By Shana Dines
Daily Bruin Reporter
Two bands that share practically nothing in common except their
independent label, Frenchkiss Records, are now on tour together.
Hitting West Hollywood’s Troubadour this Friday, Les Savy Fav
and The Apes will try and merge their two individual sounds to
please West Coast fans.
The indie genre of music is incredibly diverse. It tends to
describe the personality, rather than the style of the band. With
both groups being relatively unknown, Les Savy Fav and The Apes
have small, but devoted fan bases in their respective hometowns of
Brooklyn and Washington, D.C.
It is both bands’ hope that they will find fans on this
side of the Mississippi that can get into their music, like the
Eastern crowds do.
Les Savy Fav was formed at the Rhode Island School of Design and
consists of singer and lyricist Tim Harrington, guitarist Seth
Jabour, bassist Syd Butler and drummer Harrison Haynes. Before they
became musicians, they were visual artists. Starting at a design
school has influenced their music, because they think of their
songs in a more mathematical manner.
“We approach music artistically, we look at time
signatures and structures more as if we were making a painting or
creating a film,” Butler said. “We didn’t go to
music school, so there’s no sort of generic approach to
it.”
Butler described their songwriting as similar to the act of
sketching. He called it a collaboration of all the band members
playing with different sounds and noises. In addition to the artsy
side of their music, the men of Les Savy Fav were also influenced
by the D.C. scene of the ’80s, including bands such as
Fugazi.
The name, Les Savy Fav, is meant to bring about abstract thought
in listeners. Inspired by the name Haagen Dazs, which represents
the taste of ice cream, Les Savy Fav is meant to represent the
experience of their music.
With a very ’80s-reminiscent techno rock feel to it, their
sound is a mixture of raw vocals and straightforward guitars. In
songs that almost sound like messes of children beating on pots and
pans, clarity and order peak out just in time to keep the music
from getting irritating.
Likewise, the band’s attitude to their music is somewhat
paradoxical. Butler sounded slightly mystified himself, as he
verified that they approach their music with a good sense of humor,
but always take it seriously at the same time.
“We just like to have a good show where people are dancing
and enjoying themselves,” Butler said. “We grew up
where bands would perform for you and create something that you can
take home. We try to be like that and create some live chaos and
creativity in a sort of performance-like atmosphere.”
Also bent on creativity, The Apes was a work in progress from
childhood on, as bassist Erick Jackson and drummer Jeff Schmid have
been friends since the age of 10. They met organist Amanda Kleinman
just about five years later, and the three remained friends as they
grew up together. Singer Paul Weil was added to the mix about five
years ago, but fit right into the comfortable dynamic of the
band.
“We’re all sort of on the same page,” Jackson
said. “Not in the sense that we want to sound this way or
that way, but in that we all want to do music.”
The Apes try to include the idea of mystery and sparking
people’s imaginations in their music. Despite the simian
title, Jackson clarified that the band has no particular connection
to any primates. Their music does, however, have a jungle-flavored
tribal sound in many of the songs.
The organ, an unusual addition to rock bands, gives another
dimension to The Apes sound. Though there is a bass guitar on many
of their songs, the organ still offers deeper, more eerie bass
lines.
Inspiration for their lyrics comes from conceptions of images
and stories from everyday life. All being involved in some form of
the arts, the members of The Apes are as concerned with their cover
art as they are with the actual music. The chaotic camouflage
colors on their album match their musical style. By writing about
life experiences and images, they avoid all kinds of political
undertones.
“Political ideas are the one thing I definitely want to
stay as far away from,” Jackson said. “Though the
political stuff is cool, I definitely think it was a low point for
D.C. music, not because musicians voiced opinions, but because it
made people imagine that they had to be a certain way and it
regulated them, even creative wise.”
Creativity is a huge focus for The Apes. In order to keep their
live performances more interesting, they incorporate different
matching outfits at each show, as well as various light aspects and
staging antics. They want to keep themselves entertained as much as
the audiences.