Fergus and Geronimo Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 8th 2010 12:00PM by Rika Nurrahmah
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In January of 2009, Fergus and Geronimo was born out of the musical interests of two boys in the Denton, Texas DIY scene. One is a member of Denton's staple Teenage Cool Kids, the other is a former member of Wax Museum and producer of Teenage Cool Kid's full-length 'Foreign Lands.' Although 2009 left the duo with only three 7" releases under three different labels, 2010 will bring a full-length, some tours, and three SXSW showcases. Spinner recently spoke to Andrew Savage about the two-piece and his crush on a 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids' star.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Two guys making music in the studio together and sometimes playing. Every time we perform live it's different, we have a different band live. I'm bad at describing the sounds I make. Rock music, I guess it all falls under there. Maybe some soul.

How did the band form?

It formed in January of 2009. Me and Jason were working on an album together with my other band, Teenage Cool Kids, and we started talking about if we started another band what it would be like. And then we just ended up recording a couple songs and those ended up becoming a single--and yeah, the rest is history. I'm in a different mindset when I write for both of those bands, since Fergus and Geronimo is a completely different sounding project.

What are your musical influences?

For Fergus and Geronimo, I guess it would be lots of soul, lots of doo-wop, lots of Mothers of Invention, the psychedelic sort of stuff. And even some post-punk stuff like Swell Match and the Fall.

How did you come up with your band name?

It derives from a 1994 Irish film called 'War of the Buttons.' It's the name of the two protagonists in the film, and it kind of developed into a stage name since we're a duo. People would ask, "Hey is one Fergus and the other Geronimo?" So yeah, that's pretty much how it all came together.

What's the craziest thing you guys have experienced on tour?

Probably getting lost in Washington DC with a native who was completely high and trying to get us around this suburban neighborhood. It was during the day in District of Columbia and this guy was wicked high and taking us to a bus stop. We were going to take this bus to a show we were scheduled to play. It was a 20 minute walk and we were walking across alleyways and highways and going through people's yards. He was acting so nonchalant about it.

What is your biggest vice?

Food, anything vegan--basically anything I can put into my mouth, really. I'm a foodie, I cook all the time, I eat junk food, guess I eat way too much.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

I don't know, I don't think there's anything pleasurable to be guilty about. As far as feeling guilty, lately I've been listening to Steely Dan. I'm not familiar with what's going on in the radio since I don't have a car. So it's usually the old turntable in my house. When I'm working out, I'll have my iPod. But yeah, Steely Dan is pretty much like dad music so it's as close to a guilty pleasure as it gets.

What was the worst Fergus and Geronimo description you've come across?

I don't think there's a worst singular description. I think the biggest problem in the blogosphere or whatever you want to call it, there's a lack of original and creative writers so they all kind of copy off each other. Every Fergus and Geronimo review out there pretty much says the same thing. It's almost like two kids turning in their homework and they kind of copied off each other. It seems like every review out there recycle each others words. I think people should either stop listening to blogs or be a more creative writer.

Who was your first celebrity crush?

In 'Honey, I Shrunk the Kids,' the sister in the movie, she was wicked hot to me when I was a kid. I revisited that movie and I guess that style didn't age well, either that or my taste has changed because I wasn't feeling it anymore. The magic was gone.

Rika Nurrahmah is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.