved into a cesspool of ad hominem attacks and vitriol?

I think we’ve been more convinced by media that we’re so different and divided. I believe most of us out and about living our lives would help others in need and not reject people just for their views or how they look when together in physical reality. Music is definitely one of those last things that holds strong in bringing people from all walks together. I mean, can you argue with someone while listening to Rocket Man?

Haha I cannot argue with that. Speaking of killer artists, have you guys ever been waiting to go on and the act in front of you just fucking kills? What are your immediate thoughts/feelings? Any tips for up and comers on how to turn that into a major positive for your own performance? I usually start with self deprecation lol…

I think the act in front killing is a total energy boost! If they warm the crowd up for you and you can really enjoy the set before yours you can hone in on that energy and it helps you come out swinging!

Tell me about your stage show. How does it differ from the recorded product?

As a rule, we try and match up our stage show with the recorded album as close as possible, with small differences regarding energy or tempo. As of now, we do not have a strings section in our live act, but this is something we’re discussing moving forward after this latest album.

I’m curious about the Arizona scene...Favorite artists? Characteristics? Strengths and weaknesses?

The AZ music scene is a lot of fun, and quite diverse. Whether you’re hopping on a larger ticket, a festival, or just playing at the bar for a few hours, people love music here, and of all styles. We’ve had a lot of fun playing with other bands local to the area like Black Bottom Lighters which have a reggae/rock vibe, and Wyves who are more straight forward Rock n Roll, but there are a ton of excellent acts out here.

We’ve reached the part of the interview where I can no longer control my tangents…Time to shoot from the hip…5 desert island albums you can’t go without:

August and Everything After, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Shake Your Money Maker, Dark Side of the Moon, this is a very difficult question LOL.

Agreed, my answer for that one changes every single time. Where are you in a year? In five years? What’s your ultimate goal in this?

Our goal for a year from now is to be releasing our next studio album! In five years, hopefully these albums have gone platinum multiple times, that would be the sky’s the limit goal. Our ultimate goal in all this is to create music that people want to hear over and over again, like the albums we loved coming up in the scene that we wore out and had to buy multiple copies of. If we can put out music that helps people get out of their funk or sadness, sit back and relax, or have a dance party, we have succeeded in our mission.

What do we have coming up in terms of more content?

We are excited to shoot a new music video at the end of January 2021 for our song ‘Amends’. We are also currently writing a new album to release at the end of this year.

Tell the people where to find you and whatever else you want them to know:

Follow Radiofix on Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

I’m your friendly neighborhood MC Bravado; many thanks for reading. You can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and/or your favorite place to grab music. Please remember to be kind to one another and that “Michael Jordan is the GOAT” is a fact and not an opinion.