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Fountains of Wayne performing in 2007 | |
Background information | |
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Origin | New York, New York, U.S. |
Genres | |
Years active | 1995–2013 |
Labels | |
Associated acts | |
Website | fountainsofwayne.com |
Past members | Chris Collingwood Adam Schlesinger Jody Porter Brian Young |
Fountains of Wayne was an American rock band that formed in New York City in 1995. The band consisted of Chris Collingwood, Adam Schlesinger, Jody Porter, and Brian Young. The band was best known for its 2003 Grammy-nominated single 'Stacy's Mom'.
- 1Career
Career[edit]
1995–99[edit]
![Fountains Of Wayne Sky Full Of Holes Rar Fountains Of Wayne Sky Full Of Holes Rar](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125867479/823042249.jpg)
After Montclair-based Adam Schlesinger and Sellersville-based Chris Collingwood first met as freshmen at Williams College, they played music in various bands and eventually went their separate ways, with Collingwood forming the Mercy Buckets in Boston and Schlesinger forming Ivy in New York City. In the mid-1990s, they came together to form Fountains of Wayne, named after a lawn ornament store in Wayne, New Jersey that is no longer in business. At first Collingwood hated the name, which was suggested by Schlesinger's mother, but eventually warmed to it.[3] Previous band names included Woolly Mammoth, Are You My Mother? and Three Men Who When Standing Side by Side Have a Wingspan of Over Twelve Feet. The band cut a demo and signed with Atlantic Records, then recruited guitarist Jody Porter and still-active Posies drummer Brian Young after recording their debut album. Young got in touch with a friend who worked at Fountains of Wayne's label to see if there were any job openings, and when he auditioned for the band, they asked him to play the beat of 'Swingtown' by Steve Miller Band.[4]
Though Collingwood and Schlesinger share co-writer credit for all original Fountains of Wayne material, for most of their career together they have written their songs separately. In 2005 Collingwood said, 'We decided early on, it’s better to not have arguments that some bands have where someone might say, ‘I wrote 15% of that song,’ and try to figure out those numbers. It just seems ridiculous.' Schlesinger added, 'We just agreed many years ago that if we were to have a band we’d just split the songwriting to avoid having a conversation every time we tried to finish a song. But we really haven’t collaborated as writers in years. And that’s kind of intentional too because we didn’t want it to turn into a thing where people would say, 'Adam’s songs are like this…' We wanted the band to have an identity more than we wanted each of us to have an identity in the band.'[5]
In 1996, the band released its self-titled debut, which spawned the singles 'Radiation Vibe' and 'Sink to the Bottom', and the band toured the world extensively behind its debut album, playing alongside bands including The Smashing Pumpkins, Sloan, and The Lemonheads. That same year, Schlesinger wrote the Academy Award-nominated, RIAA gold certified title song for the film That Thing You Do!.
In 1999, the band released Utopia Parkway, an album named after a road in Queens, New York. The album was a concept record that dealt with life in modern suburbia. Utopia Parkway was received well by critics, garnering many favorable reviews, and was album of the week in People magazine. The group once again toured extensively behind the album, but frustrations grew between the band and the label. The band was later dropped by Atlantic in late 1999.
Fountains of Wayne performing in April 2007
2000–2011[edit]
The band was inactive for a period of time. Collingwood, in particular, had a difficult time coping with the band being dropped by their label. In 2004 he said, 'When we got dropped from Atlantic, it’s my fault that it took so long, because I wasn’t sure I wanted to keep doing it. At the end of four years of the hardest work I’d ever done in my life, more traveling and being away from my wife the whole time, I had nothing to show for it. I got back home and I had nothing. I was broke, I was demoralized, I was exhausted. I think I just needed a year to recharge my batteries.'[6]
Schlesinger co-wrote many of the songs for the Josie and the Pussycats film and soundtrack, produced albums for Verve Pipe, David Mead, and They Might Be Giants, and released a third record with his other band, Ivy. Collingwood formed and fronted a Northampton, Massachusetts-based pop-country band, called Gay Potatoes, and played a string of solo shows in the Boston and Los Angeles areas. Guitarist Jody Porter worked with his band, The Astrojet, alongside famed producer Gordon Raphael and keyboardist David Zhang in New York City. Percussionist Brian Young moved to Los Angeles and did session work for various artists such as producer Steve Fisk, Ivy, Heather Duby, and Greg Dulli. The band reunited recording a cover of The Kinks' 'Better Things' for the tribute album, This Is Where I Belong: Songs of Ray Davies and the Kinks, in 2001.
