Chicago’s Fauvely have been hard at work, planning tours, going on those tours, and recording videos. Just when you thought they’d hang their collective hat and rest on their laurels for a minute, they’ve got another trick up their sleeve.
The band released a live album earlier this week, featuring three songs off of their May 2019 release, This is What the Living Do (Diversion Records). Recorded at WGN Studios this past spring, the live album features new arrangements and new faces, really setting it apart from their studio album.
Sophie Brochu (guitar/vocals), Dale Price (guitar/vocals), Dave Piscotti (drums), and Scott Cortez (“ghost” guitar) of Fauvely offered us some insight into the release below:
Sophie: What stands out to you guys on these live takes, especially compared to the studio versions?
Dale: A fun thing about these versions is the fact we had six people reacting to each other live. Combined with what they’re playing–especially Mike’s keyboard parts–there’s a very different energy that you can’t always capture in studio overdubs.
Dave: “Good News” sounds so different from the get-go, with the introduction of Mikes’s keyboard parts and Scott’s ghost guitar. There’s definitely a lighter vibe and more colorful landscape being painted from those additions, and by the combination of all six of us playing together.
Scott: The ghost guitar is probably the most stripped-down, bare-bones, minimalist instrument I’ve ever played, it’s basically bowing a bunch of strings on a strip of wood with a piezo. I think the unique attribute is being open to letting an instrument that basic show me what it wants to say.
Dave: Sophie, these songs are often described as “deeply personal.” Which one of these songs, at this point, is the most personal to you?
Sophie: One of the original lyrics for ‘Good News’ was “what if all I am is a waitress?” It was too on-the-nose, but the sentiment remains. It’s sad, but also kind of tongue-in-cheek. ‘Dreams of Mine’ shares the same theme of rejection, shame, inadequacy. Have I convinced you guys that there is no good news?
Dale: Sadly, you’re not the first Sophie to influence my worldview. That would be Sophie Ellis-Bextor, who sang “This is the highlight of your miserable life; a pessimist is never disappointed.”
Dave: After playing with you for over a year, I’ve witnessed you receive good news a number of times. Do you ever feel like a hypocrite?
Sophie: No, because I want and I want and I want and I want.
Dave: Dale, I always felt like one of the key sounds on ‘These Dreams of Mine’ is the very hooky “whale” sounding effect on the chorus. What are you using to get that sound?
Dale: If you smother fuzz in enough ambient reverb, you can make all the mournful whale noises you want!
Sophie: I especially love your fills on that one, Dave. How would you describe your drumming style in three words?
Dave: That might be the first time I’ve been asked that! I guess instinct, pocket, and dynamic.
Sophie: One of my favorite moments of this session is that dissonant sound that happens right at 0:35 on the first track, “What the Living Do.” Scott, do you want to explain what’s happening here?
Scott: I’m bowing harmonics on my ghost guitar thingy, I think.
Dale: Sophie, anyone who’s spent time in the car with you knows you’re a huge fan of John Frusciante. Which one song would you play to turn others to the dark side?
Sophie: “Dark/Light” off of The Empyrean*
Dale: Dave, what’s your earliest memory of drumming or percussion…ing? Do you have an adorable origin story, like clanging on pots and pans in the kitchen as a baby?
Dave: I took my brother’s drums out of storage when I was 8 or 9 and put Stairway to Heaven on (I know, I know). I was able to keep time when the drums started 25 verses in. It felt natural, so I kept playing.
*Top contenders included “Goals” (The DC EP), “Time Tonight” (Curtains), “Chances” (Shadows Collide with People), and “The Will to Death” (The Will to Death).
The live arrangements certainly breathe some new life into these three songs. Hit play below and enjoy just over thirteen minutes of live Fauvely: