Today we’d like to introduce you to Fletcher Robinson. They and their team shared their story with us below:
Fents is a high-energy rock band formed in Troy, AL, and we are currently based in Birmingham, AL. Heavily inspired by grunge bands of the 90s, rock bands of the 00s, and even country/southern rock elements, we love melting faces and hearts alike with the music we create. While studying at Troy University in 2019, Cota Cheek (Guitar/Vocals) and Jake Holsonback (Drums/Vocals) started a passion project called “Fents” by making music in their house less than a mile away from the local Taco Bell. At the same time, Fletcher Robinson (Bass/Producer/Engineer) was taking some music production classes with Jake, with whom he hit it off almost immediately. It didn’t take long for Fletcher to join the project eagerly; thus, we started formally referring to ourselves as a band. Like many musicians, we had grown tired of playing in other local bands/projects over the years, constantly being let down by the egos and false promises of people less motivated than ourselves. Over our time at Troy, we naturally gravitated toward each other and knew we had something special to offer with our unique skillsets and chemistry, both on and off stage.
Since our conception, we’ve played hundreds of shows throughout the Southeast United States. Festivals, bars, weddings, fraternity/sorority parties; you name it, we’ve probably played it! We also released an eight-track original album that was completely DIY. Our debut record, “Astrophysiology,” released in July 2021, explores the many facets of love and hate, conflicted realities within relationships that we are forced to face as humans. When shit gets complicated, Fents is an outlet that allows us to simplify it into something easy to digest. In our earlier stages, we had a semi-permanent fourth member, Boyd Blackmon, who played guitar. He would help us out on bigger shows, and we loved hanging with him, but in late 2022, he moved to Nashville to follow his music dreams. We love that guy and wish him nothing but the best!
As of 2023, we added a fourth member, Alex Tillery (Guitar/Vocals). Alex has played in country/southern rock bands all over Alabama for around 10 years. We had heard of Alex and met him in passing for years, but when we got to jam with him and know him personally, his vibe was such a natural fit that we just had to ask him to join. His approach and perspective on music add such a unique flair to our sound. Bringing on a new member is always a risk and requires a lot of trust. We’re all picky guys regarding musicianship and personalities that we want to spend time with, but Alex fits the bill perfectly, and we couldn’t be any happier with our current lineup!
Please talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned. Looking back, has it been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We’ve been through our fair share of struggles, but they’re almost always caused by external forces outside our control rather than internal conflicts. Fents formed during what you might call an awkward time, with the height COVID-19 being right around the corner. As soon as we all quit our other projects and decided to pour all of our energy into Fents, the whole world seemed to shut down. Gigs were nowhere to be found, and it took a lot of work for artists worldwide to make money doing what they loved. We took this challenge head-on and used the downtime to our advantage. We tracked our record and filmed ourselves playing live covers to post on YouTube that we could send to potential venues. This approach ended up working well for us. As venues opened back up, gig offers flooded our inbox because of all the high-quality content we had produced and released during quarantine.
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Our debut album, Astrophysiology, is the coolest thing we have ever done. We took inspiration from some of our favorite bands, rented out a cabin in the middle of nowhere, brought our entire recording setup, and hunkered down for a week straight, doing nothing but tracking. Day in, day out, we recorded; no distractions, except for seasons 1-4 of Spongebob on DVD and a few bottles of whiskey. Being isolated with a definite goal and timeline was such a surreal feeling. We would work all day, and then, having nowhere to go in the evenings, we’d sit around the little burn ring outside and talk about all our plans when we make it big, haha. Our streams didn’t do the numbers we wanted, but we’re incredibly grateful for the fanbase it has allowed us to reach. There’s no more excellent feeling in the world than looking out in the crowd at a show and seeing someone we’ve never met before singing along to every word in one of our original songs. That’s what it’s all about: impacting people’s lives, no matter how small.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
The most considerable risk we all collectively take is pursuing music full-time. Some make money through other avenues, but it all comes back to music. Fletcher runs his recording studio, where he works with other local artists, and Alex works as a booking agent for bands all over the Southeast. That being said, we are fully committed to making this band prosper. Another risk is simply being a rock/alternative band in Alabama. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a scene for just about every genre of music in Alabama, but the size and profitability of those scenes differ drastically. Most venues and patrons at those venues want country music by default. As a rock band, getting your foot in the door at specific venues makes it challenging. Still, with the sound of our original music and our cover setlist comprised of 90s-00s rock hits, we managed to bridge the gap in the demographic we’re trying to reach and the demographic available to us.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fentstheband
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fentstheband
- Youtube: www.youtube.com/@fentstheband
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/18LqimAstybuC215HcrnNX?si=uuhdl3dMRUeUHTgZPgZzow
Image Credits
Scooter Painter
