As one of the headliners at 2013 Pickathon, Divine Fits had access to air conditioning, which made this lighthearted interview experience all the more pleasant. Singer/guitarist Dan Boeckner and multi-instrumentalist Alex Fischel arrived early enough to check out a rockin' acoustic set by Ty Segall at the Woods Stage. The tall and pale singer/guitarist, Britt Daniel, reached the sylvan grounds a little before our meeting time at 7 PM, while drummer Sam Brown was still en route. On a what could be considered by many as the quintessential summer day, with plenty of sunshine and the mercury bulging towards the upper 80s °F, the three members of Divine Fits and I crowded into one of the trailers and turned the thermostat way down. The artificially cooled-air allowed Boeckner and Fischel to keep their "rock star" leather jackets on and kept me from melting into the oblivion.
With the combined forces that has fronted esteemed indie bands such as Spoon, Wolf Parade, and Handsome Furs, Divine Fits don't have to rely on publicity. And I had little hopes that they would give me any press time - I mean if I were in their position, I'd rather be relaxing, catching up with fellow performers, and enjoying the festivities. But instead, they spent almost 20-minutes with a stranger with a camera. In a fraction of an hour, the three gentlemen revealed a wedding engagement, eating free-range rat, and partying it up in Larry Hagman’s Airstream. These guys were not merely fulfiling their media commitment, but genuinely seemed to enjoy all aspects of being professional musicians, even if that meant doing something that could be a mundane interview. How fortunate that I was able to be in such a synergetic and cordial company.
Watch the video interview recorded at the 15th annual Pickathon, that took place at Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, to learn more things you may or may not knew about Divine Fits. Photos and recap from Pickathon 2013 over at our Photo Galleries page.