I recently got to meet up with 4 of the 6 members of F.o.N before their show at The Scene on March 14, 2003. Here’s what the guys had to say about the release of their upcoming album, the production of this album, and a new side project.

Lindsay Tredent: So what is the status on your new album Adventures in Boredom? I know it was supposed to come out this past Fall but it still has not come out. What is going on with that?
Yigel Adato: Currently delayed.
Aaron Rubin: Yeah, we’re still currently delayed.		 F.o.N. (picture by Lindsay Tredent)
We just have to redo all the vocals. We’re also looking for another label right now. We were on Doc Hollywood but they ran out of money so we’re either going to wait until they have money or until someone else offers us a deal.

LT: So can you give us an expected release date at this time?
AR: Soon, very soon. Hopefully it will be out by summer because by then the album will be a year old. The album’s been done since last July but then we redid the vocals.
YA: We have two songs left to do on the vocals, but everything else is done.

LT: I heard there is going to be a bonus song on the new album, is this true?
AR: Yeah, I think we’re going to do a bonus song with some very surprised guest vocals by some people.
YA: By some very surprised people (Making fun of Aaron’s comment).
AR: Well, I know for right now we have Scott Russo from Unwritten Law who is going to do a bridge, and we’re working on one more. That would just rock my pants off.

Johnny Tredent: Who produced the album?
AR: Joe Marlett. He’s worked on the last two Blink albums, he engineered on the new Queens of the Stone Age album, and he did work on Foo Fighters.
JT: So he knows a lot when it comes to making records then?
YA: Oh yeah, he’s really really good.
AR: Joe’s super talented and really knows how to make music. We see real eye-to-eye with him, we never have issues or disagreements as to where we want it to go or what we want it to sound like. He just knows we want the big rock drums, big rock guitar, strong vocals, thumping bass and just making everything sound real clear. Not only that but he just has become a really good friend to the band.
JT: Does he really help out a lot with the songs?
AR: Sonically he had more of the say. We just let him go on what he wanted to do sonically like guitar tone wise and he’d do it and we’d just be like “Yeah that’s what we want to hear.” We saw very eye-to-eye with him.
YA: There were parts here and there where he’d be like “Oh dude, that’s gay take it out.” [Laughs]
LT : But for the most part you trusted his opinion?
AR: Yeah, it was a very easy album to make. We weren’t arguing a lot, except for that one incident…
LT: And what was that one incident?
AR: The one incident was one keyboard part in the middle part of a song and he started throwing stuff at me and I started throwing stuff at him, and told me that he’d NEVER listen to that song ever again if we put that keyboard part in. And then a few months later he called me up and he was like “you know what? I really like that keyboard part. I’m glad we kept it.” So that was the one thing, but he stayed at my house the whole time we did the album down here and the whole time we were up in LA we stayed up at his place. We just partied a lot and had a lot of fun. He just became a member of the band, his instrument was the console and it was real cool.

LT: Any plans for a tour to support the new album?
AR: We’re planning on touring in the summer somehow. It’s just really tough to tour with Ilan because he’s still a freshman in high school.
LT: Yeah it must be. So Ilan, how is it balancing the drum thing and going to school? Does it affect your schoolwork?
YA: And the heroine thing…
Ilan Rubin: No. I lost some assignments this week but I’m doing pretty fine.
LT: Are your teachers really understanding about everything?
IR: No I don’t tell them.
Will from Denver Harbor adds in: Yeah you don’t tell them about the heroine!
[Another person backstage heard the conversation]: Wait, the what? What was that? You better talk to your dad dude.

LT: I know a couple of you guys are in a side band, Denver Harbor. Do you guys want to tell us what's going on with that?
AR: Ilan’s playing drums and I’m playing bass. Chris Lewis from Pivit and Will from Fenix Tx are playing guitar.
YA: And I’ve got the harmonica… [not being serious].
LT: Harmonica? Look out!

LT: Because Denver Harbor includes ex members of Fenix TX, do you think this will help this band get more publicity?
AR: It will definitely help for sure cause I think a lot of kids were into Fenix TX I really don’t know what the future of Denver Harbor is, it’s just a new thing so we’re just trying out.
JT: What kind of music is it?
AR: It’s kind of like Fenix TX but its more rockin’. It’s more like the Foo Fighters/Jimmy Eat World kind of music. Tonight’s our first show.

LT: Do you think Denver Harbor will affect your playing in F.o.N.?
AR: No. F.o.N is both of our [Ilan and Aaron] number one priorities and Denver Harbor is a side project. I know for Will and Chris it's their main band, but it's not going to affect our playing in F.o.N. F.o.N is number one for us.

LT: Anything else you would like to say?
YA: Props to the homies.
AR: For the record, we are not bros.
Danny Rubin (who has been silent during the rest of the conversation) adds in: or bras…
AR: We’re not bros or bras, we’re not from north county, we don’t ride in big trucks, and we’re not in fraternities.
IR: Especially me because I’m not old enough.
AR: I think Joel’s a super cool kid and I think he deserves a lot of respect because he’s done a real good thing with that website.
LT: Word. Thanks for your time guys.

http://www.fonland.com
FON interview and pictures by Lindsay Tredent .

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