Floating through the dangerous world of the MySpace “top eight” one night, I came across Fool’s Gold that immediately grabbed me.  It was like nothing I’d heard, and the unique vibe was welcomed into my music world instantaneously.  It took me a good few lines into the song “Surprise Hotel” to realize that the L.A. based indie band was, in fact, singing almost every tune in Hebrew!  So, being a lyrics freak, I totally got down to business grasping for whatever knowledge I’ve retained from former years and got to work piecing together the foreign phrases.

After not being able to kick my Fool’s Gold addiction for a week straight, (currently seeking the assistance of a twelve step program) I decided to make my way to their next L.A. show and see the sight in living color.

Lead singer Luke Top was awesome enough to invite me to a little coffee sesh the day prior to the show, and we sat down in Silverlake for a little tea-tme chat about all things music related, couch surfing, and how to survive the Monday- Friday mundane.

BNB:  So- Troubadour, tomorrow night!

LT:  So excited.

BNB:  I am pretty stoked to hear you live- your music kind of grabbed me instantly!  It actually took me a couple minutes to realize you were singing in Hebrew!  Is that applicable to all your songs?

LT:  Well, we have some more new songs that have more English in them- but it’s mostly in Hebrew.

BNB:  You’re originally from Israel!

LT:  Yeah!  My family is from Tel Aviv & Bat Yam!

BNB:  So you have a pretty busy European tour planned in about a month- any stops in Israel planned?!

LT:  You know, playing in Israel hasn’t materialized yet!  It’s one of our band bucket list goals though.

BNB:  Main musical influences?

LT:  Well, obviously we really like African music, music from Ethiopia- I think the basic three regions that we pull from are The Congo, Mali, & Ethiopia.

BNB:  That’s what was so cool- very diverse and different sounds dominating your tracks!  So obviously tomorrow will be fun to experience live!

LT:  Yeah I’m just so excited- we really don’t play in our hometown often enough.

BNB:  Always on the road for shows?

LT:  We’ve been on tour for like a year straight.

BNB:  Fave place you’ve played?

LT:  Favorite?  That’s tough!  We have some really crazy fans out in Paris- so that’s fun, Amsterdam’s great.  I think we’re all kind of experiencing this thing where you kind of get used to being on the road- more than you are at home.  It used to be tough for me to handle touring, and I wasn’t ever sure that it was really the right thing for me- but then I kind of just flipped and now I’m really addicted to like movement & travel.

BNB:  And you have like six people in your band!

LT:  FG6 we call ourselves.

BNB:  That’s a whole lot of people in one van- all the time.  Ever want to knock someone out?

LT:  You know, it’s been more in the past- and it’s pretty intense, I’m not gonna lie.  It’s tight- REALLY tight- so we’re really close.

BNB:  Radio wars?

LT:  Oh yeah- A LOT.  Varying musical tastes when we pass around the ipod.

BNB:  SO when it lands in your hands it’s….

LT:  The Smiths.  We listen to a lot of The Smiths- kind of a daily thing for my band.  I like Ethiopian music- that might be my favorite.  I listen to it everyday- it just kind of calms me down.

 

BNB:  So on the road- soon to be again.  What’s been your craziest touring story to date?

LT:  You know- I don’t think I can make it PG-13!  You know, when you’re on tour for a year there’s definitely a lot of moments where you’re thinking about how crazy your life has become.  But, the one that comes to mind immediately is the last night of this last tour we played at Reading Festival and it was our last show, and our friends Local Natives & We Are Scientists were there also, so we all kind of just had this blow out celebration at the end.  My last memory of that night was there were about twelve people in our van and we were driving around in circles listening to R. Kelly and drinking wine out of bottles until about four or five a.m. and then we had to clean out the van because we had to leave at 6:00 a.m.-and get on a plane to go home.  It took me like a week to recover from that.  It was one of those moments where you kind of stand back and realize that this is pure, unadulterated chaos, and there’s nothing you can do about it- and it rules.

BNB:  I’m a rockstar, clearly- but not sure if I’m that much of a rockstar!

LT:  It’s just fun running in to other musicians out there.  Like sometimes you feel lonely on tour.  So it’s nice to have other local bands that we know and run into them in different places.

 

BNB:  So your song “H’Dvash” means “The Honey,” what was your inspiration behind that jam in particular?

LT:  You know- I had a lot of stress and a lot of limitations in my life.  Had a job that was very difficult, and a relationship that was very strenuous and unsupportive- yet I had this outlet Fool’s Gold that was happening pretty much every night.  So just having a dream and doing something about it is really what “H’Dvash” is about- just the cliché of having this peripheral dream and not necessarily doing anything about it- but it keeps you going.

BNB:  Fall victim to a little 9-5 nonsense Luke?

LT:  Oh yeah, definitely.  Just the polar opposite of this life- so it created an interesting tension for me at the time.  So “The Honey” is about having this dream and kind of doing something about it.  You know, it can actually lead to a lot of depression if you’re not doing it correctly.  One of the lines in the song kind of sums it all up, “I only have time to drink from the faucet- and dream of the honey.”

 

BNB:  So when you guys are getting ready to live the dream & perform- any pre-show vices or rituals!?

LT:  Funny you should ask- we have a nightly ritual that involves huddling in a circle and singing the words “hey oh” like five times and then kind of sustaining notes and then two short breaths and then one long deep breath.  It’s all very specific.

 

BNB:  So you guys are very close!  Do you live with any of the other band members?

LT:  I actually live by myself- which is kind of essential to my well being- because I do a lot of work on my own!  But, that being said, everyone in my band is like practically homeless- so they crash with me pretty often.  Right now I have Salvador the percussionist on my couch.  I kind of take in the crew when necessary!

BNB:  That’s cool though- it’s like a “Surprise Hotel!”

LT:  Ha!  EXACTLY!  Good one!

 

BNB:  Closing Remarks?

LT:  Be sure to wear your dancing gear to our shows- preferably L.A. Gear if you have those.  Or Lakers gear.  Or- any kind of basketball accoutrement!  That makes us happy.

A few hours later and I’m getting wristbanded at a now overflowing Troubadour, everyone awaiting anxiously the local music with a far-away twist.  Thank my lucky stars I was dressed to dance because there was no shortage of movers and shakers in the uber-diverse crowd.

Opening with their latest “Tel Aviv” the sextet FG-6 rushed onstage and the energy was immediately contagious.  The songs were on the longer end, and definitely dreamy with large doses of instrumentation sans words in certain spots- leaving people to get lost amidst the tunes and tracks for any length of time.  Hope you brought your Nav-system, finding your way out of the FG induced trance is no easy task.

Followed by “H’Dvash” and “Surprise Hotel” the music never once lost its luster- and  kept the crowd begging for more.  It’s no wonder this pseudo jam band has toured previously with Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros- the precedence over the crowd both Alex and Luke seem to share is beyond intriguing!

San Diego kids can catch them next tonight at Soda Bar tonight (9/24), and residents from across the pond can check out www.myspace.com/foolsgold to see where and when to hit a show in their Euro-region of choice!  All that glitters is clearly Fool’s Gold.