The Untitled Interview #43: Starring Brad Cook (Megafaun)

Megafaun: great band, great people. You’ve possibly already noticed my gushing review of their show here in DC not long ago, and I can say with confidence that Megafaun is definitely one of the best live bands around. They’re also at the top of the in-gig banter heap, so musicians, you better step up your game. Affable and ridiculously entertaining? It doesn’t get much better, friends, it really doesn't.

Laker-living Brad of the Brothers Cook (nice balloon, sir) took up the Untitled Interview challenge, and you can read his thoughts on Airheads, The Band (and the covering thereof), and which record stores are worth your while below. You might, in fact, wish to read it while a) listening to Megafaun (new mini-album coming soon!, and in the meantime there's plenty of other Megafaunian goodness to keep you sated) and b) while getting ready to go see the band live. They’re touring the land as we speak, so make sure to get out there and see one of the finest live bands around.

Les Enfants Terribles: How the hell are you?
Brad Cook: Fantastic!!! Lakers are in the finals and looking good and we have a great tour coming up!

LET: What was the last song you listened to?
BC: "Joke or a Lie" by Sharon Van Etten.

LET: Playing music is: __________
BC: Humbling.

LET: What album most made you realize you wanted to make music?
BC: Probably Bill Frisell's Good Dog, Happy Man.

LET: Beatles or Stones?
BC: Beatles for this group (although, we get behind the Stones as well!).

LET: Top 5 albums (of now, of this month, or of ever):
BC: Right now:

1. Hammer No More the Fingers (Untitled as of Yet. Durham, NC band that we are all constantly floored by)
2. Abner Jay - The Original Folk Song Style of Abner Jay
3. Oval - O
4. Menomena - Mines
5. Drive-By Truckers - Big To Do

LET: Favorite music-related movie?
BC: Airheads. (By a landslide)

LET: Half-full or half-empty?
BC: Half Full.

LET: Which of your peers do you think is making the best music these days?
BC: Wow. Loaded Question. I am taking the peers comment and interpreting it as friends' bands. We have been so unbelievably fortunate to be surrounded by so many talented friends. I would say I was really floored by Menomena's new record. They sent it over a while back and it brought us all to tears. The new Hammer No More the Fingers did a similar thing. I know everyone is probably dying to hear what the next Bon Iver record is gonna sound like. After the few songs I've heard, I can confidently say it will blow people away.

LET: What’s the first thing you think when you wake up in the morning?
BC: Sports. My daily ritual is to wake up and read sports news.

LET: The greatest record store in the world is:
BC: Well, online is it EASILY Mirmaroglu Music which is run by Keith Fullerton-Whitman. Walk-in store would have to go to Harvest Records in Asheville, NC.

LET: Shaken or stirred?
BC: Stirred.

LET: Little-known Megafaun fact?
BC: Joey is funniest dude alive.

LET: If you weren’t in a band you’d be:
BC: In culinary school or trying to be a sports reporter.

LET: Your boots were made for:
BC: Post-Moves.

LET: What’s your favorite watering hole in the greater Research Triangle area?
BC: The Pinhook in Durham, NC.

LET: If you were so inclined, whom would you form a tribute band in honor of?
BC: Uh, without a question The Band.

LET: What do you most enjoy about heading out on a tour? And, are there noticeable differences when you’re touring as headliners?
BC: I enjoy the camaraderie. With each other and with our friends all over the place as well as the food. God, I could write an essay on the differences. I will say, we are still not fully in control of what it means to headline.

LET: Best song ever written?
BC: Well, perhaps I should go with the one tattooed on my arm. It is a song called "That Was Then" by Bill Frisell. It is between that and "5D" by the Byrds.

mp3: Volunteers (Megafaun from the forthcoming Heretofore)