The pop band fun. burst onto the scene with only its second album Some Nights reaching platinum status. Boosted by the power of Glee after Grammy-nominated fun.'s song "We Are Young" was featured on the hit Fox television show, the tune went on to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
The group became a trio made up of Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost and Jack Antonoff after coming together from their respective bands. The title track has a completely different sound and has done well, and the band recently performed the song on Saturday Night Live.
With a recent concert in Chicago, fun. donated a dollar of every ticket sale to the fight for gay rights; the band also held a booth for the pro-LGBT organization the Ally Coalition in the lobby to encourage patrons to help with the cause.
Windy City Times went backstage to talk with band member Antonoff to find out about them fighting for our team and how they have so fun.
Windy City Times: Hi, Jack, nice to meet you. Where are you from?
Jack Antonoff: I'm from Jersey and the New York area.
WCT: How was the devastation with the hurricane [Sandy]?
Jack Antonoff: Not bad for me. I got pretty lucky.
WCT: You began your career in a punk band?
Jack Antonoff: Yes; in Jersey it was a really cool scene in the mid-to-late '90s.
WCT: Was it a rocking band that you joined right after that?
Jack Antonoff: Steel Train was kind of like a Springsteen band.
WCT: How did you meet the other guys in fun.?
Jack Antonoff: We were all touring together. Back in the day we would be on a package tour with five other bands traveling all around each doing 30 minutes. That was how it was done.
Andrew had a band called Anathallo, Nate had a group called The Format and I had Steel Train. In 2004, it was the first time Nate and I had been on tour together; then all three of us were on tour in separate bands together in 2006. When you are 18 and in high school, a lot of people start a band but the years go on and people are weeded out. It becomes clear who is going to be seriously doing this. The three of us kept at it. We kept tabs on each other. Nate's band broke up in 2008 and he called us and wanted to do it. We flew to New Jersey the next day and haven't left since.
WCT: Did it just feel right coming together as a group?
Jack Antonoff: It took a minute because we were the alpha personalities of each of our bands. It could have been a one-plus-one-plus-one-equals-zero kind of situation, but we found the formula. It's been great.
WCT: When did you know "We Are Young" was going to blow up?
Jack Antonoff: Not until everyone else did. We had never really had singles before that. We did the song and everyone was very excited about it. It was on Glee and started to sell then really took off.
I think it had been number one for four weeks and I remember being in a car with some friends in Florida. They were playing it on the radio. I asked if it was a hit on the label and they said they had sold 4 million copies so far! That just shows the way we think. We are so insular and inside of it. We didn't even hear it on the radio until months after it came out because we were on tour on the bus. We didn't have the experience that everyone else did. We didn't hear it in a bar, or sports event or on TV. Our experience led us to be the last to find out.
WCT: The fans have gotten crazier though, haven't they?
Jack Antonoff: Now that is noticeable! But we have great fans that kind of freak out for all of our songs.
WCT: So you have some longtime fans.
Jack Antonoff: Yes, we have been at it for a while.
WCT: How did you hook up with Janelle Monae for "We Are Young?"
Jack Antonoff: Our producer played her the song and she loved it. One thing led to another and she wanted to be a part of it purely as a fan, but now is featured on the track.
WCT: Who's singing it tonight?
Jack Antonoff: We do it without her.
WCT: The song "Some Nights" has done very well, also.
Jack Antonoff: That has been exciting.
WCT: I'm sure the pressure was to come up with another hit single. This song doesn't sound the same at all.
Jack Antonoff: There's a flip side to everything great that happens. "We Are Young" was this huge hit song that was amazing but right after comes the thought that we might be a one-hit wonder. "Some Nights" doing well has almost been more exciting for us.
WCT: I'm sure it is and you can enjoy it more.
Jack Antonoff: Yeah.
WCT: "Carry On" is the new single. That has a lot of potential.
Jack Antonoff: To me, it is the most transcending song that we have. It can reach the most people and has a message that most people can relate to, internalize and make their own. It has the potential to get to the most people.
WCT: It seems to have an anti-bullying or "stop suicide" message to it.
Jack Antonoff: Yes, the concept of "when you are lost and alone sinking like a stone, carry on" is truly broad for anyone going through anything in their life. It is really a statement about picking up and moving on, not being put down, and not taking it.
WCT: I read that you blogged on the Huffington Post about gay rights. What made you such a supporter of gay rights?
Jack Antonoff: Well, just being a human being; I think that everyone should be. We are, unfortunately, in the middle of a major human-rights issue. To me, we are standing up for it or quietly letting it happen.
You think back to African-American civil rights and I remember asking my grandfather what he did when Black people had [fewer] rights and hearing him talk about Martin Luther King. He risked his job because of his stance. It is inspiring stories and now—living in the future after all of this has happened—you realize that this changed the course of the future. How horrible would it be if someone asked you about what you did for Black people back then and you just said, "I hoped for better…"
I think everyone should think about that now in 2012 because we are in the heart of the moment fighting for equal rights and how unjust the current state is. Either you are involved or you are letting it happen. [People] should think about in 20 years what they will say to their kids and grandkids about what they did. "Granddad, what did you do for gay rights?" How are they going to answer that question? It is game time!
WCT: I love the T-shirt on the website with writing on the front, "It's all fun. 'til someone loses their rights."
Jack Antonoff: It is our most successful selling T-shirt, which I think has been very inspiring.
WCT: So you guys are selling it here at the merchandise booth?
Jack Antonoff: Yes.
WCT: Oh, good. I will pick one up. How was Saturday Night Live?
Jack Antonoff: Awesome. It was a dream come true. With so much of the stuff we do it is easy to get self-deprecating or we can find a way to make it not seem like a big deal but that one was as big as it feels.
WCT: You went to school with Scarlet Johansson?
Jack Antonoff: We dated for two years.
WCT: What did you think of The Avengers?
Jack Antonoff: I thought it was good. I saw it in an airplane recently.
WCT: Is there a celebrity you have enjoyed meeting?
Jack Antonoff: We met Taylor Swift at the [Video Music Awards] and that was cool.
WCT: What was she like?
Jack Antonoff: She was extremely nice and talking about our songs. It was a funny experience to hear her talk about our stuff.
WCT: Good thing you never dated her or she would write a song about you! [Both laugh.] You are heading to Japan?
Jack Antonoff: In February. That is probably coming soon than I think.
WCT: Have you been before?
Jack Antonoff: We have.
WCT: When are you coming back to Chicago?
Jack Antonoff: We will come back possibly for the last run of this album.
WCT: When is new music on the way?
Jack Antonoff: It will be a while because we really want to keep our heads and hearts on this album. We don't want to get onstage and play songs that no one has heard yet. That is like kissing your girlfriend and thinking of someone else.
WCT: I did that all the time in college! [Laughs] Looks like you are having a lot of fun. Where did that name come from with a period on the end?
Jack Antonoff: It was a legal issue. After we announced we would be fun, some Swedish death-metal band called and said, "We are fun, also." We asked if we could just add a period at the end and they said okay.
WCT: Is there a song that defines the band the most?
Jack Antonoff: I would say "Carry On," because there is an optimism there that you don't always get in modern rock music. I think people are afraid to be optimistic like it's not cool or something. I think that is something that can really change.
To have more fun., visit www.ournameisfun.com, where that LGBT T-shirt can be purchased for $10 cheaper than at the tour merch booth!
