Where can you find the hybridization of Minus the Bears’ signature guitars, Mew’s song set up, and vocals ala The Police? The answer your looking for is: Right in the heart of the midwest with Chicago band Blane Fonda. Made up of four parts ex-band The Sapiens and one part ex-singer of Technicolour Stallion, Blane Fonda have been catching the ears as well as the eyes of many critics, with praise for both their sound and live performance pouring in from publications likes of Gapers Block, Loop Loud Press, Daily Herald, and Metromix. More recently the five-piece has been writing new music, planning a spring tour across the Midwest, and prepping themselves for their journey to South by Southwest where they’ll have the privilege of playing a showcase with RedGorilla Fest Saturday, March 20th. However, before they journey off to claim this honor, they’ll be making a hometown appearance tonight at Schuba’s along with Via Audio and Pattern is Movement, so if you’re in the Chicago area, be sure to head out and enjoy a good night of music. The brains behind Blane Fonda took some time to talk to us (among other things) about what they’re listening to lately, their album, and just who they’d take with them on the road.
T.S: What’s the back-story on how the band came to be what it is today?
Charlie Nadler: Four of us - myself, Matt Witt, Dave Veller and David Fine - had been playing in Chicago in a group called The Sapiens. When we split ways with the singer in January 2009, we harnessed the power of Craig’s List to find a Mark Wetzel, who had just split with his group, called Technicolour Stallion. Since then we’ve been keeping real busy and staying out of troubles
T.S: What are your top three musical influences?
Charlie Nadler: I was a Pink Floyd obsessive in high school, so they’d have to be a top influence — specifically the Roger Waters-heavy later stuff like Animals. Radiohead and Pixies would be at the top for me, too. A close fourth would be Casey and his brother (from Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!).
T.S: Is there any instrument you don’t play, but wish you did?
Dave Veller: The drums. I’d love to be able to get my whole body to create music instead of just my hands. Drummers always look cool too whenever they play, whether they’re playing intense or laid back stuff, it just looks like they’re having a good time driving the band. I’m just glad I don’t have to keep track of all that gear at once.
T.S: What are the last three albums or bands you listened to?
Matt Witt:
1. Late Of The Pier “Fantasy Black Channel”
2. Phoenix “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix”
3. Muse “The Resistance”
T.S: If you could work with one person in the music industry (musician, label, producer etc), who would it be and why?
Charlie Nadler: Dave Fridmann has produced about all the Flaming Lips and Mercury Rev records, along with some records by Sparklehorse and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, among others. But I’d choose him based on the production of the Lips’ Embryonic and MGMT’s Oracular Spectacular alone. And from his Wikipedia picture, he seems like a real nice guy.
T.S: Who was the first band/musician you saw live?
Matt Witt: First musician I ever saw live was Arturo Sandoval in Indianapolis. I was 12 years old and I have been playing trumpet for two years. My parents wanted to show me how awesome I could be if I continued to play trumpet. Arturo Sandoval is one of the greatest trumpet players still playing today. He was mentored by the great Dizzy Gillespie and has won multiple Grammy awards. He is pretty badd ass trumpet player. I highly recommend you all to check him out.
T.S: Who are three of your favorite local bands?
Dave Veller: Company of Thieves, OK Go, and Dr. Manhattan come to mind, but there are so many talented groups coming out of Chicago, it’s difficult to name a top three. This is a great big city with literally hundreds, maybe thousands of undiscovered bands of all different genres. We’re inspired by the groups that have made it out of here and get to play music and travel everyday as their careers.
T.S: If you could book a tour with any 3 bands, past or present, who would they be and why?
Matt Witt: First band I would like to tour with would be The Killers. Main reason why is they are one of the biggest bands in the world and they have a huge following. I really dig the sound of The Killers especially there Synth work. BF often gets compared to The Killers and I think a lot of Killers fans would find interest in BF’s sound.
Second band I would like to tour with is a new band I recently discovered Late Of The Pier. They are a young band from UK who sound like they came out of the 80′s. BF has a huge influence from the 80′s and I think we’d fit well together on tour. LOTP has great energy and interesting compositions similar to BF. I also love the Synth tones.
Third band I’d love to tour with would be the Rolling Stones. Specifically during 60′s and 70′s era. To me the Stones represent the true definition of rock band. They partied to their fullest, but still wrote some of the most memorable music ever. These guys played during in era when music was raw and corporate world didn’t run music industry. I think BF would have a blast touring with the Rolling Stones.
T.S: Tell us about Master of Stars and Broken Arms- is there a particular concept behind it? What was the process of making the album like?
Mark Wetzel: MOSABA is definitely a concept throughout the album. He’s a character that pretty much everyone can relate to. On a good day, he can command the cosmos, while at other times he can’t even move. It’s hard for me to write consistently enough to feel like I could write a concept album. This has to do with the fact that I don’t really know where my mentality will stand from day to day. The lead track Opportunity Rocks! is more on the Master of Stars side of our protagonist. I wrote this during the high of being in a new band and really believing in creating something good and uplifting. It really works too. The song acts as a pick-me-up for fans and myself whenever we need a little shove to get us moving. The Broken Arms part of things has to do with the lows associated with loss and inherited depression. But the nice thing about Blane is, even when you’re feeling down, Blane won’t let you feel sorry for yourself. He has a nice way of saying, ‘Oh, hey Blane, yeah dude, that totally sucks, but guess what? You’re kind of being a little bitch.’ I really like to write dramatically and touch on sensitive subjects, but I hope the tongue-in-cheek humor comes across and Blane doesn’t get a reputation as being emo. He’s totally not emo.
