Earlier this week the Fruit Bats called it quits after 13+ years as a band. The term band is used loosely, seeing as the project has always centered around singer-songwriter Eric D. Johnson, who has also played with a number of other projects—most notably The Shins. John released a statement about the groups’ dissolution, saying:
Hey All. So, after 13 years, 5 albums, bunch of tours, and lots of laughs, Fruit Bats is calling it a day. There is no major or dramatic reason – I’m not gonna launch into one of those “the changing face of the music landscape in the digital age,” things. Especially since I don’t even understand any of that stuff. It’s been a long run and time for a change. I’ve been fortunate enough to start scoring movies and producing bands and I’m super excited to continue on with that. Plus I’ll still write songs and make records and play shows, which will scratch any Fruit Bats itch that you’ve got. I mean, Fruit Bats has always ostensibly been a “solo” project, so this is just the start of chapter two, really… But anyway, new music from me still! More on that soon, so please don’t lose touch. This means that these shows next week will be our last (though I think we might plan some kinda epic last gig in Chicago one of these days, but that is to be determined)... So come on out and blow us a kiss goodbye. I know artists always say this but, seriously, thanks for listening, it has been amazing sharing this stuff with you. More to come (from a different angle) soon.
The “shows next week” that Johnson refers to are a series of special gigs in the Pacific Northwest, during which the band will perform their 2003 album Mouthfuls in its entirety. That run will kick off tonight with a performance at Neptune in Seattle, and the shows will now be even more special than fans previously assumed. We spoke with Johnson a couple of weeks ago—before he announced that the Fruit Bats would be folding—about the Mouthfuls shows, The Shins, playing with Bob Weir and Jonathan Wilson, the Complete Last Waltz, making friends with Guster’s Ryan Miller and more.
You’re re-releasing your 2003 album Mouthfuls on vinyl and you’ll be doing a few shows soon in which you’ll be performing the album in its entirety. What made you want to revisit the album in these ways?
It’s a small release and it’s just kind of one of those things. It all came from a fan request. There’s five Fruit Bats records and we had done Echo Location. Mouthfuls was the second album. Those were from the early 2000s, kind of before the hugeness of mp3s. It was still very much about CD releases at that time. Obviously, mp3s were happening during that time, but it wasn’t as much as a thing. It was really before the little bit of a resurgence in vinyl releases. Neither of those got issued on vinyl and I’ve always wanted to have the whole catalog on vinyl.
People especially really wanted Mouthfuls on vinyl. They kept asking me about it. It was sort of closing a chapter on having the whole Fruit Bats catalog on wax, as well as celebrating the 10 year anniversary.
What about those shows? What made you choose Mouthfuls of all your records to perform in its entirety?
I think just to go along with the reissue and go along with ten year anniversary. In a lot of ways I always felt that when we toured on that it was so scrappy. I’d like to think we’ve become a much better live band at this time. We do some of those Mouthfuls songs in new arrangements. It’s really fun. We’ve turned it into this very epic thing.
It’s going to be kind of like the Bob Dylan “Rolling Thunder Revue” in the 70s kind of version of Mouthfuls. It’s like very muscular and big sounding version of the whole record. It’s this Dylan style reinvention into a rock-juggernaut vibe on these folk songs.
Is there any reason why you picked the Pacific Northwest as the region to hold those shows in?
That’s where we live, so it was just easy. We have a strong fan base in big cities, but they’re “islands” for us in a lot of ways. We do fine in New York, Chicago or California. As far as touring goes, I’m not kidding myself to think that we’d be able to do a thirty city tour on this and be able do it the way I wanted, in slightly bigger rooms. We chose close to home, in order to do some things in front of the natural fanbase. I wish we could do more, but this was sort of a mini thing.
You used to play keyboard and guitar with The Shins. That was sort of James Mercer’s project, but Fruit Bats is very much your own. How is leading your own band different than being a member of one?
It’s more or less the obvious things. What I’ve always said with Fruit Bats and with what I’ve seen with James of The Shins who is still a very dear friend, is that when you’re the leader of a band you really absorb all the highs and lows more than if you had a set “band.” It’s even more so when it’s a one man band with a rotating cast of characters You carry the big joys of the small victories stronger than anyone else. But when you get punched in the side it hurts more for you. You’re absorbing everything as one guy.
You paid tribute to The Band last year along with a bunch of other stellar musicians at The Complete Waltz show in San Francisco. You’re bringing that show to the Capitol Theatre on the east coast. What can we expect from the show? What influence, if any has The Band has on you as a musician?
