Firecracker heet de band uit San Francisco, die hele fraaie countryrock maakt, met een sterk popgevoel. Een kruising tussen John Mellencamp (de oude), Uncle Tupelo, Britse pop en The Wallflowers. Laat zanger/gitarist Scout het niet allemaal horen. "I hate The Wallflowers!" Een email-chat.
FIRECRACKER GROEIT WEG VAN COUNTRY
Was the band named after the song by Ryan Adams?
"Not in the slightest. We didn’t even notice the coincidence until later, but we are pleased that “Firecracker” happens to be the best song on that record. What happened was that while we were arguing (and arguing) about what to name the band, Gardner s(May, bassist) ent out an email to the rest of us that said “Have a good 4th Of July, and don’t blow off your fingers with any firecrackers.” And then somebody (I think it was Russell (Tillitt, piano)) said “Hey! ‘Firecracker’ would make a great band name!” And we were astounded to discover that it hadn’t been taken. I jokingly suggested ‘Firecracker Tragedy,’ but Gardner said no to that because he actually knew someone who’d lost some fingers that way. Gardner is usually the guy who says no to all the fun stuff, unless it involves beer."
Tell me more background about the members.
"Peter (Craft, drums) and I used to play together in a band called Whitey Gomez, which featured Nancy Rideout (of Moonshine Willy) on guitar and mandolin. WG was a very popular act in San Francisco during the halcyon days of alt.country, circa 1998-99. When that band ended, Pete and I started a new project and roped in Gardner, whom we’d met and liked during the Whitey period and hoped to play with at some point. Russ (Kiel, gitaar, zang) used to play in a band called Rule Of Thumb, and he came to us highly recommended by a mutual friend—we lucked out that his band was breaking up just as this one was getting started. And Russell…well, we sort of stole Russell from our favorite band here in San Francisco, a band called Luminar. We would like to take this opportunity to publicly apologize to Carvel, Creston and Yuki. Sorry guys."
How do Russel and you write the songs?
"We write together as much as we can. Usually one of us brings a song in that’s pretty much complete, and then the other person starts digging around and changing things. Once in a while a song stays the way it was when it was written, but not too often.Russell will often write entire songs in his car. He commutes a long way for his day job. When he’s at home, he’ll work up a simple rhythm idea on the guitar, one or two chords—though sometimes it’s purely a melodic idea in his head. I work in a different way, concentrating first on lyrics—but both Russell and I agree that it’s very important to get the guitar or piano out of our hands as soon as possible in order to flesh out melody or lyrics without getting to be overly aware of the harmony. I think our best songs are the ones where I bring a lyric concept in and marry it to a melody that Russell has written. That guy is a genius when it comes to composing melodies. We have a couple other secret weapons, too—Russ has started bringing in some really great, catchy songs. You’ll hear some of them on our next record. Also, our original guitar player, David Knupp, writes fantastic stuff. “When You Were Around,” on the EP, is a song that he and I put together when he was still in the band. He had to leave the band because of an injury (and that story could fill a whole second interview), but he remains one of my closest friends, and the band continues to interpret his songs in our live sets."
The violin sounds great and gives the record a Mellencamp touch. I can't believe Ben Roberts is not in the band. Are you still searching for a violin-player?
"Ben was in the band for about a year and a half, and left just after we’d finished the record. Our sound had begun to become more pop-oriented and he was feeling like he didn’t fit in anymore, so he chose to move on. We considered replacing him, but then we realized, at least for the time being, that he was right — our sound is moving away from country, and adding a fiddle would be moving backwards — or at the very least laterally. This is maybe a little hard to tell based solely on the EP. When the next record comes out, it will all make sense. We’re tremendously excited about the line-up of the band right now — we’re writing incredibly strong songs, and the live sound is really powerful."
The American-roots influences seems to be clear: Wallflowers, Tom Petty, Mellencamp. Agree?
"I personally find the Wallflowers just as boring as hell, but I’m also a little vindictive because my first band in high school was called The Wallflowers, until that Dylan kid came along and stole it. Nevertheless, those are all certainly artists we appreciate, although I think Tom Petty is the only one who is a real active influence on what we do. The Heartbreakers are a phenomenal band, but for us it goes back further than them — I think the connection is that they were influenced by the same people we were: The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Byrds, The Band. The Beatles and The Stones of course. People like that. At the same time, our influences definitely include a lot of 80's Amerindie, college-radio stuff like the Replacements, Husker Du and Buffalo Tom. Then there’s the country standards. I can’t go more than a few days without listening to Hank or Buck or Merle; Russ is crazy for Neil Young, and also spent his formative years in the jam band scene. Pete idolizes Bruce Springsteen. Gardner loves Texas blues. We all bring different influences to the band, and I think the mixture works well."
And the English influences: the guitars sound British to me. I hear The Smiths and Gene. I know Gene was quite popular in California. Was that band an influcence?
