Rm13: How would you say your music and songwriting has changed since your
early demos to songs like your new single "Wishlist, End"?
Fony's music and songwriting is always changing. The first and well
acclaimed album "Routine Irregular" (2002) is vastly different from the
second album "Circles" (2003) and both are very different from the new
material that Fony are currently writing.
Although a good album, Routine Irregular clearly shows solid influences and
draws heavily upon simple but effective riffs. Since this album, Fony have
developed and leant a lot, not only as a band, but as individul musicians
too. Circles has a lot more maturity to it than previous material, the
technique and level of song writing is much stronger, but more importantly,
the band wrote an album, as opposed to a bunch of songs.
The band at this present moment in time are busy writing new material.
Again, the new material, although far from completion, shows yet another
dimension to the band's style and writing ability. Instead of exploring what
we already know, we are adding to it with inspiration coming from all areas
of music such as hardcore, funk, blues, jazz and everything in between.
These influences may not be obvious (which I think is the best thing about
it), but they are definitly there.
The line-up has changed several times since 2002's release, and we all see
it as a very strong line-up. Every member listens to a vast selection of
music which helps the writing process.
Songs like the new single "Wishlist End" clearly show the level of
musicianship and song writing Fony are capable of. It steps away from the
usual formula of song writing (verse, chorus, verse, chorus, middle 'oh i've
heard it all now'), and offers an exciting array of completely different
sections, interconnecting, complimenting, and linking together to make a
very good and dynamic song.
Everyone plays an important and active role in the writing process. We all
'feed' off of one another when we play together, there's a lot of energy and
feeling which goes into our new material and quite often we find ourselves
jamming for hours and hours around one idea, exploring different avenues and
vibes which we can create with that one idea.
Rm13: Which bands present or past, would you most like to tour with and why?
There are a number of bands that we all like and would love to tour with.
Some of these include Oceansize, Biffy Clyro, Velvet Revolver, Red Hot Chili
Peppers, AC/DC, Pink Floyd, Sound Garden, Led Zeppelin, Faith No More, the
list could go on... I think the reason anyone wants to tour with another
band is because they have respect for their music and the things they do,
places and crowds they play etc. Fony have been lucky enough to go on tour
with bands like Funeral for a Friend, One Minute Silence, Earthtone 9 and
Life of Agony. It's great to tour with a band like Life of Agony, a band
that you grew up listening to. It's equally rewarding touring with a band
like Funeral, and seeing them develop and grow into the band they are now.
Rm13: You've already toured most of Europe and the UK, are you intending to
go to places like Australia, Japan and America in the near future?
Yes, Fony are looking at going to America, Japan and Austrailia. How soon
this will be, I'm not sure. We still have things we want to do in the UK and
Europe, and when the time is right we will branch out to those areas without
having to spread ourselves too thinly.
Rm13: You have a very solid fanbase in the UK, what are your opinions on fan
elitism? What do you think of "hardcore fans" that dislike and often mock
any new fans (this is a general question, it's not intended to offend your
fans because they aren't like this at all)?
Fan 'elitism' to me seems quite excessive, greedy and selfish. Music is
there to be enjoyed by all, there are different genres to suit different
tastes, and there are more than an ample amount of bands and artists to go
round. To single yourself out as a "Hardcore fan" and to mock new fans for
supporting your heros seems rather hypocritical to me. Obviously there are
going to be people who are massive fans of a certain band, which is great,
but it's important to embrace fellow fans and encourage more people to
listen to and support that band or artist. I guess it would be quite
charming to know that someone feels an allegiance and great deal of love for
your music, but to let that become more of an obsession than a love, and to
let it drive you to mocking other people is... well, it's not what music is
about.
Rm13: How do you go about writing songs in the band? Where do you get the
inspiration from?
The inspiration for writing songs in Fony may come from a CD someone just
listened to, it could come from each other and jamming together, or a
variety of other things. My personal inspiration comes from making love... I
find that after exerting huge amounts of energy and love, my body soaks up
other energies and fills my mind with an array of wonderful and creative
thoughts.
The actual writing process can be tricky... there is not really a definite
way we write, so every song is quite exciting for us because we don't really
follow a pattern, we tend to experiment. Sometimes you may have hundreds of
ideas and visions of where a song could go, and you'll be trying not to
overcrowd it. But then sometimes a song might need a little something else
which you can't quite find, then all of a sudden, 3 weeks later, something
will just click. And sometimes it just gets too jumbled and you have to say
"Fuck it".
Rm13: When you meet fans in European countries where the first language isn't
English, how do you cope?
We usually get by quite easily in other countries. The most confusing
time can be when you are sound checking with a sound guy who doesn't speak a
word of English, it's all about looking at something and then pointing up or
down, which can be a slow process. Getting directions and ordering food can
be difficult too, but as far as interviews go, magazines and other media
usually send an English speaking interviewer. Our drummer (Pete) speaks
fluent Spanish, which means that he gets the 24/7 job of translator when
we're there. Everyone in the band will eventually be assigned a language to
speak to help us on tour in different countries... I'm gonna have English!
Rm13: What can we expect from Fony in 2005?
2005 will be a busy year for us, there will be a lot of touring in the UK
and abroad. We plan to release a live EP which will be recorded on our UK
tour this November. There will be a second single release and video to go
with it. And we will be writing and demoing lots of new material too.