In considering rock and roll history, The United Kingdom is responsible for more than the world’s fair share of brilliant music, and perhaps a small chunk of not-so-brilliant music (one needs only say Chumbawumba to back that up.) Some of these musical greats from the early years are still around, at least on our cd players, if not still touring with their walkers and canes. The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Yardbirds, Led Zeppelin, and Van Morrison made the sixties a time of musical experimentation. The seventies rolled in, and bands like The Police and Madness paved the way for a new generation of punk and ska. Fine Young Cannibals, Erasure, The Cure, and U2 changed the musical landscape in the eighties. The it-band of the nineties was Radiohead, shaking things up with fellow Britons, Bush, Oasis, Chemical Brothers, and Prodigy. Unfortunately, some of these bands have made names for themselves not only in music, but also for various rebellious offenses, and carousing.
Despite the prevalence of bad-boys that have given musical recognition to the British Isles, the tides are now turning for Christian musicians in the UK. Some of the bands we immediately may think of include World Wide Message Tribe, hydro, The Electrics, Iona, and Deliriou5? Now Fono is ready to enter the scene. In case you haven’t heard the buzz yet, it isn’t far away. Having played a few dates in the US this summer, the band is now preparing for a fall tour with The Goo Goo Dolls. And as of press-time, their single, Now She’s 24 is at 17th place on the Christian charts, and climbing. The proverbial American limelight seems to be just around the corner for them. So how does a band like Fono come into existence, and manage to land an opening gig for a major band like The Goo Goo Dolls? A conversation with frontman Del Currie reveals some of the facets of their intercontinental ventures.
Twenty-somethings Andy Ridley on drums, Ian Crawford on bass, and Currie on guitar and vocals have rooted their band in long-term friendships, and church fellowship. Guitar player, Thom Donovan- the only American in the band - is the exception, as he joined very recently after meeting the band in the UK while on “holiday.” Three years ago, Fono existed under the name ‘Seven’ but as Currie explains, “We had to change the name because there were already three million bands called 'seven'. We'd done demos and stuff but never had anything released.” So after a brief stint with Reunion records, which did not yield any releases, and “after a 'corporate shake-up' KMG moved in and bought our contract. They'd seen us play a showcase in the UK and they were very keen for us to join KMG . . . so we did . . . and we love it.”
Record label KMG is headed by Frank Chimento, who is a big backer, both artistically and personally for the bands on his label. “Frank’s a great guy and we love him a lot. He's full of energy and his belief in the band is 110%.” Another band on KMG is hip-hop core band Every Day Life. Currie recalls meeting with them in Los Angeles recently. “They were a great bunch of blokes. It's cool being label mates with them because they're trying to do something different and genuine and we've both got a forward thinking label to back us up.” Working with producer Adi Winman, (known for his work with bands like Skunk Anansie, Jamiroquai and Suede) the result was a polished, yet gritty debut album, with a lot of raw energy, and youthful attitude, piled on top of earnest, and fresh lyrics that point to their Savior.
The music has been well received both by Christian and mainstream audiences in the UK, Europe and is now beginning to take root in the U.S. “We’ve really come on in the last few months especially in Europe where we recently did a festival called Park 99 in Sweden where the crowd knew every lyric to all our tunes and they sang their hearts out for the whole set. It was an incredible feeling.” Fono is likely to see the same sort of quick recognition as Deliriou5? did, if not more so, because of their willingness to play mainstream events. “The Christian industry is small, [in Europe] certainly in comparison to the US but there is enough of a happening for bands to stay in that scene if they really want to. Certainly the attitude is different over here, people don't try to split off Christianity from everyday life so it's a natural thing to go play in a club because that's where the people are. As far as recognition goes, I think we get that because we're a good band . . . Whether we're in a church or in a club, we're the same people. God is there in every part of our lives and we're not little kids who are about to run off like they've just been released by their parents for the first time.”
Touching on human interest subjects and faith, the debut album goesaroundcomesaround does not lack for spiritual focus. Currie explains, “Everything from relationships, to events that we've seen, to movies that have touched us [influence their lyrics.] For instance Alcatraz was inspired by the movie Murder in the First. The songs are all very real dealing with everyday things but always written from a Christian view point. So many bands set out by putting together their own agenda such as we'll sound like this; we'll sing about this; we'll look like this; and we'll appeal to these people. Everything Fono does is genuine from what we sound like to what we look like and from what our lyrics are, to where we are with God. We write songs that come naturally from our hearts. I hope our music makes people think, without setting up any agenda. I hope it inspires them to look deeper into finding more of God. Some people get real guidance and help from our songs and for some people it's a chance for them to let their hair down. There are loads of bands out there with the 'Jesus loves you' type lyrics and that's cool if that’s what people are wanting to hear but for us we try to make people look deeper at life and listen to music in a way that they can really get something for themselves. Part of what we love about music is listening to a record and sitting down to read the lyrics and finding our way through to what the song writer is getting at or pulling something from the song. We don't hand it out on a plate.”
As far as their original goals went, things may have changed a bit, but not for the worse. “When we started out our aim was to make great music and something a bit different. In the UK at the time there were loads of bands doing Brit Pop or folksy worship sort of stuff and we wanted to have something that fans of the Smashing Pumpkins or Foo Fighters could appreciate. We didn't sit down and work out any scheme or plan, it was a natural thing. I guess the only thing we really believed was that we were to do Christian stuff. We still want to make great music, but we learned very quickly that God can have all sorts of plans for you and you don't know what those are until they start to happen. Very soon after we started, we were given a lot of mainstream opportunities so we found ourselves doing a bit of everything. Musically we have a sound that isn't easily compared to anyone else, we're verging on the heavy side but we're still very melodic without falling into the cliche rock thing . . . Rock was a dirty word for a while because it reminded people of Whitesnake and Bon Jovi, [but] now people relate it to anything from Pearl Jam to Feeder . . . Live we're full of energy and we put 110% into every show.”
England is currently seeing quite a bit of revival among the youth, and Currie shares his thoughts on what Christian bands are doing in the UK. “Things are moving in two ways here, there is a real buzz in the churches and growth is really happening, and there's the other side where people are really turned off by the happy-clappy Christian vibe, and don't want anything to do with it. WWMT does loads of schools work so they're really, really genuine about what they do, they work hard and it's not all big shows. Most of it is 9am assemblies in schools.”
Taking a chance on the American side of the ocean could prove to be extremely beneficial to this already popular band, but they laugh about the concept of being ‘rock-stars.’ Quips Currie, “We’ve watched Spinal-Tap too many times to get wrapped up in all that stuff. We'd [just] like to be perceived as a band who can write great songs, play well, perform well, and be genuine about who we are and our relationship with God.” He wraps things up with a challenge to everyone. “Forget about the hard wooden church pews, forget about the robes and uniforms. Think about God and what He is really about. Think about a bigger picture than the one we get on Sundays. Don't throw it out, just look beyond it.”
So when Oasis’ troublemakers, Liam and Noel Gallagher, are getting kicked off airlines for their rowdy behavior, it seems likely that the guys in Fono will step up to restore the world’s trust in the good intentions and good name of UK bands.