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Oakland favorites Fake Fruit are primed for another round of punchy post-punk both personal and political. Following the success of their self-titled debut in 2021 and four ripping singles, their new album Mucho Mistrust comes out on August 23rd via Carpark Records. In anticipation of the release, we were able to catch up with bandleader Hannah "Ham" D'Amato who, despite a mid-tour van breakdown, told us about life on the road, singing in Spanish, and her Grandmother's undying love for little dogs.
What have you been listening to, reading, watching, or spending a lot of time doing?
Hannah "Ham" D'Amato: I've been listening to a lot of Latin '70s music, and as far as contemporary stuff goes the new Cindy Lee record Diamond Jubilee has been rocking my world (all two hours of it.)
I really enjoyed the jammin' guitar and clever lyrics on "Mucho Mistrust." What can you tell us about developing this as your lead single?
We always knew this was going to be the title track, and funnily enough, it had a name before it had any lyrics. I got obsessed with the phrase years back and knew I wanted it to be the name of our second LP and lead single. I wrote different sets of lyrics for this one several times before landing where we did. The second verse where I am rapid-fire listing signs was the funniest part to work on because it was super late at night, I couldn't sleep and I shared a very thin wall with my roommate and had to mutter under my breath. I must have sounded like I was speaking in tongues!
Can you tell us more about the narrative behind the music video? The religious themes are really interesting and I love that it stars your Grandma. Has she ever acted before? Are those her actual dogs?
Miles, Alex and I kind of mashed up a few ideas we had in mind for the video and expanded on the concept of nodding to the archetypes in the "No Mutuals" video in a new world. My grandma is the sweetest funniest lady, who is also religious but in the best way. We were eating dinner together outside at the patio of a restaurant and she got up and went over to this couple and their dog and asked if she could bless the dog. Those are her dogs, I think she would rescue hundreds of dogs if she could. Anyway, we liked the idea of tricking the audience into thinking she would fall for a televangelist pyramid scheme, and then her seeing through it and getting the last laugh. She's the best.
What new elements did you explore throughout the new album? I read that you're incorporating more lyrics in Spanish.
I think on this record the main thing that changed is the distribution of songwriting leaning way more heavily toward collaborative writing sessions and making songs together in the room by jamming. Every time we write a new song I'm amazed with how quickly it comes together and how in tune we are to each other's nonverbal cues and playing styles. We call it the hive mind hehe. I'm studying Spanish because it's really important to me to preserve that side of my culture even though we didn't grow up speaking Spanish in the household. As I get better I think the writing will reflect that, but for now, it's Spanglish!
How do you approach your songwriting and what sort of themes do you like to write about?
I'm a serial phone notes taker, I've gotten pretty good at making sure I write down ideas as they come to me and I'll build from there. But, for the writing process of this new album, we were in the room writing as a group for a lot of it and I would just come up with words on the fly! I like to write about anything that grinds my gears, and it's pretty classic for me to write snarky songs, but I'm getting better at zooming out and not just live journaling my darkest thoughts.
What else can you tell us about this record before it comes out this Friday? Is there a track out of the twelve you’re most excited for us to hear?
There is a song called "Venetian Blinds" that our guitarist Alex [Post] wrote and brought to the band to add our parts to. I think it's probably one of the most fun sharp-edged songs on the whole record. When they were trying to teach us the song, it took us a while to be able to figure out what was what, and it's such a marathon of playing that I honestly think we grew as musicians through playing it. Also just cool to hear them take the mic for a whole song.
What were some of your favorite memories when recording the new album at The Atomic Garden in Oakland?
Honestly, the best memory was when we wrapped! We wanted to record this LP in a more relaxed way, but due to last minute change of circumstance we had to record the whole record in two days, all live tracked too save for some later overdubs and minor tweaks. It's about as close to a live record as you can get which is really stressful to be honest, and you have to go galaxy brain for nine hours straight. Ultimately we are immensely proud of the record but excited to have a more leisurely studio recording experience next time where the lit fire of time isn't on our ass.
Your self-titled debut LP is a truly incredible release and was one of my favorites in 2021. What's the story behind how that one came together and what are your thoughts looking back on it now?
That record feels like a collection of songs that were written along the way between all of the cities I lived in. Three of the songs ("No Mutuals," "Milkman," "Swing And A Miss") were written with the band and those ended up being some of my favorites. We had to record the album in two chunks because we were so broke, we recorded the first batch before we did a self booked tour up to Vancouver B.C. and back so we could have a tour tape to sell. The second chunk we did probably six months later, just really hectic recording conditions as far as time and money constraints go. I think if anyone besides Andrew Oswald had recorded and mixed that record I think it would sound totally different, and not have that magic quality that captures that exact moment in time so well. I think it's funny listening back to it because the songs are so slow compared to how we play them live, and we fine tuned the parts through road testing them. I'm very proud of that record as a jumping off point, and I'm excited for everyone to hear how much we have grown as musicians and as band when the next record is fully out.
You also recently came off of a whole summer of shows with Omni and Alex G. What was life like back on the road?
That tour with Omni was so fun minus our van nightmare saga. They are sweethearts and it’s always so fun breaking the ice and becoming friends on tour. I really cherish that side of touring and feeling the camaraderie of finding like-minded sincere ass people who are in it for the same reasons as us. It was a treat singing their song "Plastic Pyramid" (I translated my part to Spanish) with them as their encore for a lot of the shows, and they had me join them for their KEXP session which was so sweet! I always look forward to food on tour, we make a point to try regional delights and new fast-food chains here and there. I think we discovered Culver's on the last tour, they have a sauce called Boom Boom that absolutely slaps! The Alex G show was nuts, that was our first time playing in front of 9K and it felt amazing to start off petrified, then relax into it, and feel fully comfortable and like we were right where we were supposed to be. Felt like a big milestone and the beginning of a new chapter for the Fruits.
What were some of the highlights from when you played at the Bob Baker Marionette Theater back in June '22? How did that even happen?
That happened because of Blair [Tramel] from Snooper. She has a friend who works as a puppeteer there and was able to set that up for us. We basically planned the whole tour around that show. That must've been the most magical show we played all year, not really sure how we will beat that one. It's incredible to be just as amazed as the audience, because we had no idea what it was going to look like or what to expect. The only thing I requested was that they use a duck puppet for a song where I say fuck a lot bc of how phones tend to auto correct fuck to duck a lot.
Anything else we should keep our ears to the ground for?
We will be going on a headline tour this fall once Mucho Mistrust is out, really looking forward to making it out along the East Coast again for the first time in a few years. It's a truly wildly unstable lifestyle that we are living through, but we are also so lucky to have met so many friends and sweet people along the way who support us and what we make. Just excited to share the new record and see how it resonates with folks!
Mucho Mistrust is out August 23rd on Carpark Records.