Fucoustic - Folderol (self released)

Fucoustic - Folderol

After seeing them at Don Pedros last year and talking with them after the show....I got a little obsessed with "Fucoustic plays Fugazi" and randomly listening to them here and there for puzzled Fugazi fans. Recently they contacted me about their new album of even more Fugazi reinterpretations and I spent some time with Folderol for the past few months.

I had to investigate the title right away....Folderol is defined as Foolishness; nonsense. It's amazing Fucoustic see their project that way because it seems that to them nothing is taken more seriously than Fugazi. You can most definitely call them a tribute band, not cover band....this is passionately reinterpreted material not just played with different instruments.
It took foolishness maybe in the beginning to embark on this project but the result is anything but. Most importantly, none of this is done with a sliver of irony.
This could go so far as to inspire the next generation of acoustic guitarists to pick up the cliche, overused folk implement, whether or not they know about Fugazi.
This could even be an entry point for some people not knowing where to begin in the Fugazi underworld.
It certainly isn't without energy of it's own...it's not like the Iron and Wine cover of 'Great Heights', going the opposite way from the original, making it almost unrecognizable...a really sad sweet version to put on mix tapes. This is aggressive and it makes no difference it's done with acoustic guitars.
I swear these versions are even louder than the source in cases...they have even more energy...I know, I know that's practically sacrilegious, but it doesn't take anything away from the original...ever.

This time Fucoustic tackles material from the more challenging albums; Repeater, Red Medicine and Steady Diet of Nothing. These may have been the songs that had particular meaning and didn't immediately lend themselves to easy covers.
In Provisional, they employ a drum machine for the first time, but it's the most minimal tinny sounding beat, like the acoustic compositions themselves, stripping the rhythm down to the most essential piece and then putting it back together completely differently. Right inbetween verses, they have the greatest sounding slide, scraped guitar solo... their version of Fugazi's dissonant sustained harmonics. It's recorded so clean, so compressed, every note can be heard, every string ringing, every ridge ground as the pick runs down it.
They also interestingly do 'Merchandise', Fugazi's condemnation of band merch as if to say in Fucoustic's case that they are aware of what they are doing and how it might come across, they've come to terms with honoring a band that means so much to them. They aren't making any apologies if met with criticism, this is the way they see it, and are doing a damn good job. They mess with the harmonies a little and like other tracks taking basslines and lead guitar and translate them into 2 6 string acoustics. It's true to the original but things are emphasized.
On 'Around the Corner' they use the top of the acoustic as percussion, pounding away between chords....strumming muted strings, creating the bass chord structure. Vocally they are at their best on this track... very much in the spirit of Fugazi down to the layered vocals.

I've given up on trying to listen to my Fucoustic vs. Fugazi playlist, there's no obvious comparison, no formula to the reinterpretation. It's always recognizable, but completely different. It's really some kind of lost unplugged sessions, I have to remind myself that this isn't Fugazi. They keep tricking me....down to the vocal quality... and I know the words to the songs unconsciously. I'll sing along when it comes up on random and forget for a minute it's not an alternate version.

It's really something to have the endurance and willpower to devote your professional music life to recreating another bands material. Going to this length in live performance and recording. You get the sense that if they have anything personal to say at some point they decided it's best summed up already by the DC band, they just want to do it their way.
This is an anomaly of fandom, creating something so closely based on the original that it becomes it's own entity, an essential part of the Fugazi story completely endorsed by Ian himself (who gave them a tour of DC last time they played the Black Cat).
Sadly I don't think they will be coming back to play live thanks to homeland security and some Visa troubles.
Any band should be so lucky as to have a tribute like this... a retelling of the familiar stories shedding new light on the original. Folderol just seems to bring up more questions then ever...how far are they going to carry this out? Is it still enjoyable? Now that they've met Ian, has it come to some sort of a conclusion? Do they have things they've been waiting to release? Their own music?

Folderol is available in the US from CD baby.

Go download one track from Folderol: no surprise

Andreas emailed me after the review with a few answers to my questions:

jason,
... we will carry on as long we feel like doing it and as long as there are opportunities to play good gigs (means: if we find the right gig-places) and as long it is possible for us: my daughter is 8 months now and daniel just got a son 3 weeks ago!).
we played our last gig this august, but are planning to play some shows next year nearby where we live.
so we carry on: it is a very special thing, like you said, a tribute, a homage to wonderful music - and hereby quality counts.
and the best thing, yes it already happened: Fugazi like what we recorded and played, and so do some great people like you!

kepp your eyes open, thanks! Andy

Fucoustic Interview

I knew my friend Mike loved Fugazi. We were in Vermont one summer and I overheard him talking about Red Medicine with my friend Matt. I liked Fugazi as much as the next guy, but hadn’t really given them much thought in years. I had kind of chalked them up to high school and hadn’t visited them since.

Then I came a cross this listing on Toddpnyc.com for an acoustic Fugazi cover band from Austria and that sounded like it would at least be a reason to hang out with my friend and maybe hear some Fugazi. What I heard was way beyond our expectations and Mike immediately started talking to them right after the show.

We sat down with Daniel, Andreas and Christine from Fucoustic, I let Mike do most of the talking as we bought rounds of PBR’s for each other at Don Pedro’s. This was their first show in the United States and they were playing all over the country the next few weeks but I like to think this is a 7inches.blogspot first. An exclusive. The first US Fucoustic interview:

Mike - The thing to me that was really very interesting was your song selection. You chose stuff like tracks off Red Medicine, that were a little bit… well like b-sides that they didn't play that much in concert even. Why did you choose those songs?

Daniel - Because they were our favorites… we try to play Waiting Room but it doesn't work with two guitars, he (Andi) plays the bassline and some songs don't work but normally... we play those we like. Some are just more interesting, to play a punk song on two acoustic guitars.

