Interview: Alex Fischel (Spoon)
Closing in on the 30th anniversary of its formation, Spoon remains one of the most reliable and exciting rock bands in the U.S. — if not the world. That commitment to quality music is most recently evident on the group’s excellent 10th studio album, Lucifer on the Sofa, which was released in February to widespread acclaim.
Prior to hitting the road with Interpol for a tour that brings the two ensembles to Rabbit Rabbit on Saturday, Sept. 3, keyboardist/guitarist Alex Fischel spoke with Asheville Stages from his Los Angeles home about iconic musical scenes, the art of putting Spoon’s best foot forward with each new LP, and his early days in another band that’s since become one of modern rock’s most popular acts.
Edwin Arnaudin: I’m based in Asheville, and I know you played Moogfest here in 2012 with Divine Fits and I’m pretty sure you played here at least once since joining Spoon. Have you been here any other times?
Alex Fischel: I think I went there before Divine Fits on a different tour with a different band a long time ago, also at The Orange Peel. That was my first time in North Carolina period, and I was kind of awestruck by how beautiful it was up there. [laughs] It was one of those places where I was like, “I can see myself living here.” It’s really nice.
EA: You’re definitely not alone there. More and more musicians are moving here from bigger cities.
AF: Yeah, it’s beautiful and there seems to be enough going on — things to do, people walking around. It’s gorgeous and feels like a relaxing place to be.
EA: So, as an LA guy but with Spoon being one of the iconic Austin bands, what are your thoughts on the Austin music scene and how do they compare?
AF: It is so different. LA…I’ve actually been thinking about this and trying to figure this out a lot lately. It seems like there’s something about LA that’s inherently tied to the music business because there’s so much business here, whereas I think in Austin, that element isn’t as pervasive. Granted, there are definitely lots of things here that aren’t tied to the music business or commercial entertainment. They tend to be more house shows or really small venues that might not be around forever because of increasing rent prices, etc.
The main staple venues tend to be a lot harder to get shows at, but that’s changed a bit. There was kind of a vacuum of smaller clubs for while here, and a few opened in the last 8ish years and they put on a lot cooler shows. It’s lot different — right now, there’s a lot of good music happening here in LA and people doing cool things.
But growing up, it was like, “Where can we play? Oh, the Whiskey [a Go Go].“ And we’re like 16 years old, and if we want to play there, we have to buy all these tickets from the venue. Basically pay-to-play. These people were predators! We were children [laughs] and given these insane contracts saying, “You need to buy X amount of tickets and sell X amount of tickets if you want to play here.” We just want to play a show! [laughs] Whereas in Austin, it’s like, “Oh, you want to play? OK, this day, this time.” That kind of vibe, at least when I was first going there.
EA: And I’m curious if there’s kind of an “Austin sound” that you associate with the city.
AF: It seems like there’s different types of “Austin sounds” because it’s such a good city for music. There’s obviously more traditional country stuff and there’s that whole scene. And then there’s the whole psych rock, Black Angels scene, and then maybe a fusion of those two scenes that’s happening. There’s multiple different sounds for sure — I don’t know exactly what it would be, though.
EA: I don’t know if you’ve seen the Richard Linklater film Everybody Wants Some!!, which is kind of a spiritual sequel to Dazed and Confused.
AF: Yeah, I think I did see that one.
EA: What you’re describing reminds me of that, when there’s all sorts of scenes colliding. One night they go to a honkey tonk, but it’s 1980, so disco is also still happening and punk is on the rise, so it’s this neat mix of options going on there.
AF: That seems to be true still. I go to see a zydeco band one night and the next night I’m at more of a discotheque kind of vibe. It has a lot of different facets, for sure.
EA: On the flip side, in what ways do you feel that [Spoon frontman] Britt [Daniel]’s decade living in LA shaped Spoon’s sound?
AF: I’m not necessarily sure. He was not full-time here. He was here for a good amount of time, especially when we were doing Divine Fits stuff. But after that wrapped up, he was hopping between here and Austin and New York, so he was kind of moving around. But as with anything, whatever’s going on and wherever you’re at is going to influence whatever you’re doing, whatever it is, to a degree. But I don’t know if there’s a specific LA thing — I don’t even know what that would be. But it had to have informed him in some way because he spent a fair amount of time here.
EA: And then how has the songwriting process evolved for each album you’ve been a part of?
AF: Kind of naturally. When I first came in, Britt had written a lot of songs already for They Want My Soul, so it was figuring out how to play them and what the approach was going to be. And then once that record was winding down, me and him started getting together a bit more and working on things separately and trying to figure things out — making our own demos and sending things back and forth.
And then on this last record, there was a lot of us working together. It seems like on every record we’ve been working together a little bit more — not by deciding that’s the way it’s going to be, but that’s just naturally how it’s happened. And because he has his place in LA, when he comes here, will work together for four or five days and then he’ll leave.
EA: Leading off Lucifer on the Sofa with a Smog cover…I’ve gotta know: who’s the main Bill Callahan fan in the band?