"That's weird. I’m pretty sure that not a single member of this band has ever heard a Gene record. And despite the fact that I consider The Smiths to be one of my favorite bands ever, the only British influence in the guitar chain is a Vox amplifier. Which we borrowed from Tom Petty, actually. We forgot to thank him in the liner notes. Thanks Tom. "
How serious is Firecracker? I mean, are you professional musicians?
"Serious as a heart attack. (Do they have that phrase in Holland?) This is definitely a real band, if that’s what you’re asking. We’re in it for the long haul. I can’t do anything else. I am the worst day-job-employee in history.
How has the record been received?
"Everyone who has heard the record has liked it. I keep waiting to hear or read about someone just tearing it apart. That’s when I’ll quietly retire to my bedroom and cry for a while. But so far, it’s been all positive."
Do you play a lot live?
"Honestly, we’re still figuring this one out. It’s a tricky thing. We play as much as we can in San Francisco without boring people to tears: “Oh, look, it‘s Firecracker AGAIN!” But we’re absolutely in our element as a live band. I got an email recently from a fan who had seen us live several times before buying the CD, and she said she was surprised at the difference. “More smoothie, less sno-cone,” was how she put it."
What kind of audience do you have?
"So far, our fans seem to run the gamut. I recently did a solo show opening for Marshall Crenshaw, and there were lots of people in the crowd that were older than we’re used to playing for, and they absolutely loved the songs. The mother of one of my friends goes crazy for the record, plays it all the time. In the clubs, though, it’s definitely mid 20’s to late 30’s. Lately it seems like we’re transitioning from being a band that only serious rock boys like to a band that has a lot of cute girls in the audience, singing along. And we won’t deny that we like that. Why else would we learn to play these complicated instruments?"
The CD is 20 minutes too short. Why not waited longer and write more songs?
"Believe me, there’s no shortage of songs. Remember, we’ve got three active songwriters in the band. There are about 30 or 40 other songs that we rotate in and out of our sets from night to night, and somebody's bringing a new song to practically every rehearsal. We also do a healthy number of covers, not because we need to, but because we want to. Part of the beauty of having a band is getting to play all the songs you love and that inspired you to form a band in the first place. “Certain Things Last” is short primarily because it’s expensive to make a record, and because we are hoping to sign to a label for our first full-length release. And for what it’s worth, we don’t feel like the EP is too short. It has a distinct tone that wouldn’t have been the same across twelve songs."
Where is “Church Key” about?
"‘Church key’ is an American slang term for a bottle opener. On the surface, that song is about drinking, but it’s dressed up to look like it’s about religion. Basically, it’s a song about perdition and redemption. Luckily, it’s got a good beat and you can dance to it.
What will you answer when the next album is out and you are asked why the new album is better than the debut?
"I would say that the EP could have some more rougher edges...When we finished this record, I was surprised at how pretty it was. Our live set is a lot edgier. But none of us has any regrets about how this record turned out; we think it’s fantastic and we hope everyone else does too. If the songs are pretty, then the songs are pretty.
As for the next record, I would hope that people think it’s better. That’s the point, isn’t it? If I had to predict things, I would guess that next time we’ll have more electric guitars, along with a broader instrumentation. Ben might come back and do some more violin, if we’re lucky, and Russell keeps threatening to break out this beautiful old accordion he lugs around. Our friend Sarah plays a mean cello. I’ve been learning the Gaussian Triangle. Ultimately, we approach each song individually, arranging them in the way that works be! st. The next CD may have rougher edges. It may be entirely acoustic. We'll see when we get there."
What are some of your favourite bands/artists at the moment and all time?
"You know, it’s going to be the usual assortment of people. Aside from those mentioned earlier, I’d have to include R.E.M. for me and Queen for Pete. Uncle Tupelo is an obvious reference point when you’re in a band like ours, but they’re worth mentioning again. There are members of this band that consider “Anodyne” a perfect album. My heart swells with love at the mere mention of the words Big Star. Russ is a big fan of Pat Metheny, although I can’t stand him. (I’m sure there’s stuff I love that Russ hates, but he’s not here right now, so I win.)
At the moment, I am in love with a band called The Mayflies USA, who are from North Carolina. I think they are just phenomenal. I also continue to be amazed by Death Cab For Cutie and The Matt Pond PA. The Cash Brothers do some great things with two guitars and two voices. Pedro The Lion’s new record is wonderful. Spike Priggen, out of New York, is doing great things, and I try to point people in his direction as often as possible. I could go on and on. Pretty much all I ever do is buy records and then bore the hell out of people by talking about them incessantly."
A short reaction on these words:
-Amsterdam
Never been. Seems like a good town.
-George Bush
No one should care what a pop band thinks about politics.
-Morrissey
He can only sing three notes: Waah, waah and waah.
-Winter
I waited for you winterlong. You seem to be where I belong.
-Michael Stipe
Michael built a bridge. Michael tore it down. Courage courage courage.
