“When we started a band, we started it thinking and being in a musical scene and musical atmosphere where bands like ours had essentially no prospects. You just started the band because you wanted to go on tour, and meet other people who were starting bands, and put out music and party down. And now it’s gone way beyond that, it’s like a small business or could be a small business. It’s amazing to me how many bands are small and have managers and complicated things. The whole idea would have been so patently absurd in 1996. You know, the idea that anything can come of it,” says Tim Harrington, front man of New York’s legendary art school punks Les Savy Fav. “We were in it for tours and a bunch of really good parties. I think, for us, that’s still the main straw.”
As legend has it, two things happened when Les Savy Fav met in art school: one, they picked a band name, two, they designed the cover art for their future compilation. Most bands release compilations around the decade mark but Inches is an entirely different monster. It was planned before the band had any releases and the cover design could be broken into nine parts. Each part would become the cover of nine exclusive 7” singles, and each set of songs would conceptually relate to one another.
“It’s my – or our, I should say – our band year one or month one idea thing that actually happened,” says Harrington, when asked to confirm if legend is true, “We first started thinking somewhat comically like, ‘What? We’ll put out anything at all?’”
Ten years, three albums (3/5, The Cat & The Cobra, Go Forth), one mini-LP (Rome but written upside down) and a superb compilation later, Seth Jarbour (severe and melodic guitar), Syd Butler (wicked and fiery bass lines), Harrison Haynes (aggressively danceable drum beats), and Harrington (bearded, balding, and eccentric) have made their defining record. The 18 tracks on Inches serve as a reverse crash course in Les Savy Fav with the songs going backwards in chronological order. That makes Meet Me In The Dollar Bin the opening track on Inches but the B-Side of the last 7” released in 2004, and Rodeo is the last track on Inches but the A-Side of their first ever 7” released in 1997. Harrington likens the Inches listening experience to The Neverending Story movie.
“Do you remember how it sort of like crumbles backwards?” he asks, “That’s how I hear it. The first four songs I feel are the most sophisticated songs and as you go further they’re more direct and raw. The way in The Neverending Story – remember everything is falling apart, kind of un-involving itself? With the dragon? I may be saying that just because I have a new puppy dog sitting here. Although she’s all black, her face looks exactly like Atreyu the dragon-dog.”
As you’ve probably noticed, Mr. Harrington likes to speak in a meandering kind of way – not a surprise if his live reputation is anything to go by. There are tales of garbage bag wardrobes; mikes flung over beams; wine-spitting; climbing, hanging, shouting; and lots and lots of sweat.
Harrington says, “I think that live we pride ourselves on having no concern about showing off. Like, ‘look how much we practiced!’ You know, we don’t care if at the end of the show it looked like we were all drunk going crazy, whether we were or not is irrelevant to us, but if the sound is really good and it’s really fun then that’s more important than people giving us respect.”
It has been over a year since Les Savy Fav last blew our minds with their unpredictable and unconventional live show. To mark their return, the band have made a special CD single called the Plagues & Snakes Australian tour EP.
“It’s like two songs that are classic,” Harrington says of the release, “but it’s lost the point. Like, what’s the point of doing two songs now? 45’s are doomed with mp3’s and all this stuff, but it’s such a great number – just natural two, it’s not as arty as three and not as fancy as one, which is so lonely. Two is interesting and cryptic.”
Les Savy Fav are taking their friends, and fellow French Kiss Records signings, The Hold Steady and Thunderbirds Are Now! on tour:
Sydney – February 25th – Gaelic Club
Melbourne – February 26th – St Jeromes Laneway Festival
Melbourne – February 27th – Corner Hotel
Perth – March 1st – The Rosemount
Adelaide – March 2nd – Jive
Brisbane – March 3rd – The Zoo
Sydney – March 4th -Secret Show, go to popfrenzy.com.au for details
Sydney – March 5th – St Jeromes Laneway Festival
to listen to their music now on 