by Melissa Caruso
Unlike most bands who claim to play rock 'n' roll, citing major influences like the Rolling Stones and sounding nothing like them, Gringo Star actually does. Fronted by two brothers, Nick and Peter Furgiuele, this Atlanta band blends the sound of the British Invaders with hints of motown like Martha and the Vandellas or Sam Cooke—perhaps having a little something to do with Nick and Pete's grandfather, who booked acts like Otis Redding, Jackie Wilson, and James Brown before eventually being inducted into the Rock & Roll Radio Hall of Fame. Nick revels in the stories he heard from his grandmother growing up:
"She has photo albums of her and Jackie Wilson back stage with his shirt off. There's another of James Brown walking around with a suitcase. Inside he has the show's guarantee. And then there's that time Aretha Franklin sued my grandpa because she fell off the stage at one of his concerts. She was hammered and my aunt had to drive her to the hospital."
Like those R&B stars, Gringo Star gives you your money's worth onstage. And then some. During their set Friday night at Cameo Gallery, you could imagine a sea of baby boomers swaying along in their matching poodle skirts, waiting for Mr. Right. A touch of outlaw country came in the form of "Ask Me Why," with infectious guitars that must have had Johnny Cash smiling. What stood out most of all, however, was Nick Furgiuele's thump-thump-thumpin' bass. Very rarely do bassists play all the cool parts; in Gringo Star, Nick owns the night.
Before their show at Cameo Gallery last weekend, I chatted with Nick about Atlanta, record producing, and why Pandora grinds his gears. Check it out after the jump.
How would you describe your sound? You hear all these bands say "indie," but what does that even mean?
Dude, I don't know what indie means! We're pretty indie, haha. We're rock 'n' roll, and people are like, "Well, what kind of rock 'n' roll?" There’s some garage psychedelic to it. And '50s kind of rock 'n' roll. I like some new stuff, too. But mostly just rock 'n' roll. I get so depressed when I hear our Pandora station. One time I put it on I was like "Ahhh, all this stuff? This is so fuckin' terrible. This is what we sound like to other people? God."
What's the difference between New York and Atlanta crowds?
I guess the accents, haha. We love playing New York and Atlanta and a lot of other places. I don't notice a lot of differences. I think people have isolated experiences that they chalk up to something being a certain way. Whether it's here, Canada, or Europe, I think it's about the same. We've done a couple different tours in Europe with the Trail of Dead. Their crowd was really awesome, and immediately the crowd was going wild.
How has living in Atlanta played into your sound?
We were born there, but then our parents moved to North Carolina, up in the mountains. Baptists, Republicans, just weird Appalachian people with that sort of hippie Asheville culture. Then we moved back to Atlanta after high school. Atlanta is a huge cultural melting pot. I've never been anywhere much like it—I guess NY is similar.
What was recording with a Grammy-winning producer (Ben H. Allen) like?
We did two albums with him, and this guy James Salter. They were awesome. Just real easy. We recorded our new album totally differently, though. My brother and I self-produced, recorded, and mixed the whole thing in his room. That was awesome.
What are some advantages/disadvantages of recording yourselves?
Doing it with Ben and James, we would just go into the studio and have 10 days, or two weeks, and it was under this time limit. You had to crank it out. In the beginning we would do all of the bass and guitar live. With our new album, we did one thing at a time. I like not being in a studio that we're paying for.
What's it like being in a band with your brother? You know the Everly Brothers didn't get along, but you could never tell in their music.
Or like the Kinks or Oasis. Nah, he's awesome. I’m a few years older than him. He's a badass, and the one who pretty much recorded this last album. He's got a really good ear. Every once in a while we get under each other's skin.
You are included in this year's SXSW lineup, again. Congratulations.
We played SXSW the last three years and then we played it before, too, with a different band. Back in the day, we would fill out the application, but never got in. A couple of years ago, the guy who runs started hitting us up "Hey guys, do you want to come back?"
If you could go back to any time period and play music, what would it be?
I'd be down to go back to the middle ages and play some guitars that I don't know how to pronounce, haha. I don't know, maybe the 1920s and '30s, in like a big band, playing trombone.
If you could start your own festival, what would you call it, where would it be and who would you have on the lineup?
I mean, I guess Gringo Fest, haha. I guess it would have to be in Georgia somewhere—Piedmont Park, Centennial Park, or somewhere in Atlanta. Are people coming back from the dead? If so, then I'd say Ritchie Valens or Sam Cooke.
Who are some of your favorite records from this year?
There's a band in Atlanta called Shantih Shantih and they're pretty awesome. My brother is recording them now. He's married to the singer. Turf War, I don’t know if their album came out this year, but those dudes rule. We jut did a tour with them. Lightnin' Ray Jackson's new album. He’s like a guitar virtuoso guy from Atlanta. Pretty much just crushes it. And Mama Bear.
What are you looking forward to in the upcoming months?
We'll be touring the next couple of months. I would love to do Bonnaroo. I think outdoor festivals are awesome. I want to camp out. Never been to one.