Many bands' stories start in college dorm rooms or quads, the places where the band members first met. Chicago and Boston natives Ezra Furman and the Harpoons' story, however, literally starts in their dorm rooms, where the band not only met, but also recorded its first full-length album. While lead singer Ezra Furman does admit the cramped room presented certain challenges and the group was harangued about constant noise complaints, being college students made the setup necessary. Despite the confinement, the album was released successfully.
""I didn't care that much about aesthetics or sound back then,"" Furman said. ""Why would that matter as long as it sounded good? It had personality. Just because it sounds professional doesn't mean its good.""
Every college student can identify with working within restrictions. In fact, a lot of Ezra Furman and the Harpoons' story will sound familiar to the average college student. When they first started, Furman's writing style was brash and to the point, with a certain swagger like a freshman who used to be the big man on his high school campus. Over the years, the band's sound and especially Furman's writing style has matured and grown from freshman to senior.
""I didn't know anything about music. I didn't care. Let's just play,"" Furman said about his own irreverent style.
As time went on, Furman's band began to rub off on him, helping him develop his own musical style to accompany its already developed sound.
""They put a lot more care into it,"" he said. ""They taught me what music is and to put some time into it. … You can probably tell the music's getting a little more musical.""
Now in their latest stage, the band says that they've made their greatest work with their new release Mysterious Power, refining again their general education into increasingly more focused and specific songs.
Or, according to Furman, ""I've gained a little more control over [songwriting]. It's a little bit more measured… maybe more compartmentalized.""
During their tenure, Furman and the Harpoons have tried multiple methods of publicizing their music. As a promotion for their album Moonface, fans who bought the album on the bands website could write a blurb about themselves and send it in with their payment. Furman then wrote the buyer a personalized, full-length song.
""Some of them were pretty ridiculous,"" he admitted. ""But most of them were like full songs and like a satisfying song.""
This personal connection to their fans is a remarkable trait in a band. Furman himself enjoyed writing them.
""It was a challenge for me, but I relished it. I feel proud that I did it,"" he said.
On Friday, Ezra Furman and the Harpoons will bring their senior sound to the Frequency. It'll be a comfortable campus of sorts for a band that got their start playing college house parties and went on to establish themselves at all sorts of venues across the country and across oceans.
The concert is sure to be a soiree of great music and good feelings. The songs are guaranteed to touch on self-identity and finding your home, presented as the perfect send off from the trials of adolescence to the realities of the adult world. Whatever you do, don't expect an overly produced, theatrical concert. Just expect a good time with a ""good singer, good band, and good music.""
Ezra Furman and the Harpoons will be playing this Friday night at the Frequency. Doors open at 8:30 p.m., show starts at 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance, $12 at the door.
