Fancy Gap - Craziest. Collab. Ever.
Craziest. Collab. Ever.
Stu McLamb and Charles Crossingham of Fancy Gap, share the secrets behind their incredible album and how it became like the musical "Brady Bunch".
During the summer of 2020, when the world was in lockdown, Stu and Charles found themselves with a unique opportunity.
They decided to reach out to some of their musical heroes, including Sharon Van Etten, Adam Lazzara of Taking Back Sunday, and Rami Jaffee of the Foo Fighters.
To their surprise, these renowned artists added their artistry collaboration...
...and the result was a stunning debut album that has been hailed as a modern Americana masterpiece.
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How did they pull it off?
What was it like working with such iconic figures?
What's next for this dynamic duo? Listen and find out...
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You'll Also Discover:
How to Turn Isolation into Inspiration
The Strategy Behind Their Dream Collaborations
Why Fancy Gap Chose Their Unique Name
A Step to Balancing Accessibility and Artistry
The Surprising Truth About Their Next Album
=> Have you checked out their album yet?
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Learn more about Fancy Gap now: https://fancygap.com/
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Transcript
My dreams were always falling down.
Speaker A:It was getting too loud.
Speaker A:I was drowning it out.
Speaker A:I always said I don't do it well.
Speaker B:I made a record with my best friend.
Speaker B:The power of two people believing in something is literally ten times more powerful than one person.
Speaker C:I think we just want to keep creating.
Speaker C:I think that's probably the most satisfaction we get out of it.
Speaker C:Would you agree?
Speaker C:Charles is just that, even before Craig gets his hands on the mix.
Speaker C:But when it's just our little demos tracked and we've made a new little baby.
Speaker D:Americana music transforms the world and unfortunately, too many are unaware of its profound impact.
Speaker D:Americana musicians are the unsung heroes and here you'll join us in exploring these passionate artists and how they offer inspiration and hope for the future.
Speaker D:This show makes it happen in a fun and entertaining way.
Speaker D:You'll discover new music that you'll love.
Speaker D:Hard earned lessons from the road, the story behind favorite songs, a big dose of inspiration for you and your friends, and a good laugh along the way.
Speaker D:I'm Ben Fannink and my co host is Zach Schultz.
Speaker D:It's time to get Americana Curious.
Speaker E:Hey there everybody.
Speaker E:Welcome back to Americana Curious.
Speaker E:Today we have for you somebody truly special.
Speaker E:It is Stuart McGlam and Charles Crossingham, a duo from Raleigh, North Carolina who found inspiration in the Virginia mounds during the pandemic, crafting a self titled debut that's been hailed as lush, dreamy.
Speaker E:A lush and dreamy journey by Excess Noise, y'all.
Speaker E:It is the band no other than Fancy Gap.
Speaker E:And if you have not heard them, you are in for a treat today.
Speaker E:Blending country rock in India with powerful songwriting.
Speaker E:Fancy Gaps album features collaborations with Sharon Van Etten and Adam Lasaro from Taking Back Sunday and explores life's complexities with raw honesty.
Speaker E:Fancy Gap has quickly established themselves as a captivating force in modern Americana, in modern Americana music.
Speaker E:Let's get curious with Fancy Gap.
Speaker E:Welcome, fellas.
Speaker B:How's it going?
Speaker B:Thank you for having us.
Speaker E:Going well and a lot better.
Speaker E:The fact that you two are with us today.
Speaker E:We.
Speaker E:Zach turned me on to you guys a few months ago and it's been playing a lot in the household.
Speaker E:We've been talking about this interview for a while and we understand that your album Fancy Gap is a lot like the Brady Bunch.
Speaker E:Tell us a bit more about why that is.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean, on one end it's just the two of us in the photos and it was our.
Speaker C:Our dream that we sort of spawned up, but there's just been a crazy diverse group of musicians and talents that have come into the fold to help make it what it is.
Speaker C:I feel like if you were to glance over our bio, you know, there's some surprising names to see together.
Speaker C:Adam Lazzara from Taking Back Sunday to Craig Alvin, who worked on Casey Musgraves albums, engineered and produced, and Sharon Van Etten Rami from the Foo Fighters and the Wallflower.
Speaker C:So there's all these big names, and it's.
Speaker C:A lot of people are probably scratching their heads.
Speaker C:It's like, how did y'all come out?
Speaker E:Brady Bunch?
Speaker C:Yeah, how'd you come out of nowhere?
Speaker C:And who are these.
Speaker C:These names attached?
Speaker C:And they were just all really organic relationships we'd made over the years.
Speaker C: their thumbs during summer of: Speaker C:To lend their talents to the record.
Speaker C:So we caught him at a great time when things were kind of slow.
Speaker C:So it really lucked out in our favor.
Speaker E:What was one of the surprising aspects of deal working with these folks or contacting them?
Speaker E:Did you like a chance meeting?
Speaker E:Were you just dropping into their DMS or something?
Speaker E:On that line, it's like, hey, I've got a band called Fancy Gap.
Speaker E:We don't have an album yet.
Speaker E:We've got one.
Speaker E:We'd like you to sing on it.
Speaker B:It was during a time when the world had shut down.
Speaker B:And I feel like a lot of people were obviously feeling very pessimistic and just like, what the hell is going on here?
Speaker B:And somehow Stu and I were able to be like, hey, let's.
Speaker B:Let's keep it positive.
Speaker B:Let's make something to look back on this time and say, hey, well, when the world stopped, that's what we did.
Speaker B:And I think that that that energy was a little bit.
Speaker C:It was.
Speaker B:It was super welcomed by all of the artists that we were talking to during that time, because I think every, you know, no one had the answers.
Speaker B:20, 20, 20, 21.
