Westward Ho: An Interview with Eric Johnson of Fruit Bats

I heard that Eric from Fruit Bats moved to Seattle in March. Makes sense, seeing how his band now has two albums out on Sub Pop. I quickly learn that he is actually living in Tacoma though.
“Dude, is Hilltop (a neighborhood in Tacoma notorious for ending up on episodes of Cops) still scary?” I ask.

“Not really, not compared to the west side of Chicago, which is where I spent pretty much the last ten years,” says Johnson. “Yeah man, I think that this place is destined to be like Brooklyn or Oakland. And the rent is so much cheaper … “

Fruit Bats formed around 1999 and just released their third album, Spelled in Bones, which has garnered rave reviews from all sorts of indie rags and even some major publications, most notably, Rolling Stone. They’ve been compared to The Shins and even to The Velvet Underground. They definitely do play ridiculously beautiful and melodic music, so the comparisons aren’t completely unwarranted.

‘Are you sort of getting used to getting interviewed and having people know who you are or is it still kind of shocking?’

“You know, it’s been such a gradual thing and I think that I’ve had adequate time to adjust as I’ve gotten more recognition, but yeah it’s still weird, explains Johnson. I mean, take this conversation for instance- we’re both cool people and we’re having this completely one-sided conversation and I’m talking about myself.”

There is a section on the official Fruit Bats website that contains a list of jobs that Eric thinks he might be doing if he wasn’t making music. A couple of these are competitive eater and erotic science fiction novel writer.

“Do you still have a day job? I ask.”

“I do odd jobs, Johnson admits. I work as a photography assistant or on film sets as a production assistant. I also do craft services on sets- that’s the most fun, that;s what I do the most.”

“Wait, did you just say that that’s the most fun?”

“Yeah, I sit around and make mini sandwiches, and then I take them around. I’m like the cocktail waitress/snack bar/bartender, says Johnson.

“Can you wear what you want?”

“Oh yeah, and the money is actually really good, explains Johnson. I make a little money off of Fruit Bats, mostly from licensing from our songs being on TV shows.”

“What shows have you been on?”

“We were on Six Feet Under,” says Johnson.

To this I reply, “Excellent.”
Johnson continues, “And we were on a show that got cancelled after a few episodes called LAX.”

I can’t contain my excitement, “With Heather Locklear!!!”

“Yeah totally, and my only stipulation was that they had to play our song in a scene with Heather,” Johnson says.

Incredulously, I ask, “That was your stipulation?”

“Yeah, it was kind of a half-joking situation, but our song was totally in a scene with her,” Johnson explains. “I was in love with her when I was twelve.”

“Like TJ Hooker-style or Dynasty?” I ask.

Mmmm, TJ Hooker into the time when she was with Tommy Lee. And then she was with TJ, Johnson starts.

“Richie Sambora they’re totally married,” I interject. And, apparently, Richie has a large penis too.”
Eric laughs, “Wow, so Heather knows how to pick ‘ em- two for two.”

Eric Johnson is renowned for being a bit of a dictator inasmuch as he writes all of the songs for Fruit Bats. He has also overseen a lot of personnel changes in their short history.

“Can you ever envision a time when you would have more of a collaborative effort with Fruit Bats?” I ask.

“I don’t know,” Johnson replies. “I’ve never done it before. On Mouthfuls [Fruit Bats’ second album], Gillian [Johnson’s girlfriend] wrote these really specific parts on a couple of songs, so I gave her songwriting credits. But, for the most part, I wrote the whole thing.”

“How was it being in a band with your girlfriend?”

“It was totally fun,” Johnson admits. “We wanted to make it big and it was fun and we didn’t have a dramatic break-up or anything. Totally fun … we’re still really good friends.”

I had listened to the new album incessantly for twenty-four hours leading up to the interview and I had noticed that my mood had definitely brightened, even though nothing that spectacular had happened in my life. I figured it must be the music.

“So, in listening to the new album, I seemed to pick up this vibe that you’re telling everybody that everything’s going to be cool, that there is weirdness, but that everything is going to be ok,” I say. “It seemed like you really just wanted to make people feel better. Does that make any sense?”

“That’s exactly it, actually,” Johnson confirms. “You’re one of the first people to suggest that. I couldn’t have said it better myself.”

The Fruit Bats will be playing at Kilby Court on September 7th. Come and let Eric and the boys make you feel better.

The Fruit Bats w/ Rouge Waves
$7 Kilby Court
7:30 pm