New York’s Fun say new ‘friends’ emerging since band’s hit single ‘We Are Young’
Posted Apr 27, 2012 6:00 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
TORONTO – If there’s a down side to having a No. 1 hit single, New York indie-pop trio Fun has found it.
Suddenly, the “We Are Young” chart-toppers have distant acquaintances emerging from the woodwork looking for tickets and other hookups.
Considering that all three members of the group have spent the past decade kicking around in other established bands — singer Nate Ruess fronted the Format, guitarist Jack Antonoff headed up Steel Train and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost played in Anathallo — the sudden enthusiasm from the trio’s extended circle isn’t entirely welcome.
“Jack was talking to my dad on the phone the other day — if that sounds weird, it is — and my dad was telling him that my ex-girlfriend from seventh grade had called asking for tickets to a show,” Ruess said during an interview in Toronto this week.
“For us, it’s hard. We’ve been doing this for 10 years. We’ve been doing it and we’ve been doing it professionally, all of us, and we’ve had some level of success…. But all of a sudden for people to come out just now.
“It fuels a nice fire. I like being angry about stuff. This is the perfect opportunity.”
Added Antonoff: “Bitterness is never a good thing but in this situation I feel like we have every reason to be like: ‘Where were you?'”
Of course, the band certainly hasn’t had trouble locating its audience since the ornate pop anthem “We Are Young” soared to the top of the charts.
The song hit No. 1 in Canada and the U.S., buoyed in part by a “Glee” cover and a prime spot in a Chevrolet Super Bowl commercial.
The band’s sophomore album, “Some Nights,” dropped soon afterward and hit No. 3 on the U.S. charts, a special accomplishment for an idiosyncratic record of tunes that revel in a glam grandeur that doesn’t always play well commercially.
While the anthem “Young” is veritably huge, the three low-key band members haven’t exactly turned into overnight celebrities. None of the dozen or so patrons consumed by a televised soccer game seems to recognize any of the band members as they shuffle into a bowling-alley bar for this interview, even when Antonoff asks one customer about the food he’s picking away at on his plate.
“It’s awesome to not feel like you have to sell something so much, because that isn’t what we got into music for — to have a hit song and turn around and try to sell it to everybody,” Ruess said.
“The fact that … it happened without us — being nervous types of people — walking into a room and feeling like we have to sell ourselves … was the perfect way it could have happened.”
Still, the band is hoping to capitalize on their newfound notoriety in one way.
One of Fun’s official T-shirts — retailing for $15 on its website — is emblazoned with the message: “It’s all Fun and gay ’til someone loses their rights.” Below, it reads: “LGBTQ equality now.” Proceeds from sales of the shirt are being donated to Revel & Riot, an equal-rights organization.
Antonoff said he felt compelled to become involved with the issue in part because few other rock bands were doing so.
“Earth issues and becoming green are really hip issues and they’re really important issues, but what’s really bizarre is that the most important thing in the world — which is that we’re all equal as human beings — is not a hip issue. And we’re doing everything in our power, it might sound tacky, to make it a buzzier issue than it is, that rock bands should care about, that straight people like us should care about.
“It might be different for you guys in Canada because you’re much less prejudiced and your laws reflect that. But the current system in America is incredibly discriminatory and it’s the kind of thing that we’ll look back on for the next many years with complete shame.
“Whether it’s 10 kids or 10,000,” he added, “we have a soap box and it’s entirely worth saying something a little more than just our songs.”
