Farewell, My Love Premiere New Song, "Never Stop"

Phoenix rockers Farewell, My Love have always been known for their theatrical flair.

But now that the group—which features Chad Kowal (vocals/drums), Röbby Creasey (lead guitar/piano), Charlee Conley (bass) and London Mckuffey (guitar)—is gearing up for the July 22 release of Above It All, the debut album for their own label, CRCL Records, they're clearly ready to take things up a notch.

Today, we present the exclusive premiere of "Never Stop," a powerful track from the new album, plus an interview with Creasey and Mckuffey. For more about Farewell, My Love, visit their website and follow along on Facebook.

What’s the meaning behind “Never Stop”?

Robby: "Never Stop" is an anthem of sorts, the lyrics are to encourage anyone who has had a rough time chasing their dreams or passions to keep pursuing them. Everyone goes through hardship and has people doubt them or make things more difficult for them—even us. If we didn’t keep a positive attitude throughout our career and keep our drive to succeed, we wouldn’t be here now. This song explains that. We’ll never stop, no matter what and neither should anyone else.

Earlier in your career, many people characterized you as a band that pays homage to Eighties glam/metal rock. What led you and the band to change your direction and style? Do you still call yourself a theatrical rock band?

Robby: Back when the band started, a lot of our inspirations were very Eighties-style bands. I think as time went on we have grown to love and appreciate a wider variety of artists and influences that have led to a progression in our music and fashion choice. We’re also firm believers that bands should change up their music, style and image with every album while still holding onto their musical uniqueness. Our’s is the “theatrical rock” sound of creating visual, storytelling songs. So I think regardless of our image, we’ll always be a theatrical rock band because we’ll always have more stories to tell.

How long have you been playing guitar, and what was the first guitar you bought?

London: Shortly after I became serious about my playing, just over six years ago, a mentor of mine let me borrow his Wine Red 1977 Gibson Les Paul Custom. Getting hands on with such a high-quality instrument was a tremendous catalyst. Guitar was something I could always depend on, enabled me to escape any negativity around me, and it's during that very formative time in my playing that I first experienced the emotional high truly connecting with the instrument provides. The first guitar I ever bought was an Epiphone Les Paul Tribute in early 2011 with the help of my parents. The build quality of it is second to none.

What guitarists influenced you as you were growing up, and who are your inspirations now?

London: My earliest inspiration and the entire reason I wanted to play was Slash, who continues to be my biggest influence to this day. Other players that tremendously shaped me musically have been Dimebag Darrell, Mike Ness, Buckethead, Randy Rhoads and Jacky Vincent. Players by and large from a very different time in music, and each with very identifiable playing characteristics. Individual and distinct qualities as a musician are the ultimate staple for musical success in my eyes, and something I aspire to greatly.

London has a pretty popular YouTube page, what have been some of your favorite songs to cover?

London: Thank you very much, I appreciate that! My favorite covers I've done have been "Beast and the Harlot" by Avenged Sevenfold, "In the End" by Black Veil Brides and "Rocket Queen" by Guns N' Roses. Each of those songs are just plain fun to play and have multiple guitar layers simultaneously going on, which provided both a challenge and were remarkably enjoyable to learn and record. Recently I've been uploading improvisation videos, as a way to demonstrate my own style to a particular chord progression or backing track. It's quite rewarding to express myself in an entirely original way on my channel.

What should we expect from Farewell, My Love this year? Album release, tour, etc.?

Robby: Our new album, Above It All, is available for preorder now and will be dropping July 22. It’s our debut record with our new record label we created, CRCL Records. As for touring, we have some things in the works for national and international but not a whole lot that can be talked about in depth yet. We’re all very excited for this new venture and are looking forward to everything happening in the near future.