Fiery Furnaces interview

the Cadenza staff
roughtraderrecords.com

Cadenza got the chance to sit down with Matt Friedberger, the singer/multi-instrumentalist of the Fiery Furnaces, before their April 18 set at the Gargoyle.

Cadenza: How’s the tour going so far?

Matt Friedberger: It’s beautiful weather, that’s for sure. Every place we’ve went. Now it’ll be terrible [knocks on wood]. We’re going to Columbia, and then Lawrence, Kansas, next, so we’ll probably run into a tornado or something.

C: How do you guys like being in the Midwest compared to NYC?

MF: We’re from Chicago, my sister and I, actually. We live in New York, but we like it better here. We came from Nashville, crossed that Ohio River into Illinois, a proud and happy moment, and it’s slightly bitter to have to come back into this former confederate state of Missouri when you finally get back to the wholesome North.

C: And this tour is promoting the EP you released earlier this year?

MF: No, not that I know of. It’s just playing. We played in the fall, and now we’re playing in the spring, and we’ll be playing this summer in the Midwest. That’ll be a nice trip. We’re going to Grand Rapids, Chicago, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Indianapolis … I like those places.

C: So are the songs from “EP” simply the ones that didn’t make it onto “Blueberry Boat?”

MF: No, it’s entirely separate. The first four songs were recorded after the album, and the other ones are all from before, but none of the songs on “EP” are from the sessions from “Blueberry Boat.” There are outtakes from “Blueberry Boat,” but none of them are on “EP.” We like all those recordings that are on “EP,” and none of them have come out in the U.S., though they came out in Britain as B-sides. So we put them out and [Rough Trade] said they’d do it for cheap. We like the record, and thought that the songs go nicely together. That, and we didn’t want people to think that this is our new record.

C: You have plans for two more full-lengths to come out later this year, right?

MF: Yeah, one’s with our grandmother on it and it’s all stories. That one’s all completely done, and the other one isn’t quite finished. After this trip I’m going back to turn the knobs.

C: Are you guys surprised at all by the critical reaction to “Blueberry Boat?”

MF: Yeah, you’re always surprised that people like it a lot and they hate it a lot; you’re surprised that it’s one or the other. You think it’s like, “It’s OK,” or maybe, “It’s good,” that’s what you expect. Or maybe, “I don’t really like it that much.” You don’t expect people to be like, “It’s great, terrific, my favorite record.” Normal people … well, not normal people, maybe … people who say to you, “I love that record.” You’re surprised when they say that. And then you’re surprised when you read somewhere that “this record doesn’t have a single tune,” and that it’s “wankery” and “who are they trying to fool.” That kinda thing.

C: It’s certainly provoked a lot of passionate opinions.

MF: That’s meant to be good, I guess. But what’s there to get worked up at? I understand getting worked up about bands you like. You almost really like them, so you can talk very passionately about it. But you don’t get excited about music that you don’t like at all. Like there’s this band now called the Braves … no … the Bravery. How are you going to get mad at it? What are you going to say? “Yet another thing foisted on people.”

C: I think a lot of people are upset that some bands can come out and somehow have instant credibility…

MF: But obviously they don’t. I mean, for kids that are young enough, and are isolated enough, that that stuff is interesting, then it must be interesting to them. And maybe it’ll serve as a stepping stone for them to like something else. Like in the mid-’90s, I remember the band Rancid came up. And I remember thinking, “What the fuck is this horrible pretend punk music?” It’s like Disney wholesome audition. And that’s not how these kids came up socially, they came up as normal kids. But it seemed to me, being older, that it was a horrible, horrible parody of a boy-band punk group. But then I thought, “What do I care?” Maybe they’re sincere, maybe they’re not. If they’re sincere, great, and for people who don’t despise it because they haven’t heard “Complete Control” by the Clash a thousand times, maybe that will lead them to like it. Now obviously, the Bravery are a lesser example of that.

C: About the lyrical content of “Blueberry Boat”: why choose to use so many brand names like Hyundai and TCBY?

MF: Because they’re words. Proper names and product names are often colorful words, and we like them. I mean, it’s just what you would say. You don’t really avoid brand names. TCBY is a funny word, you know? I think brand names are very concrete sounding. It’s funny though, I mentioned this shop in one song called “Gunzo’s,” which is a real shop … it’s the fanciest hockey sporting goods store in Chicago. And somebody told me that they loved it! They bought a bunch of records and bragged about it. “First time on a record.” They liked it, but that’s a local store, not really a national chain. But for those products, for Hyundai … like, Eleanor did go to the TCBY. Her first year of college, she would get drunk and go to TCBY. So that’s why that’s in there. I think you want to have as much present day, real things as possible. So you always should say, “I went to the ’31 Flavors,'” as opposed to “I went the ice cream shop.” You should always say, “I went down McCullough Street,” as opposed to “I went down the road.” It’s very cheap, but real. It’s an easy habit, not a sophisticated technique, to say TCBY as opposed to “the yogurt store.” It’s like iMac … no, I mean iPod. I mean, if someone wants to say “iPod,” what are they going to say? That’s how people talk about it. But hopefully we won’t ever mention iPod in a song.

C: Oh yeah, you know they’d be all over that.

MF: Ugh … Apple.

C: I suppose they could say that you share a market.

MF: Yeah, a market of rich dorks, like you and me.

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