Interview with Ryan Allen (Friendly Foes)
I think I speak for a lot of us around town when I point out how cool it is when a kick ass new band appears almost out of nowhere and reinvigorates the local scene. That’s the feeling I got when I first stumbled upon the Friendly Foes’ Myspace site and then saw them live this past winter at the Magic Stick. The Friendly Foes were tight, somewhat polished and offered up a style of catchy power pop rock that simply cannot be ignored. Fast forward eight or so months and all us lucky fans now get to grace our CD players, iPods, Zunes or whatever the hell you use, to a nonstop, good vibe of a record Born Radical which is being released tonight at the Friendly Foes’ show at the Berkley Front.
Recently, I corresponded the Friendly Foes mastermind, Mr. Ryan Allen (many of you may recognize him from his tasteful posts on Detour or his other front ‘n’ center band Thunderbirds Are Now!). It’s no secret that the best thing about talking with Ryan Allen about his music is you get a lot of insight into his head. So here is arguably the longest post in the history of Motorcityrocks.com – enjoy!
I’m a big fan of Kiddo and Thunderbirds Are Now! so Friendly Foes to me is basically like pizza and beer, how did you guys go about coming to together?
It’s funny that you compared us to pizza and beer, because I think that’s actually Brad’s “official diet” (save for the occasional Wendy’s homestyle chicken sandwich… but I digress).
Anyway, unlike a lot of bands that are just getting started, the three of us were not necessarily friends, nor were we absolute strangers either. I’d crossed paths with a then bleach-blond Lizzie a few times while playing shows with Kiddo, during my tenure playing drums in a band called Tiny Steps about 5 or so years ago. Brad had actually seen TAN! play in some weird living room up in Mt. Pleasant (a show where I almost got in a fight and had a full beer can thrown at me, mind you) like 5 years as well, so he knew I was into music and stuff when we first met. Brad had met Liz and Christian (her husband, who is in Kiddo as well, and also Child Bite and Copper Thieves) while he was working, and actually sat in on drums with them at a show about a year and a half ago. Fast-forward to last September, and I ran into Brad at Urban Outfitters — where I was busy changing lives, one perfectly folded t-shirt at a time — and he mentioned that he liked some of the demos I put up on MySpace, asked if I needed a drummer, I said I would think about it, emailed him and said I was into it, asked him who we could get to play bass, he mentioned Liz, and a year later, here we are, a bunch of shows under our belts and with a 13-song full length record to show for it. Which really just goes to show you that you can take 3 people who were barely acquaintances, put them in a room with some instruments, and out can not only come the creation of songs, but really awesome friendships, to boot. Music is powerful like that.
How is Friendly Foes’ sound different then your other respective bands?If we were to draw some kind of Venn diagram, with the word “pop” on one side and “insane” on the other, Friendly Foes might be floating somewhere in the middle. Kiddo is a pure pop band, which I totally respect and enjoy. This is just my observation, but their songs are really timeless, and hearken back to an era before rock and roll was overtaken by consumerism and trends… they kind of have that whole Buddy Holly thing going on… sweet songs, that are very earnest and genuine, and also super melodic and super fun to sing along to.
On the other hand, Thunderbirds, while I do feel possess tons of elements of what would define a “pop” band, functions on a much more intense level. Our shows usually get out of hand, body parts are flailing, and general chaos seems inevitable at any point in the set. Things are unhinged and dangerous, and hopefully people feel a bit more able to let themselves go at TAN! shows than they would watching something a bit more stiff.
So to me, Foes kind of take elements of both band and sort of mesh them together. Whereas Kiddo might be a bit cleaner, Foes are kind of rough around the edges and seem to “rock” a bit more — ala TAN!. Whereas TAN! might be a bit wilder, Foes kind of real that energy in more to formulate more compact songs — ala Kiddo — that get to the point without any kind of so-called “abstract” experimentation (for example, while TAN! songs have tons of keyboards, drum machines, effects, etc., Foes songs are a bit more traditional in their composition and set up — plus there’s only three of us, so there’s not a whole lot of opportunity to experiment, if you will). But I think the thing we share in common is the desire to entertain people, make people feel at ease at the shows, and not like we’re up there grandstanding or posing… we make jokes, we smile, and we have a ton of fun — and I think that approach is applicable to all 3 bands.
