Amazing set guys, very touched to be here! What inspired you to found ‘FOOM!’?
Max: FOOM! started as an idea to create a backing band situation for every MC in South Florida that we would see and had a DJ. They would do their show, and it didn’t always quite deliver in the same way that I thought maybe we could do and so “OK all right let’s be back bad to a bunch of MCs. I invited two of the first MC friends that I could think of. We had one rehearsal and at the beginning we had the idea… at the end we had a new one and it was FOOM! Right then. We practiced for a Jazid gig that took 2 1/2 hours to play through, but you know by the end of that Jazid gig we were definitely a band. It was this new formed idea and it was like a collective that just continued to bear fruit. At this point we’re family of over 40 people.
Was FOOM! always a large multi-member group?
Max (Band leader/Bassist): No, it actually started out as a five-piece: Two MCs and a trio. Over time, out of creative necessity, or just urgency, we’re like ‘let’s add some horns’, ‘let’s add a violin’, ‘let’s do this’. It also kind of happened at the same time while we were meeting a bunch of cool people. This scene has continued to grow and has a lot of different angles and levels of diversity, so this band is kind of a good example of exactly that. A bunch of different people, a bunch of different recipes, a bunch of different ingredients, it makes us one big stew. It’s fantastic!
Open question to any member of the band: What would you say is the most attractive thing for you as a musician to be involved in a group like FOOM?
Eddy (Sax): To me it feels like, bro, it’s f**king magic. It’s actual magic because, like, with these people they’re not just musicians to me. While they all are the quintessential musician, [since] to me quintessential musician plays from their heart and plays from their heart to yours. With this music that we play, in a lot of places I don’t really feel that. And with these guys, not just with our music, but in our friendship and with every interaction that we have it’s f**king magical, and I always wanna be a part of that, always wanna be here with these people because I love them unconditionally. I love my family.
Max: I am so grateful for this opportunity to collaborate with anyone and everyone because FOOM! has been able to grow into not just a band that plays music, but it’s an experience that you go to. So we’re able to kind of curate these events through our own lens to create, just a big mix! Like the stew I mentioned, creating stew at the shows and on stage.
Back to the barbecue angle!
Max: Yes, back to the barbecue angle… I’m hungry (all laugh)
Swimmer (MC): As a musician, the thing about FOOM! is that FOOM! creates the context for stars to shine. There’s a lot of stars in Miami who don’t feel like they are because they don’t have a certain level of attention. You know, they haven’t played game, they haven’t played the algorithm, they haven’t done this, they haven’t done that. So they don’t get to bask in their stardom. We create the context for all of these players by inviting people to these shows where they get to be stars. It’s like having the instrumentalist and rappers; it’s something where both of those are kind of opposing genres on stage. Jazz instrumentalists hold a lot of pride in their work as musicians, the same way as rappers where we both wanna shine, but it’s like the age-old dilemma… what if we both shine together. And we just do it and it’s just everybody’s beaming! And it’s really nice, a lot of people have come through the village.
Eddy: I want to interject! I feel like it’s thanks to you guys, exactly what you said is what attracted me to FOOM! as well. Because the first time I played with you guys was the first time I tasted being a star. And I’ve always wanted to stay that way, and I connect so much with stars in general and the sun and everything, like on a spiritual level, so thank you.
Dylan (MC): I feel that I’ve grown entirely as an artist and as a person in general. It’s been like a very mind-opening experience, I was already open-minded, but like [Swimmer] said it gives everyone a time to shine. Eddie wrote ‘Moonlight’, like the actual music he wrote that sh*t! To see those moments happen and the creativity between us to actually do something. Even just as an individual, I feel like I wouldn’t have been the MC that I am today if it wasn’t for FOOM!
As a writer, as a performer, or anything like that, this has put me beyond measure. All the opportunities that I have to thank Max for because I have known these guys for years, especially Max and Caleb. We went to high school together. And truthfully I’ve always wanted to be in FOOM!, that’s actually how it started. I was like, ‘bro, I know you guys need a new MC! (everyone laughs warmly)
One day they just wanted to add a third for one show and they saw me perform once and I feel like everything happens for a reason. I wasn’t even half the rapper I am now. I wasn’t half the performer I was before I went on stage. It took me a couple of times before I was able to get into it myself and took a couple of performances and it was like, ‘ok yeah maybe he’s ready’. Everything happens for a reason, and it was actually right here at the Bandshell that I got to do my first performance with y’all was the Bandshell. Ever since then I was always a part of it. They’ve always let me feel like a family member and they’ve always made me feel like I was a part of it. It wasn’t just a one-time thing, as soon as it ended I remember Max was like, ‘we’re doing it again’. And that was it!
And I feel like us coming together, this guy (gestures at Max) pushes me especially. There’s not a lot of artists that pushed me in general or that you really feel like damn they inspire me. Not even to be cocky there’s a lot of artists that I know I’m better than and there’s a lot of bands I know that FOOM! is better than. But every single person: No matter if it’s a sax, no matter if it’s a bassist, no matter if it’s another MC, they push me. They give me the opportunity to challenge myself because they push me in genres I would never take on. That’s what attracts me.
Aidan (Guitarist): Honestly, for me I’m a new member, and let’s see how long they want me, but they’ve treated me like family since I’ve gotten here. One of the biggest challenges for me that I love is that it challenges me to work as a group. I’m so used to being in a jazz trio or jazz quartet, where I’m always shining. But in this sense, they give me the space to shine, of course, but it also actually asks me to really listen to a bigger picture that’s happening. So many people working together at the same time playing into the roles and I have to find a way in. Like today we worked with two guitarists, me being one of them, and I’m like “I’ve never done that.“ And we actually have to work together with that, find a way into the sound, and it just makes me question a lot and I love it a lot. I really have enjoyed all of the experiences so far.
Max: We love having you! It’s always awesome, people in FOOM! people who listen to FOOM!, I love everyone… I sound like Jack Black now, ‘I touched your kids and your kids touched me’. But it’s true! (everyone laughs) I love the idea that we’ve all been able to influence each other to make this, FOOM! and the show and I’m so glad you guys are here!
What are FOOM’s biggest goals for the near future? Is there anything you are currently working on?
Max: Everything! We’re under renovation and we’re under reconstruction. You can ask our unofficial social media manager right here. We have been under siege editing and getting it all together so our next plans are to hone in on what we got, make it tighter, make it deliverable and we’re playing June 1 at Revolution live for the Battle of the Bands.
Dylan: We’re going to win that NPR contest! (All cheer) We’re in the running for that. Also, I feel like we’ve been talking about it for a long time, but besides the ‘Live at the Boombox’, singles are coming and the album especially is coming! (Watch their NPR Tiny Desk submission on YouTube!)
Max: So there are some singles being recorded as we speak right now
Where are you guys recording?
Max: We’re recording in a bunch of different studios. We recorded with Matt Miami at his beautiful home studio. We recorded with Theo Braun at Earthtone Studios, and we did some rehearsal at the Bull Productions Studios with Andrew Gonzalez. We also did a couple of recordings at the new YMU Studios. So just learning the new ground of where to record, what’s the new best way to do it. With this group, we are such a live band and so this idea of recording individually and tracking stuff has been questionable if we can deliver that same emphasis and power. So, that’s been the challenge for the past couple months, trying to create something that we can track individually. It’s easier like that. So that it delivers the same kind of power, because eventually we will be able to record the shows too.
Awesome, thank you for sitting with me guys!
– – –
You can find FOOM! on instagram, follow them for more updates and look out for the Battle of the Bands at Revolution Live this June 1st!
View this post on Instagram