A long time indie favorite, dance floor rockers The Faint have brought us the undeniable truth about American politics and the daily life of the American middle class with a quirky, tongue-in-cheek approach making use of unforgettable lyrics and striking melodies that no one can shake off. I had the opportunity to speak with Todd Fink, the lead singer of The Faint and am truly pleased to share this conversation with our readers.
As kids, what did you all want to be when you “grew up”?
Todd: Hmmmm… well not sure if I wanted to be anything or even had certain aspirations. Kinda sad, I know [laughter]. But I guess as I grew up I wanted to be a professional skater.
How far did you get with skating?
Todd: Right up to being a pro but then I realized that I wanted to take my time with getting better at skating so that I would have a better chance at becoming a pro with a reputable skateboarding company. I did really well in national youth competitions and stuff.
How did the transition from skateboarding to music happen?
Todd: I had surgery for my knee from arthritis, and found out I couldn’t really skate anymore. But from the experience of doing something that I loved, I gained the passion that transferred into music and if I kept doing it just like with skateboarding, I knew that anything was possible.
How did the members of The Faint all meet?
Todd: Well Joel is a skateboard friend and my bro Clark, I had him around all the time to go skating. The three off us were from the skating scene and started the band. The other guys we just met in Omaha and it just so happened that we all went to the same high school.
Did you think that you would be this successful when you all first started out?
Todd: No. I mean, we didn’t really think about it. The only goal that I remember having was a dream to be able to go out and tour different places and know that however amount of people there would be whether big or small, that they knew our music and it happened bigger than we ever expected. At the same time you are convinced by your own humility and it’s hard to really know which one to believe, the numbers of fans responding to the success is almost a mind fuck.
You boys are from Omaha. How has that influenced your music and your individual creativity?
Tood: I’m sure it has, I mean we’ve all been here our whole lives and I’m sure our opinions in which things we have experienced have affected us. There have been good record stores here and venues that are conducive to small bands performing and it’s not like we lose people to Kansas City or anywhere. The closest place is 8 hours to Chicago. So we are just a bunch of people for whatever reason ending up and staying here, so Omaha has a thriving music scene.
I’ve noticed you have evolved as a band since the days of Danse Macabre, Wet From Birth to your current album Fasciinatiion. Was this planned or something more along the lines of a natural progression?
Todd: Well we sort of base it on our opinions about what sounds good and what makes sense. To do changes over time, based on what music we hear, it’s a natural progression for better or for worse. It’s definitely natural.
People in the past have labeled you as the “new new wave” or “dance/punk.” How do you feel about these labels?
Todd: Labels. People love them, but in general we try not to associate with them since they are fads and catch phrases and no matter how cool they are at the time, people invest too much in the actual label and get tired of them over time. We feel like, “listen and decide for yourself.”
If you were to describe The Faint and your music to an outsider, what words would you choose?
Todd: I’ve had to do this on the plane a few times sitting with strangers [laughter]. I guess I’ve said we play electronic rock music before. It’s pretty general. Or I will say we play songs with keyboards – I try to keep it literal.
Who have been your major influences in the music world and are there any current bands/acts that have caught your attention?
Todd: Fugazi has influenced us. But you take different things from different bands, you know. Sonic Youth, The Clash and David Bowie – bands that have good songs that are unmistakably their songs. The band Late of The Pier, they are pretty awesome and from the UK; they have something there that I relate to for sure. We like that French electronic scene. There is a huge explosion of artistic expression there. We were in France and met with Busy P, Sebastian, Kavinsky, Kasper from Justice, etc..
So any prospects of remixes with them?
Todd: Definitely. But we’ll see, we do have some good remixes that are being worked on including with Boys Noize - Alex, he and DIM did a mix together.
Where did you come up with The Faint as your band name?
Todd: It just presented itself. There was no decision; it just was. We didn’t have a name for a while and it was just kinda assigned to us when we did our first show. On the flyer was a Roman Bailer reference, so we kinda considered ourselves as a band without a name until 1997. We knew it was just going to come to us and it did.
Last but not least, what do you guys spend your time doing when not touring or making music?
Todd: Well, I like to make visual art collages and other artistic things. Also I love playing pool, I love learning science, astronomy etc. We are kinda the NPR and stoned cartoon watching kinda of guys – we can’t help it. When we’re not doing band stuff we still hang out.
Thanks so much guys and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys live at your next show!!! When is the next U.S. tour?
Todd: Our next tour in the States is in two weeks and after that in the Spring.