In 2003, the band released Welcome Interstate Managers, a successful album that spawned the Grammy-nominated RIAA gold-certified hit single, 'Stacy's Mom', which Adam Schlesinger says was a tribute to the band, The Cars; initially, the single stalled at commercial alternative radio in the US, but MTV President Judy McGrath championed the single's music video, a Fast Times at Ridgemont High homage featuring Rachel Hunter. Another song off the album, 'All Kinds of Time', was used for NFL commercial promotions during the 2005 season.[7]
In 2005, the band released Out-of-State Plates, a collection of B-sides and two new songs, which was supported by the single 'Maureen' and a limited US tour that included some acoustic-only sets, a set on PBS Soundstage, and American Songbook. Also included on the album is a 1999 cover of the Britney Spears hit, '...Baby One More Time'.
In 2006, while on tour in Tokyo, Collingwood had a mental breakdown in which he hadn't slept for four days, experienced hallucinations for two days and didn't believe that he was in Tokyo to play in front of 25,000. The show was cancelled and Collingwood was taken to an emergency department,[8] followed by recovery in a mental hospital after returning to the US.[9]
In 2007, the band released Traffic and Weather, an album which included the song 'I-95', which Rolling Stone named #54 of the year's top 100 songs.[10] Collingwood had less involvement during the making of the album due to his struggles with depression and alcoholism, only managing to contribute three songs.[9]
In 2008, Porter released his debut solo album Close to the Sun, a collection of songs he had written and recorded over a period of years in between Fountains of Wayne albums and tours.[11]
In 2009, the band released No Better Place: Live In Chicago, a live concert DVD which included newly recorded acoustic songs.[12] Also that year, they played a short run of full-band acoustic shows where they showcased songs from their forthcoming album.[13] Also, on a sadder note that year, the store for which their band was named (seen also in The Sopranos episode, 'Another Toothpick') went out of business.[14]
In 2010, Fountains of Wayne commenced work on their fifth album, which was influenced by the recent acoustic tours they had done. According to Porter, 'It’s a little bit more introspective and not as loud of a record as the last two. I think that came from the fact that we started last year doing acoustic-based tours because we didn’t have a record out. We wanted to get back out on tour and did it stripped-down. Overall it’s not as brash or guitar-heavy.'[15]
In 2011, the band released Sky Full of Holes, an album put out in Japan by Warner Music Japan (with two bonus tracks), Europe by Lojinx,[16] and the U.S. by Yep Roc Records. The now-sober Collingwood once again became more involved, but this turned out to be the hardest album for them to make. According to Collingwood in 2013, 'The most recent record was definitely the hardest that we've ever done. I think I'm partly to blame for that. I checked out on the previous record, so when I came back in, I had to assert myself. Every single thing about that record was a fight. It was not this blissful reconciliation that led to the release; it was a brutal thing right up to the end. We'll see what happens if we end up making another record.'[17]
The band playing acoustic in July 2009
Future plans[edit]
The band has no plans to record new material. Neither Schlesinger nor Collingwood has ruled out a future reunion, but both see the possibility as remote. 'I try never to say never,' Collingwood has said, 'but it’s staggering to think of everything that would have to happen for me to want to repeat that experience.'[18]
In 2016 Collingwood elaborated on the band's demise by saying, 'When we were recording the record before the last Fountains of Wayne record, which was called Traffic and Weather, I didn't really have a whole lot to contribute to that album. I was out to lunch a little bit, mentally, and just drinking too much. And I think that the fact that I sort of removed myself from the process at that point made it really easier for Adam to take over. And when I was ready to actually make another album, you know, several years later after I'd sort of cleaned up my act, it was very difficult. It was very, very hard to get back into the position where we were equals.'[19]
Porter and Young joined Schlesinger in 2016 on The Monkees album Good Times!, and again in 2018 on the group's Christmas Party. Schlesinger produced and wrote songs for both albums.
Discography[edit]
- Studio albums
- Fountains of Wayne (1996)
- Utopia Parkway (1999)
- Welcome Interstate Managers (2003)
- Traffic and Weather (2007)
- Sky Full of Holes (2011)
Film and television[edit]
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Group members[edit]
- Chris Collingwood – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards
- Adam Schlesinger – bass, guitar, keyboards, drums, backing vocals
- Jody Porter – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Brian Young – drums, percussion
References[edit]
- ^ abLeahey, Andrew. 'Fountains of Wayne – Biography'. AllMusic. Retrieved December 26, 2009.
- ^'the top 10 geek rock bands'.
