Four Minute Mile,
by Melissa Evanko

In a local music scene obliterated with bands vying for public attention, original music is not always heard. Hopefully this trend will change, thanks to bands such as Four Minute Mile. In an exclusive interview for ‘The Stage’ Dave Parfitt, drummer for Four Minute Mile sat down to talk with us about the band and his take on the future of the music industry.

Four Minute Mile hails from Lehigh Valley, PA, consisting of four members: Kyle Campbell, lead vocals and guitar; John Timko, lead guitarist and vocals; Ryan Herczeg, bass; and Dave Parfitt, drums. Their philosophy is to write guitar driven pop-songs with driving drum beat and quality lyrics. Their name comes from a 1987 record by The Get Up Kids entitled ‘Four Minute Mile.’

A chance meeting is how Four Minute Mile got together. One day Dave was over at Kyle’s house to return cymbals he had borrowed from Kyle’s brother. The two guys got to talking on the steps of Kyle’s apartment about putting a band together; with a vision of playing original music. Next they enlisted Ryan who had been in the local band Projectsixtyseven. Parfitt jokes that they got Ryan out of retirement to join their band. Ryan and Kyle were friends of John’s and fast forward almost 3 years later and the guys are still rockin out.

Four Minute Mile occasionally plays in the Lehigh Valley, but they mostly play in the Philadelphia area. Parfitt attributes this to the fact that Philadelphia has a more original band scene. He furthered this by saying with original music you want to build a following where there are numerous places to play. The boys are currently working on breaking into the New York City market, with a few successful club dates already under their belts. When asked if Parfitt felt clubs were more or less receptive to bands which play original music he responded ‘"Clubs are receptive to hearing their cash registers ring". If the club owners and booking agents like you and respect good music then your fine.

Sometime in April the band will release their new album entitled ‘The Plastic Chapter’ on Fake Chapter Records, an indie label out of NJ. The guys are hoping for an April 4th release date. When asked how they go about the songwriting process Parfitt explained that Kyle usually comes up with the idea and structure of song. As a songwriter Kyle strives to have meaningful lyrics. After this initial draft, the rest of the guys come in to make the song into that Four Minute Mile sound.

‘The Plastic Chapter,’ a title that Parfitt explained is "Reflective of the of the music industry not signing career artists." "They sign artists that will have one-hit song on a record that will sell millions" Quite often a band just has one quality song, and they do not return for a 2nd CD. Dave also went on to about the whole plastic of the industry and how there is a mold for these hits.

With the release of a new album comes the chore of choosing a first single for the radio, which will be "I Wonder". Parfitt likes the fact that the guys are on an indie label because then the radio stations can play any of the songs they want. The stations are not locked into playing only one or two songs off the album.

Another way to hear music is through Napster. When asked if he condones downloading songs. Parfitt responded that if a band has a quality release he and others would buy it. Sometimes though, you only like one song off an album, so you can download just that track or if you download two songs and they are both quality you will be more apt to go out and buy the album. Parfitt feels that from a record standpoint the industry is in shambles and downloading songs has nothing to do with the creativity of music. He also feels that in the age of CDs that the cover artwork has taken a hit. Back in the day of albums, people would buy the release just for the amazing artwork. This is lacking for many of today’s releases. Parfitt’s solution is to try and fight this with creativity.

Parfitt has a theory, a little futuristic but totally realistic. He sees the future of the music industry as a pick and choose entity. The consumer will be able to go to a kiosk and pick which songs they want on their CD, burn it and even choose the cover art for it. He feels that record companies will sign bands solely for singles.

You can check Four Minute Mile out on the web at: www.four-minute-mile.com. One interesting aspect of their website is the diary section. Parfitt explained that the diary is a way for Kyle to communicate with fans. "People can hear from him in non-lyrical form." There is also a section for a ‘street team’ where you can help the guys get attention for their shows. Parfitt said the street team is starting to grow thanks to the younger fans who are very appreciative of original music; that they are acquiring through shows like the one they recently did at The Roxy Theatre.

When asked what was the question he always wanted to answer, Parfitt paused. ‘This has been like Jeopardy, where you ask the questions and I answer’ Now I was asking him to both ask and answer the question. His response: To be talking about how they are playing Madison Square Garden for a sold-out show.

With their talent, heart and fan base, Four Minute Mile will definitely be there.

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