Familiarize Yourself

This past summer I discovered a great little band that reminds me of blue skies, playing in parks and sunglasses. Ezra Furman & The Harpoons have a unique sound to them that keeps me interested long after the season fades away taking my need for sunglasses with it as winter’s sun hides behind Chicago’s greyest of grey clouds. Earlier this month I got to have a little email chat with Ezra Furman and learn a little more about the band and their music. They’re definitely a band I’m looking forward to hearing more from in the new year, so check it out!

Enjoy.

Photo: © Jade Amey

FYW: Your songs remind me of summer, but that may just be me- so, when did these nifty tunes come about? Were they written in parks with the birds and bees or were they forged in the gloomy winter months with street side grey slush? What’s the writing process for your music like?

Ezra: I write songs all year ‘round, not just in the summer. Actually probably fewer of them were written in the summer because I tend to be less of an escapist at that time of year. I tend to be outside doing things and enjoying the warmth instead of inside dreaming. Anyway I don’t think I’ve ever written a song outside. Most of the songs get written in my bedroom, when I have a bedroom to write them in. I need time to be alone and make a lot of noise and fill tapes with sound that no one else can hear. I try to put myself in such a situation—isolation from the outside world—as often as I can, so I can make a lot of good things.

FYW: You guys look and sound like you like to have fun. What are the some of the better moments of being on the road, and what are some of the more stressful ones? Any favorite adventures from exploring the world one concert at a time?

Ezra: We do like to have fun. Being on the road can be a lot of fun. It can also be a real drag. Mostly it’s a bizarre adventure. We don’t have money to spend on hotels, so we usually stay with a friend. If we don’t have a friend in town, we try to make a friend. That can lead to strange nights spent with strange people. One time we stayed with a couple who woke us up before six a.m. because they had to go work at a factory. Then they started talking about how they wish they had a lot of guns so they could shoot people who came onto their property. Then another time there was a girl dressed as Batman who was very strange and nice to us. Whether wonderful or horrible, touring is almost always surreal. People drinking mind-altering beverages and liking us even though they don’t know us. What could be weirder than meeting hundreds of people all over the place and they all want to give you hugs or take pictures?

FYW: What’s it like trying to balance the normality of your life with growing popularity of the band?

Ezra: I’m not sure my life ever felt normal, and it certainly doesn’t now. The popularity of the band, strangely enough, has caused us to be very poor, because if nobody had liked it at all, we probably would have given it up and gotten jobs that actually allow you to have a bit of money. As it is, we have a duty to continue doing this strange and wonderful thing. I just try to not let any of it warp my mind. And I try to be nice to people who like us, even when they see the music in a totally different way than I do. The hard part is not having a permanent place to live. Luckily my friends and family are very supportive while I wait for some record label to figure out that we’re great and give us a big advance and then help us get a song in a commercial or something that might allow me to pay the rent. I am also trying to get another part-time job. I was a delivery boy for a while but I had to quit and go on tour. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not complaining. I relish the instability and constant change in a lot of ways. But it sure isn’t normal.

FYW: Lastly, who are you listening to right now? Anyone we should be familiar with?

Ezra: Paul Baribeau is an amazing artist. Sometimes I think he’s the best songwriter writing right now. Darlings, a Brooklyn band, blow me away every time I listen to them. I love them. And then of course there’s the Sleeptalkers. That stuff is genius. So get crackin’! There’s a lot to absorb. You could fall in love by the end of today.

Check out my favorite track, I wanna Be Ignored, and the rest of the album by these awesome folks!