First You Get The Sugar
Keep an eye on their multifaceted rock!
Montreal's First You Get The Sugar are, as you probably already suspect, named after something Homer Simpson said in one of the greatest episodes from the golden years of that erstwhile great show. And yet, not only for that: "We didn’t want to be a 'The' band," says bassist Mick Mendelsohn.
Me, my mind's in merchandising heaven.
I suggest that given the moniker's origins and its relative cachet with people of a certain age and pop culture literacy, the band might want to make their merch reflect the little in-joke. Maybe a t-shirt with the snippet, "In America..." across the front, if you get my meaning.
Mendelsohn wasn't having it, however. "Literal representations of a band’s name probably shouldn’t dictate the direction of their artwork," he says. "I mean, take Arcade Fire, The Beatles and Sam Cooke. I have t-shirts of all three, and none of them feature a blazing inferno, insects, or a guy making pancakes."
Two things, here, speak to me: One, Mick Mendelsohn ain't playin' and two, someone needs to design an Arcade Fire shirt featuring, say, a charred, still-smoking Arkanoid unit.
But I digress.
If you've spent any time on St. Laurent Boulevard anytime in the last few years, you've seen FYGTS flyers affixed to, well, lots of things. You've probably heard 'em play their brand of winning, multifaceted rock that's more than a little bit poppy and even a tad dance-y. Hell, you've probably had a beer and shot the breeze with them.
What you probably haven't seen is a certain world-weariness. Case in point: Asked to fast forward ten years in the life and times of FYGTS, then look back and tell me where he thinks the band will be, Mendelsohn replies, "Happy but unsatisfied, wise but curious." My question requested a literal, career-specific answer; he offered a philosophical, existential one. This, clearly, is not a band bent on international sell-out superstardom. Rather, they're decidedly more akin to that third-line winger who does his job, never makes mistakes and always comes through in the clutch. Sure, maybe my Canadian is showing, but so's theirs (even though there is a Californian, guitarist Alex Silver, in their midst).
"Every band that makes a name for itself usually has a different story," Mendelsohn says, getting back on topic. "With the record industry in decline, there’s no longer any single template for how to make it. Even what it means to 'make it' is up for debate."
And then the coup-de-grâce: "For us, I think we’d just like to be able to turn on as many people as possible with our music and still be able keep our cupboards stocked with Pringles and vodka."
First You Get The Sugar
First You Get The Sugar
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