M - How do you feel going to Washington DC?

D - We are really nervous, because we asked him (Ian) if we play there, the black cat, if he would come and yesterday he sent an email back saying, me and Amy are going to be there.

M - Oh my god.

D - We've met him before in Switzerland we've talked a little bit, of course I’m nervous.

M - The first time I saw Fugazi was in .....1992, I’m 32 now so I think I was 18 when I first saw them live but I was a fan in ‘89 like you.

D - I was living in the country and my neighbor was studying in Vienna, the biggest city we've got, and I asked him ‘Give me some punk music’ and he gave me like Bad Religion and like Dinosaur Jr. Fugazi for me was like another kind of music. Even the name Fugazi sounded to me like raggazzi, it sounded Italian a bit, but how they played the guitars it was for me like another kind of music. Totally different.

M - What do think of when your onstage? Are you trying to emulate Fugazi?

D - No, we just try to keep up the intensity in a way. For us the music is the most important and its just fun to play them. I play... we play in other bands too but although they are not our songs they are our interpretations.

M - Fugazi is kind of on a hiatus right now, and you guys are the closest thing that I’ve got to seeing them live and I have to say… I felt like I was at a show. I had the same kind of feelings that I had when I’ve seen them.

D- Thank you.

M - I think your song choice was amazing. Why didn't you decide to do Waiting Room? Because it doesn't work?

D - Yes, and there are other songs…we have a western country version of Promises but we don't play it...we tried to play it but it didn't work out. I like Shut the Door best because that’s a really original interpretation because its so different.

M - Is it at all intimidating? Covering one of Americas most influential punk bands?

D - I don't know… you know because in Austria they are not that famous, but here...for us it was not a problem so far, but now people know them here of course... so I don’t know.

M - It was so refreshing to hear these songs played live, like, The Argument was so well done.

D - Such a song like that is easy to do because its quiet,… slow… there’s a lot of melody.

M - I noticed you doing a lot of the instrumental kind of percussive hits with the guitar…

D - Sometimes we work with what is going on with the snare drum in the original, I play up on the guitar like this or bass parts...sometimes they have things feedback, we can't do it so we do other things.

M - Are you staying in Brooklyn?

D - Yes, we are staying at some kind of like strange hotel, I think people just go to have sex there.

M - Are you going to do anything special tomorrow?

D - I think we are just trying to find the way to the bus station and find the right greyhound. For us its very exciting you know we know a lot of streets from movies, and then you see it...

M - Is your set at the black cat going to be different then the set tonight?

D - We didn't really have a set… we just decided what was next…

M - Much like Fugazi.

D - They also start songs without telling others, we don’t go that far…

M (To Christine, the cellist) How did you get to know these guys?

Christine - We've been friends. We live in the small town.

M - The songs were so good, you did such a good job, and you know... they are my favorite band, I was a little skeptical.

D - That’s very interesting. We play some shows and it seems people come to get upset and then they leave quite ok with it.

M - One of the things Fugazi does is they exercise restraint. They have the potential to be a full blown punk rock band but they hold back and I think that was really something that was always really precious to me and I hope to other Fugazi fans.

Andreas - That’s exactly what we wanted to do.

M - Are you going to play on your way back through NY?

A - I don’t think so

C - Maybe in the street

M - How many more songs do you guys have in your repertoire?

A - I think that was half, more than half.

M - How long does it take to interpret a song?

D - When we start playing Andi starts something and I just know what’s coming next. A song works in about half an hour or it doesn't work. Then its just like trying to make it our own.

M - One song I was hoping to hear tonight that you didn't play was Long Division.

D - Yes....well it’s in our CD. That’s just with one guitar and the rhythm egg but we thought its just too...it’s silent.

A - I think we play it tomorrow.

M - When you meet with Ian tomorrow are you going to ask when they are going to play again?

D - No. It’s not a good question, I think it’s his lifetime achievement or whatever is Fugazi. I think they would play, but they can't tour because Brendan has got 3 kids and so on. They are only Fugazi if those 4 people are there, they don't do another record without touring...there are rules, I don't know.

M - In the beginning of the show you apologized for your jokes. I think you guys so completely did the songs justice there wasn’t a question if this was serious at all, the performance was perfect.

A - The thing is you know, that we respect them. You know we are not Fugazi and it’s a different time so .... we pay respect but at the same time we have some jokes. We don’t want to be a copy or whatever. Its just out of respect and fun to do that. I hope sometimes...you know the jokes aren’t so fitting but we try to talk to the crowd. We are making a second album and it comes out in the autumn and we cannot give it away for free, we do not earn that much. We are teachers, its just about getting back the costs.

M - Of course, of course.

A - The sound is very clear we recorded it by ourselves, Daniel is a sound engineer as well, we used some very good microphones.

M - I was telling Daniel I met Ian once and we came close to actually playing a show with Fugazi. They were calling us back, but the venues were too small, we tried really hard to put it together. They were so influential in the music scene in so many ways for me.

A - It’s the same for us you know, I think that’s going cross country you know. That a human attitude that he showed and still shows. Here everybody I think money is the big thing, and of course in Europe its the same but I think here people could die in the street and as long as you have your money you don't care.

M - Is the show sold out?

A - I don’t know. We are paying with 2 other bands but Ian is showing up... what more do you want? He liked the CD so...

M - Well I wish you guys the best of luck tomorrow. Jason knew about you guys and called me, and I know I want to see you guys again.

D - Tomorrow?

J + M - Tomorrow!

To order a CD, or download two songs: Birthday Pony, and Shut the Door, visit http://fucoustic.objectis.net/music.