Reading back, I might not have answered your question, but…oh well.
I think you answered it. So you guys came together as a band really fast early in the year; did you already have some of the material in the works before the band was all set?
I would say a handful of the songs were written, demoed, and ready to roll when we first started practicing — though, that’s not to say changes weren’t made when we started learning them. But yes, there was a bit of a stockpile at the beginning, and some of the songs that I had ready to learn at the start actually haven’t been attempted by the band — some probably never will. But it was good to have 10 or so songs to choose from at the start, that way everybody had a chance to listen and decide on what direction to go… we got to pick from a surplus of songs and sort of focus on the songs that we all liked the best. That way everybody was on the same page and felt invested in the project, instead of me just handing them a demo of 10 songs and saying, “Learn these as is by next Friday. Kthanxbye.”
But it also helps that we all live really close together, and we all really gung-ho about starting the band — I think after, like, the first or second practice, we decided to book our first show, to just get things rolling and have a goal to meet that we all felt was achievable. Nobody was expecting any of us to be in a new band, so there wasn’t any pressure at all. We were just having a blast writing and practicing and hanging out, so we decided instead of wait a year and play, we were just going to dive in to it all headfirst. We’ve been swimming along at a pretty rapid rate ever since — on the hunt like a menacing shark looking to devour little baby seals…or something.
How was it working with Dave Feeny at Tempermill?
Dave Feeny might be the most solid and admirable human being alive. His wit is unmatched, his skill is ridiculous, and he has a way of making you feel relaxed and comfortable, and it really gets results (fuck…I’m making him sound like Tony Robbins or something…ha). But yeah, he never makes you feel like you’re taking up his time, and he never really says, “No.” He’s really into trying whatever ideas you have, and in our case, he really personally invested himself into the project, which I take as a huge compliment. I’ve worked with him the past, and on this, and would love to continue to in the future — without a doubt.
What’s it like being part of Gangplank Records roster now?
All the records that have come out on Gangplank have been in some way shape or form “touched” if you will by the golden hand of Mr. Feeny. So to be asked to be a part of that, to me, is very flattering. American Mars, Sunshine Doray, Blanche, and LaSalle are all making quality, uncompromising music, so to be included with such illustrious local talent is a great place for us to be. Dave really has helped us out with this record so much, in so many different ways, so to get to continue to work with him — even though the record is “done” — is really an honor, and we’re all very stoked about it.
Your debut album Born Radical is jam packed with 13 tracks of power pop goodies, which one’s are your favorite?Picking a favorite song is kind of like a parent picking out which of their kids are their “favorite” — no matter what, you kind of have to love them all the same in order to really stand behind them as a complete work. That said, I’m really proud of the songs on the record that the three of us collaborated more on — the kind of “second wave” songs that came after we had a few shows under our belts and a bit more of an understanding of how we all worked together. Those are the songs that I feel really define us as a band, and really kind of take the focus off of this band being perhaps about one particular person or whatever, and shifts the spotlight onto the fact that yes, we are a band made up of three people, and we aren’t a side project: we’re a real band that writes songs together, plays shows, and makes records.
By the by, if Brad was answering this, he’d probably say “Get Yr Shit Together” cos he gets to play drums like Animal from “The Muppet Show” during the song, and Lizzie might say, um… well I’m not sure what she’d say, so I’ll just say “Get Ripped” because she sings it and she’s a fucking HUGE ego-maniac.
I kid, I kid.
Yeah, “Get Yr Shit Together” kind of has a Smithereens aspects to it. So the album artwork for Born Radical totally reminds me of my notebooks from middle school, what’s the story behind it?
The artwork of the record is something we’re all super proud of. It was designed and conceptualized by Christian Doble, and when he told us about his idea to do something handmade, we were super excited about it. We kind of just let him run with it, and the end result, we think, looks really rad. I won’t really give away the secrets of how he made it and what he did and used, but I will say that it wouldn’t have come alive without the help of Christine Edwards, who took the photography for the whole album. So, kudos, cheers, and an endless avalanche of thank yous go out to the both of them.
