Since the first time I saw Future Islands play nearly two years ago, I wanted to post about them. I have rarely in my life fallen so instantly in love with a band as I have with Future Islands, yet I let their initial performance that I saw pass me by, telling myself I’d get to them as soon as I had another free moment. I tried to start their post many times since then, yet, every time I sat down at my computer thinking I was finally taking care of long overdue business, I found myself lacking an urgent angle to focus on except for my own ever growing love for them as a band. I could have posted a new video of theirs as it appeared, but writing a short essay about a band based solely on that made me feel a bit too eager. Since the initial time I saw them play I’ve caught them at least five times, each time finding myself more and more impressed. Now, after two ridiculously long years of sticking it out in wait for the perfect timely reason to sing my praises, the guys in the band graciously decided do an interview for minorprogression. This is not only a huge honor for our blog, but it is also a rather big deal for me, since Future Islands are one of the most slept on bands making music in this country right now and as you are about to find out, they are also one of the best.

Future Islands are a three piece made up of keyboards, electric bass guitar and vocals. This is a deceptively simple set up. Watching these guys prepare for a set you would never imagine what you are in for. They all appear friendly and mild mannered, down to earth and approachable. You get the feeling they have all been friends for a while. When they start to play however, all bets are off. Their songs are immediate, catchy, and thoughtful. Each one instantly burrowing its way inside your head. Their music alone would be reason enough to check out this band, but their live performance is what sets them over the top. This is especially true in the stage persona of Future Island’s lead singer, Sam Herring. In all the shows that I’ve been to in my life (god I can hear myself as a grandfather already, “In my day Shonny, we lishend to shomethin called indie rock” someone just kill me now) I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lead singer as energizing, frightening or unique as Sam. While the band bangs out dancy and catchy synth and base lines, Sam drags you by the ears straight into the middle of their music. You have no choice but to watch him and to hear him out; a sort of emotional, cartoon, train wreck that you never really know whether to laugh at or cry.

This interview has finally given me the opportunity to ask the band members all of my questions concerning their history and performance style. Sam even answers my question about his stage persona which I feared was maybe something he wanted left a mystery. In the end it turns out that Future Islands are exactly the band that they seem to be before they start playing music; friendly, down to earth and it also turns out, extremely generous of their time and energy.

KEY: Future Islands Are-

Gerrit Welmers – Keys and guitars
William Cashion – Bass
Sam Herring – Vocals
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MP:How long have all of you been making music? What instruments do/can you play? What kind of sounds are you drawn to?

William: I started playing music in middle school and had a little punk band in high school that played around Raleigh, NC. Gerrit, Sam & I started Art Lord & the Self-Portraits in 2003, during our freshman year at East Carolina University. So, we’ve been making music together for about 7 years. I wanted to play keyboards in the band, but ended up being the bassist. Gerrit plays a mean metal guitar and taught himself keyboards during the Art Lord years. As far as bass styles, I’m really into the sounds of New Order, The Strokes, and the Pixies, and I guess I try to go for that kinda vibe when I’m working on bass lines.

Gerrit: I play whatever, but mainly keys and guitars. I enjoy a multitude of sounds. Whatever works with what’s happening.

Sam: 7 years come Valentine’s Day…we had very romantic beginnings. I don’t play any instruments myself, I just play with words. I love a good heartbreaking sound.
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MP: I know that all of you live in Baltimore now, where did you live before moving there? When did Baltimore come into the picture? What do you value about the community and scene in your area? What is important to you about the place in which you work and make music? What is it like being a band in Baltimore in comparison to other cities or places you’ve lived/visited? What scenes happening in the world are you interested in and why?

Gerrit:I moved to Baltimore from Greenville NC. My band mates moved here so I did too. The community is pretty tight and pretty inspiring. The majority of my friends do incredible things with whatever they get their hands on. I can’t say there is something different about being in a band here. I think being in a band is pretty universal no matter where you live as long as you are doing something.

William: We all lived in Greenville, NC for years, and before we moved to Baltimore, I was living in Wendell.
Living in Baltimore gave our band a context – when we lived in NC, we were called “bizarre weirdos” because we played synth-driven dance music in a scene that’s mostly rock bands. When we moved to Baltimore, the first write up we got said we were the serious guys in the back of the classroom taking notes. So, the way people looked at us changed when we moved, I think.

