Driven by independent success throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, Finish Ticket initially approached record label appeal with wary skepticism. But lead vocalist Brendan Hoye fostered a clearv vision that Elektra managed to enhance with a tactful dose of industry knowledge and expertise.
Now, the band is ready for bigger things to come (including the debut release of their full-length album following 2013’s hit EP When Night Becomes Day):
“They know how to handle what happens next,” Hoye explains about Elektra and the Seattle-based global entertainment company World- Sound. “We’re not always surprised during this process, because we’re aware and prepared for what’s ahead. It’s a tough thing to accomplish, but having these people who have done it so many times before makes a huge difference.”
“We talk almost every day with our manager.”
Hoye understands that compromise is sometimes inevitable, but not always a bad thing when open-minded team effort prevails:
“I think everyone sees really eye-to-eye right now,” Hoye says. “So many people [are involved], but everyone has a very good understanding of what we’re going for with our aesthetic sound.”
To progressively move forward in the business, it’s also important to maintain honest relationships with non-bigwig confidants:
“When you’re fighting for top dog attention with both label and management, that’s a pretty terrible situation. You need more people on your side. We talk almost every day with our manager—if he feels that we’re making a bad decision, he has no problem with telling us.”
But don’t immediately expect enthusiastic support unless you earn it: “We knew that it would take a long time to become a priority,” Hoye admits. “We weren’t super upset when we weren’t getting this massive push. But now, knowing we’ve sort of done our time, it feels right setting ourselves up with [the] label to be in that same place we wanted when first signing with them. I think waiting was worth it.”
Even now, Hoye encourages a strong sense of artistic independence and responsibility: “Still be the driving force in everything.”
Finish Ticket will next embark on a spring tour in support of their upcoming album.