Speaker B:And so when we started just writing songs that we believed in and sharing them, I think it got people going, oh, yeah, the world is going to start back.
Speaker B:This is, you know, turn off the Netflix.
Speaker B:Like, let's.
Speaker B:Let's create something.
Speaker B:And so the first, like, I'd say the first great collaborative collaborator of this record was Rami Jaffee.
Speaker B:And we just finished up Diamond Cutter, and it just really needed sort of like sonic butter, you know, just like something to just kind of melt all over the whole thing.
Speaker B:And I had met him in a guitar shop like 12 years before.
Speaker C:And Harry's in Raleigh, where Charles worked at the time.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Harry's Guitar shop in Raleigh.
Speaker B:And he came in.
Speaker B:He was on tour with the Wallflowers.
Speaker B:And he came in with Eric Clapton's band and.
Speaker E:Good eye.
Speaker B:So they're all there.
Speaker B:They're like, cool as hell.
Speaker B:And I'm just like, this young guy, and I'm like, hey, man, I'm not gonna be able to let y'all leave without jamming.
Speaker B:Like, we just have to.
Speaker B:We have to jam.
Speaker B:And so we all just had a wonderful jam, you know, Just started playing some ditties, and next thing you know, it's just this awesome afternoon.
Speaker B:And so they were leaving somehow.
Speaker B:They were all on bicycles.
Speaker B:I don't know how this happened.
Speaker B:They're all on bikes going back to the Coliseum.
Speaker B:And I was a huge Wallflowers fan, and I just said, hey, Rami, you know, if you give me your information, I promise you I will never call you until I have something worth you playing on.
Speaker B:And 12 years later, we're sitting on the mountains.
Speaker B:I just finished Diamond Cutter.
Speaker B:We tell this because we didn't have cell phone service, so we had walked to the edge of the mountain.
Speaker B:Get this file to send.
Speaker B:Holding our.
Speaker B:So we sent Rami.
Speaker B:Diamond Cutter.
Speaker C:Little Engine that Could is like, this whole record.
Speaker B:But, yeah, yeah, we get to the edge, and we were waiting for it to go through.
Speaker B:We forget it's sending, and.
Speaker B:And we were just chilling there for a second, and like, 10 minutes later, I swear, my phone just dings, and it's Robin.
Speaker B:He's like, man, I love this song.
Speaker B:He's like, I'll have you something back later tonight.
Speaker C:Blown away.
Speaker A:Take the weekend ball on a new friend.
Speaker A:You never knew how I talk to you how you did, too.
Speaker B:And so that was sort of like the beginning of oh, wow.
Speaker B:It made us believe in it a lot more.
Speaker B:The fact that he loved it made us just really proud.
Speaker B:And then we started being like, hey, let's finish up some more.
Speaker B:And I think he played on every song but one on the.
Speaker B:I mean, he's.
Speaker B:He played on, like, 15 songs.
Speaker B:I mean, he's just, oh, wow.
Speaker F:I love that mentality.
Speaker F:Another band from Raleigh, North Carolina, took that approach during COVID where a lot of people were just kind of laying back, waiting for stuff to open up.
Speaker E:We're talking.
Speaker F:BJ Barham told us this from American Aquarium.
Speaker F:You guys went out and made something of it.
Speaker F:BJ released, like, five albums during the COVID while everybody else was.
Speaker F:You know, laying low.
Speaker F:So.
Speaker F:But I want to hear about this Fancy Gap area of Virginia and how we ended up locked in this cabin, which Charles is in the cabin right now, which is super cool.
Speaker F:And how did you find inspiration out of this Fancy Gap area?
Speaker F:They even named the band Fancy Gap.
Speaker C:Charles and eyes our relationship really.
Speaker C: ess it was around December of: Speaker C:I was living in Los Angeles at the time and I had come back and there's a lot to get into.
Speaker C:But long story short, we.
Speaker C:We sort of reconnected and we tracked a song together and started making plans to.
Speaker C:To work on a Love Language record, which was my.
Speaker C:My old band.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:My old project.
Speaker C:And those conversations, the sort of looming pandemic coming in.
Speaker C:A lot of really just great conversations we had on the phone while I was.
Speaker C:I was back in la and him and Raleigh just sort of.
Speaker C:It led me to be like, dude, I'm just going to move back.
Speaker C:Like, I'm feeling a real pull, like a positive thing in this.
Speaker C:And you know me, like, probably a lot of people who pick up and move to the big city, you're like, what the hell am I actually doing here?
Speaker C:I'm never going to.
Speaker C:I'm never going to own anything in this, in this crazy, expensive city.
Speaker C:And I was like, I'm going to get back to my roots.
Speaker C:And so I get back, Pandemic hits and Charles is like, well, I've got this cabin out in Fancy Gap.
Speaker C:You got to see this place.
Speaker C:I don't think I'd even heard of Fancy Gap, which is.
Speaker C:It's just north of Mount Airy.
Speaker C:And I've been to Mount Airy and heard of that, but it's like the, the foothills kind of just turn into the mountains.
Speaker C:It's like, it seems like a 10 minute drive.
Speaker C:And all of a sudden you're like, what the hell?
Speaker C:I'm in the mountains and it's a beautiful place.
Speaker C:And he'd hyped it up.
Speaker C:He's like, I really think this is the place we need to go.
Speaker C:Then these first few months of the pandemic, navigating things, kind of freaking out.
Speaker C:Took me a little bit to actually get up there and see it.
Speaker C:And I got up there and it just really clicked.
Speaker C:It was like all of a sudden you could just.
Speaker C:You feel like the temperature change, you know, when you get to the mountains and you can feel sort of like a stress temperature when you get up there.
Speaker C:I swear, I mean, Raleigh's grown a lot and there's just something when you get out there.
