Superpowers, Boats, and Red Rocks

Walton and Woodward answered a standard Q&A sometime in the run-up to Little Homes (May 31, 2016). The original outlet is lost; this transcript is preserved from the band’s files. FEiN, the Los Angeles indie duo of Luke Walton and Brandon Woodward — search noise (Travis Scott FE!N, tax FEIN, Sinn Féin, basketball Luke Walton) buries most indexed hits. What survives on the public web is mostly premieres, profiles, and quote-bearing features; this archive plus Fresh Beats 365 (April 2016) and the I Heart Moosiq Lucky You premiere are the strongest first-person surfaces.

Context clues here: they were releasing a song a month until the LP, building an ongoing collaboration series (Christofi, Embody, and others), and still pitching #Grownupz before the viral push and Little Little Homes teaser EP changed the rollout. Fresh Beats covers the EP and Sculptor in more detail; this one is the sillier twin: superpowers, breakfast, ideal sets, and paying dues.

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1. If you could have any superpower what would it be?

Luke: Telekinesis. I’ve thought about this a lot. Hypothetically, a hero that can move matter with their mind can fly (because their body is only matter). So boom. Double power. Fly around places, then be super lazy and cook with your mind powers while laying in bed. Totally protected, totally lazy. I’d be really fat and happy. Or I would glow green, shrink, and change sexes.

Brandon: If I could beat any enemy with one punch, that would be pretty cool. But I don’t want to go bald just yet, so that’s a tough call to make.

If I was a genie and I was like okay now at this very moment you have your superpower, what would you do (after you test it out and play with it a little)?

Brandon: I’d probably go pick up some groceries and scan various news outlets for crimes to fight.

Luke: I would train enough to pick up the cars in front of me without getting a nose bleed.

Would you live a normal life, just using your power to your advantage, or would you live the life of a superhero? Would you be “evil?”

Luke: I would travel through space battling the universe’s strongest warriors. But really, nothing would really change except free airfare and less traffic. I want a travel-based superpower. Come to think of it… teleportation would work too. Can I change?

Brandon: I mean if I’m gonna be a hero, I’d really just be doing it for fun. So as long as I’m getting a kick out of it, I’ll be pretty active in the Hero community. If not, I’ll likely spend most days staring at the ceiling from my bed.

2. What’s your breakfast of champions?

Brandon: 100 push ups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats

Luke: 10K!

Brandon: Do this every day without fail, even if your arms start making weird popping noises

Luke: And carrot juice

Brandon: oo yes, with ginger and cinnamon

Luke: shit yeah and sweet potato

Brandon: yeeees is it morning yet

Luke: blend your oats!

Brandon: Truly the breakfast of champions

3. Describe your ideal set

(Prompt: be as realistic or fantastical as you want, e.g. an intimate show in front of 300 people in an underwater dome in the Great Barrier Reef with Shia Labeouf as my hype man and Nirvana as my opener…)

Brandon: Well my ideal future house would have a river running through it, so I think it’d be cool to have each band member in their own little boat floating along. Each audience member is in their own boat too (groups can stay together in slightly larger boats) but you gotta row to keep up. That’s part of the fun of it, just a bunch of people rowing around my house river in little boats trying to jockey for position. Hopefully they realize they can all get ahead by working together, but it’s entirely in their hands whether they team up or turn on each other.

Luke: Red Rocks. I just wanna play Red Rocks, man.

Luke: Take that Nirvana!

4. What vibe are you trying to create / pass on to listeners?

Brandon: Ideally people will hear our music and think a bit deeper about their circumstances. Self-reflection and introspection are key, but so often neglected. I want people to clearly know why they make certain choices. We make so many tiny deliberate choices in our music, hopefully some of that translates into deliberate listening and consumption in general.

Luke: I hope to make music that inspires a listener to put on headphones, turn down their lights, and just listen. Listening to a record used to be a really special experience for music fans. I hope that FEiN can contribute full length albums that entertain, inspire, question, and move peeps. Brandon and I are trying our best, by golly.

5. Any projects or upcoming events you’re stoked about?

Luke: SO MANY THINGS

Brandon: YA MAN TOO MANY

Luke: We’re releasing a song a month until the release of our full length record, Little Homes.

Brandon: We also have an ongoing collaboration series that we’ve been pretty actively building, so we’re super excited about the next few releases in that cue.

6. What’s your ultimate goal with music?

Luke: 10 FEiN records.

Brandon: Make art. Make interest. Never make the same thing twice.

Luke: Make the same thing 10 times.

Brandon: Make 10 clones that each make 10 FEiN records.

7. Why do you do what you do?

Luke: It is the most fun thing in the world.

Brandon: I can’t imagine a more rewarding livelihood. Such a multipurpose vehicle.

8. Put yourself into the shoes of your 50 year old self. Looking back, what are going to be some of your best memories / stories to tell.

Luke: Smashing my toe.

Brandon: Smashing Luke’s toe.

Luke: Ihop parking lot brawls.

Brandon: Accidentally* seeing Mother Mother live 4 times in 5 days. (*mostly on purpose. Entered a few contests, unexpectedly won all of them).

Luke: That one time I was using a robotic toilet and accidentally turned the shower on Brandon while he was warming up his voice. He played the gig soaking wet. Mine answers aren’t very positive. Paying dues, paying dues.

Brandon: Yeah that one I’ll remember forever. I’ve never laughed harder immediately before a gig.

9. Any ambitions beyond music?

Luke: Well Brandon will probably go into the lucrative business of building miniature versions of big things and large versions of little things.

Brandon: Oh, yes. I’ll start with famous landmarks. Example: a tiny, extremely accurate scale model of the Taj Mahal next to the actual Taj Mahal. Maybe call it the Taj Ma-Small. It’s an option.

Luke: I want to write a book about the Greeks.

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See Little Homes · #Grownupz · Fresh Beats 365 interview (Apr 2016) · BMI Indie Spotlight · Catalog