I wasn’t really attempting to “speak” to any generation by any means…that would probably make me an asshole (more than I already am, or more than people already think that I am). A lot of the songs are just kind of about my experiences, a lot of them connecting to my life and attempts at being a “musician” — songs about the hardships that come with constant touring, the strains that can put on relationships, and the broken promises that come along with it all.
Some of the songs kind of talk about a nostalgia for a time before dudes with nothing but time on their hands and an Internet connection became the judges and jury of what bands became “cool” and buzzed about… some of the songs are about sort of just longing for the days of getting passed a mixed tape from a friend of a friend, and finding out about Cap N Jazz, Gilbert O’Sullivan, and the Sea and Cake all in one sitting. Or flipping through album liner-notes and indie rock magazines/zines to find out about new bands that you might not be hip to yet. Things were much more of an adventure — or a scavenger hunt, if you will — back then. Now shit is just crammed down our throats, and our attention span is shorter and shorter because of it.
So yeah, a lot of the songs touch on those themes or subjects, and hopefully people can identify with that in some way, even if they’ve never spent time crammed in a van and sleeping on floors, or eating Taco Bell every day cos they need to save money to put in the gas tank or whatever. But if not, that’s cool too. Just keep on stealing music and listening to remixes, if you want.
The obvious answer is that there’s different people involved, so the end result is going to be much much different from band to band. I would also say that because we recorded it at the Tempermill, which is essentially 5 minutes from where we all live, we got to take a ton of time on it, and making sure it was what we wanted it to be. There was no deadline, nor did we feel any pressure to “deliver” something in particular, so it was more relaxed in some sense.
Don’t you guys have a hundred local guest musicians on this record?We have a hundred, minus 95.
I wouldn’t say that is necessarily true at all. I think it’d be pretty unfair to say that if you’re only in one band than whatever band you are in, or whatever you are trying to create, isn’t worth anybody’s time. I don’t think you’d find anybody in town who would say that about, say, the Silent Years or the Hard Lessons (even though I’m sure, and know in some cases, that they dibble dabble in other things).
I think that there are just some people in bands, myself included, who have multiple personalities songwriting-wise, and need an outlet for various things, kind of in the same way a Matthew Dear or Tad Mullinix release music under different aliases. A lot of people are multifaceted here, and there’s a pretty great community of artists around here who are eager to collaborate with each other…and that’s fucking awesome to me.
But to exemplify my point above — look at Four Hour Friends, who are, to me, a shining example of a bunch of people who just want to get together, drink some beers, make some cool songs, and play some fun shows. They are all in other bands that are all really great. But, honestly, if NONE of them were in other bands, that band would stand up on it’s own, because they are really fucking good, too. See where I’m going with this?
I’m not really sure, dude. Each band’s name has some element of viciousness to it — Child BITE, Friendly FOES, Copper THIEVES, IMPOSTORS OF THE DEEP SOCIETY (the whole name kind of sounds like somebody the X-Men would battle) — so I’m sure each would put up quite a good fight. If it were done on rollerblades, in traffic, “Skitchin’“-style, I’m going to have to go with the Foes on that one.
We’re going to keep playing shows around town for sure, and are doing a short little out of town thing at the end of October — Chicago, Cleveland, Akron, and Bowling Green. We’ve already started working on new songs, so I wouldn’t be surprised if you saw something new from us sometime in 2009. I’ve been vomiting out tons of songs lately, and we’re eager to get to work on them.
Will we still get to see new material form Kiddo and Thunderbirds Are Now! in the future?
I can’t speak for Kiddo, but TAN! have some new songs, and are slowly chugging along on them, working on things when we all have time. Hopefully we’ll get it together and get something out there before the end of the world — which could really be any day now (the end of the world, I mean…not a new TAN! album).
A massive bag of money, back massages, free cigarettes, pony rides, and as much lobster as you can eat!
Or, rather, just us playing rock music with our friends, and maybe some cake.
I’m more worried that I’ll get fucking wasted and start singing along to that shitty Cyndi Lauper song.
Don’t miss the Friendly Foes’ CD RELEASE party tonight at the Berkley Front