Known as a musical genius and a talented songwriter, singer Nate Reuss talks about his new band as well as life after The Format.
How does it feel to be the most played artist on MySpace so far this year?
Is that true? If it is, that’s insane.
When people think about fun. they instantly think about you. Did you first start the band or was it more of a collective effort?
I had called up Jack and Andrew for some help finishing a few songs and that’s when the band started. I think it was more of a group effort of us guys saying “wow this is working really well, lets do something about this”.
Did the band come into existence because you were bored after The Format was put on hiatus?
Once I found out The Format was no longer, I saw it as an opportunity and I immediately called up the two people i had always wanted to work with. It literally might have been right after I’d gotten the call from Sam. I was just so excited about what I had been working on that I didn’t feel like I had time to dwell on what was happening. You know that whole “when a door closes…” saying? That’s where my head was at.
Would you say fun. has a different personality than The Format or are they kind of the same person?
I think its different. It’s hard when you’re writing a good portion of the songs, to make a conscious effort and change yourself for fear of it sounding too much like “the last band”. I feel like we’ve done a wonderful job just being ourselves and not letting any of that stuff affect us.
How did you guys come up with the name fun.?
One night while we were out in New York demo-ing, we took a break and decided to go to a friends comedy show. A bunch of us just sat around a table and yelled out names like “ice cream” until Jack said “fun”. We all then kind of stopped for a second and it was etched in the back of our minds for about five months until we were forced by our manager to come up with a band name.
Anyone can notice the band’s sound is definitely upbeat and joyful. Why did you guys choose to make music so vibrant?
I’m sure its a reflection of our personalities and the feeling we get when we’re all together. The lyrics can be pretty dark at times and that probably says a lot about myself. Even when I’m with the people I love and I’m having a great time, I am still usually dwelling on the darker things.
SSome of the songs like “Walking The Dog” stem from long lines of colourful poetry. Was it a challenge writing these songs or did the lyrics just come to you?
Lyrically, it wasn’t as challenging as i had thought it would be. “Walking The Dog” was actually the hardest one to write lyrics and a melody for because I was pretty much just singing over a riff that Jack had wrote. But eventually, I got there.
What would you say the band’s songs are about?
This record seems to be a lot more about what I think might be wrong with me or what I think might be wrong with the people around me. Also how we’re all sort of transforming into adults and weeding out the good and the bad out of ourselves and the people around us.
Was it strange going into the studio this time around with different bandmates?
Not at all. It felt very natural. We had done so much work demo-ing the songs ourselves that the studio felt like the final payoff.
Some people are slightly disappointed there’s only ten songs on the record. Is there a reason to why you guys decided to go with ten?
We love the first couple of records Weezer did where there were 10 songs with no filler. They just sort of start and never let up. We believe that we made a record much like that. I could be wrong, but that’s what we believe.
Would you say AIM AND IGNITE is the perfect summer record?
I’ve actually had that been said about every record I’ve made! It’s the one compliment I always get and I’ve thought about making a record that couldn’t be described as that. This one, more than any other, can.
How did you guys meet Manchester Orchestra?
Andrew had toured with them a lot in his previous band Anathallo and they were old friends. We sent Andy a couple songs and he’s freaked out since!
Will Nate Reuss ever disappear from music or will his life live on forever through lyrics and melodies?
I don’t know! I’m just so happy to be where i am right now. I’m not sure I’d trade it for anything.