Fallborn – biography

Fallborn packs a musical punch that is as much about raw emotion as it is about the irresistible pull of a well-crafted song. Like other high-energy alternative rock bands from Orange County before them, Fallborn has a distinct and confident personality, and it colors their music with authenticity. The four-man group recently recorded its debut album. The melodic and literate tracks have a power and resonance that make them seem almost familiar on first listen. These are songs that grab you—and stay with you.

“I’ve always been interested in the seemingly polar opposites of logic and emotion—and of right and wrong—and how to reconcile those things in different situations,” says lead singer and songwriter Adam Watts. “I love how songs can become little self-contained worlds that you can create to try to work this stuff out.”

When Watts first played music, it was on the drums. “By the time I was 11, that was my life. I liked everything about them, the way they looked, setting them up, how they made me feel, the force of rhythm,” he says. “Later, it was the same with songwriting. Instead of hitting things, I realized I needed to say things.” Watts’ talent for doing so led to success writing hits for other artists—but now, he is focused on forging his own musical identity.

Helping to realize Watts’ expressive songs are a literal band of brothers—Jules, Nic and Matt Rodriguez on drums, bass/background vocals and guitar, respectively. Watts found them through the Orange County music scene, where he’d built a following as a singer-songwriter, providing most of his own musical accompaniment at gigs. “My writing process had become like a personal journal for me. I got to a point where I wanted to experience the songs live in the context of a band—to feel what was happening with them through the interaction and chemistry you can only have with other like-minded musicians.”

The musical—and personal—rapport between Watts and the Rodriguez brothers was instant and more effortless than any of them could have imagined. Something organic and powerful took hold through rehearsals, gigs, recording sessions at Watts’ studio, and co-arranging. The idea of their collaboration being a singer-songwriter project with a backing line-up quickly fell away, and the foursome morphed into a taut and true band.

“We loved the same things in music, it just gelled,” says Adam—“and it was great for my creative process to be less solitary. The friendship part of it gave me a new outlook.” Nic—who is Jules’ twin, with Matt being the youngest—agrees: “My brothers and I have been jamming together since we were little. We had an unspoken musical language. Adam naturally fit right into that. He’s the honorary Rodriguez.”

Their deep connection reverberates through FALLBORN’s forthcoming debut album, with Watts’ intense vocals laid over tracks that are dense, musically adventurous, and expertly played. On “Poison Soul,” the Rodriguez clan delivers a big-riff mid-section while Watts lyrically considers the concept of self-loathing. On “The Wrong Side,” he addresses the pitfalls of losing a “war of pride,” and with “Back To You,” all four execute a tour de force of alt-rock and orchestral harmony. “All the songs,” says Watts, “are personal in some way. There are darker moments, but never without a sense of hope and compassion. I am fascinated by the struggle between these forces.”

Another stand-out track, “When Everything Else Is Gone,” was begun then put aside for awhile. “I was in a place where I’d started to question the purpose of writing, thinking, ‘Why am I doing this?’ Then I got passionate about finishing it, with the belief that, when it’s all gone, what I’ve done with my life and what I believe matters.”

That honesty and conviction is the rock-solid soul of Fallborn and the artistry of Adam Watts.