Speaker C:You're, you know, your cell phone doesn't work that great.
Speaker C:The WI fi is tricky, but it's.
Speaker C:You're kind of worried about it at first and then you're like, this is starting to feel like this is what.
Speaker E:The 90s are like.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:Centered and.
Speaker C:And he was right.
Speaker C:It was just a really great place to work.
Speaker C:We were fortunate, of course, you know, respect all kinds of.
Speaker C:Especially musicians these days.
Speaker C:There's a lot of work, you know, involved in it.
Speaker C:But we were sort of in this time.
Speaker C:I was actually like semi homeless.
Speaker C:I had my parents thankfully, but I had moved back.
Speaker C:Everything shut down.
Speaker C:So it was just.
Speaker C:I was sort of a crazy time.
Speaker C:And we were fortunate in a position to have a lot of free time and a lot of people did, but so we just started that just really kick started all these, these tunes and this relationship of writing together.
Speaker C:We went through a long, you know, it started with as a Love Language record and it.
Speaker F:Yeah.
Speaker F:I was gonna ask how was there a moment where you knew it shifted from this Love Language record that you're gonna make and how he's kind of.
Speaker F:Charles is just kind of mentoring him and you.
Speaker F:Right.
Speaker F:You just kind of wanted him to hear some of it.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker C:And yeah, when it first started, Charles was just like, I've listened to your.
Speaker C:Your record.
Speaker C:You know, I trusted him a lot leading up to this to, to do it.
Speaker C:It was less than just like a DM or something.
Speaker C:We'd had all these conversations and really hit it off.
Speaker C:And he.
Speaker C:His first thing was I've listened to your records and some of my favorite are the ones you did on your own.
Speaker C:Just get up there.
Speaker C:I don't.
Speaker C:No input.
Speaker C:It was like Rick Rubin style.
Speaker C:It's like, just go create, you know, we'll talk later.
Speaker C:And then I think a few ideas spawned from that.
Speaker C:And there was also like hitting some walls and he's finally got.
Speaker C:Given me some feedback and then.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think I brought the first couple started with like some feedback from him.
Speaker C:But then we just started to hit some real magic when I hit a wall and I was just like, I let's.
Speaker C:I don't know, I'm.
Speaker C:I'm out of ideas.
Speaker C:And he came in and we just started writing together and I think, I think that's when we really.
Speaker C:Yeah, it wasn't a big planned out thing also.
Speaker C:I was just like, hey, we're writing cool tunes together.
Speaker C:Is this a Love Language record?
Speaker C:You know, and probably the first conversation was like, yeah man, I'll give you publishing or whatever.
Speaker C:And then it was just like, wait, is this like different?
Speaker C:You know, and.
Speaker C:And it was just a very natural progression to that.
Speaker C:And I guess.
Speaker C:But leading back to the original question is when we, you know, there was times where some of these songs were thought to be love, going to be love language songs.
Speaker C:And then I remember for a while we.
Speaker C:We're going to name the record Starlight Motel, which we have a song by the same name that's not on the record but was on a compilation.
Speaker C:But I feel like we, we went through all these band name ideas and we kept.
Speaker C:We'd love one and then we'd Google it and there'd be, you know, our good friend Shaw Nolan, who's knowledgeable entertainment lawyer.
Speaker C:He was like, if the band name exists, a flyer or anywhere on that, you got to find a new they, they could, they could sue.
Speaker C:And you know, a lot of bands and anyone trying to copyright something these days deals with that.
Speaker C:But we were just, we were getting all these names.
Speaker C:We were like, what the hell?
Speaker C:And Charles just like, why don't we just call it Fancy Gap?
Speaker C:And we like kind of as a joke and then it was just like kind of.
Speaker C:I kind of like that, you know.
Speaker C:And.
Speaker C:Yeah, and it just stuck.
Speaker C:I think the last two, the last two it came down to.
Speaker C:I might show our hand here a little bit.
Speaker C:But there was.
Speaker C:There's a place called Pilot Mountain up the road and that was like kind of.
Speaker C:We're like kind of cool sounding Pilot Mountain.
Speaker C:And you know, we, we'd be asking our friends and a lot of them would be like, don't name it Fancy App.
Speaker C:It's like weird sounding.
Speaker C:I don't know that we had like.
Speaker C:Some people were like really against it and I think we liked that because it was getting like.
Speaker B:People were super against it.
Speaker B:It was really.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:Which fan names are funny?
Speaker C:They matter a lot.
Speaker C:Until you just pick one.
Speaker C:It's probably like Damon, your kid or your dog, right?
Speaker F:I was so intrigued with the first time I heard Fancy Gap.
Speaker F:I was like, what the hell is a Fancy Gap.
Speaker E:Of the town of.
Speaker E:Why it was called Fancy Gap in the first place.
Speaker B:I actually do know this.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker B:And so to.
Speaker B:To describe the geography a little bit.
Speaker B:It's not like you're going straight and then there's a mountain and you go over it and that's Fancy Gap.
Speaker B:Fancy Gap is like there's a continental shift.
Speaker B:So like you're going up a mountain but you stay there.
Speaker B:So it's like the Highlands or something after that.
Speaker B: Like it's it's like a: Speaker B:And so you get a lot of nature, whether it's the wind, the rain, the clouds hitting it, animals traveling through.
Speaker B:We were making the record and my dog attacked a bear.
Speaker F:Your dog attacked the bear?
Speaker B:We were walking and a bear came up and our bear ran off.
Speaker E:He was like, could have called the band Barrett.
Speaker E:But then, yeah, probably take it.
Speaker C:It's probably taken honestly.
Speaker E:So is this little.
Speaker E:This is this little village, like, I'm assuming there's not a lot there, right?
Speaker E:There's this.
