Fake Problems

On the second day of the 2010 Vans Warped Tour, I tracked down Chris Farren (or more accurately, he patiently waited for me to finish another interview) of Florida’s second-favorite folk punk act Fake Problems. Amidst all the chaos, and directly behind Sum41 and a thousand screaming girls, Farren and I sat down on an abandoned couch backstage at the Shoreline Amphitheater in Mountain View, California to discuss the tour they were about to embark on, their recently recorded new album for SideOneDummy Records, anger management classes and his lucky rabbit’s foot.

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Bobby: Today is the second day of the Vans Warped Tour, are you excited for it?

Chris: Yeah, I’m very excited. There’s a lot of good bands that are on it and I’m very excited for the coming eight weeks.

Bobby: You guys have played it before right?

Chris: We played one show last year to see what it was like and to see if we wanted to do the whole thing.

Bobby: And so what made you decide to do it then?

Chris: We just had a really good time last year and there’s a lot of our friends on this tour. We were able to, this year, rent a bus and share a bus with another band.

Bobby: Which band?

Chris: They’re called Anarbor and we’re also sharing with another guy named Mike Posner.

Bobby: This is a gruelling tour. I mean its 43 cities, 51 days – do you do anything special to prepare yourself for it? Do you bring anything special that you normally wouldn’t bring on another tour?

Chris: There’s a lot of things that we’ve realized that we should’ve packed. Like a dolly to carry all of our equipment across.

Bobby: Reverend Peyton, they went and bought a golf cart to do that.

Chris: Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I read about that.  A lot more sunscreen than normal. A lot less clothes. A tent for your merch which is crazy. There’s just a whole lot of weird things that you have to bring on the Warped Tour that you never have to use in a regular tour setting.

Bobby: Now you guys have famously bad luck when touring – from the fire in Canada, the turkey in Tennessee and you guys even got arrested for trespassing in Sarasota, do you think that bad lucks going to transfer over to Warped Tour or are you hoping it goes a little smoother?

Chris: We’ve been pretty lucky so far this year so I’m hoping it keeps going. I bought a lucky rabbit’s foot and so far everything’s been fine.

Bobby: When you guys got arrested for trespassing I read that you had to go get anger management classes, how did that go?

Chris: It was pretty funny because we were just in a room with a bunch of people that were really mad.[laughs] I think people that get really mad are really funny.

Bobby: Last year, the Warped Tour switched it from two main stages to one where they played forty minutes instead of thirty which kind of made the kids have to walk around and explore the side stages a little bit.

Chris: I think that’s the point. I think the whole point of Warped Tour is so that fans can interact with other bands and find out about the bands.

Bobby: That is the main point of Warped Tour – you go to see three or four bands you really want to see and then walk around and discover some great bands.

Chris: Yeah, exactly.

Bobby: What are some of your favourite Warped Tour discoveries that you just walked around and found?

Chris: Oh, I don’t know.  Well I’ve only been on it for two days so far, so I haven’t really seen anything. I watched a band called Fight Fair the other day and they were really funny to watch. They have a funny stage presence in a good way.

Bobby: Every day there’s sixty to eight bands playing – from Andrew WK to Alkaline Trio.

Chris: I haven’t seen any of the bands on the main stage yet, I’m excited to check that out.

Bobby: Who are you most excited to see?

Chris: Andrew WK. I really want to see him.

Bobby: That seems to be the guy most people want to see.

Chris: Yeah, I actually met him. He came into the studio when we were recording our record. He was doing something else there and I met him and talked to him. It was awesome, he was really nice. I just saw him here today and he remembered.

Bobby: Yeah, I interviewed him last July and then I ran into him yesterday and he’s like “hey, I met you last year in Canada backstage in that old broken down theatre” and I’m like “yep.” That’s a good memory. Do you think it’s good that kids who come here to see like Hey Monday or Fight Fair or someone can end up being introduced to bands like The Bouncing Souls, Adolescents or Fear who’s playing today? Do you think its good that they’re able to be introduced to these older bands.

Chris: Absolutely. I think it’s pretty important that they’re able to know where a lot of bands got their influence from.

Bobby: Warped Tour, lately, has been criticised for their expansion for the Warped Tour sound. What’s your whole take on the argument “the Warped Tour should only be punk bands”?

