For the better part of seven months, Californian based
retro/stoner rock outfit Fu Manchu seemed to be in an indefinite limbo
of inactivity.
After having released their ninth studio release 'Start
The Machine' through DRT Entertainment in September 2004 and having
completed their touring commitments around the globe, the four piece
act (comprising of vocalist/guitarist Scott Hill, guitarist Bob Balch,
bassist Brad Davis and drummer Scott Reeder) for all intents and purposes
locked down in a self imposed hibernation state for an indefinite period.
However, the quartet finally resurfaced with the announcement
of their signing to the Liquor And Poker Music/Century Media Records
label with their almighty return marked with the release of their critically
acclaimed 'Hung Out To Dry' EP in late November 2006.
Fast forward three months later and Fu Manchu have finally
broken their long overdue silence with their tenth album 'We Must Obey'
which is a release that sees the quartet return with every bit of the
promise shown on their EP (and more), with the album leaning heavily
on the fuzz sound of their earlier releases (something that was missing
on some of their latter day releases to some extent), all the while
moving forward in every way.
Relaxing at home in San Clemente (Southern California),
I caught up with the easy going front man Scott Hill to talk about the
band's not so recent change of labels within the last twelve months,
their undying love of Boston New Wave outfit The Cars and their unconscious
return to their former glory with a fuzz heavy sound.
"Yeah, I would agree with you on that. I think one
of the major factors behind the return to that sound is that Balch and
I kind of plugged back into our old fuzz pedals. We kind of distorted
and dirtied up our guitar sounds more and I think that helped make 'We
Must Obey' a lot more aggressive sounding than anything we've done before
- especially compared to the last couple of albums. But the funny thing
is that there really wasn't much thought behind the change in sound.
We never sat there and thought, 'Hey, we have to do some quicker stuff,
or something more aggressive!' This change in sound just simply came
out in us. We all just got together in the one room and kind of play
riffs and saw what happened. We just happened to turn up the speed a
little bit and it just happened to be a little more aggressive sounding.
Personally, I think even the slower stuff sounds more aggressive on
this album!"
While the band's recorded output has been a little disjointed
in recent years, it's the song writing philosophy of 'Whatever happens…
happens!' that Fu Manchu has rarely changed over the years that seems
to have been the main instigator in the return to the band's earlier
sound more than anything.
"We never sit down and plan anything out. It's just
all of us in one room and we'll just play a riff and if the Reeder can
get a cool beat going to it, we'll just keep playing it. We'll then
add another part to it. If it's not working, we'll put it to the back
and move onto something else. We definitely never plan out anything
we're doing. We just see what happens. With this album, I came in with
a lot of the riffs. I would just play the guys the riffs and it's usually
the Reeder that picks it up first. It all just goes from there. We get
the song down how we want it and if it's something we like, then it's
something that we'll keep. It's just the way we've always worked."
Although Fu Manchu's operatus modi has rarely changed
throughout the years, Hill admits that it was his own riff inspiration
that spawned a great bulk of 'We Must Obey'.
"I think that's definitely the case with this album.
I don't know why but I always seemed to be going to practice with all
of these riffs. I remember there was one day of practice where we were
going five hours straight working without a break on the one song. We
just liked it so much. I think it might have been 'Hung Out To Dry'.
We just kept on trying so many other parts, different directions, different
speeds and different tones on the guitar until we got it right. So yeah,
I think with this album, I just kept coming in with a lot of the riffs.
But having said that, it's always a group effort at the end of the day.
We all have our two cents thrown in there somewhere."
While little has changed within Fu Manchu as such, externally
a lot has changed. Following the release of 2004's 'Start The Machine'
on DRT Entertainment, the band resurfaced in 2007 on Liquor And Poker
Music/Century Media Records for 'We Must Obey'.
"2004's 'Start The Machine' was a one off album deal. We did some
touring from that and it was only when we got home that we really started
looking for a new label. We had written three or four new songs and
we went into the studio to record them as demos. We immediately sent
them to Century Media Records because we had talked to them a while
ago and they definitely liked the songs. It was pretty easy for us to
sign with them because we're all fans of the label. From that point
on, we just started working on more songs for the better part of the
last year. The whole deal came around pretty quick."
And from the looks of things, Fu Manchu will be sticking
with the Century Media Records family for a while to come.
"We signed on for a three album deal, and so far
we've been very happy. Century Media Records is definitely a label where
we can call up and talk to anyone there or go to the offices there and
just hang out. So in saying that, so far, things have been really good.
