by Jake Rousel

Austin has opened the doors for many bands over the years, as it is "The Live Music Capital Of The World," but one band is moving its way quickly through these art-filled streets. With so many bands starting up in Austin, this band seems to be getting a lot of attention.

This five piece band known as "Fast And Far" has a special sound of '80s and '90s pop/rock; with mixing U2's '80s pop blend, Garbage's grinding industrial sound and Radiohead's soft melodic sound, this band is still keeping their own original and meaningful sound to convey their thoughts and emotions in their music.

This dynamic group consists of Soto Estaban as vocalist, cousins Mike and R.J. Freitag on guitars, Scott Scholwinski on the drums and rounding out the sound is Phil Brasenell on bass and back up vocals.

Before Fast And Far, the band was called Strangeways, which consisted of M. Freitag, and Estaban; but in the beginning of 2000, Scholwinski and Steve Emry were added, and finally R. Freitag. Upon adding R. Freitag, the line up was finally complete, and they decided to drop the name Strangeways and call themselves Fast And Far; Emry left the band in Sept. 2000, and was soon replaced by Brasenell.

They all share their passion for music with each other, but also have their own ambitions behind these motives.

"Since I was young I knew that I wanted music to be the most important thing in my life; I felt it calling me since I was 15 years old, and as it still calls me to this day." said Estaban.

Some of their major influences in their lives have been God, Depeche Mode, James, The Smiths, U2 and many more.

"One of my biggest influences in my life has to be God, and I do not mean this in a preachy/holier-than-thou attitude, but rather a genuine concern to grow and learn about my spirituality. Also, both of my parents have also been incredible influences, by teaching me to treat others fairly and generously. And I find that as we are meeting and doing business with people, these principles are not easily thrown aside."

"Musically, I love U2, The Cure, Radiohead, James, Pink Floyd, Sex Pistols, Alice in Chains, Garbage, and so much more." Said M. Freitag.

Although they may have different views on the outcome of Austin, as it continues to grow rapidly, they all however, agree that it is a melting pot for the inspiration and will always be a place to where they can call home.

"The growth of the population here hopefully will help us gain more fans of our music, but just like anything else, it is how you treat people that gets you where you want to go," said Scholwinski. "It is sad to see Austin growing the way it has; it has lost that 'hometown' feel it used to have eight years ago when I moved here, but I did not expect such a beautiful and opportunistic city to be kept secret forever."

From a band's perspective, I should embrace the growth as it means possibly more fans; it is just hard to do, but I love this city anyway.

I do not think I could ever leave it behind." said Estaban. "I think Fast And Far has a lot to gain with the city's growth, but it does raise the bar, which I am not opposed to."

"I personally believe that there should be competition to keep music alive, fresh and exciting; with its growth, it brings in new people, new ideas and new energy." Said M. Freitag.

Brasenell, being as he is from England, hopes to use the rapid growth of Austin, and the rest of the U.S., as a tour and living advantage for the future.

The band can generally be seen at their usual home of SpeakEasy's, located on Sixth St., but will not be performing in Austin again until April due to various out of town gigs, and the recording of their new EP.

Their first EP, Dangerous Nostalgia, was released in August of 2000, and can still be ordered from the band's web site, which can be reached at www.fastandfar.com, and they would like for everyone to join their mailing list, which has fans from all over the US, and even fans from Indonesia, Australia, Argentina and many other places. Log on to their web site for updates on dates and times of upcoming shows here in Austin and Texas area.