Fountains of Wayne isn't just the band who sings about Stacy's mom. After a four-year recording hiatus, the band is back with a new album, Sky Full of Holes, and a much prettier sound than before. At least that's what lead singer Chris Collingworth says. He took some time out for Origivation to talk about touring, what to expect from the band's new music, and even was kind enough to elaborate on the questions with some fantastically witty remarks. by Brenda Hillegas photo by Chris Strongen
Origivation Magazine: The band is spending the latter part of July on the East Coast then doing one date in Japan and returning to the East Coast. Was the Japan fest a last minute thing? Or did you just decide to build a tour around it?
Chris Collingsworth: We play pretty often in Japan, and we've actually done the Fuji Rock Festival twice before. We had planned on going last year, but we weren't able to finish our record in time. As for the American shows, we figured we were all going to be in the same place, so why not add some shows on the East Coast? I think after that run, we'll take a short break and then do a more extensive US tour shortly after. And then Europe after that, if all goes well.
OM: What made you decide to release the album first in Japan, followed by Europe the next day and then North America? Was this also because of the touring schedule?
CC: Yes, it was. The Japanese release is scheduled to coincide with the Fuji Rock Festival. As far as the other release dates, I have no idea why the music business works the way it does. Somewhere there's a bunch of guys gathered around a marker board with horn-rim glasses and sales forecasts. They use words like "team player" and "actionable" and employ complicated algorithms to determine the best times to penetrate each sales territory.
OM: Any plans while you're touring in August? Will you have downtime in the places you're performing at? You're performing at the World Café Live here, are you looking forward to anything specific in the Philadelphia area?
CC: I grew up just outside the city, and with any luck some of my childhood friends will show up. It's a little hard because between them they have about 10,000 children, and those things cry a lot and take up a lot of time. As for seeing the sights, I really wish we had more time to explore while we were touring. Usually if there's any free time, I try to get some peace and quiet away from the band. I bought one of those e-readers this summer, so for the first time I'll be traveling with about 25 books.
OM: The new album, Sky Full of Holes, will be released August 2nd. This is the first since 2007. What can we expect after a four year gap?
CC: People ask that a lot. I think the challenge with every record is to explore new ideas without losing sight of what made it interesting in the first place. I think people's reaction to the record will depend on what they know about us. There are thousands of people who only know the band because of "Stacy's Mom," and that song isn't really indicative of the rest of our catalog. In that sense, it will sound new to a lot of people regardless. I think overall this is a prettier record than we've made before.
OM: Where did the title for your new album originate?
CC: It's a piece of a line from the album's closing track, "Cemetery Guns," which is about a military funeral and a twenty-one gun salute.
OM: How long has it been since Sky Full of Holes was completed? In 2009, you played acoustic shows featuring unreleased songs. Did you know then which songs would be on the new album or were you just testing out various unreleased material?
CC: I think everything we played on the acoustic tour ended up on the record. This is the first time we've played some songs for a while before recording them. On every other record, we wanted to make sure the tape was rolling before we had a chance to get sick of it. I think it shows that some of these songs, like "A Road Song" and "The Summer Place" and "Cemetery Guns," were road-tested in an acoustic format first, with arrangements based around the acoustic guitar part.
OM: You've done songs featured in TV shows and movies, including Scary Movie, How I Met Your Mother, Friday Night Lights, and the theme for Crank Yankers. Will we see more songs pop up on the screen anytime soon?
CC: I sure hope so. Most of those songs weren't written specifically for a movie or TV show, but it's great when someone hears about the band that way. My guess is more Americans watch TV than listen to the radio, so it makes sense. One day I hope to do a score for a movie with a lot of stabbings, because you only have to write one high, squealing note and repeat it. That seems like easy work.
OM: In 2005, you released Out-of-State Plates, a collection of B-sides. Britney Spears "Baby One More Time: was one of them, which you recorded in 1999. Twelve years have gone by since that recording, and a lot of new artists have emerged. Who does the band really rock out to now and who would you love to cover?
CC: I really have no idea what's on the radio now. I don't really rock out to anything to be honest, but lately I like the new records by Ron Sexsmith and Fleet Foxes.
OM: "All Kinds of Time" was just named #3 best sports song of all times by Sports Illustrated. #2 is a Beach Boys song, #4 is Bruce Springsteen. What are your thoughts on this new achievement?
CC: That's pretty badass. I've heard of both the Beach Boys and Bruce Springsteen. Do you think any cheerleaders read that magazine?
OM: It's been 15 years since your first album release. How have things evolved musically for the band since then?
CC: Our first record was made in a week with a budget of zero dollars. It sounds like it, of course - it's just a snapshot of a drunken moment in our lives. Certainly since then we've spent more time in the recording process, and we joked that we were going to call the second album This Time We're Ready. It's true that the writing for the subsequent albums was spread out over a longer period, which I think results in records that are more diverse emotionally and in subject matter. Plus at times we've gone a little crazy with strings and horns.
