A Few Minutes With Spoon
At this weekend's Virgin Festival, we snagged a few spare moments with Spoon's songwriter and front man, Britt Daniel, and drummer Jim Eno. The Austin-based quartet has been one of indie rock's most beloved for more than a decade. They recently released their sixth album, Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga, to warm reviews pretty much everywhere (you can hear the whole album on their label's site here).
After enjoying their set, I headed back to the festival's media area and waited for them to finish up with Spin in the magazine's separate tent; I watched MTV's John Norris glad hand a few fellow journos in the wifi-enabled media tent, then sat down for my 7 minutes in heaven with Spoon. In an interview tent with black astroturf, a couple of vinyl chairs (an interesting choice for a very hot festival), a small table, a potted plant and a lot of sarcasm, I chatted with the very affable, very friendly original members of the band and quickly learned that they love hand clapping, consider Led Zeppelin an all-purpose band, and really like their new album.
BD: A word to the wise: don't use the bathroom on the left.
AM: The ones in here are surprisingly bad. They're much cleaner out there.
BD: I mean shit, I'd rather just pee on a car out here.
AM: Just don't pee on the Passat a few rows over.
BD: OK (laughs)
AM: So you guys were at Lollapalooza yesterday, yeah?
BD: Yah mon.
AM: How did it compare to V Fest?
BD: It wasn't hot and we played a lot better.
JE: And it was a bigger crowd.
BD: A much bigger crowd.
JE: A lot of clapping. That's what I like.
BD: A lot of clapping, a lot of (imitates fist pumping). That's something I would never do, in an audience, but when I see it, I love it! If it was an audience full of me out there, I'd be so bummed out on the stage. I mean even when I'm really into it, I'm just like (bobs head very mildly).
JE: We've got that movie of you during LCD Soundsystem.
BD: Yeah I guess I liked that one.
JE: You were doing the little side to side thing.
BD: Oh, like this?
JE: Yeah! So that's good. We're gonna make a loop of that.
BD: Anyway, we're pretty subtle. An audience full of that...
JE: It'd be bad.
Photo by Kyle Gustafson
AM: So as a band that plays a lot of festivals, aside from fist pumping and clapping, what makes a good festival for you?
BD: Fresh churros, funnel cakes, Interpol.
JE: Carlos' puppy — an Italian greyhound.
BD: I haven't seen it.
JE: Yeah, I met it at the Admiral's Club in an airport.
BD: It has its own membership.
JE: It was running rampant through the Admiral's Club. Carlos was just like...
BD: Checking emails?
JE: Yeah was just sitting there while the dog was running around. I was like, "Carlos, how ya doin?" He was like, "...And you are....?" "Jim, I play in Spoon."
BD: "We toured with you for a month."
JE: His puppy remembered me.
AM: So what does the new album mean to you guys?
BD: I just think it's really good. I do! We worked long and hard on it, I don't know if we'll ever make a record again after this one. (laughs)
AM: How does not living in the same city anymore effect the whole creation process?
JE: It's better. Britt doesn't stop by at one in the morning anymore. I look at his flight schedule and know when he's gonna be in town.
AM: What's your favorite song on the album?
(Long sidetrack about what I've got written down in my notebook)
BD: My favorite song is "The Ghost of You Lingers," because it's emotional and weird. But it doesn't have any drums on it.
JE: Oh, that's probably better.
BD: It's kind of a bummer.
AM: What do you have the most fun playing live?
BD: Um, I like playing "Target" when we get to the wicked witch part. That's my favorite part.
JE: I love that, when people clap. At Lollapaloza, that was the clapping part.
AM: That's what I'm gonna take away from this interview — you guys love clapping.
BD: But you know the wicked witch part of that song? You know what I'm talking about? The middle section?
AM: Yeah I know what you're talking about.
BD: Oh you know, ok, I don't have to explain it to you then.
JE: It was cool at Lollapalooza because normally people clap during that one part, but they clapped the whole time.
BD: Well, they didn't know their part.
JE: They didn't care what their part was! They were like, "we're clapping this entire time!"
BD: That's great, that's cool, but ya know, I really wish they'd get it right.
JE: Yeah they should learn their part.
AM: Anything you're really sick of playing live?
BD: Uhhhh... yeah there must be...
JE: We dropped the one I was sick of. "30 Gallon Tank" I was a little tired of.
BD: I'm sick of playing "The Way We Get By."
JE: We haven't played it in a while.
BD: It's a good one. Maybe it needs a new arrangement or something.
AM: I heard a rumor about a possible tour stop in D.C. this fall — is that true?
BD: Yes.
JE: Two stops.
BD: We're gonna play at the 9:30 Club two shows.
JE: They're gonna move the back forward so it looks full.
AM: That stage does move.
JE: Gotta help us a little.
AM: The long question here you guys were so interested in is about your appearance on Veronica Mars — how did that come about?
BD: Well I was driving from Austin to Portland when I was moving, and our manager called me up and said, "Do you wanna be on Veronica Mars?" And I said, "Isn't that a... TV show?" And I said, "Well let me think about this." And,
JE: A hundred miles later,
BD: I called back and said, "that would be a hoot!" That was really what it was all about I thought well it's... bizarre, but...
AM: Was it fun?
BD: It was fun, it was really fun actually.
AM: Would you ever do something like that again?
BD: Yeah! I gotta write my own lines though.
AM: You didn't like the coffee shop/karaoke scene?
JE: "Hey how do I get a coffee around here?!"
BD: "What do I have to do to get a coffee?!" I didn't feel very good about that line.
AM: All right, here are the silly questions. What song would you like to hear play while you're... Driving fast with the windows down?
BD: "Black Dog"
AM: Driving through a snow storm?
BD: "Blaaa..." no, "Misty Mountain Hop"
AM: Cooking dinner?
JE: "CashmereKashmir"
BD: Yes.
AM: Dancing at a party?
BD: Slow dancing or fast dancing?
AM: It's really up to you.
JE: I would say "This Charming Man."
BD: Yeah let's try to answer them honestly.
JE: I heard that at a party recently.
AM: In the shower?
BD: What song do I wanna hear in the shower. Hmm... "The Rain Song."
JE: Anything with a rain stick.
AM: Drinking coffee?
BD: I don't drink coffee.
AM: Alright, drinking a beer?
BD: "Black Dog."