Chicago’s Fat Night have some news up the sleeves of their gold blazers. On the heels of their “Sweet Nothings” music video release, the quartet took the time to answer some burning questions I had about the band’s history, performing, touring, and–of course–their wardrobe.
Fat Night has been a band since 2013. First off, where’d that name come from? I’d love to hear its origin story.
Dan Hanson: Technically, Fat Night began in 2010. We hadn’t officially started releasing much music until 2013. When we first started getting together to play, it was in a makeshift practice space in a big shed in Nik’s backyard. It was kind of in the middle of nowhere, so we easily got carried away and played pretty late. Whenever we got together the sessions were fueled by greasy food and coffee, so the name plainly reflects the origin of where the sound comes from.
Gabriel Gundacker: I was the last member to join the band, after it already had the name. I would’ve gone with Nik’s Backyard Boys, but alas, I was too late.
You’ve all been friends for a long time. Can you share some of the bands you were in growing up?
DH: Dan was in a rock band called The Broken Inn, Nik was in a live hip hop/jazz group called Mad Sexual Genius, & Gabe and Ted had a group called Eric’s Children, which was renamed DRY when Dan joined as their drummer. Dan, Nik, & Ted were in a silly funk band called The Lovalacious Love Monkeys. Dan & Nik’s bands started dissolving around the time they started writing new material with Ted. It only made sense to invite Gabe along, and that’s when Fat Night became what it is today.
GG: I finally got a respectable keyboard, Nord Stage 2. It allowed me to enter the group. Before that, I was working with a Casio Privia. Not ideal for the sound. No offense to Casio, though, they have some good machines. Privia is not one of them. There I said it.
Though you originally formed the band in Florida, you all relocated to Chicago 2016. Why did you choose to land in Chicago? Was it difficult to coordinate the move between your four members?
DH: Gabe moved there for school in 2013. Ted visited, noticed his back wasn’t constantly sweating, and found work there shortly after. The band continued to write, record, and tour despite the long distance. After some frequent visits, touring, and one off shows in Chicago, Nik & Dan made their way to the city. It was a process, but since the beginning there’s been some element of long distance with a member, or periods away from music for the band, so it wasn’t anything out of the ordinary for us.
GG: I loved Chicago when I moved there. A great honor and signifier of our group mind that Fat Night all loved the city as much as I did.
You’ve just released a new single and video for the track “Sweet Nothings”–I love it, by the way. Is there an album in the works?
GG: Thanks! Yes, we’re wrapping up our next full length album right now. You’ll love it. It’s gonna hit hard with you, specifically. No doubt.
Where did the inspiration for the look of the music video come from?
DH: It started out as a nod to the simple look of Michael Jackson’s “Rock With You” music video. We like the simple, foggy and sparkly vibe that it has. John TerEick took that concept and helped open up a world of different scenarios to go along with it.
GG: The one scene, the pool scene? We shot that at 6 AM in the morning. Pool was very cold. John TerEick’s idea. So, yes, praise to him for some absolute genius ideas. 60 degrees 6AM pool shoot though could’ve used one more stage of workshopping.
How have you grown since your 2013 self-titled debut, Fat Night?
Ted Issen: How haven’t we grown!? Many of the songs on Fat Night were written, performed, and engineered by 20-year olds. I think we have taken more pride in producing a quality and lasting recording, as opposed to just recording a song. You’ll notice many songs on Fat Night sound more or less like retro soul, funk, and R&B, which is gravy! Since then, we’ve become more comfortable incorporating other genres that we love onto a soul backdrop. The singers have also become more comfortable weaving all of their influences into their own signature voice, so that rather than sounding like us playing an Al Green song, or us playing a George Clinton song, new recordings sound distinctly like a Dan song or a Gabe song.
GG: I’m glad we’ve been able to include some of our more esoteric tastes into the new record. Burt Bacharach is on there. Ted and I love Burt, and I believe Nik and Dan do, too. But Ted and I? We love him. And he’s on there loud and clear.
Who are some of your favorite bands to play with in Chicago? What’s one bucket list band that you’d love to play with?
TI: Our first show in Chicago was with a funk band called Nasty Snacks. That was magical. One of our most recent shows was with monster up-and-coming talent, Wyatt Waddell. That was also magical. I won’t rest until we play with my favorite Chicago band, Dos Santos: Anti-Beat Orquesta.
