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Spoon.
I had merely asked Jim Eno how he was going and he was already laughing. "It's so funny, all you guys say, 'How are you going?' I like it." With a soothing Texan voice, Eno, drummer and co-founder (with frontman Britt Daniels) of Spoon, is one of those artists that are a pleasure doing business with, although I found that I spoke more than he did, such was his interest in what I had to say. But perhaps that is just the polite, Texan way.
As they're based in Austin, Texas, Spoon have played at their hometown South By South West (SXSW) festival every year since 1996 (excluding 2004) and have seen the festival develop over the years. "It's more crowded now but I really love SXSW because we know so many bands and SXSW is an opportunity where they all come to Austin. I can run around and see all my friends and then I get to sleep in my own bed at night, not like being on the road."
And what good friends they keep. From the Saddle Creek crew to fellow Texans ...Trail of Dead, Spoon have been admired and respected by many during their career spanning nigh on a decade. "We've known Conor [Oberst Bright Eyes] since probably 1996, I think he was 14 or 15. We were touring on our first record when we played Omaha, Nebraska. We'd just played North Dakota, a really miserable show and the next show was Omaha. We thought, 'No one will turn up, it's gonna be pathetic'. But as it turned out there were about 20 kids there that all worshipped Spoon and it was all the Saddle Creek kids: Conor, the guys from Bright Eyes, The Faint - Conor's brother plays in The Faint - and the guys from Cursive and The Good Life were there, it was awesome. We make sure we go through Omaha on every tour since 1996 just to hang out with those guys."
Eno's experience with ...Trail of Dead has a slightly different tune. "We played with them (...TOD) about seven years ago. I just remember they borrowed my cymbal and they were destroying all the equipment. So I ran up on stage just before he lost my symbol into the crowd and said, 'Hey, that's mine!'" Eno laughs. I can just imagine the softly spoken Eno asking Jason Reece, mid ...TOD chaos, for a cymbal, but Eno confirms that Spoon, too, can get a "little crazy on stage". His example included their headlining set at Coachella Festival in Indio, California; an example to which I can bear witness. "It was good, we got a bit crazy. The whole stage was about 20-30min late, but we had a lot of fun."
But it seems in-store performances, not festivals, are where all the chaos and crazy antics are caused these days. Whether it be the tempting offer of something free or the opportunity to see a band in an intimate setting, in-store performances are increasingly reported as 'sell-outs' (which you'd know is a euphemism for 'fire hazards' if you've ever been to one). Spoon's recent appearances at Virgin Megastore, NY and Amoeba Records, LA have been no exception. "New York was a really fun show. We played at Amoeba Records in LA and 1200 people showed up and they were actually turning people away from the store. They said it was the second biggest in-store they'd had."
All this interest in Spoon has earned them the title of 'Texan mavericks' according to a past review. I was interested as to which qualities Eno possessed to substantiate such a claim. "A maverick? Well, I'm not really a maverick..." Eno replies bashfully. "I think Eric Harvey, our keyboard player, is the maverick of the band. He has a very maverick quality to him. He's the kinda guy that will do a photo shoot and there'll be no bad pictures of him, yet there'll only be two good ones of me. He's very photogenic and very, uh, social," Eno chuckles as if there's more to the story.
As for being Texan, one only has to consult the lyrics, which
Daniels works tirelessly on to perfect the phrasing and flow
of songs, to see the Texan drawl shining through on tracks such
as I Turn My Camera On ("And you wasn't polite") or The
Two Sides Of Monsieur Valentine ("I pull on them pants").
"You mean that ain't proper?" Eno laughs. "No, I'm just kidding,
just being a Texan."
Cassie Hilditch
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'Gimme Fiction' is out now through Remote Control/Inertia.
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