On Saturday night, my plans were to go to a local show featuring a few bands that I had never heard of before. There was one band in particular whose name I only heard about through the exchanging conversations between fanatical friends of mine – Morning Fatty.
I anticipated their performance all night. Because I had decided to endure this nightly journey by myself, I definitely did not expect to have as much fun as I did at the JAM. Everyone who attended seemed to not only care about music, but also spreading good vibes throughout the venue. We were all there to have a memorable time in a carefree zone.
That night, it didn’t matter if you wanted to rock skinny jeans and a crop top or high-waisted shorts and a sweater. The weather was friendly to any outfit.
While I was waiting around for Morning Fatty’s set, I was able to catch the first five bands: Los Panas 352, Scholar’s Word, Locochino, Dale and the Z Dubs and The Hip Abduction. All of the bands were impressive, however, unfortunately for Scholar’s Word, the crowd was more focused on the outside fire pit and hula-hoopers, in the back of the venue by the main stage, than they were on the band’s actual performance.
Via: Anna James
Finally, under a full moon and in front of a full and lively crowd, Morning Fatty greeted everyone at the JAM and opened with a song that transitioned into “Dreams.” The band played under neon blue, red and green lights while the crowd boozily swayed along with huge smiles on their faces.
Morning Fatty played a full set, including “Police Navidad,” and ended it with two wisely-chosen covers: Nena’s “99 Red Balloons,” and the ever-famous, “Hey Jude,” by the Beatles.
Of course, an encore was demanded, in which the band responded to with “Good Morning Fatty” from their first full album, “Out of the Hat.” I am no longer a Morning Fatty virgin, and I’m sure stoked about it.
Morning Fatty had just returned back home to their Gainesville roots from a ten-week 23-state tour including playing SunFest in South Florida to open for the well-known reggae rock band, 311.
Via: Anna James
GainesvilleScene was lucky enough to sit down with Morning Fatty’s bassist, John Pop, before the show. He was more than happy to give us his time and was a pleasure to interview.
GainesvilleScene: How has your fan base grown significantly since the last of your three back-to-back tours?
John Pop: Pretty significantly. Gainesville’s a weird spot because people are constantly cycling through, so it hurts us sometimes because we build up and then a lot of people will leave at the same time, but it helps us because when they leave, they spread out through all of the United States, so when we go on our tours, all of these people who knew us from Gainesville now know us in all of these other places. Overall though, it’s getting bigger and bigger every time, so there’s definitely an increase.
GS: How did it feel to play for such a large crowd at a huge festival like SunFest?
JP: It was quite impressive yesterday. We weren’t expecting what happened: we were the opening band that started out and played our first note and there was probably about fifty people there, and then by the time we were 15 minutes into our set, there were about 300 people, and then halfway through there were 500-800 people. Every time we looked out, the crowd just kept getting bigger and bigger.
GS: What was it like to perform with acts like 311? Were they one of your stronger influences?
JP: Playing this festival was so huge for us because we knew 311 was backstage in their trailer and we were hoping that they had heard our set. After we had finished playing, we were listening to 311’s set and Nick Hexum, the lead singer, had actually replaced one of the lyrics with “Morning Fatty,” which was awesome. We then had a chance to meet with them after the show, and they said that they had listened to our whole set, so that was the biggest benefit that we could have possibly gotten.
I’ve been listening to 311 since I was eight years old, and getting to meet them, talk with them and hang out and share beers in the room was awesome. I talked to P-Nut and told him he was one of my biggest inspirations, so it was a huge moment for us.
Via: Anna James
GS: What do you love most about performing locally at venues like The JAM? Who are you most excited about to share the bill with at tonight’s homecoming show?
JP: We love the JAM because all of our friends and strongest fans are here. Every time we come here, everyone sings and they know all of the lyrics and this is just our stomping-grounds. We just played with The Hip Abduction yesterday at SunFest, so we decided to get them up here to get them in a bigger Gainesville show, but we’re most excited to play with Dale and the Z Dubs. We hooked up with them in D.C. and also played with them in Baltimore a couple months ago and they were really kind to us…they’re just incredible musicians and we’re really excited. This is their first show in Florida so I’m really excited for my friends to listen to them because they’re coming up in the scene.
GS: What can we expect to see next in terms of collaboration, projects, albums, or touring?
JP: We’re taking a little time from touring to work on new music videos.
Feature photo courtesy of Tyler Hunt
