Fountains of Wayne
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Fountains of Wayne | |
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Background information | |
Origin | New York City, U.S. |
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Years active |
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Past members |
Fountains of Wayne was an American
Schlesinger died of complications from
History
1995–2001: Early years
After
Though Collingwood and Schlesinger shared cowriter credit for all original Fountains of Wayne material, for most of their career together, they wrote their songs separately. In 2005 Collingwood said, "We decided early on, it's better to not have arguments that some bands have where someone might say, 'I wrote 15% of that song,' and try to figure out those numbers. It just seems ridiculous." Schlesinger added, "We just agreed many years ago that if we were to have a band we'd just split the songwriting to avoid having a conversation every time we tried to finish a song. But we really haven't collaborated as writers in years. And that's kind of intentional too because we didn't want it to turn into a thing where people would say, 'Adam's songs are like this...' We wanted the band to have an identity more than we wanted each of us to have an identity in the band."[10]
In 1996, the band released its
In 1999, the band released Utopia Parkway, an album named after a road in Queens, New York. The album was a concept record that dealt with life in modern suburbia. Utopia Parkway was received well by critics, garnering many favorable reviews, and was album of the week in People magazine. The group once again toured extensively behind the album, but frustrations grew between the band and the label. The band was later dropped by Atlantic in late 1999.
The band was inactive for a period of time. Collingwood, in particular, had a difficult time coping with the band being dropped by their label. In 2004 he said, "When we got dropped from Atlantic, it's my fault that it took so long, because I wasn't sure I wanted to keep doing it. At the end of four years of the hardest work I'd ever done in my life, more traveling and being away from my wife the whole time, I had nothing to show for it. I got back home and I had nothing. I was broke, I was demoralized, I was exhausted. I think I just needed a year to recharge my batteries."[11]
Schlesinger cowrote many of the songs for the
2001–2013: Commercial success and breakup
The band reunited to record a cover of
In 2005, the band released
Also in 2005, Robbie Fulks released a song in honor of the band called "Fountains of Wayne Hotline".[15]
In 2006, while on tour in Tokyo, Collingwood had a mental breakdown in which he hadn't slept for four days, experienced hallucinations for two days and didn't believe that he was in Tokyo to play in front of 25,000. The show was cancelled and Collingwood was taken to an emergency department,[16] followed by recovery in a mental hospital after returning to the US.[17]
In 2007, the band released Traffic and Weather, an album which included the song "I-95", which Rolling Stone named #54 of the year's top 100 songs.[18] Collingwood had less involvement during the making of the album due to his struggles with depression and alcoholism, only managing to contribute three songs.[17]
In 2008, Porter released his debut solo album Close to the Sun, a collection of songs he had written and recorded over a period of years in between Fountains of Wayne albums and tours.[19]
In 2009, the band released No Better Place: Live In Chicago, a live concert DVD which included newly recorded acoustic songs.[20] Also that year, they played a short run of full-band acoustic shows where they showcased songs from their forthcoming album.[21]
In 2010, Fountains of Wayne commenced work on their fifth album, which was influenced by the recent acoustic tours they had done. According to Porter, "It's a little bit more introspective and not as loud of a record as the last two. I think that came from the fact that we started last year doing acoustic-based tours because we didn't have a record out. We wanted to get back out on tour and did it stripped-down. Overall it's not as brash or guitar-heavy."[22]
In 2011, the band released
The band toured Sky Full of Holes into 2012. After about a one-year layoff, they played a number of U.S. dates in September and October 2013, on a tour with Soul Asylum and Evan Dando. They also issued one final new track in 2013, "Trucks", written and produced by Sandra Boynton for Boynton's kid-friendly various artists album Frog Trouble. The final Fountains of Wayne show took place in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 19, 2013.
2013–2020: Post-breakup
The band never issued an official announcement that they had broken up, but by 2016 all the members were speaking of Fountains of Wayne in the past tense. Neither Schlesinger nor Collingwood had ruled out a future reunion, but both saw the possibility as remote. "I try never to say never," Collingwood said, "but it's staggering to think of everything that would have to happen for me to want to repeat that experience."[25]
In 2016, Collingwood released what was essentially a solo album that was issued under the group name Look Park. At the time of the album release, he elaborated on Fountains of Wayne's demise by saying, "When we were recording the record before the last Fountains of Wayne record, which was called Traffic and Weather, I didn't really have a whole lot to contribute to that album. I was out to lunch a little bit, mentally, and just drinking too much. And I think that the fact that I sort of removed myself from the process at that point made it really easier for Adam to take over. And when I was ready to actually make another album, you know, several years later after I'd sort of cleaned up my act, it was very difficult. It was very, very hard to get back into the position where we were equals."[26]
Porter and Young joined Schlesinger in 2016 on The Monkees' album Good Times! and again in 2018 on the group's Christmas Party. Schlesinger produced and wrote songs for both albums.