Speaker C:We joke that the downtown is the Dollar General.
Speaker C:I mean, it's small.
Speaker C:It's like there's.
Speaker C:There's no proper downtown.
Speaker C:It's a.
Speaker C:It's a.
Speaker C:I think it's called Designated census.
Speaker C:Designated trading post.
Speaker C:Not even technically a town, really.
Speaker B:There's cops or sheriffs or.
Speaker B:It's like the Wild west, sort of.
Speaker B:And we were.
Speaker B:We were thriving in that kind of environment.
Speaker E:What happens in Fancy Gap stays in Fancy G.
Speaker E:Yes, that's what I'm.
Speaker E:I've heard a quote that, actually, I've already read that you guys describe your collaboration as brothers from another mother, but also mentioned that you, quote, fought like the Gallagher brothers.
Speaker F:Oh, that's Oasis.
Speaker E:So we know how that turned out.
Speaker E:I'll do the right together instance where like this tension, maybe during the album, maybe it's been on the stage, but this tension between you two is really brought something special to.
Speaker E:To the experience.
Speaker C:Well, I think like any good relationship or cut you off.
Speaker C:I don't want to cut you off.
Speaker C:I'm sorry, honey.
Speaker B:I'm used to.
Speaker B:I was good.
Speaker B:Yeah, like that.
Speaker B:I've never felt any live tension.
Speaker B:It was only when we were making the album because I think our standard was the same.
Speaker B:So we were obsessed.
Speaker B:I mean, it was like it's 30 some minutes, but we did not waste a second.
Speaker B:And like, it felt like we were making life changing decisions for us.
Speaker B:And so we took it really seriously.
Speaker B:And the fighting, I think, came up.
Speaker B:Whoops, sorry about that.
Speaker B:It came up with, like, it's hard to go from like, so serious about art and in the zone and in the mountains and then like back to dinner with your girl, you know, like, it's hard to pivot sometimes.
Speaker B:Super focused, obsessed back to normal.
Speaker B:And I think sometimes we struggled with coming down the mountain, you know what I mean?
Speaker E:Like, so coming off being having that intense, that intense creative process, but then, hey, let's just talk about Atlanta Braves baseball or yeah.
Speaker C:And I mean, I think we're both very opinionated and able to voice our opinions and strong willed.
Speaker C:What's the other word?
Speaker C:Stubborn people.
Speaker C:But I also think that those sometimes make the best relationships in a lot of ways, because then it's sort of lopsided, you know, if.
Speaker C:If one of us was just yes man or something.
Speaker C:And so, you know, I think that we've learned through the years.
Speaker C:I know I have.
Speaker C:That I find it healthy.
Speaker C:Some of the headbutting when it comes to songwriting and, you know, the little daily decisions you make as a band is that I find our.
Speaker C:Some of the things I'm most proud of are things that we really.
Speaker C:Charles tugged on me, I tugged on him, and we ended up with something neither of us were.
Speaker C:Knew we were looking for.
Speaker E:What's that?
Speaker E:What's one of those.
Speaker E:Where you had the tug of war, then came out with something that.
Speaker C:I mean, 40, 000 miles is.
Speaker C:Is.
Speaker C:That song is probably my favorite on the record stuff.
Speaker C:100 my favorite play live.
Speaker C:It just.
Speaker C:We love all these songs, but there's a little bit that feels like it elevates when we.
Speaker C:When we play that live.
Speaker C:And that was a.
Speaker C:It's really started with Charles had that little opening riff.
Speaker C:So I mean, it.
Speaker C:There were so many little arguments.
Speaker C:He played it in G.
Speaker C:I couldn't sing it.
Speaker C:Like, the melody I'd come up with was way too high in.
Speaker C:In that key.
Speaker C:And I tried to.
Speaker C:Had a version where I was like, I'm working on it.
Speaker C:And whatever it was, he's like, that is not how that you play that riff well.
Speaker C:So then we.
Speaker C:We figure, okay, I'm gonna.
Speaker C:I'm gonna tune the guitar down a whole step.
Speaker E:Okay.
Speaker C:So I can still play it.
Speaker C:And it was still really hard to sing, but it sounded great.
Speaker C:But that.
Speaker C:And then I gave up on it or got frustrated.
Speaker C:I mean, that one took a long time to really come together, and Charles just kept fighting for it.
Speaker C:And I was like, I don't know what you hear and that it's a simple riff.
Speaker C:I mean, I get it.
Speaker C:There's something good.
Speaker C:He's like, keep.
Speaker C:Keep pressing.
Speaker C:And we got to keep pressing on it.
Speaker C:And then, yeah, it was just a lot of back and forth.
Speaker C:There was a lot of arguments over that song.
Speaker C:But then when it finally all came together, Charles put this ripping solo on the end as the core.
Speaker C:I mean, there was just.
Speaker C:That one.
Speaker C:Just was like.
Speaker C:A lot of times you hear, like, the best songs are written really quickly, and I believe that a lot to an extent, but this one just proved it was just sort of like all this sort of back and forth work that made something that I think is really special.
Speaker A:Turtw beside the ocean Watch the waves come crashing down all in slow motion I can tell you but you already I know it's true your heart is mine but every time I try to get to you I lose.
Speaker C:I just.
Speaker A:Get the blue light on our backs on the tracks Watching the vultures fly.
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker F:Great song.
Speaker B:Thank you so much.
Speaker F:If you had to describe your.
Speaker F:The fancy gap sound in three words to somebody that doesn't know what would.
Speaker F:What would it be?
Speaker B:Triumphant anthem.
Speaker B:Or for me at least those are two sincere.
Speaker F:I love that.
Speaker C:I feel like it's trying so hard.
Speaker C:We make it sound like we're not trying hard.
Speaker C:I don't know.
Speaker E:That's all you are, baby.
Speaker C:That's what I hope.
Speaker C:But it's so easy.
Speaker C:I mean I, I have always felt this and I put it in our bio and like, you know, I have mixed feelings about nostalgia.
Speaker C:I find the older I get, like many people, you, you do lean on nostalgia.
Speaker C:You, you're like, I don't know if I need to hear every new band.
Speaker C:I'm.
Speaker C:I'm going to go back and re.
Speaker C:Listen to what I listened in high school or college or whatever.
Speaker C:And so I have mixed feelings.
Speaker C:I definitely think it's good to like keep your pulse on younger artists and things coming out.
Speaker C:But there was a lot with this album, just to be real frank about it, that I was.
Speaker C:I had sort of rediscovered an old case logic, you know, full of old CDs, like at my parents when I back there and I had a CD.
Speaker E:Player who didn't have his.
Speaker E:Right.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker C:But it was just, it was like this Trevor treasure trove.
Speaker C:So I was just like this and.
Speaker C:And that was a way I sort of dealt with the pandemic was I was just.
Speaker C:I was kind of like going back to another, happier time.
Speaker C:And I feel like that really informed the muse of being radio rock.
Speaker F:Yeah.
Speaker C:You know, we tried to go.
Speaker C:And we tried to kind of go for that big production which, you know, all those records were like millions of dollars.
Speaker C:They were, they were very big record label money and me and Charles.
Speaker C:That's why I say it's like this little engine that could is that we were navigating the pandemic.
Speaker C:But we, we don't have to get into all of it, but we hustled like work side gigs to, you know, to make some money to help fund it, get Someone like Craig Alvin to mix.
Speaker C:So it was just.
Speaker C:It was a lot of work to get that sound that we were chasing.
Speaker C:But it was so worth it because it was.
Speaker C:There's something that I find particularly, particularly healing about music that can sort of take you to another.
Speaker C:A place or a sense of optimism.
Speaker C:And you know, I love Blaze Foley or John Prine and it's right here now.
Speaker C:But there's something about this sort of like grandiose world too that, that I love and that's.
Speaker C:We just, I don't know, we had our sights set on like sort of a larger than life thing and just kept going for it.
Speaker E:You know, most memorable side gig to make the cash for your masterpiece here.
Speaker C:I mean, God, for a minute I was.
Speaker C:This wasn't the best money for a minute.
Speaker C:I hate to admit I was just.
Speaker C:This is right when it hit, I was like back from L.
Speaker C:A.
Speaker C:And I was like, I feel like I was one of the first people to think of.
Speaker C:This sounds bad but like Amazon prime, it was something I had heard about.
Speaker C:People were barely doing it then and I was just like, I can drive and deliver packages.
Speaker C:Yeah, we figured out a little.
Speaker C:Some better higher pay gigs.
Speaker C:But that was.
Speaker C:That was a low point.
Speaker E:So we love.
Speaker E:That's what we get curious about because you guys put so much into this dang thing.
Speaker E:Not just creatively, but your blood, sweat and tears energy outside of it to make it happen.
Speaker E:And I think a lot of people in the world, that's one thing that we love about this music.
Speaker E:It wasn't like some big record company that said, hey, guess what, fancy gap, you're going to be the next great industry plant.
Speaker E:Right?
Speaker E:Yeah.
Speaker E:You guys had to fight.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker E:Deliver the packages, go up during COVID to the cabin to the.
Speaker E:You know, to really do this and risk it.
Speaker E:You know, I just want to give a shout out to Charles too for waiting 12 years until he felt like he had a song worthy that thing.
Speaker E:Don.
Speaker E:I mean listeners, listeners.
Speaker E:Do you hear any other artists talking, sharing these kinds of stories?
Speaker E:No, no, there's no one doing it.
Speaker E:You guys are really.
Speaker E:It's not just the music's good.
Speaker E:It's like the story and the effort and your energy and your vision.
Speaker E:That's what we look for in music.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:Well, the good news is you're not to wait 12 more years for the next one.
Speaker C:We're already getting ahead started.
Speaker E:Well, that was my last question.
Speaker E: So you want to go back to: Speaker E:What is a cheeseburger?
Speaker E:And is, does that riff qualify?
Speaker E:Is cheeseburger.
Speaker B:That's.
Speaker B:Yeah, I think that riff defined cheeseburgers.
Speaker B:I mean the, That's a good one.
Speaker E:What is it?
Speaker E:What is a cheeseburger?
Speaker B:For the listeners, a cheeseburger is like a, a melody typically on guitar, piano, that defines the tempo, it defines the key, it defines the mood, but it also leaves enough room for a great singer to tell a story.
Speaker B:So like a cheeseburger leaves room on the plate for other things.
Speaker B:You know what I mean?
Speaker B:Like, you can't, it's not just like, like, just a ton of notes and stuff.
Speaker B:It's like, it requires a certain appreciation for space and, and everyone else involved.
Speaker C:I always took it as like, you know, the cheeseburger is a simple idea of meat cheese, bun, but then you can make a lot of types of burgers with, with that.
Speaker C:But maybe I always took it as.
Speaker C:That's what, how you meant it.
Speaker C:I don't care.
Speaker C:I'm going blue cheese bacon and like an onion jam or I'm just going classic Whopper style.
Speaker B:I think that, I think that for me with the difference between a cheeseburger and just a riff that I felt, you know, I'd always been writing riffs on guitar for songs.
Speaker B:It's truly that it left enough room for the story and the vocal melody.
Speaker B:So like the 40, 000 miles riff, you know, it, it has air, it breathes and, and Stu sings in between.
Speaker B:And to me that's, that's a cheeseburger.
Speaker B:When you have something that's gonna kind of lead to all the answers of the, the rest of the song.
Speaker F:And how are people when you're playing these songs live?
Speaker F:Are they, how are they responding?
Speaker F:People?
Speaker B:The fans just, just had a sold out show.
Speaker B:The poor house in Raleigh.
Speaker B:That was, that was fantastic.
Speaker F:Because I know in my world of music nerds, because me and my music nerds only listen to good music.
Speaker F:And somehow Fancy Gap came into our world.
Speaker F:I, I know that those folks really love this, this band and this, this Al.
Speaker C:I think you would love the live show.
Speaker C:It's, it's, it's.
Speaker F:Oh, I can't wait.
Speaker C:I can't wait.
Speaker C:A little bit of a different world in a great way.
Speaker C:We'd like, we've kind of let the band bring some of their own voices in some ways that have been great.
Speaker C:You know, like it's, it's, it's still tight, the songs, the structures and stuff, but everyone kind of can stretch out A little bit, you know, Whispering Winds.
Speaker C:We play that outro for like a good four or five minutes longer.
Speaker C:Get a little.
Speaker C:A little jammy.
Speaker C:It's been, it's been fun.
Speaker F:It's been really Heart Racer.
Speaker F:Must get the crowd kind of moving, I would think, because every time I'm in my truck last week it was 30 below and I put.
Speaker F:Turn the windows down.
Speaker F:I was so, so excited.
Speaker B:Awesome.
Speaker C:Yeah, we love that.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:No, the live show has been awesome.
Speaker B:I mean, we're, we're really.
Speaker B:We got so lucky too, with the, the band.
Speaker B:Because, I mean, in my experience, getting a band together is the hardest part.
Speaker B:And we didn't put an ad.
Speaker B:We did anything.
Speaker B:We just kind of sent it to a few people.
Speaker C:Well, the Harry's connection again.
Speaker C:Well, old Steve.
Speaker B:Yes, our guitar player Steve, I worked with him a long time ago and I sent him the, the album and I said, man, you know, you should.
Speaker B:You should get in on this, playing this live band.
Speaker B:And he's like, cool, I'll get to working on the rest of the guys.
Speaker B:And next thing you know, he had Robert Sledge from Ben Fold's five playing bass.
Speaker B:And we got Nick Baglio on drums, this amazing session player, Mark Simonson on keys, and Steve Allen guitar.
Speaker B:And like these guys are.
Speaker B:They've devoted their life to music.
Speaker B:And so it's.
Speaker B:We had the people believing in us while we were making the record.
Speaker B:And now that it's out there, though, like, there's this live element where we, we believe in the band so much.
Speaker B:You know, we had a great time, the two of us making the record, but this, this six piece, it's.
Speaker B:It's a brotherhood.
Speaker B:I mean, it's.
Speaker B:We're very grateful for these guys.
Speaker E:How do you think about performing live?
Speaker E:Like, you have this great album, but you made a long night ahead.
Speaker E:And so you're kind of.
Speaker E:I want to.
Speaker E:You want to share the songs, but you also.
Speaker E:Are you bringing in other songs from your past or are you bringing in some covers or how do you design the night?
Speaker C:Our current live.
Speaker E:Yeah, like a live show.
Speaker E:Like we're gonna come see you.
Speaker C:Sure, sure.
Speaker E:Get to the sold out show because we were like one night away.
Speaker E:We missed it by one night, didn't we, Zach?
Speaker F:I think so, yes.
Speaker E:But yeah.
Speaker E:So when we do, when people come hear you, how do you guys think of thinking about crap?
Speaker C:It is interesting because I, I don't remember the running time of the album, but isn't it like 40 minutes tops or something like that?
Speaker C:Charles?
Speaker B:I don't know, 38 minutes, I think.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker C:But for some reason it's not like we're jamming, stretching all these out, but we've timed it and.
Speaker C:Yeah, I mean we, we can play an hour.
Speaker C:I feel like we've added maybe two or three songs, but there's just, you know, we're a little.
Speaker C:We're.
Speaker C:The shows are greatly entertaining, but we're.
Speaker C:We're a little more of that.
Speaker C:That school.
Speaker C:The Grateful Dead or like a show where it's like we're not like 1, 2, 3.
Speaker C:Like this super put together thing.
Speaker C:It's very real.
Speaker C:We always want to kind of convey very real honesty.
Speaker C:So there's some banter, there's some tuning some guitars.
Speaker C:You might have to wait a second, you know what I mean?
Speaker C:But it's, it's like.
Speaker C:It's just authentic.
Speaker C:So we, we like it that way.
Speaker E:That's awesome.
Speaker E:Season or the album you're coming to get the story behind the album.
Speaker C:Yeah, we're not like putting on roughs.
Speaker E:And the space and the backing track.
Speaker C:Thing, you know, But.
Speaker C:Yeah, so.
Speaker C:But I would say that we've added probably two non album cuts and we've done a few covers here and there.
Speaker B:Well, we.
Speaker B:Well, we've had to kind of get.
Speaker B:Get our set together quick though, because our set times are growing and so, yeah, definitely have some new material we've been working in and some covers.
Speaker B:We've done some fun covers and.
Speaker B:But yeah, we're.
Speaker B:We're honestly not to jump forward, but we're definitely like knee deep in the next record.
Speaker F:Are we going back up to the cabin or.
Speaker B:Yeah, well, it's.
Speaker B:It's challenging because it's like yes, we are, but we also have to now we've.
Speaker B:We've made this thing that's alive now which requires the opposite of solitude and no one around.
Speaker B:You know, like, we need a city and people and so, yes, we are, but we're also like.
Speaker B:We're in kind of like the.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's all coming together and coalescing and then we're gonna definitely go back to Muscle Shoals and work with Craig Alvin again.
Speaker B:And like we're gonna.
Speaker B:We're gonna try to bring back a lot of the.
Speaker B:The things that were working really.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:If it's not broke, don't fix it kind of thing.
Speaker C:We're not trying to.
Speaker C:It's definitely not reinvent ourselves too much.
Speaker C:Try to work.
Speaker C:Yeah, we.
Speaker C:I think I'd be happy if we made.
Speaker C:I mean that songs meaningful and all, but basically Like.
Speaker C:Like the Ramones, you know, like, they did do the same thing again, it's good when you.
Speaker E:You've mentioned and, you know, taking a previous interview that you want to create music that appeals to both, quote, your little cousin and seasoned listeners.
Speaker E:How do you balance accessibility and your artistic integrity?
Speaker E:How do you approach that?
Speaker C:That's a really great question.
Speaker C:I'm glad you pulled that quote.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:I can't remember who I told that to, but I remember saying it.
Speaker C:I was at a.
Speaker C:And I was sitting with my little cousins, and they're beautiful and brilliant and all that, but they're.
Speaker C:You know, I feel like I wouldn't think of them as hipsters or very opinionated about, I don't know, you know, deep music knowledge.
Speaker C:You know, she was a big Luke Combs fan, and.
Speaker C:And I just remember playing some songs and I noticed how it just wasn't.
Speaker C:It was just not doing anything for her.
Speaker C:And then I played, like, Little Heart Racer and she, you know, perked up and was like, I like this one.
Speaker C:But there was, like, a power in that to me in a way where it's not like I'm.
Speaker C:I wouldn't want to say.
Speaker C:I'm trying to.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:I don't know how I want to word this.
Speaker C:Like, I wouldn't want to try to simplify my music for a casual listener, but I think that there's a power in writing a really great song.
Speaker C:I mean, would you.
Speaker C:We wouldn't knock, like, My Girl, the Temptations, the.
Speaker C:The songwriting, the performance, the arrangement, the production, but everyone loves it, you know, from your.
Speaker C:A casual listener to someone who really respects all the nuance that goes into that.
Speaker C:And I feel like that's the sort of.
Speaker C:The goal is, like, timeless songs that are just really, really well done now.
Speaker C:And, you know, that's a strong North Star to chase, a hard one to achieve, but that's.
Speaker C:I think that's the North Star.
Speaker F:Much time went into kind of planning out this album's tracking because it's like the perfect.
Speaker F:You throw it on if you're on a long drive and you just let go and you kind of get lost in those songs.
Speaker F:So it was.
Speaker F:It.
Speaker F:But it seems like it's perfectly sequenced from start to finish.
Speaker C:Thank you.
Speaker C:That.
Speaker B:That was.
Speaker B:I mean, we obsessed over that.
Speaker B:I mean, it.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:We wanted that.
Speaker B:I think that was the big inspiration.
Speaker B:I mean, that.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:It really impacted Stu when he found his old disc Encyclopedia.
Speaker B:He really.
Speaker C:We.
Speaker B:We wanted to make a good album, but it was almost like, open that thing and saw August and everything after and was like, like, here, you know, we need one of those.
Speaker B:And that's kind of cocky, but like we wanted to leave something like that feeling of, hey man, just put it on and listen to the whole.
Speaker B:Fans will come up to the merch booth and like, get a shirt and I'll like, I'll give them a vinyl and they'll be like, I can't.
Speaker B:I'm like, just listen.
Speaker B:Just promise me you'll listen to the whole thing all the way through.
Speaker C:Yeah, it's.
Speaker B:If we can get someone to do that, I think they'll be a Fame for life.
Speaker F:Those are my favorite type of albums from start to that.
Speaker F:I don't really listen to.
Speaker F:Like if somebody releases a.
Speaker F:A single, I don't listen to it until the whole album is out.
Speaker F:So I just love that.
Speaker B:That's awesome.
Speaker F:No pressure for the second album, boys.
Speaker B:Yeah, dude.
Speaker B:Honestly though, we'll send you a link to a new one.
Speaker B:We've got one called welcome to the Rodeo and I really.
Speaker B:I'm ready for album too.
Speaker B:I think we.
Speaker B:We figured out some stuff.
Speaker B:I think it's going to hit harder.
Speaker B:I think it's gonna like.
Speaker B:I think it's gonna raise the bar.
Speaker E:So have you.
Speaker F:It's all done or.
Speaker B:No, no, no, no, no.
Speaker E:You're waiting 12 years.
Speaker E:Like we.
Speaker C:We wrote a lot of music during the.
Speaker C:I mean we've been doing this for.
Speaker C:Yeah, five years now.
Speaker C:But me and Charles always in Knock on wood.
Speaker C:But we just have a great chemistry.
Speaker C:We always come up with sort of a keeper idea.
Speaker C:But the lyrics.
Speaker C:We talking to you, Charles.
Speaker C:We gotta get better about writing the lyrics in the moment or something.
Speaker C:But that's.
Speaker C:So we've got all this music and then some are finished.
Speaker C:But I'd say we have like close to 40 really strong musical ideas.
Speaker C:And then we've probably got 7ish finished and kind of just digging through and working on arrangements and lyrics.
Speaker C:Lyrics are always the.
Speaker C:A lot of times the.
Speaker C:The last thing.
Speaker C:But we try to put.
Speaker C:I think we put more effort into the lyrics than anything.
Speaker C:But a lot of times you got to wait on them, which is frustrating.
Speaker C:We wake up, it's like.
Speaker C:It's almost like you want to write.
Speaker F:A song, but something might not be clicking.
Speaker C:I think of lyric writing sometimes.
Speaker C:It's like if you're like martial arts and you're like, all right, I'm going to break this board with my head.
