Folly

"Ska and Hardcore? Are you kidding me?" jokes Tommy McHardcorekid to all of his chuckling friends. Well, in order to understand it all, Tommy McIgnorance, you must understand where Folly came from. It has been many, many years in the making and the unfolding of genres over time has proved time and again to show in the music and in their direction. It IS where you are from, and it IS where you are at. And remember Tommy, you can two-step to ska parts, brotha! This is for EVERYONE.

Folly was conceived at the early stages of their collective high school era. Despite frequent member changes, the persistence and heavy stress on friendship remained throughout all of the years. Since the beginning, which was around 1997-98, Agim and Jeff have been the only two creators that remained in the actual band. No one knows how Jon became the singer. He just kind of… showed up one day. There are about a million things to say about forming a band and starting the whole process for Folly. Some people may ask just how it was back in the day when ska-punk bands ran the scene, when everyone wore a fucking tie to a show and danced with a smile on their face. Perhaps one can talk about a music scene before the advent of a flourishing electronic medium of communication and how insane it was to communicate face to face. There is so much more to discuss about all of the hard work and effort put into this band than a lot of the bands presently that 'luckily' get a colorfully flashy web site, an RV, and a major label record deal within 8 shows under their belt… Folly had to endure throughout the early stages by playing an absurd amount of shitty shows for a total of about eleven people (mostly friends) while carting their equipment (which was most of the time broken) hundreds of miles in two small cars. Sometimes they made it to the show, sometimes they didn't. There were no luxuries. It was completely fun. PUNK ROCK. Afterall, tough times yielded strong, positive outlooks.

Fast forwarding to 1999… Arben, who happened to be Agim's brother and a great friend of the band, was the newest influence on Folly and their music as he took up the bass. With a somewhat solid lineup, Folly was able to release their first decent effort, recorded at Nada Studio in Orange County, NY. Prior efforts at recording were merely basic representations for the band to express a DIY attitude, with demo tapes copied over on each of their stereos (if you have one of these, you will be rich one day because they are insanely priceless.) When their first real demo was made and the brand new technology of CD-R's was available, they were able to explore the NJ music scene more productively while gaining friends and fans from all around. It was not until a few members of Folly ended up sleeping on Jesse and Alex Burton's floor while talking about shitting on their own hands and laughing like little girls that the true realization of an actual band came into being. Before they recorded their first EP for New World Records, the band had never thought too serious about creating a lifestyle through music. They had always enjoyed playing shows, writing music, and meeting people, but they had never truly considering their effort to take off into music-world. When "For My Friends" was released at the beginning of the summer of 2001, they packed their lives into a rented van to tour with their friends Face First. The music/rock star lifestyle was now becoming a reality. Living on the road for a couple of weeks became an ideal location for the band to flourish musically, as they were constantly surrounded by hilarious occurrences and ridiculously fun situations. They could also finally get girls somehow to take their clothes off, because let's face it- nothing is more hot than a touring band. Well maybe not Folly. Anyway, throughout the next coming year, their music would grow and they would subsequently grow even closer as friends.

The acquisition of Anthony Wille behind the drums was the final step into securing a much much-needed alliance. In the early summer time of 2002, Folly met up with producer Sal Vilanueva and the team at Big Blue Meenie. They had been there a year prior to mix their EP and were somewhat comfortable and happy with the studio (and yet extremely scared of Jersey City's parking laws.) With the help of Sal, engineer Joe Pedulla, and mastermind Tim Gilles, Folly was able to comfortably align their talent into a three-song (unreleased) effort. A couple of tours ensued, and proved even more to the band that even though Arkansas mosquitoes can somehow find their way into your covers during the world's hottest nights, nothing could ever beat living on the road. Ensuring a lifestyle together, as friends.. better yet as family, Folly continues to explore the possibilities of creating intricate, original music. Luckily, there are no boundaries one can exceed while living a life consisting solely of friends, fun, and music. Afterall and most importantly, it is their belief that humanity is instrumental.