Schlesinger and Collingwood, meanwhile, remained distant. "I don't even know where Adam lives now," Collingwood told an interviewer in 2019.[27]
2020: Death of Schlesinger and reunion
Adam Schlesinger died of complications from
The surviving members of Fountains of Wayne performed together for the first time since 2013 on April 22, 2020, as part of a charity livestream event to raise funding for the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund.[5] The performance was a tribute to Schlesinger, and featured Sharon Van Etten taking his place on bass guitar.[5]
Band members
- Chris Collingwood – lead vocals, keyboards (1995–2013, 2020); rhythm guitar (1997–2013, 2020); lead guitar (1995–1997)
- Adam Schlesinger – bass (1997–2013); keyboards, backing and occasional lead vocals, rhythm guitar (1995–2013); drums (1995–1997); died 2020
- Jody Porter – lead guitar, backing vocals (1997–2013, 2020)
- Brian Young – drums, percussion (1997–2013, 2020)
- Timeline
Discography
Studio albums
- Fountains of Wayne (1996)
- Utopia Parkway (1999)
- Welcome Interstate Managers (2003)
- Traffic and Weather (2007)
- Sky Full of Holes (2011)
References
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Traffic and Weather Review". AllMusic. Retrieved March 31, 2018.
- ^ a b c d "Fountains of Wayne". Sputnik Music. Retrieved September 18, 2020.
- ^ a b Leahey, Andrew. "Fountains of Wayne – Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ Garmon, Jay (April 20, 2012). "The top 10 geek rock artists". TechRepublic.com. Retrieved April 29, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Rettig, James (April 20, 2020). "Fountains Of Wayne Performing With Sharon Van Etten At NJ Benefit Show". Stereogum.com. Retrieved April 20, 2020.
- ^ a b Willman, Chris; Aswad, Jem (April 1, 2020). "Adam Schlesinger, Emmy Winner and Fountains of Wayne Cofounder, Dies of Coronavirus Complications". Variety.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
- ^ "Christmas Finally Ends At Fountains Of Wayne". Roadside America. April 9, 2009. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ Simons, Ted (May 1, 1997). "Wayne's World". Phoenix New Times. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Rashidi, Waleed (April 2007). "Brian Young of Fountains of Wayne". Modern Drummer. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Luerssen, John D. (July 1, 2005). "Fountains of Wayne: Bright Future in Sales". American Songwriter. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Jacobs, Jay S. (January 9, 2004). "Fountains of Wayne: Bright Future in Record Sales". PopEntertainment.com. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Staff, MAGNET (August 8, 2011). "A Conversation With Fountains Of Wayne". Magnet Magazine. Retrieved February 1, 2024.
- ^ Thompson, Stephen (June 6, 2001). "Fountains of Wayne". AV Club. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ "Fountains of Wayne.us". Fountainsofwayne.us. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^ Fulks, Robbie (April 2, 2020). "Adam Schlesinger Celebrated by 'Fountains of Wayne Hotline' Creator Robbie Fulks". Variety.com. Retrieved April 8, 2020.
- ^ Shapiro, Lexi (June 26, 2007). "Fountains of Wayne". They Will Rock You. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ a b Myers, Paul (August 3, 2011). "Fountains of Wayne: Ironic No More". Paste. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Burr, Mike (December 16, 2007). "Rolling Stone slights Rihanna and embraces Newman on 2007 singles". PrefixMag.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2008. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^ "Fountains of Wayne guitarist for solo career". NME. July 23, 2008. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ "Fountains of Wayne: No Better Place - Live in Chicago: Chris Collingwood, Steven M. Gold, Jody Porter, Adam Schlesinger, Brian Young, Joe Thomas, Gregory David: Movies & TV". Amazon.com. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
- ^ "Fountains of Wayne News – Fall '08". Fountains of Wayne. October 18, 2008. Archived from the original on May 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-11-04.
- ^ Souleo (September 14, 2010). "Out of the Shadows, Into the Light: An Interview with Jody Porter". Popmatters. Retrieved January 5, 2019.
- ^ "Lojinx // Fountains of Wayne / Sky Full of Holes album". Lojinx.com. August 2011. Retrieved April 18, 2014.
- ^ Kleinman, David (March 6, 2013). "Fountains of Wayne performs songs from newest release at Sellersville". The Mercury. Retrieved January 9, 2023.
- ^ Lambeth, Sam (April 13, 2016). "Interview: Fountains of Wayne". Louder Than War. Retrieved May 27, 2016.
- ^ Hu, Elise (July 24, 2016). "Fountains of Wayne's Chris Collingwood Returns With New Project 'Look Park'". NPR. Retrieved January 4, 2019.
- ^ Shanahan, Mark (May 23, 2019). "For Fountains of Wayne singer, a liberating new musical landscape". BostonGlobe.com.
External links
- Fountains of Wayne at AllMusic
- Fountains of Wayne discography at MusicBrainz
- Fountains of Wayne interview with Blender
- Fountains of Wayne official webSite