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The brains behind Fun Fun Fun Fest, Graham Williams and James Moody, sat down with Austin Eavesdropper at the fest last Sunday to talk turkey. (NOTE: The volume on this particular vid is a little quiet at first, then turns up about 20 seconds in.)
I hope you find these guys as delightful and down-to-earth as I do. To hear Graham, a born-and-raised Austinite, and Moody, an Austin-by-way-of-LA transplant, talk about Fun Fun, you get the impression that these are perhaps the most zen musical festival planners in existence. There's no out-pulling of hair. No smashing things when a headliner (Devo) has to cancel. No drama at all, really -- just two dudes! Having a party! Except we know there's probably more blood, more sweat, more tears to Fun Fun than that. Graham, Moody, and their music lover foot soldiers have just found a way to throw the kind of party I imagine most festival organizers dream about: Large enough to command national attention, small enough to feel intimate, and even -- dare I say it? -- relaxed.
A few highlights from the interview:
A few highlights from the interview:
*on having live comedy at fun fun:
"I think that it's just as vital and progressive of an art form as hip hop, punk, indie, electronica, DJ's. When you go to those [comedy] shows ... it's the same audience." [Graham Williams]
*on why bands and comics want to perform in austin:
"There's a lot of credibility associated with impressing people [in Austin.] Every fan is also an artist here. I think Austin holds this court to some degree, on blessing these acts, on whether they're alright or not. And if they're shitty, we'll say they're shitty." [James Moody]
*on getting involved in the music scene:
"I've always been a little bit of a music critic. Knowing I was really bad at the drums, [but thinking] how could I be involved? I'm just gonna listen to a lot of it, and then be a critic of it." [James Moody]
*on single-handedly reuniting the descendants, and convincing them last-minute to be fun fun's new headliner:
"The singer is a biochemist for I think DuPont ... and is really really committed to his job. The fact that is was on a Sunday was the only reason it happened. He actually wanted to fly in today, play the show, fly back on a red eye, and make a meeting on Monday morning. But he could not find a flight anywhere. Luckily, he was able to get with his team, a small group of experts, and do the meeting with a camera, over a laptop. Conduct the meeting that way." [Graham Williams]
*on musical guilty pleasures:
"Bad Religion." [James Moody]
"Yelle." [Graham Williams]
"Chumbawamba." [Both]
Special thanks to Amy Haley for taping!
Special thanks to Amy Haley for taping!