The Band’s has had a huge influence. People’s perspective on The Band is them having these hits. I think the vast majority people think of The Band as this good band from the 70s. Maybe they know they were Dylan’s band. It cannot be stressed their influence on music. When you actually think back to when their records were coming out, it’s just crazy, what they were doing and how ahead of their time they were and how they kind of invented the template for rock in the 70s and beyond. Huge influence on me, I love them.
The Complete Last Waltz is awesome. I’m really excited for people in the northeast to see it. The thing that’s really is cool about is that there are some really great names in the cast of characters who are doing it, but there’s not a huge headliner either. It’s really about the sum of the parts.
It’s a bunch of people really enjoying each other’s company. It was one of the most awesome backstage atmospheres I’ve ever experienced. Everybody’s a fan of each other in that group of people. It’s going to be a lot of the same people returning which will be awesome.
Speaking of influences, I have to ask with Jambands.com, were you a fan of the Grateful Dead growing up?
Yes, and I’m still a huge fan of the Grateful Dead. I got to fulfill a childhood and adulthood dream of playing with Bob Weir last summer, which was totally incredible. I do a small festival in Northern California called the Huichica Music Festival. Jonathan Wilson played who is a friend of mine, who plays with Bobby, who lives in the general neighborhood. Bob showed up and called on the way and said, “Hey this is Bob Weir, I’m coming.” And we were like stoked that he was going to come, and then he said, “Hey would it be cool if I played four tunes.”
He got up and played four tunes. Totally amazing. And then they were doing “Truckin’” and Jonathan who was my buddy was backing up Bobby with his band. Jonathan just saw me in the wings and was like “get out here!” So I just sat down at the keys and got to play keys on “Truckin’” with Bob which was pretty great.
I was just old enough and young enough to come in at the tail end of their career. I did see 15 Dead shows in the early 90s as a teenager.
How about Phish or any jambands that came out of the 90s?
I never got as much into that. For a lot of people my age, I’m 37 now. In the early 90s when I was a teenager and I started to absorb all this music. I think The Dead is defnitely the gateway drug for people and they often to go in a million directions. I’m appreciative of the post-Phish jam world for sure, but it was never really my universe. The Dead spun me off more into becoming a nerdy, psychedelic collector type. Rather than sending me into the jam world, I got into the “deep cut” 60s/70s stuff. So that sort of became my world. I think I have been a would have been more appropriate Deadhead in say 1972. I was Deadhead out of time. I should have been in the 70s.
Going back to The Last Waltz, Sam Cohen of the Yellowbirds was the musical director of the project. I know that the Fruit Bats have toured with Yellowbirds before. What’s your connection with that group?
Sam’s just one of those one degree of separation kind of linchpin guys that not a lot of people out in the world have heard of, but everyone in a band has crossed paths with him. He’s not an old dude or anything, he’s just one of the old souls. Plus, he’s such a sick guitarist. I had run into his old band Apollo Sunshine a couple times back in the day when they were touring.
We had crossed paths a couple of times on the tour circuit. We didn’t get to know each other real well. And then this guy Brian Kantor, who’s the Yellowbirds’ drummer was playing in Vetiver for a while who are my tightest buds. I got to know Brian and then Sam and I got reacquainted through Brian. I did a solo tour of the West Coast this past summer and Yellowbirds backed me up as my band. We are getting to be an interrelated musical family with those guys, which is awesome because they’re amazing.
Speaking of other musical collaborations and connections, I know you’ve also sat in with Guster before, is there a connection with them?
Guster was classic and awesome. Ryan Miller is my really good friend because he was a fan of Fruit Bats and sent me a fan email a while ago maybe ten years ago. It was the nicest thing ever. It was basically like, “I’m in a band called Guster, let’s be friends.” Only Ryan would do that. He’s that kind of dude. I would be so shy to do something like that. Ryan just literally emailed me out of the blue and when he got my email somehow. We ended up hanging out and just totally hit it off. We’ve been good friends ever since.
What’s next for Fruit Bats in the studio and on the road besides the Mouthfuls re-release?
The Mouthfuls release is a smallish thing for this year as a kind of “For Fans Of” thing. If you don’t know the band I don’t know if it’s the best introduction, only if you’re thinking “Wow this band has been around for ten years and I’ve never heard of them.” I’m working on new songs and there will probably be something next year. My next thing might be more of a solo type thing. I’m still formulating that.
