|
|
 |
Spoon.
Spoon's lead singer and guitarist Britt Daniel recalls when they last played at Enigma in Adelaide in February of 2003. "I remember that show," he recalls. "I remember it was right down the street from the McDonalds. Our hotel was on the same street as the venue, and I remember there was an opening band where one of the singers didn't face the crowd. I thought they were really good. I even bought their CD - but I can't remember what it's called now." [Gaslight Radio, incidentally - Music Ed]
For now, though, the band are taking it relatively easy, flying out to weekend shows and then back home. All of this suits Daniel well, as he settles into his new home of Portland, Oregon after moving from his old stomping grounds in Austin, Texas.
It will all ramp up shortly, though, as Spoon is about to complete intensive tours of Australia and Europe. Daniel has a soft spot for Australia: "When we left there the last time, we all said, 'okay, we've got to go to Australia twice a year now,' because we had such a great time," says Daniel. "That hasn't actually happened because we've been so busy, but we've been definitely looking forward to going back ever since then."
This year alone, Spoon has a whole string of US festivals under their belt including Coachella, Lollapalooza and The Siren Festival. In fact, just before they fly out to Australia, they will be playing with Yoko Ono, Cat Power, and Comets On Fire at Arthurfest in LA. Sometimes, however, playing at the same festival doesn't mean Daniel gets to see the bands he wants to.
"When we played in Chicago for Lollapalooza The Arcade Fire was playing across the field from us, right before we played," Daniel laments, "so I didn't even get a chance to see them, because we were too busy setting up. And I love that band. That was kind of a disappointment."
The newest Spoon album, 'Gimme Fiction', is a more expansive and darker effort than previous releases. It's also well on the way to continuing the band's success. Each new album has sold significantly better than each previous album. Daniel attributes this to persistent hard work over the last decade, building the band's presence over time.
"I honestly think that we're one of the best bands that are out there," boasts Daniel. "Even though we don't have that advantage of being on the tip of everyone's tongue. You know, we're not a new band. We don't have that hype to us, but I think we're good, and eventually people find out about us."
Part of what makes the band work so well is the songwriting partnership between Daniel and fellow songwriter Jim Eno, who plays drums and sings. "Well, we've known each other for a long time," explains Daniel. "We've been in this band for over ten years, and before that we were in another band together, so I know him very well now. We've been to a lot of places together, ya know?" states Daniel, with the barest hint of a Texan drawl.
Asked to further describe his relationship with Eno, Daniel only replies cryptically, "Well, it's almost purely physical. I just let him run the show."
Daniel is famous for his lyrics, and one of the most intriguing lines from 'Gimme Fiction' is "I was in this drop D metal band we called Requiem". Yes, drop D is a guitar tuning usually used in heavier music, but I was interested to find out from where Daniel got the line.
"There was a band called Requiem, but I wasn't in it. Our bass
player (Joshua Zarbo) was in it," explains Daniel, as he goes
into the story behind the lyrics for Sister Jack. "There's
this friend of mine in Austin, and he sent me an email, telling
me how excited he was because he'd just joined this new band.
He's the kind of guy who's always in three or four bands. So
in this email, he was telling me about this band, he was like
'it's so great, we're like totally drop D.' I just thought that
was so funny. That was a good line. And then later I found out
that our bass player was in a band called Requiem, and that
just kind of completed the line."
So would Spoon ever use the 'drop D' guitar tuning? "I think we already have on a few things," Daniel admits. "You don't have to be metal to go drop D."
Eddie Chan
 |
dB Magazine proudly present Spoon at Fowler's Live on Sat 10 Sept, and 'Gimme Fiction' is out now through Remote Control/Inertia.
|
|
|
The latest issue
available now!
|