Sam: I was staying in Asheville, North Carolina, the year before I moved to Baltimore. I had just moved to Asheville, when we went on tour and played through Baltimore. Shortly after that, I decided that was where I needed to be. It took another year of planning and working to get the courage up to do it, it helped that William was there when I arrived.
There’s a really friendly and vibrant music scene in Baltimore. It feels good to be a part of it and represent it. There’s a ton of energy from heads and always new bands popping up around town.
I don’t pay too much attention to national or international “scenes.” I don’t really have the time or money to keep in the loop. Most of the scenes I’m into are in cities we’ve been lucky enough to spend some time in. Love me some Chicago, and the Bird Names crew. Love me some Providence, Raleigh, Charleston…
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MP: How did you get involved with Wham City? When did you meet Dan Deacon and how has he influenced or changed choices you have made as a band? Who have been the most enriching artists you’ve worked with and why? Have you ever given mind to any sort of collaboration with any fellow artists? What is it about a collective sensibility that you relate to or value?

William: We met Dan during his first tour in 2004. His tour was six days long (I think), and his Greenville show was the last date of that tour. Art Lord headlined that night and it was a really rad show, everyone was dancing, big turnout, and Dan said it was hands-down the best show of the short tour. After that, he came through Greenville about once (sometimes twice) a month, bringing various friends from Baltimore that he was touring with, and this is how we came to know and love Wham City. Dan definitely influenced us to truly work hard and tour insanely, because he was always on the road back then, and working on some future project. When Art Lord & Dan did a two week tour, he was already mapping out his next tour while we were in the van. We took note of that and have tried to always stay busy and stay on the road as much as possible. He was also our biggest cheerleader as far as moving to Baltimore, always urging us to move up and be a part of the scene.
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MP: Samuel, I think you are one of the greater front men in a band today. Your performance never fails to floor me. When you sing you adopt a sort of manic/animated persona and extremely emotional persona. I went to school for acting and spent a lot of time trying to visualize scenarios in monologues and songs and watching others do this same sort of thing over and over and over again. I have rarely (if ever) seen anyone make such strong choices and be such a rebel rouser at the same time. Your performance always leads to a surprising and exhilarating musical experience. Where did this persona come from? How has it grown or changed over the years? What has inspired it or helped to shape it? What sorts of things do you hope to convey when you sing to a group of people? What do you try to visualize as you tell a story in a song?

Sam: It was born from a character that I once performed under, Locke Ersnt-Frost. He was basically a summation of all the things that I wished that I was: bold, unapologetic, extremely confident, a true genius(ha!) And maybe some lesser more base qualities. Performing in character is great because you can do anything you want onstage and leave it onstage. When we began Future Islands, it was my first time in years being completely unguarded, and was a little intimidating. Luckily, I had already learned what I needed to know…The mic is power. The stage is power. And that it didn’t matter if I spoke in an accent or dressed up or went under a false name, because in the end it was always me.
Over the years, I think I’ve become a much more effective front man. I am much more physical than when I began. I’ve also, mindfully, become less physical in the past year. I’m still trying to find the proper balance. What works in reaching an audience and what detracts? How pushing something to far can seem false, no matter how sincere it is…
A lot of our songs are about my heartbreaks and failures so they come from a very hallowed place for me. Most of the time I really want to make people cry, is that horrible? I want them to dance too! Hopefully, at the same time. A kind of ultimate catharsis, physical and emotional release.
When I perform I try to get back to those feelings that penned the songs. I figure if I can touch those feelings in my mind, I can enact my own release, and therefore have a better chance of reaching an audience. But that’s just me…There are critics of my performance who brush it off as circus sideshow, and then those who are as generous as yourself. I appreciate the latter opinion, but the former makes me work harder and question my movement and its purpose on the stage. Otherwise, I might get too comfortable. I’d rather work for the respect.
These days, I’m myself on the stage. And I do things the way I would want to see them done. I try to perform with power and strength, yet with a greater sense of beauty and fragility. I’m just honored that we can do this and make people happy.
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MP: Do you have any personal, political, spiritual, emotional or other views you specifically try to get across with your music? How do people respond to you when they see you play for the first time? You were all extremely friendly and approachable after the Don Pedro’s show, as you always seem to be when you’re at a gig. Are people usually surprised to see the split from your stage persona to your real life one?

William: I think we try to stay away from any political views with our music. I guess the music is really personal and emotional, but I won’t elaborate on that. Hopefully the music and the lyrics can portray what we’re going for without explanation.
After shows, some people think we are joking – I’ve found that less and less, but early on, people thought it was a joke. I’m not sure if people are surprised by the way we act. We’re just a couple of dudes hanging out in different cities, we’re usually excited if anyone wants to talk to us and include us!

Sam: I don’t like to be preachy to any extent. I think our music hits on a more emotional level, where the value is based in feeling over thought. We more or less want to create an open environment where we can reach people in their hearts, rather than tell them how to use said hearts. I just like working on level of collective sharing, and we share our songs as stories to be felt and heard. They aren’t uncommon stories, they’re things that have happened to everyone, that’s their appeal.
We’re all nice guys. We try to be as open as possible to people at shows. I had a really horrible experience, when I was 15, where I tried to talk to one of my musical idols(at the time) after a show and he just gave me the shove off. I will never forget that, and I’ll do my best to never do that to someone who looks up to us. It’s great to be in an “awesome” band but I think its more important to be a cool person. Gotta give back to the kids!!!
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MP: What would you consider your major influences? Do you like a lot of new music or do you mostly listen to older stuff? Who past or present really gets your wheels turning or your feet moving?

Gerrit:I am very influenced by my friends. I enjoy all types of music as long as it has some sort of catchy melody. Double Dagger gets my wheels turning pretty hard.

William: We’ve all been listening to a lot of OMD, especially the “Dazzle Ships” record. I’ve also really been into Fleetwood Mac and Paul Simon lately, especially “Tango in the Night” and “Graceland”, respectively. Some all time favorite albums are Cocteau Twins’ “Victorialand” and The Cure’s “Disintegration” (close runner-up: “Seventeen Seconds”) As far as new music goes, some bands I’m really into are Double Dagger, Lonnie Walker, Javelin, and Beach House.

Sam: My biggest influences are based in hip-hop, believe it or not. When I first began writing it was poetry and verse. Up until college all I listened to was hip-hop. I think it’s that emotional intensity and story telling that still shines through in my own words and performance. I don’t really know about the underground hip-hop scene these days, but I will always be an early 90′s hip-hop head. East and West alike some of my favorites beats and rhymes.
On the whole, I listen to a lot of older jams. Recently, I discovered some old Fats Waller and fell back in love with jazz. Coltrane! Some of my all-time favorite “bands,” are The Rachels, Morphine, Xiu Xiu, Yo La Tengo….then there are the obvious ones like The Cure, The Smiths, Joy Division, Magnetic Fields…There’s so much though and its hard to come up with new lists when the classics will always be classic.
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MP: I heard a lot of new material at the last show I caught you guys at. What have you been working on that’s new music wise? What can we hope to hear from you in the future? Will our readers out in California get to see you play any time soon? I feel spoiled here on the east coast where all the cities are so close together.

William: We’ve just finished our new full length, “In Evening Air,” with our friend and producer Chester Endersby Gwazda. The plan is that it will be released on May 11th. We will be doing a full US tour shortly after the release of the record, so California can expect us around June 2010. Also, we have a split 7″ with Lonnie Walker that will be coming out on new Baltimore label Friends Records, that will probably be coming out in April, it features an alternate/acoustic version of “Tin Man.”

Sam: With the new album wrapping up we’ve been taking a little break from the road. I’ve got to get surgery, for an injury that I suffered when we were in Paris last summer, and then back on tour. Hopefully, we’ll be out in California by the beginning of summer(sorry its been so long…we miss you!) And there should be even newer jams by that time.
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MP: Where would you prefer us to purchase your music?

William: Please buy stuff from us at shows! It helps us eat food and get gas!

Sam: At one of our shows or at your local record shop. Get to know your local record store clerks, they can teach you so much!

Future Islands requested that I include the title track from their debut full length as an available MP3 for our readers.
I’ve also included one of my personal favorites for good luck.

Future Islands – Wave Like Home

Future Islands – Follow You (Pangea Version)

Thanks so much to all of you guys and good luck with the surgery Sam!