The Downtown Fiction Interview: SXSW 2010

All it took was a MySpace page and a few shows to turn The Downtown Fiction into one of the hottest pop-punk band's in the country. After TDF's debut EP last March, the trio was listed as one of MySpace's top 25 unsigned bands. Now that the group has signed with Photo Finish Records, the band is releasing its second EP, The Best I Never Had, on March 23. The group is also embarking on the Bamboozle Roadshow and Warped Tour this summer. But before all that, The Downtown Fiction kicks off its touring season at SXSW, five days before the new EP comes out. Spinner.com spoke with lead singer Cameron Leahy on his love for coca-cola, his past love of goth girls and why the Rolling Stones will never be as loved as The Beatles.

Describe your sound in your own words.

Take the simplicity and songwriting of blink-182, Green Day. Do the three to four chord progressions. But have that rock vibe that comes from the older stuff I listened to growing up.I don't think there's enough people out there who are just trying to write simple. To make songs that aren't trying to do too much but say a lot more. I think that's what were trying to do, and I think it's working. I think to a certain extent it shows on our new EP. a pretty steady progression [from the first EP], it certainly has those small steps forward.

How did your band form?

Eric [Jones], who's on drums, I met him early on in high school. We had similar music interest,, and there weren't that many kids who really played, who were serious about it. A lot of kids were not going to be sacrificing every weekend to play at some local community center. But Eric and I shared that passion. Eric and I played all through high school. After we graduated from high school our little high school projects kind of tapered off. We really wanted to form a new band but we couldn't find the right members. We started at community college it gave us time to find ourselves as musician, and I would write a lot of songs then too. David [Pavluk], finally, we met him at a local venue called Jam and Java that we played at for all our hometown shows. We met him by chance one night. He worked there, and we went up there and we said 'Hey, you look pretty cool, you play bass?' I can't say that's a proven technique to find band members. It maybe works once in a blue moon. But he turned out to be really extremely talented.

What are your musical influences?

I'm an only child. I was raised by my parents - I wasn't raised by my sister or brother's (taste in music). I was raised into bands like the Rolling Stones and on Motown. I didn't get into the pop punk until i was a little bit older. I think it worked into my advantage as a pop writer. By the time I was in middle school blink-182 was coming out, and I was like these guys suck at guitar, but if they can do it I can do it. The thing about blink is they wrote really great, honest songs. I got into Blink and the Green Day and all that stuff. i spent a lot of time listening to the Beach Boys and all that older influence too. Smashing Pumpkins, the White Stripes and the Strokes - those were other bands that really influenced me as a songwriter.

How did you come up with your band name?
We don't like names that our too obvious. we never wanted a name that screamed out what it meant because they're just kind of obnoxious and I was just never in to those band names, and I wanted it to be a little more obscure and people could define it for themselves. It just kind of popped into our heads.

What's your biggest vice?

I am an avid Coca-Cola drinker. I don't know if it's the caffeine or what, but I love it. If any Coca-Cola people read this, I'd be glad to drink it every night on stage.

What's in your festival survival kit?

I've never been [to SXSW] but I heard it's not as fun if you can't drink. We're not 21. I'll have my Coca-Cola. We'll make due.

Who was your first celeb crush?

Back in the day it was, Wednesday from the Addams family - Christina Ricci. So I was in love with her when I was like six. I guess I liked goth chicks back then. Nowadays, I guess it's Zooey Deschanel. To everyone, now she's like the favorite indie chick to have. It's like she has a 1960s haircut. She sings in a folk band. She's every musician's dream.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

It's more of an odd choice, maybe it's not odd, because I love her music, but it's Alanis Morissette. I'm proud to be an Alanis Morissette fan. She's one of those artists for me.

Beatles or Stones?

Ooh, that's tough. I grew up on the Rolling Stones. I think that the difference is the Beatles, they broke up in 1970. I've talked about this a million times: the reason why the Beatles get more acclaim nowadays from my generation - I don't think enough really understand why The Beatles are amazing -- they broke up before they got old. I'd say if the roles were reversed - if Paul had died and John Lennon had lived. Lennon would've made shitty albums in the 1990s and Paul would've been revered as a genius. Think about if the Stones had died in a plane crash in 1970s. They would be revered in the way the Beatles are. Mick Jagger would be like Bob Marley to rock and roll. Mick Jagger, the ultimate sex god on every T-shirt at Hot Topic. Not that it's a problem that they're still around. It's awesome to get to see them play. ...it's just that unfulfilled promise. Everybody loves the unfulfilled promise.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

We haven't seen anything incredibly crazy. The craziest part is just going to see these places we've never been before. I guess the craziest thing for us, we had the opportunity to tour in Japan. That was pretty amazing. Getting the opportunity to play in this country that couldn't be more different than the U.S. To get there and meet a kid that lives halfway around the planet who knows your music and can sing your songs. We were just blown away.


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