AF: Well, Spoon had covered [“Held”] a long time ago, before I was around. And we were trying to, you know, get the gears greased for this recording. It was one of the first things…you know, often we're trying to find inspiration, and we’re like, “Let’s play this song right now!” And when we played it and listened back, we were like, “Oh! Maybe we should keep recording it.” So we ended up using it on the record. Since the record was very much supposed to be a “band, live, living in Austin” [project], it made sense to have a Bill Callahan song since he’s an Austin legend.
EA: And was everyone in the band on-board with opening the album with a cover or did it take some convincing?
AF: It just kind of felt natural. You hear Mark [Rankin] the producer calling things out in the beginning and everyone’s getting to their instruments — and you get to hear a band starting and what that sounds like. It’s a nice way to lead everything off with that level of transparency and be a bit inviting because the studio world can be somewhat of a mystery.
EA: Spoon is no stranger to covers. I saw y’all in Raleigh almost three years ago with Beck and Cage the Elephant where you played John Lennon’s “Isolation.” But considering that the band has such a distinctive sound, I’m curious how you decide what would make a good Spoon cover?
AF: It just kind of ends up happening. [laughs] A lot of times we’ll have suggestions for songs and we’ll try it, but it’s like, ‘No, that’s not going to work.’ It’s more of a feeling thing. But then there are other songs, like the John Lennon cover where it pretty much locked in immediately. “OK, this is a song that fits with us.” But covering songs is really fun. We’re obviously fans of music. You get to put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a second and you learn a bit from that.
EA: Definitely. Also, y’all have put out consistently strong albums. In getting such lean collections time after time, are there a lot of songs that get recorded and don’t make the cut?
AF: Yeah, definitely. On this album, especially — when I say “song,” I use the word very loosely. There were probably around 40-ish songs, some ranging from an idea with chords and melody to fully fleshed out demos that we could replicate. But yeah, over time you whittle them down. Some of the songs didn’t feel like they would be a match with the aesthetic of this record, so maybe they’ll see the light of day later on down the line — at least I hope they will, because there were some good ones. But some should never see the light of day. [laughs] Again, I use the term “song” loosely, but there was a lot of material to pick from.
EA: And thinking about your live show, which Spoon songs from before you joined the band do you most enjoy playing?
AF: This is maybe a contrary opinion to most, but I love Transference. I don’t get why people don’t. It’s a great record. It’s maybe a little more introverted than previous Spoon records, whereas the sound is maybe more extroverted on Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. But to me, it felt like a really powerful statement. I love a lot of the lyrics on it, and the instrumentation and aesthetic I thought was really, really cool. So whenever we play a song from that, I’m thrilled.
And I was super stoked when we got to bring back “Metal Detektor,” and probably “[The] Beast and Dragon[, Adored]”, because I think that was one of the first Spoon songs I heard. It was like, “What the fuck is this? This band is sick! What’s going on?” So now we’re getting to play that, and that’s not lost on me.
EA: Nice! And when you play Asheville, you’ll obviously be on the same bill as Interpol. Any history with them?
AF: Some of the other guys [in Spoon] have toured with them before. I met Paul [Banks, Interpol’s lead singer] once in passing, and he was super nice. But yeah, around the same time I discovered Spoon was when I discovered Interpol, and it’ll be cool to hear those songs live for sure.
EA: And lastly, I understand you went to high school with the Haim sisters?
AF: Yes, I did. How did you know that? [laughs]
EA: I read it in another interview you did a few years ago.
AF: Yeah, I went to high school with them and I was in a very early iteration of that band when I was 16 or 17. We found a DIY venue called The Unknown Theater. It was kind of a community playhouse and the guy who owned it realized that he could have shows on the weekend and supplement the income. And there were always these really crazy, elaborate sets from whatever production the theater was putting on. One time, there was a totally upside down living room with ceiling fans coming out of the floor and chairs and a table hanging from the ceiling. So it was always a cool vibe like that, and the owner was very relaxed and always let us do what we wanted while we were there, [laughs] which was really cool as a 16, 17-year-old. So, yeah! I played with them and the first tour I did was with them a long time ago. It’s a trip to see where they’re at now.
EA: Yeah, especially with Alana [Haim] being in Licorice Pizza.
AF: For sure! Honestly, I was the last one to that party. I had no idea she was working on it. She’d moved into a new house and I went over with a friend for dinner. And she was like, “Oh yeah, I’ve got a movie coming out, blah blah blah.” And I was like, “What do you mean? A movie? What do you do?” And she said she had a leading role in a movie. I was like, “What? You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” [laughs] And a few months later, the trailers started coming out, and it was like, “Wow! What a trip.” But yeah, I had my birthday there last year, at her place, and we’re all still friends. It’s cool. I’m happy they’ve been so successful.
IF YOU GO
Who: Spoon + Interpol with Water From Your Eyes
When: Saturday, Sept. 3, 6 p.m.
Where: Rabbit Rabbit, 75 Coxe Ave., rabbitrabbitavl.com
Tickets: $45 advance/$50 day of show
(Photos by Oliver Halfin)
