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BROOKLYN ROCKERS: MY BEST FIEND
We communicated by Facebook over shared interests like, art, film, and well you guessed it, music.
My Best Fiend is a 5-piece band named after a 1999 Warner Herzog documentary featuring the late actor Klaus Kinski who veers into madness into madness in the Peruvian jungle. Musically, the band take cues from Gram Parsons and the free flowing jam of Brian Jonestown Massacre.
So here’s my conversation with My Best Fiend’s lead singer, Fred Coldwell. He asked me to correct for any grammatical errors because the Facebook format was throwing him off (there weren’t any), and some replies were edited for concision.
Q) Does Klaus Kinski’s madness inspire you, or Warner Herzog’s calm?
A) I have to say, I find Herzog’s calm to be rather unattainable, so in that sense, I guess it is rather inspirational. I couldn’t imagine having that overwhelming presence. Have you seen the video where he gets shot with a pellet gun during an interview? Even then, he never loses his cool. That’s not to diminish Kinski’s madness of course. But I think I prefer taking a backseat on that ride.
Q) Can I ask you about another film reference, “DIG”, and the madness of Anton Levey of Brian Jonestown Massacre. Is he an inspirational musician or just a mad man?
A) I can’t really speak on his character, as I don’t know him very well. But I am a fan of BJM.
Q) It’s hard to connect with audiences at music festivals, how are you going to overcome this?
A) It might not be as hard as you think to connect with audiences at a festival. I find that people at festivals have a very special energy. They have planned for the event months in advance, taken time off of work, travelled far from home, with the unique and express purpose of digging live music. Sure, the stage size can be intimidating. But you are playing to an audience who have invested themselves just as much as you have into the show. There is lots of potential for truly special moments at festivals like this. The goal is to tap into that potential.
Q) Are you bringing a visual show to Fuji Rock. Fun fact, Akira Kurosawa’s lighting company still does the visuals on the Field of Heaven stage … its quite beautiful and shimmering.
A) I can’t wait to see the Field of Heaven stage. Kurosawa is a unique genius and I am thrilled to see the installation in person. We are still working out the details of our stage setup, it may be cost prohibitive to bring our own lighting. But, as always, we are thinking of ways to put on the best show we can, and lighting is a part of that.
Q) What are you looking forward to in Japan?
A) There is so much I’m looking forward to about going to Japan. I’m not sure how much exploring we will be able to do. The great line up is going to make it hard to venture far from the Fest grounds. Meeting people is always the best thing about traveling. It is a great way to remember just how small the world is and just how much we all have in common.
My Best Fiend play on the Red Marquee early on Saturday afternoon. For more information about the band, check out their official website and their myspace.
