Over the last couple of years, FILDAR has collected a dedicated fan base across the US and Europe with its aggressive, unapologetic punk music without even having released a full-length record. Mostly through word of mouth, music blogs, the band’s own DIY mentality and of course the music — quick-fired riffs, poppy hooks and raw lyrics that quite literally chronicle the day to day happenings of being broke and under the influence, FIDLAR has captured the hearts of young, and not so young, souls looking for an excuse to party.
The band has been on the road for the last seven months and counting, leading up to the official release of FIDLAR, which is available in stores starting today, 1/22/13, via Mom + Pop Music, Wichita Records as well as Burger Records. As busy as 2012 was for the four gentlemen of FIDLAR, their relatively underground music project will continue to blow up as more and more twenty-something year olds hear the album and embrace “cheap beer” as an expression of solidarity.
I caught the band before their set at Bottom of the Hill last Friday and got the chance to chat with half of the guys — bassist Brandon Schwartzel and drummer Max Kuehn. Set up next to a few garbage cans on the venue’s tiny upstairs patio, we discussed their album, fans and the reality of partying every night. These guys obviously like to party, but being on the road has shown them the limitations of their bodies when its comes to raging night after night. Brandon contends that if you look closer at FIDLAR’s lyrics, you’ll find both the highs and the lows of their lifestyle, particularly in the album’s hidden track,”Cheap Cocaine.”
“Everyone thinks its all about partying,” Brandon explains, “but there’s two sides of partying: there’s the good side where you’re like excited and like ‘Yeah! Let’s fucking party!,’ and then there’s the bad part when you party alone in your room and its depressing and fucked up.”
Clearly stoked on the enthusiasm they see from their fans, particularly those who have given themselves stick and poke “FIDLAR” tattoos that three of the four band mates sport, the guys also got into the topic of their younger fans, the ones who idealize FIDLAR’s party ethic, and shared a story of a crazy fan they encountered at Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, TX who was messed up on rum, weed and sizzurp (a mix of prescription-strength cough syrup and soda) among other “weird shit.” They were forced to wait with him for two hours as he tripped out and continued to yell “FIDLAR! I’m so stoked to see you, I love you guys!” After trying and failing to contact his friends/parents and having a cab driver refuse to pick him up out of fear that he would puke in his car, the guys ended up calling an ambulance when the kid actually did he start puking everywhere.
“Its fun to party and its fun to do that shit,” Brandon agrees, “but when you’re like seventeen, don’t, like, OD on the street in Austin.”
Max adds, “Its alright though, I stole all his weed,” as a price for babysitting him and missing the band he came to see at Fun Fun Fest.
FIDLAR is set to play a record release show tonight at The LA Fort, as part of their California tour with Pangea and Oakland’s Meat Market. The release party is the second to last stop on the tour, which culminates on January 25th with an all-ages show Che Café in San Diego. Seventeen years olds, leave your sizzurp at home.
