New **Interesting** Brian Fallon Interview

Link here: http://flymagazine.net/brian-fallon-hates-rock-n-roll/

Quote :

It’s seven a.m. on a Tuesday morning in July. In New Jersey, lines of cars stream up and down the turnpike heading to work. People are waiting for their coffee and checking emails, and Brian Fallon, lead singer of the currently on-hiatus The Gaslight Anthem – and the man who some have crowned the successor to rock ‘n’ roll (and New Jersey) royalty Bruce Springsteen –  is already awake and getting ready to start the day’s writing.

With The Gaslight Anthem on a break, Fallon decided to embark on a solo career and released his latest album, “Painkillers,” in March. “Painkillers” marks a departure from The Gaslight Anthem’s Jersey rock sound and incorporates elements of country, folk and singer-songwriter music aided by Nashville-based producer Butch Walker.
Fallon took some time out of his morning to talk to us about going solo, songwriting and why he’s sick of rock ‘n’ roll.

Mike Andrelczyk: You don’t really live that typical rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle – like staying out all night?
Brian Fallon: I never got into it. I had a show last night in Manhattan and I was out until about 1:30 a.m. because it took that long to get home, but then I got up at seven.

MA: You treat songwriting almost like clocking in to an office in the morning. You write every day from 9 a.m.-3p.m.?
BF: It works really well for me. I think that if you show up every day, you’ll at least learn something. You never know what’s going to come out, so I feel like if I’m not there to meet whatever’s going to happen, then it’s not going to happen.

MA: Did you decide to do the solo album because of the Gaslight Anthem hiatus or was it the other way around?
BF: Because of the hiatus. I just saw those guys last weekend. We talk all the time. We’re still friends. There was no fight or anything like that, it’s just like there’s nothing else to say right now, so let’s just keep our mouths shut. The hiatus came and I was sort of without a job. I thought about going back to construction.

MA: Seriously?
BF: I find that stuff pleasing. It’s very fulfilling to me. I was like, “Maybe I’ll just get out of the music thing.” A couple of months later, I thought “Nah, I have a couple of other things I want to try.” I want to make a singer-songwriter record. I want to make a folk record. I might even want to make a kid’s record. I heard Sun Kil Moon do this lullaby song on “Yo Gabba Gabba” – I have kids so I watch “Yo Gabba Gabba” – and I thought “I want to do a record like that.”

MA: Did you feel any kind of pressure to come up with something different for the solo record?
BF: I felt like it was less pressure. The band is a big undertaking.  It got to the point where I would start seeing billboards when we were going to put out a new record. People are driving in the car seeing an advertisement for our new record that they haven’t even heard yet. I would drive by and slink down in my seat. So for me this was a welcome relief.

MA: There are lots of literary references in your work. One of the songs from your Gaslight days is called “Even Cowgirls Get the Blues,” which is one of my favorite books by Tom Robbins.
BF: Reading for a songwriter is sort of like eating breakfast for a runner. It’s an essential thing. You learn the language in a way that you can grasp it and mold it. When I’m listening to, like, Bob Dylan, that doesn’t really help me write lyrics, because that would be Bob Dylan’s lyrics. It doesn’t help me form a style. When you pick up a novel, that helps you see language from a different perspective not applied to music. The rhythm isn’t affecting you. The vocal melody isn’t affecting you. You can really absorb it.

MA: Your song “Rosemary” from “Painkillers” was written from a woman’s perspective. Did that open up your songwriting in some unexpected way?
BF: That one and “Honey Magnolia” are both (written) from the female perspective. For me, writing from a woman’s perspective is like living in Japan –  I can read about it, but I don’t actually know. So you have to guess. I went over those lyrics quite a few times and each time my goal was to strip away any phrases that seemed a little too masculine. I listen to a lot of female singers, so I think I must’ve picked some things up from them. Neko Case is a good one. She blurs the (gender) lines a lot. She’ll use phrases that you’d think a boy would say.

MA: What are three records that you think every singer-songwriter needs to hear?
BF: Any record by The Felice Brothers. They’re great. And I love the record “Digital Ash in the Digital Urn” from Bright Eyes. That’s a fantastically written songs. Then “Heartbreaker” from Ryan Adams. That’s a killer record. I think anyone who wants to be a singer-songwriter needs to own that record.

MA: You’ve been going at this for more than a decade, what you do think is the key to longevity?
BF: I would say the secret is don’t go for the quick goal. Sometimes people say, like, if you do this you’ll have a quick-selling album or you’ll gain a bunch of fans Any time somebody says that just run away. I would rather be in the position of, like, a Wilco than have my name up in lights for 10 minutes and then gone.

