Mixtape Atlanta

FUN New Music Video

Check out Fun's new music video for "Walking the Dog" off their debut album Aim and Ignite. Don't miss this must-see and Mixtape Atlanta favorite band when they play The Loft on December 11 with Steel Train.

2009: A Fun Year

As 2009 draws to a close, publications and media outlets are issuing their yearly countdowns of the best and worst of this year’s music and movies. Local Alternative Rock Radio station and X-Mix sponsor, 99x has compiled a list of the Top 9 Alternative Albums of 2009 from their own on-air talent and Atlanta music tastemakers, including Mixtape Atlanta! Check out Kim from Mixtape’s picks for 99x’s Top 9 of 2009.

Want to learn more about Kim's #1 pick of 2009? Check out Mixtape Atlanta's coverage of Fun's recent concert at The Drunken Unicorn here.

Fun at Drunken Unicorn

Hours before Fun took The Drunken Unicorn stage on September 21, there was a line of anxious fans wrapped around the parking lot. Such a sight is normally not seen at the underground club, but is testimony to the band’s impressive popularity. Prior to Fun taking the stage, the sweaty crowd chanted the band’s name and buzzed with anticipation. Once on stage, lead singer Nate Ruess calmed the audience’s volume but not their energy as he softly started singing the opening lyrics to “At Least I’m Not As Sad (As I Used to Be)”. The crowd sang right along with him word for word, and by the time the song’s beat kicked in there was no turning back.

Although founding band mate Jack Antonoff was not present, Fun’s other core members Ruess and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Dost rolled from one song to the next off of their debut album Aim and Ignite. “Not As Sad” transitioned into “I Wanna Be the One” and then the touching but dance igniting “All the Pretty Girls.” After years of touring and performing live with their former groups: The Format and Anathallo, Ruess and Dost had an actively engaging yet relaxed command of their set.

One…or two of the night’s most unexpected surprises came with the inclusion of two Format hits, “The First Single” and “She Doesn’t Get It”. The fact that the endless audience sing-along did not stop during these older songs was another testament to the devout following these musicians have themselves not just from their groups.

By the end of the night, Drunken Unicorn was a foggy sweaty mess from the stage to back wall. Ruess’s encore dedication of “The Gambler” to his father, who was proudly working the merchandise table, was an emotive moment and his passion behind the poignant lyrics touching; it was the only time in the night where the crowd’s endless sing-along should’ve been muted. However, unbashful crowd participation is a rarity at show’s displaying such talent and it was refreshing. Similar to how Kings of Leon are revamping and redefining American rock, Fun has created a unique musical identity that is making pop music cool again.

Check out Mixtape Atlanta’s Fun photos.

Kim Burdges

Interview with Fun's Andrew Dost

Before Fun took the Drunken Unicorn stage in front of a sold out crowd on September 20, Mixtape Atlanta talked with the band’s guitarist, keyboard player, trumpeter, and vocalist Andrew Dost. Fun is currently touring in support of their debut album Aim and Ignite. Stay tuned to Mixtape Atlanta for our coverage of the show.

Have you ever played the Drunken Unicorn before?

Not as Fun, but as Anathallo along time ago with Manchester Orchestra. We are so looking forward to coming back though.

What has the crowd response been like for the show?

The tour has been going really well. It’s been great. The crowd response has been overwhelming, which is a weird word. “Overwhelming” implies passing out or swooning, which isn’t really happening, but close. (laughs)

How does Fun compare to previous collaborations like Anathallo?

It’s really good; it’s not like anything else we’ve done before. It’s been good to work with Nate [Ruess] and Jack [Antonoff]. Anytime you get together to write with different people there are different forms of communication and protocol yet we are able to bring our different ideas together to yield the same result. Different people and different voices are great.

How did the writing and collaboration on Aim and Ignite go? Did you all work on it equally or divide it up?

It varied from song to song. For a lot of songs, Nate would come in with lyrics and a melody and we would go from there. Others started out with nothing and we would just chip away at it maybe starting with Jack on pedal. We were very collaborative.”

Were you conscious of creating a certain feeling or overall theme for the album?

No, which is a contrast from how I’ve done things in the past. Before I’ve done albums, which were very conceptual and thematic, but we really weren’t interested in doing that with this album. We just wanted to put a record out there with the best ten songs we could.

What is our favorite song to perform live?

I really like “Be Calm.” It is difficult to pull off live, but it’s great when we pull it off.

How long was your rehearsal time for the tour?

It all came together pretty quickly. We’re playing with a drummer that we’ve played with before so there was not a lot of preparation.

How is it translating the orchestration of the album into a live performance?

Performing live presents a new sense of challenges, because for example we don’t have a string quartet so we have to kind of abandon that sound and go more rock. It’s a fun puzzle and a challenge we enjoy. We all started in live bands so its fun to recombine songs in a live setting.

What track would you have to include on your ultimate mixtape?

It would have to be “In My Life” by The Beatles. It’s the ultimate song, and it's never been done better.

Kim Burdges