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 With the debut record from chipper Californian four-piece SOFTLIGHTES to be released just in time for their appearance at the V Festival, singer/songwriter/happy chappy RON FOUNTENBERRY explains to the slow-to-catch-on SIMON TOPPER how the worlds of indie-pop and Billy Joel shouldn’t be mutually exclusive.
Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy. As far as album titles doubling as life-affirming mottos go, San Diego, California’s Softlightes are pretty much leading the race this year. With the debut smile-inducing album involving a particularly high sing and whistle-along quotient, the title works on a number of levels, but singer/songwriter/brainchild Ron Fountenberry reveals that the title was more than just a handy summary of the album; it was the inspiration for it.
“I had the album title before we had the album. I knew that’s what it was going to be called, and I knew that was going to be a theme. It’s not a concept album where every song is about that but I have a lot of songs, and it impacted the songs that I chose because I personally felt the theme was really important.” Despite tracks with titles like If The World Had Cookies and The Robots In My Bedroom Were Playing Arena Rock, the soft-spoken Fountenberry denies that the songs themselves are all puppies and rainbows and milkshakes and new sneakers happy. He says the theme is more pointed at encouraging people to listen to music that they actually like, regardless of how cool it isn’t, as evidenced in the first gorgeous single Heart Made Of Sound. “It’s kinda like a protest song against all the fake stuff surrounding music. I don’t know if you guys have it there, but here you go into certain cool record stores, and everyone there’s a total asshole and doesn’t want to help you, and they’re all ‘Oh, you’re into The Shins? My god, that’s so lame, because I’m into Fleeberbluke’ which is some freaking obscure band that only three people listen to, but because they’re one of those three, they’re like supercool. I’m over all that stuff. I’m over getting people to think I’m cool by referencing bands that no-one’s ever heard of. Like, I can do that. But Billy Joel’s Glass Houses was probably the first record that I ever listened to front to back, back to front, over and over again.” The Softlightes story goes that in 2003 while in the previous incantation The Incredible Moses Leroy, Fountenberry and bassist Kristian Dunn were essentially discovered and invited on tour by likeminded feelgood songwriter Cody Chestnutt. Modular Records took notice and signed the band, but feeling the need to start anew, Fountenberry broke it down and built it back up again, this time with drummer Tim Fogarty and pianist Andrew Van Baal, forming the indie-pop Softlightes. Oh, but wait, don’t artists hate having their music categorised into a genre? I’ll give Fountenberry the chance to pick his own confining label. “I think indie-pop is pretty accurate, just because it’s pop, but it’s indie in the sense that we did record it in the closet and in a garage, and there was no budget. The other thing I’ve heard is folktronic, which I think is kinda funny. I had to say it does make sense, because there’s pretty much acoustic guitar in every song, and there’s lots of bleeps and blurts and electronic things. For me though, it’s all just pop.” As Billy Joel says on Glass Houses, Side A, Track 4, Everybody’s talking ‘bout the new sound / funny, but it’s still rock & roll to me. Say No! To Being Cool, Say Yes! To Being Happy is out on Modular Records on March 31. Softlightes play V Festival at Avica Resort, Gold Coast on Sunday, April 1.
1. Written by elle, on 16-04-2007 15:53
they are such an awesome band. the song 'heart made of sound' is like listening to sunshine.  |
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