MA: Bruce Springsteen is obviously one of your idols. What was it like to meet and even befriend him? That must be totally surreal.
BF: You know that Rudyard Kipling poem “If”? I think he says something like if you can entertain kings, but still retain the common touch – whatever it is that he says, that’s kind of Bruce in a nutshell. That guy sits with the President and he can still talk to me and not get, like, all philosophical or weirdo on you. He could so easily not be cool. Like I hate when people are like, “Oh what? You don’t have a bowling alley in your kitchen?” It’s like, “No. I rent a townhouse and drive a Volkswagen. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

MA: You recently announced a fall tour with Ryan Bingham. Those should be some great shows.
BF: I’m excited about that. I’m hoping to learn a lot from Ryan Bingham and get a chance to talk to him and see if he can teach me a few things. He’s got a little bit of the country thing going on. I think that’s the most interesting music in the world right now, because it’s still developing in a way that’s new and unique. It still has a message. I find the older I get, the less interested in rock music I become. Like rock people don’t even talk about politics anymore – they’re all afraid. Right now you have these PC bands that are just so afraid to shake anything up, and it’s just so dull. They all have their tattoos and they play the same song over and over and I’m just sick of it. I’d rather listen to folk music or country music. I’d rather listen to Top 40 radio than rock music.

thanks for sharing

I swear he sometimes says things just to be contrary...plenty of rock musicians are involved in and talking about politics. Even Queen are at it at the moment!

*sigh*

Also, for somebody who has never released a political song or done anything publicly political to suggest that others aren't doing those things because they are afraid is kind of rude! Maybe they just prefer to sing about girls/boys too - nothing wrong with that.

Brian "foot in mouth" Fallon strikes again. Good job Brian! A little "social network shutdown" will cure all of that, as it's been done before, right?

The_River wrote:

Brian "foot in mouth" Fallon strikes again. Good job Brian! A little "social network shutdown" will cure all of that, as it's been done before, right?

Noo! I don't like when he disappears

The_River wrote:

Brian "foot in mouth" Fallon strikes again. Good job Brian! A little "social network shutdown" will cure all of that, as it's been done before, right?

The one thing that went into my head when I read the interview was "god damn it this guy has to stop making absolute statements". Hasn't he done that in the past, I mean literally talked about how he talks too much and then realizes maybe he shouldn't have said that? I don't know, either way it's like we're seeing a completely different Brian every two years or so.
People change, of course, but it's like he's determined to constantly be someone else.

cowgirlwiththeblues wrote:

Also, for somebody who has never released a political song or done anything publicly political to suggest that others aren't doing those things because they are afraid is kind of rude!

Right? He did have that interview where he talked about Trump, immigration and gender issues, but other than that he hasn't done much to warrant complaining about a lack of politics in rock music.
And how would he know? Just because something isn't in your immediate periphery doesn't mean it doesn't exist. It's like this tired old "they don't make music like they used to" - Well god damn it spend five minutes online looking for new music rather than sitting in your comfort zone of listening to your old worn out records.

Rant over.

"I find the older I get, the less interested in rock music I become. Like rock people don’t even talk about politics anymore – they’re all afraid. Right now you have these PC bands that are just so afraid to shake anything up, and it’s just so dull. They all have their tattoos and they play the same song over and over and I’m just sick of it. I’d rather listen to folk music or country music. I’d rather listen to Top 40 radio than rock music."

Interesting how his description fits him perfectly :/ In my very honest and personal opinion, I love bands like Rise Against or Propagandhi, but, sometimes, I just like to drive my car singing along to music that takes me away from all the shit that's going on in the world, instead of picking it apart for me. I enjoy both things, but I can't have only one. I'd go mad either way.
So, Brian, just keep doing your love songs, we love all of them. But saying rock is out of touch with politics is showing you're just not interested or listening to the wrong music

Brian has kids? I had no idea

mja271 wrote:

Brian has kids? I had no idea

Yeah, what? Is that an insanely well-kept secret or was he joking around?

I think he likes to keep that kind of thing private, hence he doesn't usually mention it. Kind of surprised to see he did here.

cowgirlwiththeblues wrote:

I think he likes to keep that kind of thing private, hence he doesn't usually mention it.  Kind of surprised to see he did  here.

That's pretty amazing to keep that a 100% secret for this long. I read/watch pretty much all his interviews, and I had absolutely no clue.

cmigs wrote:

cowgirlwiththeblues wrote:

I think he likes to keep that kind of thing private, hence he doesn't usually mention it.  Kind of surprised to see he did  here.

