Sometimes it takes a while for a musician to find another band after the outfit they were with breaks up. Not the case with singer Will Crafton and his group, Separations. Crafton was signed to Imagen Records when his then-band went splitsville, but when the label got wind of the melodic-yet-heavy tunes Crafton was working on with his new outfit, they promptly offered up another contract. The frontman spoke with BraveWords correspondent Greg Prato a few weeks before the release of their debut full-length, Dream Eater, while Separations was on the road as part of the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour.

BraveWords:  How did Separations form?

Will Crafton:  "Separations formed about half a year ago - me and a bunch of friends had recorded a record, everybody split, and then Separations formed out of the remnants of those bands. We got together, did the record, and now, it's coming out October 2nd!"

BraveWords:  How was it working with producer James Paul Wisner?

Will Crafton:  "I've known him since I was 19. I've worked on various other projects with him. He's like an idol to me, man. He's taught me so much about production and engineering, finding the right tones, capturing the moment. He's a very raw producer. I feel like a lot of the newer ones kind of over-saturate with just fake sounding stuff. We were able to keep everything very organic with this record, as far as all the sounds. The vocals are very natural; we didn't really screw with that stuff too much. He just really has an ear that is something else, that can capture the moment. So it's always a pleasure working with him."

BraveWords:  How did Imagen Records get involved?

Will Crafton:  "I was previously signed to them under a different band. We went in and did this record and they loved it, and decided to extend an offer to keep me with this band."

BraveWords:  What are some memories of the album's recording sessions?

Will Crafton:  "Eating lots of 7-Eleven pizza and coffee, man! Wisner actually records out of his house - he's got this little place, and a lot of the time was spent in the room with him, going through ideas and stuff like that. It was a good time. We were down in St. Cloud, Florida - there's a cool little lake in his backyard and this rope swing. We would jump on the rope swing and jump across the little lake. One of our buddies fell in. Other than the actual writing process, we were playing a lot of video games. The sessions were a real chill thing - maybe not as serious as one would imagine it would be."

BraveWords:  What were some of the band's favorite video games?

Will Crafton:  "Oh man, I'm a huge Final Fantasy nerd, so I was going through all those. We had a lot of Legend Of Zelda in there, too. I think our bass player was playing Pokémon. We're nerds, man."

BraveWords:  What is the meaning behind the album title, Dream Eater?

Will Crafton:  "At the time, I was going through a lot of inner-battles with myself - trying to find myself, trying to figure out who I wanted to be. And that's kind of where the title stems from - I think everyone in life eventually comes to a crossroads with themselves, and ends up having to fight, whether it be their past, their fears, everything else. And it actually blew up into this whole concept. So although the song 'Dream Eater' is about that, all of the other songs on the record tie into that, as well - just in different aspects. It was actually really cool how that all came about."

BraveWords:  What is your favorite track?

Will Crafton:  "One of the songs we're actually playing on this tour right now, the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour, it's called 'Upper Hand’. At the time when I was writing it, everyone was going on about Breaking Bad. And I had yet to see it. I'm like, super late in the game - it was already finished, I'm pretty sure. And so I'm like, 'Alright, fine. I'll watch one episode of Breaking Bad.' And I watched more and more and more, and finished it. That's kind of what that song was about - this gambler who had a problem and was making a lot of money, but hurting a lot of people in the process, and karma is going to come around and get you. And that's where 'Dream Eater' ties in, where it kind of manifests karma and other emotions and things that can chase after you. That's definitely one of my favorites, just because I really like Breaking Bad, I really like the way the concept evolved as I was writing it."

BraveWords:  How has the Monster Energy Outbreak Tour been going?

Will Crafton:  "It's going great. The guys in Nothing More are super cool, the band Marmozets had to drop off because the singer had really messed up her knee, so the Color Morale took their place, and then we got the guys in Turbowolf, who are from the UK, and they're great - I love talking to them because of their accents. They've all been super helpful. I've been on a few tour packages, and this is the first one where everyone really is looking out for each other, and it's really nice."

BraveWords:  What can fans expect from seeing Separations live?

Will Crafton:  "We try to put on a show; we try to put on an experience. Our goal every night is to make a connection with the audience. They could have been doing a million other things, but they made the conscious decision to come out that night, and we want to leave them with something that they won't forget. We try to really connect and get everyone involved in the music; we try to be very outgoing. The show is killer - we're jumping around like animals! It's a lot of fun, a lot of high energy. I really think the songs are great and feel like people will enjoy the music."