Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
Con:
“I’ve been surrounded by heavy music for as long as I can remember. Some of my earliest memories are of sitting in the back of the car, listening to AC/DC’s Back in Black and singing along to the words, even though at that age they were just sounds to me, not lyrics I understood.
A turning point came when I realised I could actually see bands live. I was watching Glastonbury on TV with my dad, and Kaiser Chiefs were performing ‘Oh My God’ in 2005. All at once, it hit me that these bands I loved existed in real life, not just on CDs, and that I could go and experience that energy for myself. It was a complete revelation, and from that moment I became obsessed with the idea of seeing live music and being part of that world.
At home, my parents had shelves full of live concert DVDs, and I used to get completely lost in them. The ones that really shaped me were Goo Goo Dolls: Live on the Fourth of July, Whitesnake: Live in the Still of the Night, and Cinderella: Rocked, Wired and Bluesed. Watching those performances, I was just blown away by the scale of what they could create, the energy, the emotion, the connection.
There’s one moment I still remember clearly: watching ‘Blues for Mylene’ from Live in the Still of the Night and just staring at the screen, trying to figure out how anyone’s fingers could move that fast. That was the moment I knew I wanted to play guitar and be part of that world. Those early experiences really set the foundation for my musical direction, that mix of power, melody, and emotion has stuck with me ever since.”
Grace:
“My experience is pretty similar to Con’s. I used to watch Scuzz and Kerrang! instead of the usual kids’ shows. I listened to music in the car with my dad, he’s always been a big classic rock fan and a huge influence on me pursuing music. We bonded over our love of it and went to a lot of live gigs together.
I also grew up surrounded by jazz, which has been a major vocal influence for me, the way a melody can be manipulated in such a transformative way.
One of my earliest lightbulb moments was as a kid, listening to the Pocahontas and Spirit soundtracks and explaining to my mum what the songs meant, especially ‘Colours of the Wind.’ I was completely drawn in by how the music told a story just as much as the film did. Looking back, it makes sense that I’ve always been so connected to lyrics and storytelling. All I have to do is put on the Spirit soundtrack, and I can watch the film in my head.”
Q: How are you planning on growing your fan base and sharing your music with the world? What message do you have for anyone who is about to discover Fools & Sages?
A:
“We’re putting music out there that we’ve poured our hearts and souls into. Fools & Sages is about creating something new. We just want to bring our music to a live setting and share moments with people. It’s very much about moments for us.”
Q: Who is the most inspiring artist for you right now? And where do you find inspiration for making music?
Grace:
“The artist who has inspired me most, and always will, is Jeff Buckley. He uses his voice as a vessel for emotion and meaning. He’s not just a captivating singer but also a poet and an exceptional guitarist. His chord voicings are beautiful, and his music is timeless. That sense of timelessness is exactly what I hope to capture when I write. I’m inspired by how authentic he was and how Grace continues to shape the lives and minds of people today.
I find inspiration everywhere, in books, art, and nature. I’ve always been drawn to surrealism and Greek mythology, and I love weaving those themes into my lyrics and storytelling. I believe that part of being a creative is being a consumer and supporting the creations of others.”
Con:
“I’ve been really inspired lately by bands like Periphery, Karnivool, Porcupine Tree, Gojira, and David Gilmour. All of them are incredible with textures, and that’s something I’ve been experimenting with a lot recently, how to create depth and atmosphere in a track.
I’m also interested in making something sound heavy without it being strictly metal. For me, heaviness can come from suspense, dynamics, and building tension on a larger, almost choral scale, rather than just relying on distorted guitars or fast rhythms. That’s been a big focus in my writing lately, and it’s where a lot of my inspiration comes from.”
Q: Can you tell us about the story or message behind the song “Ascend With Me”?
Con:
“This song has been five years in the making. Ascend With Me actually started as a riff I wrote back in late 2020 after buying the Boss OC-5. Experimenting with that octave pedal really shaped the style I was writing in at the time. It pushed me to focus on impact over complexity. As much as I love riffs that wind, meander, and coil around themselves, sometimes a good ‘caveman riff’ just hits harder.
We had a lot of fun crafting a vocal that sits on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. That contrast gave us a lot of room to play with texture and dynamics, which made the song really come alive. It’s a polarising track, and that’s part of what makes it exciting.
To me, Ascend With Me is about being larger than life, about that feeling of walking into a room and knowing you can blow the roof off. We wanted to capture that sense of power and confidence, and hopefully when people hear it, they feel that too.”
Grace:
“Ascend With Me is written for anyone who’s ever felt like they don’t have a voice. It’s a song of rebellion in a sense, an unwillingness to be quiet. More than that, though, Ascend With Me is about the unifying power of music.
That feeling you get when you’re standing in a room watching your favourite band, surrounded by people who are all there for the same reason, so absorbed in the love for that moment in time. There’s an energy and a hum that comes from being surrounded by others in that way. That energy comes alive through music. That’s Ascend With Me.”
Q: How would you describe your sound in one word for potential listeners?
Grace: Ethereal
Con: Immersive
Q: Did you face any challenges while writing or recording “Ascend With Me”?
A:
“This song was actually the easiest to record so far. We produce everything ourselves, and with this track we really started to find our groove in that process. Ascend With Me is quite a bit heavier than our previous releases, and that brought its own set of challenges.
We wanted to maintain the expansive, ambient signature that’s been part of our sound from the beginning, while pushing into a more riff-driven and aggressive space. This time, having a song that drives a lot harder than the last few meant we had to adjust our performances for impact rather than flow, that was probably the biggest challenge.
John Meredith mixes everything we do, and he’s the kindred spirit in our creative process. He captures our sound and vision every time. He’s amazing at adding ear candy and subtle details that bring the songs to life. For example, he added a distorted, reversed echo to the word ‘Echo’s’ in the first verse to create a bit of word painting in the mix. Little touches like that really elevate the track.”
Q: What is the message of your music? And what are your goals as artists?
A:
“The message of our music is really about unity. It’s our personalities incarnate, our interests, our passions, all coming together in a single expression.
Our goal is to make music that people can connect with and that sounds unmistakably like us. We want our shows to feel immersive, to create an experience with everything we do, from the music to the visuals, the performance, and the atmosphere.”
Q: Who is your dream artist to collaborate with (dead or alive)?
A:
“If we included dead artists, our list would be extensive, but alive: Black Stone Cherry, Aerosmith, The Goo Goo Dolls, David Gilmour, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Adam ‘Nolly’ Getgood, to name a few.”
Q: What is your advice for people interested in pursuing music as a career or entering the industry?
A:
“Make music that you love. Create for yourself, and be open to advice that comes your way, there’s so much to learn. Work with each other; there’s a lot of power in people coming together.”
Q: If you could go back in time and give a younger you some words of wisdom, what would they be?
Grace: “Put yourself out there more and believe in yourself. Buy the guitar sooner. Don’t cut your own bangs.”
Con: “Give up on Modern Family after season 8.”
