Last Friday marked the one year anniversary of Ezra Furman and the Harpoons' first ever show at Hotung Caf?© (you may remember it, it used to serve sandwiches or something). Looking back at the past year, they have had the kind of success that any band would kill for, especially a college band. With a very distinct, folk-based indie sound ? la Violent Femmes, they were quickly able to expand their appeal beyond the Tufts community. In a short amount of time, the band has gone on tour, recorded two albums and gotten signed to a well respected indie label, all from the comfort of their dorm rooms and during winter vacation.
Some might mistake it for arrogance, but the band has been very nonchalant in the face of all their success. Singer and frontman Ezra Furman sums up the entire first half of the band's existence by saying, "To go on a tour we decided to make an album to have something to sell ...."
The album he is referring to, 2006's "Beat Beat Beat," was recorded in campus dorm rooms last spring, but one could never tell just from listening. Since Furman had been writing songs long before the band formed, they were soon armed with an arsenal of 12 songs ready to be recorded. The album's clarity and seamless production are no different from a professional product for which one might dish out 15 bucks.
First comes the tour, then the record label
Like everything else that's happened to them since, according to Furman, they got connected with their record label as an inadvertent result of their tour. "When we were in Chicago," Ezra said, "[our manager] got these guys from the Chicago record label called Minty Fresh Records to come to the show ... and we gave him a copy of the CD we made, and he just called us a few days after that, saying they wanted to have a record contract, and we were really bewildered."
He later explained the band's shock by saying, "It's just so surprising, we thought we were just frivolously having our rock 'n' roll summer."
In July, the band members returned to their normal lives, trying not to worry about the pressures of being a real, signed band. They could afford to take a step back, too, because they managed to get a very favorable contract that only binds them to two albums, and, as of a month ago, they have already gotten one out of the way.
Harpoons keep on truckin'
For any Harpoons fans out there who think this album will just be a re-packaged version of their old material, well, you are mostly right, but the reality is far more exciting. It is true that of the fourteen songs they recorded in Chicago, eleven appear on "Bang Bang Bang," but, as Furman explains, they "sort of changed into different songs," which seems to be the nature of their style of music, along with their overall attitude, which involves living in the moment and not trying to stay in one place for too long.
The band also had the pleasure of working with producer Brian Deck, whose list of accomplishments include "This Harness Can't Ride Anything" (2006) by Chin Up Chin Up, "Our Endless Numbered Days" (2004) by Iron and Wine, and, most famously, "The Moon and Antarctica" (2000) by Modest Mouse.
The Harpoons weathered the Windy City
The story of how Deck became interested in the band begins with a casual, spur of the moment decision, but may have ended up as one of the defining moments for Furman and the gang.
Furman explained the process. "It was funny, we were talking to him about [how] maybe he was going to do this album and he was like 'I don't know,' and 'I'm not too enthusiastic about it, maybe, I'll see what happens,' and then was like 'I want to see you guys play live,' you know, and see what you're like," Furman said. "So [on a] Thursday [our manager] called us and said pretty much as a joke, 'Do you want to come to Chicago and play on Saturday night for Brian Deck and see if he wants to do the album?' and we're like 'we'll do it!'"
The story doesn't end there, of course, and the weekend drive to Chicago was a bit of a hike for a bunch of Tufts students, especially since many of us often lack the motivation to walk 200 feet to the nearest dining hall.
"In theory it was the stupidest thing ever," Furman said. "I mean we drove so long in this car, and it was a stick shift, and only two of us knew how to drive stick shift ... and then the other thing is, we went to Canada accidentally ... so it took a long time, adding like six hours to our drive; we were in the car for like 24 hours straight ... maybe more."
"And we were just so tired and we just got stuck at the last minute onto this bill, you know. And we played a great show, and he was convinced. He was like 'Oh my gosh, I've definitely got to do this, I'm so into it!' and it was such a triumphant thing," Furman said.
Harpoons' live shows will blow you out of the water
Those who have seen the Harpoons perform know that the live show is really what wins listeners over, partly thanks to Furman's rambling charm and unique stage presence. In order to give the new album some of the power of their live performance, the band recorded everything except for the vocals while in the same room, enabling them to feed off of each other's energy and adding an element which Furman describes as "cool and raw and live."
The band must have already decided on the "raw" aspect, because they agreed to record and mix all fourteen tracks in just six days, or the approximate length of the average Dave Matthews live song.
Don't get too excited, because the album won't be released until sometime in April, after it gains the Minty Fresh seal of approval.
"They told me that it's gonna be all over the place," Furman said, "in Best Buy and stuff ... yeah, Best Buy, Jesus Christ." As Furman implied, the difference between making an album as an excuse to play a few shows over the summer and making an album that is going to be sold next to the Nintendo Wii is a bigger jump than anyone could have expected.
With fame comes cheering, groupies and Best Buy
Best Buy is not exactly the measure of success for the band that seems to be lacking a clear vision for the future amid all of their recent excitement. Furman summed up his neuroses by saying, "whether with a band or alone, when I'm performing I just feel a little bit vain when you've got people cheering and girls come up to you and they're like 'I'm totally gonna be your groupie' and I'm just like, I dunno, I guess some people like that."
"To me it's like you gotta put up with that stuff to do the good stuff, which is making people feel less lonely ...."
Although the band may not have the mindset of rock stars just yet, Furman still holds onto a sense of optimism, however hesitant he may be, that drives him to accept these larger milestones, and to propel his adopted band far past its relatively modest beginnings.
For now, the Harpoons have been offered some amazing opportunities, and if their streak of good fortune continues, they are in line to overstep Guster as that band you are proud to say you went to the same school as.
