Fleeting Apollo

FOLKING AROUND

The newest band to emerge from the Atlanta folk rock scene, Fleeting Apollo is the brainchild of two promising musicians, Matthew Clark and Jimmy Denny. Layered instrumentation, powerful lyrics, and dynamic vocals set Fleeting Apollo apart from the rest; their songs “Daisies” and “Rodeo” capture the joys of life, the thrill of love, and the pain of loss. I sat down with the band as they recorded their debut this summer.



Q: How did you come up with the name of your band, Fleeting Apollo?

A: Music is incredibly profound in the way it evokes emotion. We believe that in all music, Apollo, the god of music, makes a fleeting appearance; we wanted our band name to reflect this belief.


Q: What are your musical influences? What draws you to them, and what do you admire about them?

A: For years, we’ve listened to The Avett Brothers, The Head and the Heart, and Houndmouth, to name a few. We’re drawn to their authenticity and passion, which shines through in their music and in their live performances. They are incredibly true to themselves and to their music.


Q: How did you get into making music? When did you start learning your instruments?

Matthew: For as long as I can remember, I’ve been singing and playing instruments; intense exposure to music as a child definitely influenced my current passion for making music. I began playing guitar when I was 5 years old. Banjo, mandolin, and a limited ability to play the piano came around the age of 12.

Jimmy: After watching It Might Get Loud, a documentary featuring Jack White, at age 13, I was inspired to start learning the guitar. Since then, I’ve tried to emulate the passion he brings to his music. Like Matthew, I learned other instruments, like the ukulele and banjo, a couple years later.


Q: What were the first songs you learned on the guitar?

M: “8 Days a Week”.

J: “Here Comes the Sun”.


Q: What's your creative process like? What experiences do you draw from during the songwriting process?

A: We don’t sit down with the intention of immediately writing a song; rather, we bounce bits and pieces of songs off each other in our jam sessions, building on top of the riffs and melodies that come up organically. When we write, we draw from a range of experiences. These experiences aren’t necessarily ones that we’ve had before; often, they’re meant to convey how we’re feeling at a particular time. In some of the songs we’re working on, we draw from experiences we had with our friends during the past 3 or 4 years.


Q: As multi-instrumentalists, how do you choose which instrument or instruments work best for a certain song?

A: So far, all of our songs have acoustic guitar as a foundation. From there, we generally take our songs in a folk or electric direction. If we decide to steer the song towards folk, we use mandolin and banjo to complement the acoustic guitar.


Q: What’s the story of your favorite gig so far?

A: Although we’ve been playing and writing together for almost 5 years now, we haven’t played a full gig as Fleeting Apollo yet. So far, our live performances have been for our friends and family in our basement or at the lake.


Q: What have you learned from the process of writing, recording, and producing an album?

M: We’ve learned how much hard work it takes. In early June, we decided that we wanted to use this summer to write our debut album. For almost two weeks, Jimmy lived at my house. We’d record and write for the entire day and produce at night. Hours upon hours of work, but we don’t mind. After all, making music is what we love to do.


Fleeting Apollo will release their debut this winter. In the meantime, check out their songs below. You won’t be disappointed. - Jon Giuliano