Ampersand Sessions: Fake Problems

Melanie and I have been talking about doing a recording project for The Ruckus for a very long time, and we recently saw that idea come to fruition in the form of the newly minted Ampersand Sessions. Our first session was with Fake Problems, which is just about as awesome as you might think. Front man Chris Farren performed two brand new songs for us that evening, and we are 100% biased, but we think they’re both great and that you’ll love them, too.

With special thanks to Chris Farren for making this possible, please enjoy the Ampersand Sessions:

The Making of Ampersand Sessions #1

This September, I traveled out to Florida to visit Mel and see a little band called Fake Problems. You may have heard about them due to the fact that they get an almost daily mention on ye olde blogge. We LOVE this band. If our spirit animal were a band, it would be Fake Problems. As I was planning the trip, and we started talking more about shooting our first acoustic session, it became clear quite quickly that this was where we were to start.

I am totally that person who downloads bootlegs and podcasts and every blog session I can get my hands on because I love the nuances of each performance. I read this recently at Fuel/Friends (via Nick Jaina’s Little Box of Lies) and it really put into words what exactly I’m getting after:

A record is called a ‘record’ because it is supposed to be a document of a performance. It captures a moment or series of moments when certain musicians played music. In one sense, it’s kind of weird to expect any record to be applicable to everyone at any time, as if you could record a phone conversation you had with your friend and always listen to that instead of needing to talk to your friend again.

Collectively, live music is what gets us out of bed in the morning, and it is what keeps us going when we should be too tired to party anymore. Each experience should be a treat and with Fake Problems, it absolutely is. We hope that we have captured a fraction of the moment here.

In what was a very long and very unreal day in which I left Denver at a very unreasonable hour and ended up seeing my favorite band 1500 miles away from home, our recording career got off to the most amazing start possible. We met up with Chris Farren (guitar/vocals- Fakey P) at the Backbooth in Orlando, retrieved an acoustic guitar, and did some searching for the ideal spot. Due to the impending storm, we set up in a stairwell a couple blocks from the venue. The lightning and thunder began almost immediately and can be heard/seen in the recordings. Because I adore those nuances, I feel that those things just added to the momentary nature of the session.

More about the songs

I WAS 16 YEARS OLD

Fake Problems – I Was 16 Years Old

I can’t help but compare this one to Travis’s “20”. It’s a wordy, clever coming of age track, revolving around a number, of course. The thunder rolling in immediately set a melancholy mood and lines like, “Within the confines of potential in my brain / I do believe that I can still change / but I’m more likely to adapt and succumb to the pain of living, insensible truth” cement it. However, it’s the bridge that makes my heart beat a little faster:

Go home and find whoever you love
Go home and thank them for being there
Go home and find whoever you love
And tell them that you care

GET YOUR HOPES UP

Fake Problems – Get Your Hopes Up

I had the refrain for this one stuck in my head all weekend:

I’ve been here before my friend
It comes and goes yeah yeah yeah
I try not to get discouraged
But if I do, I hope it doesn’t show

To me, it’s a song about staying motivated, about being hopeful. I love the way that it ties into day to day life, things that we all experience. It is easier to drink and watch TV instead of creating art. It’s got a bit of an edge to it, keeping it out of sickly-sweet territory. I can’t wait to hear it done in its final form, whether that’s with an electric guitar or just the full band.

SONGS FOR TEENAGERS

[Ed Note: We're presenting "Songs For Teenagers" exclusively as an acoustic mp3 - feel free to download]

Fake Problems – Songs For Teenagers (Ampersand Sessions)

“Songs for Teenagers” is a part of a playlist that I have that is affectionately titled “Depressed and Paranoid”. I was a seriously angsty teenager- hell, I’m an angsty adult. This is one of those tracks that I related to immediately. The pouring rain can be heard in the background, setting the mood for such a sad song. I am incredibly happy that Chris chose this track to play for us. I like knowing that I have a special version of a song that has had such a place in my life.

You can download The Ampersand Sessions: Fake Problems here.