That's pretty amazing to keep that a 100% secret for this long. I read/watch pretty much all his interviews, and I had absolutely no clue.

He has been mentioning it lately, though. I remember hearing about it for the first time during one of the shows in the UK back in April, where he said he wrote one of his songs about that (though you can't really tell... and I can't remember which song*). Other than that, nope, he never says anything about that in interviews.

[*EDIT: just read in the Master List of song meanings that it was Mary Anne at the Glasgow show ]

And I really hope this comment abides by the no-private-life-chit-chat rules in this group

ivienco wrote:

cmigs wrote:

cowgirlwiththeblues wrote:

I think he likes to keep that kind of thing private, hence he doesn't usually mention it.  Kind of surprised to see he did  here.

That's pretty amazing to keep that a 100% secret for this long. I read/watch pretty much all his interviews, and I had absolutely no clue.

He has been mentioning it lately, though. I remember hearing about it for the first time during one of the shows in the UK back in April, where he said he wrote one of his songs about that (though you can't really tell... and I can't remember which song*). Other than that, nope, he never says anything about that in interviews.

[*EDIT: just read in the Master List of song meanings that it was Mary Anne at the Glasgow show ]

And I really hope this comment abides by the no-private-life-chit-chat rules in this group

If he says it in public, I think it's fair game. And that's interesting about Mary Ann, gives the lyrics a different spin.

Well that explains the tiny hands anyway!

http://www.kidsinterviewbands.com/video/brian-fallon-the-gaslight-anthem-the-horrible-crowes/

The_River wrote:

http://www.kidsinterviewbands.com/video/brian-fallon-the-gaslight-anthem-the-horrible-crowes/

how on earth did i not notice that when i saw this in January?!

I remember a really old interview, I think it was from a festival, where Brian talked about someone getting too upset by saying something along the lines of, "It's like, dude, chill. Get kids. That'll change your perspective." (Might be misquoted heavily.) I always took that as saying that he's a dad, and it would indicate that he's been a dad for a while.

I'm not the kind to like to dig into other people's life, but if the kid is 3 years old, let's say he was born in 2013, and you all can remember that that same year was a tough one on the shoulders of mister Fallon. Just sayin'...

He gives basically the same answer in this one, only far more diplomatically. Maybe he realised how it sounded too!

http://www.alternativenation.net/interview-brian-fallon-talks-unknown-future-of-gaslight-anthem-writing-new-music/

thanks for sharing...I like the discussion about his unique writing style and that he revealed some information about Rosemary

ivienco wrote:

"I find the older I get, the less interested in rock music I become. Like rock people don’t even talk about politics anymore – they’re all afraid. Right now you have these PC bands that are just so afraid to shake anything up, and it’s just so dull. They all have their tattoos and they play the same song over and over and I’m just sick of it. I’d rather listen to folk music or country music. I’d rather listen to Top 40 radio than rock music."

Interesting how his description fits him perfectly :/ In my very honest and personal opinion, I love bands like Rise Against or Propagandhi, but, sometimes, I just like to drive my car singing along to music that takes me away from all the shit that's going on in the world, instead of picking it apart for me. I enjoy both things, but I can't have only one. I'd go mad either way.
So, Brian, just keep doing your love songs, we love all of them. But saying rock is out of touch with politics is showing you're just not interested or listening to the wrong music

I mean, I think he's spot on about mainstream rock unfortunately, but the problem is like you said he's listening to the wrong music because there is SOME stuff that exists that is political and what not although honestly not enough. Also, while I'm okay with him not writing about those things it just seems weird to see him complain about it without doing those things. Like Eddie Vedder can make this complaint. So can Tim McIlrath. I feel like Brian maybe should've at minimum worded it differently if he's going to though.

I actually like the fact that he doesn't write political songs. I get tired of having artists' views shoved down my throat and sitting through lectures at a show. I turn to music to get away from that stuff and the more overt it is, the more annoyed I become. It was especially irksome during the Bush years, where every artist just seemed to write the same angry songs over and over for eight years.

Thunder Peel wrote:

I actually like the fact that he doesn't write political songs. I get tired of having artists' views shoved down my throat and sitting through lectures at a show. I turn to music to get away from that stuff and the more overt it is, the more annoyed I become. It was especially irksome during the Bush years, where every artist just seemed to write the same angry songs over and over for eight years.

Sure, but given the fact that he doesn't write political songs, maybe he shouldn't talk too much about how bands are "too afraid" to go into that.