Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Some fun with Fun!


Out of the rubble of the tragic announcement of The Format's hiatus, emerges a new gleam of light. It may be slightly different from what some Format die-hards are used to, but it is definitely more... fun! Straight of out New York, New York is the melodic pop trio, Fun, coming to infect listeners with their catchy choruses. The lineup includes former frontman of The Format Nate Ruess, ex-member of Anathallo, Andrew Dost, and Steel Train's Jack Antonoff.

Our writer Mike had an opportunity to speak with Fun's multi-instrumentalist, Andrew Dost. Take a look!




Mike: Ok, so first things first, what is your role in the band?

Andrew: Well, I play piano and guitar and horns. And that’s it. I guess just little odds and ends.

Mike: Awesome. Alright so I would say “Fun” is a different name for a band. I was kind of surprised when I first saw it. Can you explain where it came from?

Andrew: Well, we had a really hard time deciding on a name and fun was the only one that we couldn’t contingently say no to. The alternative was “Ice Cream,” but then we thought that would be too silly. We though “Well, what does ice cream make you think of?” and then we thought, “Well, ice cream makes me think of fun.” So that’s kind of where we got the name from. Nice and simple and memorable.

Mike: That’s awesome, man. It was definitely memorable for me. It really stood out.

Andrew: Yeah, I really like it now. It’s kind of grown on me. Initially, I was afraid that we were going to start hating it, which more than often happens, but not so much with this one. So that’s good.

Mike: Definitely. So, I know Nate was formerly in The Format. Were the rest of you in previous bands before this? Anything notable?

Andrew: Yeah, I was in an indie band called Anathallo. And Jack continues to be in a band called Steel Train. And all of our bands have toured together. So we’ve known each other for a while.

Mike: Is that how you guys met, then?

Andrew: Yeah, just through touring, basically. Nate and Jack had know each other longer than I had known Nate or Jack. The three of us have toured together a couple of times. So we were just kind of a mesh of different abilities and we all worked well with each other.

Mike: I know that you guys are a three piece right now, do you plan on remaining a three-piece or do you want to expand as you go along?

Andrew: Well, as far as writing and recording members go, we’re just going to keep it three. But touring-wise we have more. We tour with more than three. We normally tour as a six piece depending on who can make it. For live it’s two guitars, keyboard, bass, drums and then Nate singing.

Mike: I saw on your band’s Twitter account that you guys recently visited the White House. Want to tell me a little bit about that?

Andrew: A friend of ours was able to give us a tour and basically we’re not a political band, but we are political people. And as somebody who is a pretty big supporter of Obama and the Democratic party in general, it was pretty darn neat. (Laughs) I mean it was pretty cool to walk around where JFK walked around or where this picture was taken or whatever. It was a pretty cool experience.

Mike: I saw that you guys have a music video coming up, I don’t believe it is out yet. Who directed it? Tell me a little bit about that. Is there a release date set yet?

Andrew: Actually I don’t know if there is a date yet, I know that we’re shooting for this month (October). But it was directed by a guy named Isaac Rentz who is wonderfully, wonderfully talented, very creative and also very easy to work with. And very accommodating. He’s willing to compromise and listen to everybody’s viewpoint even though he knows more than any of us about film making and video directing and whatever. He was willing to listen to everything. Basically every idea he has is valid.

Mike: Absolutely. It must be nice to work with someone who actually knows what they’re doing.

Andrew: Yeah, definitely. It was my first experience making a video, or a video with a budget, at least. It was neat to see the whole process. Just having multiple people working and knowing what their job is, whether it be working the camera or getting a bottle of water. Everybody was very much on the ball. It was a very cool experience.

Mike: So, tell me about a typical Fun show. Is there anything fun about a Fun show, anything crazy?

Andrew: We keep it pretty standard as far as the way we conduct the concert goes. We’re not going to be dropping balloons or confetti or having go-go dancers or whatever. We pretty much just play our songs and we try to play them better than you’re expecting someone to be able to, I guess. The idea is to not play what we have recorded, but to translate it into a live performance.

Mike: Awesome. It’s always good to go see a band that grabs your attention outside of the record.

Andrew: Yeah, and it’s hard to record like an orchestra and then pull that off live. That’s not what we’re trying to do. We’re not trying to play you what you hear on the record, we’re trying to make the songs come to life in context. And that again, is what our main goal is: to change the presentation of it.

Mike: So what’s in store for you guys? I know you guys just released your debut album. Is there anything big coming up for you guys? Anything to expect?

Andrew: Well, we’re embarking on a tour coming up this month with Taking Back Sunday. We have planning for tours over the next year in the works, but nothing set in stone yet. And we’re releasing a few odds and ends, we’ve uploaded a few tracks here and there. We’ve also recorded few tracks that will be seeing the light of day eventually. We’ve also recorded a few b-sides and a Christmas songs and then a few acoustic songs.

Check out Fun's debut album "Aim & Ignite" in stores and on Itunes now!

Here is Fun with "Walking The Dog."



Also check them out at:
www.myspace.com/fun
http://www.ournameisfun.com/
www.twitter.com/ournameisfun

Posted by Mike Slobom

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