The Artisan

Honest. Organic. Melodic.  This is how The Artisan describes its music, and to the band’s followers, these words ring true.

Hailing from southern New Jersey, emerging metalcore band The Artisan consists of five talented men: raw vocalist Kyle Turner, clean vocalist/guitarist Colin Campbell, bassist Mike Cox, guitarist Joey Carrozza, and drummer Bill Finocchiaro.  For over ten years they have been perfecting their crafts individually, and now as a team, they create incredible audible artwork that any listener can resonate with.  

Before The Artisan existed, Finocchiaro and Carrozza were in a band called Far Beyond the Sunrise, and the other members were in bands of their own.  In 2013, Turner built The Artisan with Cox, Campbell, and a few other musicians that later left to pursue other directions.  Carrozza admitted to being a hardcore fan of The Artisan before being a member.  “They had their s*** together and I felt like I was stuck going nowhere,” he said. “I used to be like, ‘Hey guys, nice set,’ but deep down I was like, ‘Damn, I wish I was playing with them.’”    

A few years later, Carrozza and Finocchiaro teamed up with Turner, Cox, and Campbell to form the powerful quintet the band is today.  What keeps the group tightly linked is each member’s inherent, fiery passion for creating music.  Campbell found his ardor at a very early age.  “I heard legendary songs on the radio [growing up], he said, “and I was just like, ‘That’s so sick, I have to do that.’”

Now with 4K likes on Facebook and over 31K views on YouTube, The Artisan is making a name for itself.  The band channels this positive response to continue pushing itself forward.  

That being said, the band is currently in the process of releasing their first official album, Blindspot.  Blindspot is an emotional record that digs psychologically deeper than their first EP, titled From What You’ve Built Will Fall.  “We all have had huge ups and downs in the past year,” said Turner.  “We’ve had a lot of losses and struggles.  With our previous album, we were excited.  We were like, ‘Oh, we’re a new band, we’re going to do this.’  Blindspot has been a long process because we’ve all been going through s***.  It’s been different.”  

By releasing Blindspot, the band wishes to let listeners understand that they do not have to suffer through hardships alone.  “I hope that because how deep and honest Blindspot’s lyrics are that they connect with people,” said Finocchiaro. “They aren’t written in a way that only we can relate to them.  I think when people listen to our songs they can be like, ‘Wow, I get what these guys are going through.’”

Recently, The Artisan was rewarded for all of its hard work.  The band gained an opening spot on the April 11th show at Philly’s Theater of the Living Arts with Chelsea Grin, Gideon, Ice Nine Kills, and Enterprise Earth.  The boys are more than excited to play alongside of these big-name bands, and they plan on putting on the performance of a lifetime.  “This will open us up to a whole new audience that might not know who we are,” said Cox.  “I hope we can reach out to all kinds of new fans.”          

Despite their rising popularity, the boys continue producing music solely for intrinsic reasons. Their main focuses are on producing raw, real music and building connections with the people that follow them. Finocchiaro mentioned that he and the rest of the band are thrilled if just one person at the end of the show checks them out and generally likes the band.  If the fans are happy, The Artisan is happy.

Some of The Artisan’s biggest fans are relatives.  The boys admitted that their family members may not be fans of the metalcore genre itself, but show consistent support for The Artisan’s dedication and zeal.  

“My grandparents actually come see us [perform],” said Turner. “They come decked out in TA merch and always get a shout-out, no matter what.  I’m always like, ‘My grandparents are back there, everyone turn around and give them a round of applause real quick.’”

This undying system of support has helped The Artisan get to where it is today, and the band plans to requite by releasing twelve or thirteen new original songs this year, as well as playing numerous other shows.  Cox expects the band to make 2017 its year.  “I want us to just keep grinding the hell away,” he said.

Campbell has future goals as well, although they are much different than Cox’s.  “My ultimate goal for this band is not to ‘make it,’ or ‘get huge,’” he said. “but one of my driving forces to ‘make it’ and ‘get huge’ is to go out to lunch with Ariana Grande.  I feel like I need to develop a name for myself before I am able to do that.”

All in all, The Artisan hopes to reach out to new fans and keep the current ones pleased.  The band also hopes to inspire aspiring musicians, especially those apprehensive about pursuing music as a career.  “Go out and do things,” said Carrozza. “Meet as many people as you can, travel as much as you can, and promote the s*** out of your band.  Then, you’ll get it.”

Instagram - @theartisanband

Facebook - @wearetheartisan

Reviews

[Andrew Leister-Frazier]

I read this, and it seemed like a promo for the band The Artisan, that is fine, but I don't know what makes the band unique. That ought to be what promos are about. Unique instruments, unique vocals, unique lyrics. I didn't see what separated the band from other musicians.

[Kat Wentzell]

That's what it is. I wrote this for the magazine I worked for. It was an expository piece. Listen to the music and you can figure it out for yourself!

[Kat Wentzell]

This piece was mainly to garner publicity for their newest album and shed light on their personalities. i don't really need to blatantly tell you that they're unique people with unique lyrics; i show you with quotes and references. :-)

[Andrew Leister-Frazier]

How is the music unique? You answer that question well and I assure you many people will want to listen to the band.

[Kat Wentzell]

i didn't want to impose too many of my own biases on the reader when it came to the music. i wanted to just talk about how great and talented the guys are and have the reader go, "hm, i wanna check them out!" :-) thank you for your feedback!