Chris: I don’t know, I think that’s just kind of ridiculous. Honestly. If you’re just preaching to the choir, it’s just such a rigid way of looking at things. There should always be different types of bands. On a big festival tour like this, I think it’s important to be as diverse as possible and that they book as many diverse bands as possible. Otherwise the kids will just be listening to the same [music]. It’s just so limiting.

Bobby: It enables you to expand your musical palette.

Chris: Exactly, yeah.

Bobby:  Of course with so many bands playing there’s only a limited amount of time that kids have to watch bands and bands set times always overlap which means bands have to go out and fight for an audience. Do you have any plans to go out and convince bands to come out and watch you guys?

Chris: There’s a lot of things you have to do on Warped Tour just to make sure you don’t get lost in the shuffle. We’ve been going out in the lines every morning and we have a sign that says what time we’re playing and we’re selling merch to kind of get our name said and also just passing out flyers that say what time we’re playing. Just try to meet and talk to as many people as possible.

Bobby: Do you think having to flier and meet people kind of reinvigorates the DIY ethics of old punk?

Chris: Yeah, yeah. It’s interesting that you say that because I was weary of that whole thing – going out and flier and everything. But then I thought that when we were playing shows in Naples, I would have to flier for those too so why should this be any different?

Bobby: Just because here you already have the kids, doesn’t mean they’re here to see you.

Chris: Yeah, exactly. They’re specifically here to see music, so it’s just a matter of convincing them to see your band.

Bobby: You guys just got out of the recording studio with Ted Hutt. Do you have any details in terms of release date or anytying?

Chris: We’re hoping to release it in September or sometime in the fall. We recorded from May 10th until the day before we left for Warped Tour. It was a great experience. He’s a really great producer.

Bobby: How did it go? Any cool stories from the recording studio?

Chris: We had a lot of problems just trying to figure out the logistics of it. It all came together at the last minute. We knew we were recording with him a week before from Florida. We said “yes, we’re doing it” and then we just drove straight to California. So that was funny.

We did about two weeks of pre-production which was us talking to him about the songs and trying to get a vision for the record. Then we went into the studio and just laid it all down. It’s our most stripped down, but to me it makes the most impact.

Bobby: With the Warped Tour, you only have thirty minutes to play. How do you balance the new songs you’re trying to build anticipation for and the old songs that you already have?

Chris: It’s a mixture between playing songs that we like to play and playing what we can let people actually leave here with. So we have to play a lot of songs from It’s Great To Be Alive just because we have to get rid of those CDs. So yeah, we’re going to be playing two new songs today. Anytime we go on tour and support another band we usually get a half an hour, so we’re used to just getting our best stuff in there.

Bobby: Now Warped Tour is a punk festival, it’s a music festival but there’s also a unique atmosphere in the crowd. There’s the midget show on this tour, the skate ramp – it’s a very unique atmosphere. How would you describe the atmosphere of Warped Tour?

Chris: It’s great. Like I said, it’s only been two days so far but it’s been a lot of kids having a good time and checking out new bands. A lot of bands having a good time back stage and meeting new people. I’ve heard a thousand people say that, but it’s sort of like Punk Rock Summer Camp.

Bobby: Like you said, all the bands are hanging out backstage, building friendships. Do you think that strengthens the punk community, build friendships and create possible future touring combinations?

Chris: Oh yeah. I hope so. I’d love to go on tour with Andrew WK.

Bobby: Warped Tour is also always a cool place for random collaborations with bands jumping on stage and helping one another out. What would be your dream collaboration to see or take part of?

Chris: Oh man, I would love to sing a song with Andrew WK. I’d love to play with the Bouncing Souls. I love those guys, those guys are really nice. Honestly, I could do anything with any band.

Bobby: Kevin Lyman has always said he wants Warped Tour to be a safe place for kids to come for their first punk concert; so while this may not be their first punk concert it may be their first Warped Tour. Do you have any advice for kids coming to the Warped Tour for the first time?

Chris: Bring sunscreen and don’t be a jerk. [laughs]

Bobby: This is the sixteenth anniversary of the Warped Tour – what are some of your fondest memories of Warped Tour long gone?

Chris: Well I’ve been to two Warped Tours in the past besides the one we played. I saw Glassjaw for the first time – actually the first and only time I’ve ever seen Glassjaw was Warped Tour. And bringing it back to Andrew WK, I saw him in 2003 at Warped Tour and it was one of the best live shows I have ever seen.