Fat Freddy's Drop staying hungry

Loyalty plays a big part in the success of Fat Freddy's, who are soon to venture overseas.

It's an incredible achievement. Fat Freddy's Drop not being fat, that is. "Whaddya mean 'not'?" says trombone player Joe Lindsay, patting his gut. "We were watching this old video of us the other day and thinking, 'Man, we were so skinny back then, what's different?' It's babies. Babies make you fat."

Ladies, apparently we're not alone. Lindsey reckons hungry littlies encourage "sympathetic eating," and that's dangerous when five of you are dads and one of you, Iain Gordon, is a chef.

So far, the growing contingent, known as Freddy's Kids, have done little to halt the band's progress.

Tonight the band begin their victory lap of the country to celebrate their No 1 album, Based on A True Story, playing the St James, the biggest venue they've headlined in Auckland.

After their national tour they'll head overseas in August to play several festivals, including the Big Chill in England and Lowlands in Amsterdam with Queens of the Stone Age and the Foo Fighters.

"We'll probably be playing that little marquee next to the toilets. It's small steps overseas because we've got to do the same amount of leg-work over there that we did here. Hope to take that same path of slowly building loyalty." And loyalty is what has really made this band. Breaking all the rules of the music industry, there was nothing to warn Freddy's fans their debut album was about to drop - no music videos, no posters, no TV ads, just word-of-mouth and the buzz generated by their live shows.

Somehow, Fat Freddy's insightful lyrics and their Pacific hybrid of reggae, funk, jazz and soul has made them unlikely mainstream heroes. Based on a True Story, now certified platinum, is the first independent album to hit No 1 since Carol O'Halloran's Jazzercise in 1981. And it doesn't even feature their two best known songs, Midnight Marauders and Hope.

Cementing their reputation last week, a NZ Idol contestant auditioned by singing a Fat Freddy's song. The band have also played an exclusive Wellington party for Prince William and "girls from the best families".

"We have been used as poster kids for the success of the New Zealand music scene," Lindsay says. "It does help to have a good product and to have a really good live show. People are very aware of being marketed at. They're very media savvy. We're continually being bombarded by marketing and hype and all that kind of stuff. For a lot of people I think it's quite refreshing to actually discover something by themselves."

Right on cue, Lindsay's son sprints into the room, plonks himself on dad's lap and gets stuck into a mandarin, just as another toddler has a short-lived temper tantrum in the lounge. We're at the Grey Lynn villa that is home to another member of Freddy's extended family, Slave, aka Mark Williams, who has been roped in to direct the band's next music video.

The kids are a grounding reminder that the three months away from home are going to be tough. Lindsay moved from Wellington to Auckland so he could be closer to his son and now he's faced with the prospect of him growing up just that little bit more without him around. But such is life in Fat Freddy's Drop - the fellow band members are also family.

"We've spent so much time on the road that we're pretty safe in each others' company ... Particularly at Mu and [band manager] Nicole's house, it wouldn't be a strange day for all the boys to pop in at one point."

Which brings us to the music video for Wandering Eye, in which the band members will pose as the owners of a fish'n'chip shop.

The idea is similar to Gordon's "Music Foodio" part-cooking show and part-music video.

"We used to throw big parties, massive parties and Bongmaster [Gordon's former band] and Freddy's would jam and then he'd cook for everybody," Lindsay says.

"We'd have a pie-warmer constantly stocked with the pies he'd made. He'd still be cooking at 3am, usually mussels or wontons or dumplings."

Like all things Freddy's, they kept the job in-house. Slave had become a friend and valuable supporter from the beginning and had known Mu from when he worked with him on the MC OJ and the Rhythm Slave video, and he'd helped to break Freddy's in Auckland through his radio show.

There are family ties too. Slave's sister is the mother of Lindsay's son, so their kids are cousins.

"The thing about Freddy's is that we're into working with people who are learning at the same rate as we are," Lindsay says. "We're quite insular and into jamming with our mates."


Lowdown


Who: Fat Freddy's Drop


Name dropping: Fitchie is DJ Mu (Christopher Faiumu), producer; Joe Dukie (Dallas Tamaira), singer, songwriter; Tony Chang (Toby Laing), trumpet, baritone horn, melodica, keyboard; Full Flash (Warren Maxwell), tenor and alto sax, singer, songwriter, guitar, keys; Jetlag Johnson (Tehimana Kerr), guitar; Dobie Blaze (Iain Gordon), keys, producer; Hopepa (Joe Lindsay), trombone.


Releases: This Room - DJ Fitchie & Joe Dukie (2003), Hope - Fat Freddy's Drop (2003), Midnight Marauders - DJ Fitchie & Joe Dukie (2002), Seconds - DJ Fitchie & Joe Dukie (2002), Live at the Matterhorn - Fat Freddy's Drop (2001), Better than Change - Dallas Tamaira, solo EP (1999).