Liam Finn

A few years past his acclaimed debut album, I’ll Be Lightning, with the addition of Eliza-Jane Barnes’ knockout vocals, and a resume that brags worldwide tours with the likes of Eddie Vedder, The Black Keys and Wilco, Finn has truly proven his rock-royalty blood potent (his father was Crowded House member Neil Finn).

With a new EP out (check out our review of Champagne In Seashells) and a show coming up at The Independent this Friday, I called Liam up to learn a bit more about him, his music and his plans for the future.

You have a very unique sound. It’s a blend of a lot of different genres. How would you describe the music you make?

I don’t know. I guess it’s sort of Avant-garde pop music, really. Ultimately I just want to be writing songs like the Beatles did with lots of melodies and harmonies, but obviously when recording or performing it’s quite important to make it unique or to have an experimental side, which is something I’ve always been quite interested in. So yeah, it’s avant-garde pop music.

So you said you’re influenced by the Beatles a lot. Are there any other artists that you consider to be a heavy influence?

Definitely. It’s also kind of a classic thing like The Beatles, but Neil Young has been a huge influence in guitar and songwriting and stuff. But I also grew up during the 90s and the 90s grunge era and indie bands from the States were really big to me like Pavement and even bands likes Fugazi and hardcore sorts of stuff.

Your new EP Champagne in Seashells seems a lot closer to your live performances – it’s way more experimental. What caused that change?

EJ and I have been touring for the past couple of years playing I’ll Be Lightning songs, which took on a completely new form and life when performing them live as a two-piece compared to having a band and stuff. So we wanted to document the dynamic that we create when playing live and do something in the studio that was gonna be really fun to perform. We shaped and wrote around what we could imagine doing live, as well as keeping it interesting for ourselves. Quite often we’re touring for so long that it helps you not to get sick of the songs you’re playing, because you’re doing them every night for a year or so.

You and Eliza-Jane have a great dynamic musically. How did you both meet?

She’s sort of been an old family friend for a long time. I met her when I was a kid because our parents were friends, but we didn’t really get to know much about one another as kids, but sort of loosely knew each other and then when my band Betchadupa went on tour in Australia years ago – probably that was seven years ago – she would always cook us meals and basically feed our hungry stomachs because we were a poor band traveling around in a van. And we just became really good friends again.

So then when I moved to London right around the time the band broke up and stuff, she was in love with London and stayed in my room while I was back in New Zealand recording records. So when I came back to London with my records she was living in the house and she was singing in my flatmate’s band and she was just, you know, taking on all my friends and sort of became part of our little family in London.

She just started singing one night while I was playing at a venue in London and she had heard the songs a little bit just from around the flat because I’d just finished recording it and all of a sudden I heard the harmonies – I was playing them on my own at that point – and I heard the harmonies coming from somewhere and I looked around and EJ was on the side of the stage sitting on a couch with a microphone. No one of the audience could even see her, but she was sitting there drinking a big glass of whiskey and singing all the songs and it was just great to hear the harmonies because I love doing harmonies, but it’s the one thing I couldn’t do on my own.

Basically from there she moved on the stage and we haven’t done a show apart since really.

At this point you’ve traveled the world and opened for sold-out shows with The Black Keys, Wilco and Eddie Vedder. Out of all of that, what’s your most memorable experience on stage?

Oh wow. It’s been amazing the last couple years. I mean, you know, to be honest they just keep outdoing themselves. The other night we were just playing in Toronto with Wilco in a really beautiful place called Mathew Hall. It’s this famous, old venue and probably one of my favorite records of all time was recorded there – a live Neil Young record from 1972. So that room’s got a lot of significance for me and we’ve played there a couple of times, but just the other night playing with Wilco was just quite a mesmerizing experience. To be up on stage and tap into the imagery that has been so many times created in that room.

So what are your plans for the next year? Is there another full-length album in the works?

Oh definitely. I keep saying this, but next year’s going to be a bit more chilled out. I’ll be spending a bit more time in New Zealand rocking a recording. I thought that’s what I was doing this year, but I’ve managed to kind of – I’ve made a couple of records this year. Champagne and Seashells is just in the middle. EJ and I made a record with some really good friends of ours – Lawrence Arabia, who she sang with when we were living in London and this other guy Connan Mockasin who actually wrote one of the songs on my last album. Just really good friends of ours and really inspiring songwriters. I mean, I may be biased because we’re friends with them but they both made records that really blow my mind. We decided we’re all sick of doing things on our own, so we started a band and made a record and are really excited to get that out next year.

But then also, the EP took three weeks to make and I’d really like to have a little while to make the next record and follow-up and figure out what I really want to do and what my next step is. I don’t want it to sound like anything I’ve done in the past.

This week you’ll be playing a show at The Independent in San Francisco. Is there anything you want people to know or prepare for?

We always have a great time in San Francisco. Our show is very much different every night. It’s completely different every night. The way that we perform with the loops and stuff, they’re things that people coming along for the show will probably never know to expect and I think that’s the most exciting part for us and one of the most exciting parts for the fans as well. The more experimental and the more spontaneity, then the more it makes for an enjoyable show for everyone. That things are always on the brink of falling apart at any time – I think makes it quite intimate and makes it also quite evolved.

Liam Finn will be at the Independent this Friday (10/23) at 8:30. Tickets are $13 adv and $15 door. -Kelsey Bryant

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Liam Fin & Eliza Jane