With all that said, I feel like explanations shouldn’t be given about concepts and art. Blane’s mom thought MOSABA was a reference to God: being that He’s omnipotent and all-powerful, but at the same time, looks after the weak and lame (as in malnourished and broken, not suckyand dumb). The themes and lyrics in MOSABA are meant to be a bit psychedelic and abstract, some parts more than others, so that the listener can have a more personal, intimate experience/interpretation.
The making of the album came surprisingly smooth, especially with the genesis of the band taking place only a few months prior to hitting the studio. Blane had some really solid songs that he wanted to commit to recording, so he started looking for an engineer that would really put a lot in to the project. Jon Alvin was whom Blane found. It was really a blast. All of the Blanes were present at the studio as much as possible for moral support even if he wasn’t going to be laying anything down for the day.
There were a lot of all-nighters involved. Self-funded collateral damage set in after a while. In the end Blane is really happy with and devoted to the album.
T.S: What most influences your live performances?
Mark Wetzel: As a group, Blane strives to entertain; that’s really the bottom line. Blane really loves to party and his shows are certainly no exception to the rule. A live show has to be more than just a recital of the recorded songs, especially with the sheer amount of bands in this city/county/state/country/continent/WORLD!!!!!!!! The aim of Blane is to make every performance unique and memorable. So I’d say Blane’s biggest influence on his live performances would have to be the love and respect he has for his fans and audience.
Personally, my biggest influences are from entertaining, innovative bands such as Old Time Relijun, The Flaming Lips, Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, and Beck. All of these artists take a little more time and effort to add another dimension to their performances, which definitely doesn’t go unnoticed.
T.S: What are some of your favorite cities to play?
David Fine: Anytime the five of us are in a van traveling it is a good time. But when we land, some of our favorite spots so far have been Bloomington, IN and St. Louis, MO and any cheap motel that is down to squeeze 5 smelly dudes into one tiny room.
T.S: What are the best and worst band moments so far in your career?
Dave Veller: Our best moment as a band so far has to be our recent acceptance to play down in Austin, TX at the Red Gorilla Music Fest during SXSW on March 20th. You have to be chosen for that kind of thing, so we’re honored and thankful at the same time just to be a part of it.
Our worst moment? That’s a tough one to answer because we try not to let anything get to us enough to create a real moment out of it. Every one of us has had slip up’s onstage and we’ve all been down at times, don’t get me wrong. But we believe in positive energy and always pushing forward and making fun no matter what. You can’t let things keep you down in this group and we’re always learning from our mistakes, and not dwelling on them. When it comes down to it, we’re just happy to be doing what we’re doing.
T.S: Individually, how did you get your starts in music?
Dave Veller: I got started on bass when I was 13 years old. I didn’t grow up with much musical influence in my household as a kid. My close friend down the street had a guitar and he insisted I buy a bass so we could start a band. I saved up my money and got an 80′s Squier bass a pawnshop. My friend taught me all the basics of playing root notes and how to follow along with the guitar. Our drummer at the time would have his mom drop him and his drums off at my parent’s garage during the summer while they were out at work all day. We’d put on performances for the other neighborhood kids, playing Silverchair and Local H songs out of 10″ Peavey combo amps. Rock N Roll.
Charlie Nadler: I taught myself to play some piano when I was real young, and I still like playing whenever I get the chance. I played trumpet for a few years, but when I was 12 my braces and my trumpet weren’t getting along with my gums, so I started taking guitar lessons and formed a band called Hypnic Jerks. I’ve been playing in bands pretty consistently since then.
David Fine: I started playing piano at age 7. I moved on to trumpet at age 10. I was about 12 years old when I finally convinced my mom to let me set up my dad’s old drums that had been stacked under the basement stairs. Once I started playing drums, I put down the trumpet and made percussion my full out musical pursuit. Next life, I plan to be a singer.
Mark Wetzel: I got my start in music by being forced by my mother in to being a well-rounded person. This meant playing a sport, singing in choir, and playing an instrument. I played the Suzuki method of piano, which places an emphasis on ear training as opposed to sight-reading. Those early years of ear training carried on to my early twenties. In college, my roommates and I started an improv band called Homeless Joe Navarro. We played for hours and hours in a row almost every night, recording our sessions (which took place in our dorm bathroom) to cassette on my alarm clock. Great training.
Matt Witt: I grew up with a very musical family, both of my parents met in College while studying to become music teachers. Being
that, everyone in my household had to play an instrument. I chose trumpet because I grew up listening to my Dads collection of Jazz Greats like Miles Davis, Don Ellis, Quincy Jones, and Stan Kenton. Trumpet was very versatile instrument, I was able to play in Jazz bands, Orchestral ensembles, and even German Ompa bands. The one thing Trumpet didn’t carry into well was rock music (I’m not a big fan of Ska), so I chose to pick up the piano by ear. Having many years of music theory under my belt, piano was quick to learn.
T.S: What are your plans for your music in the next year?
David Fine: Write music. Book shows. Build relationships. We get together twice a week to write new music as a band. This has spawned more than a dozen new songs since our debut EP. We hope to lay those down in the studio sometime in the next year. As far as playing our music goes, we hope to continue to grow our presence in regional markets and find regular homes for Blane in the Midwest that we can come back to every couple months. Lastly, we hope to build relationships with labels and booking agencies that will help us propel the writing and playing to where it wants to go.
