1. What brought the two of you together musically? I know Nick has
been involved in a slew of local projects both as a musician and
producer, but what specifically sparked the decision to start a project
such as Wild Fur?
Wild
Fur was started as a way for both of us to do something different with
no preconceived notions of what we were trying to sound like. Had these
been recorded or released under the monikers of “the Cazadores” or “The
Tomahawks” they would be perceived as sounding a certain way because of
association with those bands. We were both in a place where we wanted to
explore new territories and and not be bound by what had come before.
2. Did you have a musical direction in mind when you started the band or was this just how it came out?
The idea from the beginning has been to avoid genre and follow the muse of each individual song.
3. How do you break up the songwriting responsibilities?
In
short, we're still discovering the process. In the beginning we each had
songs or song ideas that we had been working on individually. We worked
through those ideas together and kept what we liked. Anything we
disliked was reworked or rewritten entirely. Every part of an
arrangement is discussed, not just lyrics or melody. It's an interesting
approach, having someone give you their candid opinion about a song
makes you push into ideas you never would have considered.
4. How did you go about switching the tracks from studio set-ups to a live show?
We
decided to start with a four piece band for the simple fact that it
makes touring easier. We decided to both play keys and guitars in the
live setting. We did a lot of talking about what parts were important to
include in a live show and tried to adapt those to work for the setup
we have. We basically asked ourselves, “what are the hooks?” and tried
to make those translate to a live show.
5. You've been
slowly releasing singles throughout the duration of the band, what's
the reasoning behind that? Do you feel that the slow trickle of musical
releases as opposed to an EP or album out the gate helps to build the
trajectory of your band?
Releasing
singles was an attempt to get people to actually listen to each song.
There’s so much music released now, when releasing an EP or LP there’s
always the potential for someone to start listening but then switch
their attention to the latest viral sensation.
6. Speaking of trajectories, when do you see Wild Fur releasing a full-length or EP?
The 4
singles have been packaged and released as an EP and a split 7” with
Joshua Carpenter was released in June. We’re currently working on
finishing up a full length. We’ll release it once we have the means to
do so.
7. What do you feel each of you bring musically to the table?
We each
bring our own individual definition of what a hook is. The common
ground between those two places is where the songs of Wild Fur are
found.
8. What are some of the major influences in the songwriting process for Wild Fur?
Inspiration
for these songs comes from attempting to move away from the well-trod
paths of songwriters before us. We’ve listened to a lot of music and
have a lot of influences but, we both reached a point where emulating
our influences was not filling the creative void.
Wild Fur performs at The Lincoln Theatre on Thursday, Sept. 4 at 8:30 pm
Lineup Recommendations: Saint Rich, How To Dress Well, St. Vincent, White Laces, Phosphorescent, Sun Club, Free Clinic, See Gulls and Dark Rooms