- ^Simons, Ted (May 1, 1997). 'Wayne's World'. Phoenix New Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^Rashidi, Waleed (April 2007). 'Brian Young of Fountains of Wayne'. Modern Drummer. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^Luerssen, John D. (July 1, 2005). 'Fountains of Wayne: Bright Future in Sales'. American Songwriter. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^Jacobs, Jay S. (January 9, 2004). 'Fountains of Wayne: Bright Future in Record Sales'. PopEntertainment.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^'Fountains of Wayne.us'. Fountains of Wayne.us. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^Shapiro, Lexi (June 26, 2007). 'Fountains of Wayne'. They Will Rock You. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ abMyers, Paul (August 3, 2011). 'Fountains of Wayne: Ironic No More'. Paste. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^'Rolling Stone slights Rihanna and embraces Newman on 2007 singles | Prefix'. Prefixmag.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^'Fountains of Wayne guitarist for solo career'. NME. July 23, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^'Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago: Chris Collingwood, Steven M. Gold, Jody Porter, Adam Schlesinger, Brian Young, Joe Thomas, Gregory David: Movies & TV'. Amazon.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^'Fountains of Wayne News – Fall '08'. Fountains of Wayne. October 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^Valby, Karen. 'Fountains of Wayne: Going out of business? | The Music Mix | EW.com'. Music-mix.ew.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^Souleo (September 14, 2010). 'Out of the Shadows, Into the Light: An Interview with Jody Porter'. Popmatters. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^'Lojinx // Fountains of Wayne / Sky Full of Holes album'. Lojinx.com. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
- ^Kleinman, David (March 6, 2013). 'Fountains of Wayne performs songs from newest release at Sellersville'. The Mercury. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^Lambeth, Sam (April 13, 2016). 'Interview: Fountains of Wayne'. Louder Than War. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^Hu, Elise (July 24, 2016). 'Fountains of Wayne's Chris Collingwood Returns With New Project 'Look Park''. NPR. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
External links[edit]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Fountains of Wayne. |
- Fountains of Wayne discography at MusicBrainz
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fountains_of_Wayne&oldid=934047846'
The Summer Place | Buy HQ 320Kb 0.1$ |
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Sky Full Of Holes review
Own way
Veterans of the American pop-rock scene, Fountains Of Wayne, could have easily extended their audience long ago, and improved their financial state as well, had they been more flexible regarding the song-writing approach. Still, the New York quartet has been making the same product out of the same ingredients and via the same recipe for fifteen year already. After all, there will always be an audience for them, and their records will always find buyers, albeit fewer buyers than records by more popular acts do. Since we touched the studio activity issue, it should be mentioned that these Americans are not great fans of writing new material and have been following a one-album-per-four-years schedule for quite a while. This, by the way, makes Fountains Of Wayne releases even more interesting and desired. Their fifth effort, Sky Full Of Holes, entered the market in the summer of 2011 and brought no surprises to either regular listeners or wise critics. All the features of the Fountains Of Wayne trademark style show through right off the start of the record, which is quite enough to call the album a success.
Stories of small people
The Sky Full Of Hopes title is borrowed from the lyrics of one of the album’s songs. Namely, it’s a track called Cemetery Guns, and the holes in the sky, presenting the record, were made by cannons that fired all as one into the blues height at a military funeral. Like always before, these American band supports songs with a considerable portion of irony and feels confident speaking about most serious problems. Some of these songs produce rather a tragic than a comic effect. Apart from the abovementioned Cemetery Guns, one of the standout examples here is Action Hero, a song about a man whose dreams turn into ashes after he receives bad news from a hospital. Sweet harmonies flowing in the background serve as hard, or maybe even cruel irony and illustrate a contrast between one man’s tragedy and the niceness of the surroundings. Stories of Sky Full Of Holes are often tragic, but their characters and music in many cases make you want to smile. Richie and Ruben from the eponymous track are two awkward salesmen whose failures leave only room for good laughter. Almost each song here is a story about a small person, which could be an attempt made by Fountains Of Wayne to follow the signs left by Springsteen himself.
Words are good and music is fine
Overwhelming usage of acoustic guitars and sounding far from thick practically force the listener to fix focus on the snuffling vocalist whose singing is particularly appealing when he performs inseparable and meaningless choruses. There are times when the band goes too far down the humor line and one can feel that all the musicians do is just fill the space with any word fitting. However, altogether, in the framing of Sky Full Of Holes, these episodes sound logical and integral. On the opposite pole, we have absolutely sincere and touching pieces, like Hate To See You Like This, and have nothing but sympathy for the characters drawn by the members of Fountains Of Wayne. Although they tried to insert some drama into their narration, the band remains most powerful when they play simple and fairly melodic songs that in the beginning capture you with their story and then make you listen on and on. The fifth album by Fountains Of Wayne is not going to bring the ensemble forward to a new level, but will certainly delight those who have been with them for many years.
Rate review4.00