Interview with the Naked and Famous
August 5th, 2011
By: Amy Aiello
I’ve found that most good conversations that I’ve had in life end up talking about the Simpsons. When I asked Jessie from The Naked and Famous what it was like to find out the band would be playing Lollapalooza, I smiled at his answer: “Pretty cool. The first impression I’ve ever had of Lollapalooza was the Simpson’s episode where Homer gets shot in the stomach with a cannon. I just thought that [the news of us playing] was amazing.”
Jessie and Aaron chatted about everything from their House of Blues show with Crystal Castles last Thursday night, to living out of a suitcase, to mixing politics with music:
CMG: What’s your opinion on using your platform for politics and such, or do you feel you should just stick to music?
TNAF: I think for us specifically just music. We’re not very good at politics and stuff, so we’re not going to go sharing our opinions on [it]. We stick to what we’re good at. It’s always been about the music for us. We’re not interested in celebrity, limelight or anything.
CMG: With the changing state of the music industry, what are you hoping to do to reach out to more fans and to stay afloat?
TNAF: We try to keep our social networking quite concise and consolidated so that there aren’t like 100 videos or anything, that way when we do release something, it’s a special thing that people notice. When we put something out, it has proper meaning to it. It’s like that down to every single tweet we make on twitter.
CMG: Do you have any practical jokes and stuff to share?
TNAF: Oh there there’s a constant roll of gags on each other, but I don’t think it’d be funny to anyone outside of the circle.
CMG: If you guys could play with any one band/musician that would round out your career, who would it be?
TNAF: Nine Inch Nails. We’re all big fans. We actually got to support them when they came to Auckland in 2009.
CMG: Very cool. Well, I know your time is limited, so I'll let ya go. Thank you very much for your time with me today!
TNAF: You're most welcome! Take care!
Incase you missed them at Lollapalooza, the band will be back in Chicago on Friday, October 2nd at the Metro. The most recent updates can be found at their website (www.thenakedandfamous.com) and other social networking platforms.
THE NAKED AND FAMOUS is:
thom powers - vocals, guitar
alisa xayalith - vocals, keys
aaron short - synth/electronics
jesse wood - drums
david beadle - bass
Naked and Famous Official Website | Naked and Famous Facebook