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Faux Jean Interview

Faux Jean is a rock group from Minneapolis, USA. They are led by the visionary songwriter- Matty- who employs the appellation Faux Jean as his own.
The story places a boy named matty on his sun porch in a pair of strange blue trousers contemplating the fin-de-sicle malaise with the sun setting Indian summer style twilight of the gods.

Neighborhood fixtures, Kinder and Behm, noting the strange blue trousers, commented that the fake denim was becoming of matty; at this moment, he became Faux Jean.

The next step was to disband his existing group, the spring collection—despite having just spent a load of money and time recording— to the end of creating a new ensemble where Faux Jean could more accurately determine the aesthetic outcome of his vision, which places bikini clad teens on the beach twisting to songs about the reproductive urges/functions of bumble bees.

That accomplished, Faux Jean looked around for a band to complete his vision. Perhaps most important on his list was finding a strong female voice to sing the pretty parts he’d eeked out himself on two summers’ worth of 4 track demos.

AccRock: Your band - Faux Jean seems like a very tight knit group of people. How long have you all been together and has the name always been Faux Jean?

gene_wire: Yes the band has been together since Sep 2000 and it has always had the same name. We are all really good friends though we didn't really know each other real well to begin with.

AccRock: Do you fight a lot like most bands?

gene_wire: Believe it or not we hardly fight at all. I guess we won't last, huh?

AccRock: No- you will start fighting at some point : -) How does it feel to be in a "retro-sounding" sort of band swimming in a sea of pop punk, hardcore, and other trendy sounding, cookie-cutter bands?

gene_wire: Bucket the cat just hopped up on the desk to say hi.

AccRock: Cool - I like kittys

gene_wire: I'd like to think that we will soon be part of the cookie cutter explosion!!

AccRock: Oh - well, from the sound of Faux Jean I think you might succeed without sounding cookie cutter.

gene_wire: Actually I think that we're just sort of shooting from the hip as far as the music goes. The sound is really what we're all into and I guess we have a fairly strong retro band inspiration.

AccRock: Let's talk about the new CD - Kiss Life On The Lips. Listening to "Hey", I found myself really wanting to hear the other songs too! How did you conceptualize, compose, and record the CD?

gene_wire: The songs just sort of happened. We started on 4-track and then sort of realized the sound we were getting and suddenly we couldn't wait to get into the studio and record everything.

AccRock: Did it take a long time to record it?

gene_wire: You could almost argue that the CD is an extension of the 4-track sessions. We tracked it in 5 days.

AccRock: Very Cool - who produced it - Faux Jean?

gene_wire: Bryan Hanna was the producer with Faux Jean himself at his right hand. Hanna has produced Sean Na Na and Hang Ups both from MPLS(Minneapolis). Bryan did an amazingly good job and we were very pleased with the outcome.

AccRock: How about the songwriting? The songs have an effervescence and flow that I love!

gene_wire: All from the Genius mind of Matty Schindler AKA Faux Jean. Whoa I guess "genius" gets a capital G when I speak of Matty!!

AccRock: What is he sitting next to you?

gene_wire: lol Yeah, I don't make a move without him!! Actually he's out having a smoke but I can't deny his songwriting skills.

AccRock: I LOVE your guitar sounds!! You must be using some Class A amps, maybe Voxes or some Boutique amp company?

gene_wire: Well, at the Terrarium (studio) they have a guitar player's (wet) dream of amp selection.

AccRock: cool - what amps do you play live then?

gene_wire: Hiwatt's, and Vox's in the studio and Marshalls and Univox live.

AccRock: What kind of Univox?

gene_wire: A white one.

AccRock: ha ha - I haven't seen too many of those.

gene_wire:I purchased it at TWIN TOWN GUITARS in MPLS.

AccRock: How did you approach the guitar tracking - I.E. sounds, equipment, parts?

gene_wire: Basically one live track and a little spice via 2 or 3 noodle tracks to explore ideas etc. A little Roland Space Echo didn't hurt either.

AccRock: Did you split your signal into 2 amps or anything like that?

gene_wire: Can't quite remember. It may have occurred.

AccRock: Do you like the Space Echo more than the echoplexes?

gene_wire: Kinda, the echoplexes sound better but the Space Echo was easier to dial in in the studio-plus Bryan had one right there. The Dan Echo isn't bad either.

AccRock: What guitar players would you say are your main influences?

gene_wire: OK you may be surprised but Mick Ronson and Ace Frehley are my two biggest influences.

AccRock: WOW!! Never woulda guessed that.

gene_wire: The Spiders From Mars are the most underrated band in RnR history.

AccRock: I woulda guessed Velvet Underground or Sonic Youth.

gene_wire: Oh yeah, they're in there as well. Maybe if you saw us live.........

AccRock: I'm sure!! I haven't heard but a glimpse of you guys! Are you going on the road soon to promote "Kiss Life on the Lips"?

gene_wire: We've played the 5 state area (MN, IA, WI, MI, IL) and are planning on trips out east this summer. We're just about done with the next record.

AccRock: How's the response to your live shows?

gene_wire: We have a really enthusiastic exchange with our audience. A lot of surprise that we are as energetic as we are live. I think by our looks people tend to think that we are stoic or have that Brit-pop vibe but we are from Minnesota after all and we try to put on as wild of a show as possible.

AccRock: I'm looking forward to seeing the band when you're in NY!