Speaker C:You know what I mean?
Speaker C:And it's like you gotta just.
Speaker C:All right, I Didn't do it.
Speaker C:That hurt.
Speaker C:I'm gonna do it tomorrow.
Speaker C:Here goes.
Speaker C:I don't know the weird.
Speaker C:I've always somehow connected that when that.
Speaker E:Album comes out, people are gonna think about, man, he had to break a lot of boards or attempt to break a lot of boards with it.
Speaker E:Yeah, that's what you're putting into this.
Speaker B:One of the things that I like that we're doing on this next album is like, you know, obviously you want to sit down and write a great song, but also, when writing lyrics, there's a lot of great lyrics are kind of like Pokemon.
Speaker B:I mean, they're out in the wild everywhere, all the time.
Speaker B:Whether it's on the.
Speaker B:You hear someone say something smart or witty or.
Speaker B:The other day, I was driving, and I drove past this church, and it said, God doesn't give with both hands.
Speaker B:And I.
Speaker B:I wrote that in the notes, and soon I rolled the phone last night.
Speaker B:I was like, I really like that.
Speaker B:He's like, what does that even mean?
Speaker B:And I was like, I don't know, but I like it.
Speaker E:What is the other hand doing if it's not.
Speaker E:He's like.
Speaker C:I think he's like this.
Speaker E:He's smiting you or he's making a cheat.
Speaker E:Grilling a cheeseburger.
Speaker C:No, it's a good.
Speaker C:It's a good proverb.
Speaker C:It's about.
Speaker C:What is it about?
Speaker C:Like, you get a lot.
Speaker C:You get the good with the bad.
Speaker C:Ultimately, I think, like, there's a balance.
Speaker B:It's like the yin and the yang.
Speaker B:It's just like sort of the Christian way of saying it.
Speaker C:I think, like, another way to say that is life is a shit sandwich.
Speaker C:Eat it or starve me.
Speaker E:And make an album while you're doing it.
Speaker E:Oh, this is a good proverb to mix in here.
Speaker E:Yeah, this is so, so good.
Speaker E:All right, so let's.
Speaker E:Let's think ahead.
Speaker E:So the couple things you're.
Speaker E:You're performing live, we the fans, when we come.
Speaker E:What is something you would like us to do, and what would you like us not to do or stop doing?
Speaker E:When we come to a fancy.
Speaker E:Yup.
Speaker C:Show, we aren't big enough to say stop.
Speaker C:We're just like, bring it on.
Speaker C:No, but bring it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Bring all your friends.
Speaker B:Honestly, is the biggest.
Speaker B:If the.
Speaker B:The biggest favor anyone could do if they like one of these songs is just tell their.
Speaker B:Just share the link and.
Speaker B:And.
Speaker B:And say, hey, I like this album.
Speaker B:And, you know, we tried to make something that.
Speaker B:That spread naturally.
Speaker B:Hopefully we don't have to ask too hard but, like, you know, that's the biggest thing anyone can do for us is bring a friend to a show and.
Speaker B:And help spread the word.
Speaker B:Right now we're in the.
Speaker B:The word sharing stage of this.
Speaker F:Oh, yeah.
Speaker F:And we're definitely trying to do that with the.
Speaker F:With you guys for sure.
Speaker F:And buy merch.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Yeah, that helps.
Speaker E:What's the Fancy Gap legacy look like down the road?
Speaker E:What do you hope for it?
Speaker E:The impact?
Speaker B:Ooh, great question.
Speaker B:Honestly, like, brotherhood, I think that if I walked away from.
Speaker B:With any thing, from all of this, it's just like, I made a record with my best friend, and, like, the power of two people believing in something is literally ten times more powerful than one person.
Speaker B:And so, I mean, I don't.
Speaker B:I'm grateful for everything ahead, but I'm also pretty satisfied with just, like, how wonderful this experience was and, like, what we already leave behind.
Speaker C:Beautifully said.
Speaker C:I agree.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:Yeah, I think we just want to keep creating.
Speaker C:I think that's the.
Speaker C:That's probably the most satisfaction we get out of it.
Speaker C:Would you agree?
Speaker C:Charles is just that.
Speaker C:Even before Craig gets his hands on the mix or something.
Speaker C:But when it's just our little demos tracked and we've made a new little, little baby or whatever, you know, I feel like that we're.
Speaker C:I.
Speaker C:I get a lot of just.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Satisfaction out of that.
Speaker C:So I think we're just going to keep on doing it and just hope.
Speaker C:Yeah.
Speaker C:Hope it catches on.
Speaker C:But there's.
Speaker C:There's sort of.
Speaker C:There's a.
Speaker C:A bit that I think helps you make better art and frees you up to not care too much about.
Speaker C:Only if XYZ happens, you just kind of do it, you know?
Speaker E:What a fun interview today, y'all.
Speaker F:Ben, we're gonna need to go to the Fancy Gap, me and you.
Speaker B:Yeah, come on.
Speaker E:We'd love to have you stand at the studio slash cabin with Charles.
Speaker E:He doesn't know it yet.
Speaker E:Yeah, now he does.
Speaker E:Y'all get get curious about Fancy Gap.
Speaker E:Check their music out.
Speaker E:Check it out.
Speaker E:Now the album's out.
Speaker E:Fancy Gap.
Speaker E:There'll be another album coming.
Speaker E:Catch.
Speaker E:You won't regret it.
Speaker E:Stay curious, gang.
Speaker E:Thanks for joining Zach and I for.
Speaker D:This episode of Americana Curious.
Speaker D:Subscribe where you listen to your podcast so you are notified when a new episode is released.
Speaker D:I'm Ben Fanning, and it's been great sharing these artists and music with you.
Speaker D:Until next time, stay Americana curious.
