Fertile Crescent is a two-piece from Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They just ended the first leg of their tour with Deerhoof, and I was able to catch them in San Francisco during some downtime for some chit chat .
Is your band’s name an allusion to the cradle of civilization, mesopotamia, or is there a hidden meaning there?
We enjoy the multiple meanings that the name has for us. It evokes an image of lovers spooning or a shape that gives birth to other shapes. It also suggests something ancient and something new. We like the concept of fertility, as in a bodily creativity. It’s also a positive-sounding name for a part of the world that has been in complete turmoil for most of our lives, so for us it has a complex set of connotations.
Aside from what’s on your myspace, what are your influences musically?
We’re influenced by many things, but the most recent influence has been Deerhoof. They brought us on tour for 3 weeks and we learned so much from them every night, both when they were on and off stage. We also listen to everything we can get our hands on. When we develop our music we make a conscious effort to connect with ourselves and each other more than following any kind of genre.
What about socially, politically, or cultural?
We’ve both felt inspired by the Brazilian artists Helio Oiticica and Lygia Clark who made work together in the 1960s and 70s. We’re reading a lot of cubist and surrealist poetry from the early part of the 20th century. Socially and culturally in this time and place we are constantly inspired by people doing what they love or feel is important despite the dominance of a corporate cultural hegemony. We are inspired by people who cooperate rather than compete.
How long has FC been in action, and has it always been the current incarnation/lineup?
Our first show was in the basement of a now-defunct club in New York called Tonic in 2006. We performed form inside a cave made of black fabric. Then we took a break to play with our other band, Flying, for a while. Fertile Crescent has always been a duo and continues to be defined as such.
I see that you just toured with Deerhoof. How was the experience and where did the tour take you geographically?
The tour was, and continues to be, completely amazing. We are seeing a lot of the country in what feels such a historic. Driving west and south we saw many red states start turning blue. We were in New Orleans when Obama was elected president. When we were in LA the fires were out of control and massive crowds were protesting Prop 8. It’s been really intense. We’re at the same time witnesses to these events, but not really participants because we’re just passing through playing our music.
How many dates will you be playing with the Wilderness and San Serac?
Just one.
Will this be your first time to play Houston?
No, we played there opening for Deerhoof at Numbers on the way out west.
If you could be anything for 24 hours, celebrity, animal, plant, grand canyon, what would it be and why?
Eben- I would be a peregrine falcon or a swallow and spend most of my 24 hours swooping. On top of the fact that it would be incredible to be able to fly, my next thought would be on good swoops.
Sara- I would also want to be a peregrine falcon so that I could swoop with Eben. It’s more fun to swoop together. But if he was a falcon it might be fun to be a smaller bird so that he would want to chase me.
What have you been listening to regularly on the road?
Albert Ayler- New Grass
Gregorio Paniagua – Musique de la Grece Antique
What have you been reading on the road?
We mostly only have time to read billboards on the road. We’ve read a lot of them by one company that owns billboards and advertises about their billboards on them. They say things like “Just caught your attention: Billboards.” It’s like mirrors facing mirrors. It’s surrrrreeeaaallll!!!!
How many releases do you have? Do you prefer self-recording or studio?
We have a 7″ that we released ourselves. Menlo Park Recordings released it digitally. We also have a very limited edition cd-r that we made ourselves. We made 2 albums with our other band, Flying, as well as a dvd of music videos that various video/film artists made for us.
We enjoy both working in the studio, when we can afford it, and recording on our own. We’ll be recording an album this winter on our own.
Fertile Crescent will be performing live December 3rd at the Mink with the Wilderness, San Serac, Balaclavas, Guitars, and //Tense//.
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Cooperation is what empowers a corporation to be competitive.