GG: Wyatt is something else. Watch for Wyatt!
Speaking of performing, you’re announcing a December 20th show at Sleeping Village today. How exciting! Have you played Sleeping Village before?
Nik Ritchie: We have never played there, but we’ve seen shows there and love the space, so much so that we shot a music video in it.
GG: We’re looking forward to playing a 6AM show in a 60 degree pool someday soon.
Who else is joining you on the bill?
DH: Valebol, the side project of Vivian McConnell & Daniel Villarreal-Carrillo (both of which are in some of our favorite local bands), and Lane Beckstrom, a very talented bass player who’s stepping into the frontman position for his group.
What’s your favorite song to play live? What can we expect to hear at Sleeping Village?
NR: I’ve always loved playing “On the Run,” the first track off of our EP Lazy Days, because shuffle grooves are so much fun. “Sweet Nothings” is also a blast but requires a ton of focus.
TI: My favorite song to play right now is called: “Special”. It’s not released yet, but it’s dynamic and dancy, and the crowd cannot resist its charms.
We usually don’t know exactly what we’re going to play at a show until a few days before, or sometimes the day of, because we’re crazy! You can expect NOTHING!
GG: I do love “Sun Go Down.” It’s so simple, and very satisfying to have all of us singing together, one of the first tracks where we decided to go three-part. And we end it with a great transition into one of my all time favorite EWF songs. Which one? Come to Sleeping Village and find out, is what I always say!
Regarding your attire at Sleeping Village–will you be taking any cues from the “Sweet Nothings” video? Please tell me you are.
NR: We might have some turtlenecks up our sleeves…
GG: We might have some sleeves on our turtlenecks as well…
Have you toured or played outside of Chicago? I’m curious what your favorite city to visit or play in is.
NR: Most of our touring has been around the southeast, east coast, and midwest up until this year when we unexpectedly got the opportunity to play in Europe. We followed that up with our first run through California, which we had been wanting to do for a long time.
GG: Nothing like touring the world and eating their food, but personally I liked playing in Los Angeles, because I live there and after the show I got to sleep in my bed. Always a treat.
You did your first European tour this past summer. Tell me more about that–how were you received? How are shows different in Europe as compared to the States? Did you eat any weird food? Did you have time to explore the cities you were in, or did you have a pretty tight schedule?
NR: The reception was incredible. Our first show was in London, the only date of the tour that we booked ourselves, and it sold out, which was surreal. We made a lot of new friends and fans at North Sea Jazz Fest and got to creep around some of our favorite artists. What a trip!
NR: The biggest difference that comes to mind between playing in Europe vs. the States is the fact that in Europe, most venues/festivals/promoters would make sure we had a wonderful, healthy meal and a comfortable room, and would follow up the next day to make sure we enjoyed said meal and room, whereas in the U.S. we would be more likely to buy fried chicken sandwiches before a show and stay in a bizarre Air BnB, which is also a lot of fun.
NR: No weird food to speak of, just fresh, beautiful meats, cheeses, and vegetables!
NR: We had a pretty tight schedule for the most part, but we gave ourselves a couple days of vacation in Amsterdam after the tour, which was amazing.
GG: Europe with these boys is Europe like no other. Traveling looks good on us. Fanny packs and all!
The four of you have been in the band since the very beginning, with no major line-up changes. What’s your secret to sticking it out? 😉
TI: We know we have something once-in-a-lifetime (shout out to Talking Heads) level of special between the four of us, so we have made it a priority to do whatever we can to make it work. I think it all boils down to that- we are too motivated by our chemistry and potential to let logistical and personal roadblocks keep us from rocking. We have even improved our communications and conflict resolution skills for each other, which I think is very neat!
GG: To really master a sound, you have to be vibing off people you understand, and our friendship is real. These guys are some of the funniest and most talented people I know. Our similar tastes go beyond music into movies, art and beer preference. It makes it a lot easier to come up with a sound when you know and respect how the other people in your group think.
Find your bulkiest turtleneck and join Fat Night at their upcoming Sleeping Village show on December 20th. RSVP here, and pick up tickets here. In the meantime, grab some greasy food, get comfortable, and brush up on all things Fat Night below.
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