The
Faint Drop Dead
words from Ruben
photos by Rob Erickson
Oh, the things one notices when waiting to use the restroom
at a club… First, I’m noticing that the entire downstairs
of New York City’s Bowery Ballroom is dead and deserted.
Second, I am noticing the ceiling about to cave in and the chandeliers
swaying back and forth to the beat. “Why?” The Faint
is playing upstairs.
On the way upstairs to the main stage area, the sweet sound
of synthesized madness ebbs its way into my brain. Death-Metal
riffs and Pop-Punk basslines are being delivered with just the
right distortion. The vocals are making their way through filters,
electronic boxes, and pedals before they come out wailing at
the audience.
The audience is an amalgamation of ex-raver goth kids, punkish
skaters, indie-rock supremacists, would-be fratboys and the
occasional mega-celebrities -- tonight being Kid Rock and Pam
Anderson who have stopped in to make out for ten minutes while
pretending to have interest in the music. The crowd thoroughly
enjoys the band’s stage presence, which is not unlike their
music- dramatic movements, creepily explosive lights along with
the one-for-all, all-for one togetherness. The entire crowd
is swaying, dancing, and getting down. And the band is getting
off on it.
The Faint’s singer, Todd Baechle, steps out looking kinda
heroin-sheik, tight pants, messy eyeliner and dysfunctional
hair, like it’s ‘88 and he just got back from a Cure
concert. I ask him what led him to front a band, besides his
desire to look like his version of a indie-rock goth prince.
He explains, “after a few skateboarding injuries and my
arthritis [from his former life as a sponsored skater for legendary
skate co., H-Street and it’s successor, Evol] I had to
throw all that energy somewhere else.” He soon found himself
singing for the band that his younger brother, Clark, was drumming
in. Joining metalhead guitarist Mike “Depose” Dappen,
keyboardist Jacob Thiele and bassist Joel Petersen, they began
to craft a sound borne of leftover New Wave instruments, dark-ish
lyrical themes and insane power-chords. “You, know, we
really didn’t decide to sound the way we sound,” says
Jacob. Mike chimes in, “It just kind of happened. I used
to play in metal bands, so it was totally different.” Jacob
adds, “And we hooked up with these 80’s synthesizers
at, like, a garage sale.” Clark finishes, “The rest
is history.”
It’s all quite remarkable for a group of lads from Omaha,
Nebraska, who weren’t going out of their way to be retro
or overly fashionable. They’re passionate and are in love
with what they do. True to their roots, they choose to stay
with the local Omaha Indie-Rock label, Saddle Creek while almost
every major record label has courted them with the lures of
million dollar deals. Until further notice, they’re using
what they got, doing what they do best, and they’ll be
touring the US with No Doubt for the next few months.