They just kind of let us do what we want to do in the studio and they
only came down to see how things were going toward the end of the mixing
sessions for 'We Must Obey'. They listened to the stuff and were pretty
happy with it. So I guess you could do that so far, it's good."
That sense of remaining independent from outside influences
also influenced the title of their latest album 'We Must Obey'.
"The title 'We Must Obey' is about doing your own
thing. You're going to know what is good for a certain situation you're
in or whatever you're doing. At the end of the day, you know what's
right for you. I think the title and theme has more to do with stuff
in regards to the everyday crap you have to deal with and not necessarily
to do with the album sound or musical direction as such. I definitely
think that with the making of this album, we just kind of wanted to
do it ourselves, including producing it ourselves (with a little assistance
from recorder/mixer/engineer Andrew Alekel). That's the kind of overall
theme of the album. It doesn't really apply to any one certain thing.
It can just apply to any situation you're in. We've gone into the studio
with producers in the past and that's exactly what we wanted to do at
that time. I like doing that sometimes because it's a fifth guy that
isn't in the band and they're someone that can hear stuff that you wouldn't
normally hear. They've always given us plenty of great ideas too. We've
been lucky to work with people that we trust and like. This time, we
just chose to listen to ourselves a little more."
Speaking of producers, I was interested to hear how Hill
now reflects on their previous effort 'Start The Machine', which was
produced by renowned producer Brian Joseph Dobbs.
"I wish it had come out a little more raw sounding.
But having said that, I really like the songs, and I love playing them
live. I wish it had also been put out on vinyl too! (Laughs) I think
it's the only release from us that hasn't been put out on vinyl. When
we heard that there was no vinyl release, we were trying to call some
buddies at smaller labels to see if they wanted to put it out there!
(Laughs) I guess the label just didn't want to put it out on vinyl.
It's sad, because I think the time has long passed to put it out on
vinyl now. We're certainly not doing any more promotion for that album.
But having said that, I would definitely love to see it pressed on vinyl
one day. The album is just under forty minutes, and I think it would
sound really good on vinyl. Everything sounds better on vinyl, but an
album that runs for forty minutes sounds even better on vinyl."
Fu Manchu are no strangers to cover songs (having covered
Black Flag, The Adolescents, Van Halen, Blue Öyster Cult and Devo
amongst others in the past), and 'We Must Obey' is no different, with
The Cars' 'Moving In Stereo' being given the full Fu Manchu makeover.
"We're all fans of The Cars. They're definitely all
of our all time favourites. I remember Balch starting to play the riff
at practice one day and we all thought it sounded great. It had a really
fuzzy sound, tuned all the way down and a little bit slower, and we
all started playing it. It was decided straight away that this would
be a new cover and we had a blast playing it. As for it appearing on
the album, I have to be honest with you when I say that it's a little
weird because I never actually realised how many covers we have down
on albums over the years! (Laughs) There's so many. Especially on the
last few albums! (Laughs) When we were putting the songs together, it
just seemed to fit there. In the end, we just decided to leave it on
there."
While many will recognise the song in the US, it seems
the Europeans are still a little in the dark in regards to The Cars.
"We've been doing a lot of promotion in Europe and
because they're not very familiar with the song, or The Cars for that
matter, 'Moving In Stereo' is one of the most asked about songs on the
new album. When I tell them that it's a cover, they're all confused!
(Laughs) I do believe that if you're going to do a cover of another
band, you need to make it sound like one of your own, or completely
different to the original. And I think we achieved that."
Although never releasing a bad album as such, Fu Manchu
seemed to have reconnected with their core audience with 'We Must Obey',
and Hill has certainly taken notice.
"People seem to dig the album. I think that with
Balch and I plugging back into our fuzz pedals, and getting more of
a raw, dirtied and distorted guitar tone is exactly what people have
wanted to hear. It seems that a lot of people seem to like this album
a lot more than the last couple of albums. So it's a good thing. And
we plan to hit the road to let people know we're back. We plan to tour
the US for around eight weeks, and then head home for a couple of weeks
after that. We'll then be playing Europe for about seven weeks I think.
We'll then head home for a couple more, and then we might do a little
more of the US. Hopefully we'll make it down to Australia again. That's
looking like it'll happen around July or August. Getting back down to
Australia has been one of our goals in the last couple of years and
it looks like it's going to happen this year. Over the next twelve months,
we want everyone to know that Fu Manchu are back, and still going stronger
than ever."
For more information on Fu Manchu, check out - http://www.fu-manchu.com
© Justin Donnelly - justindonnelly@ozemail.com.au
