Since the February release of its second full-length, Six Demon Bag, Philadelphia rock troupe Man Man has been praised by various respected critics and has received a very random shout out from John Legend during his acceptance speech at this year’s Grammy Awards. Crammed in a van in the desert in Arizona, lead singer Honus Honus (born Ryan Kattner) took some time out of a busy driving schedule to talk with Paste about all the publicity, new material and the non-stop gigging his band has taken on in recent months.
“[Touring] is pretty much our life right now,” Kattner says. “You do get kind of worn out after a while. Playing is great, but it’s the down time — the driving and all that fun stuff. We’ve noticed a slight increase in people coming to our shows. We’ve seen some positive effects, but no one [in the band] is driving around in Bentleys or even scooters. We all have day jobs.”
Seeing Man Man live is quite the privilege: instead of wearing neat suits, leather boots, or other typically rock ‘n’ roll stage wear, the band appears adorned in all white (“Off white,” Kattner corrects). And instead of looking at the crowd and saying something trite like, “You guys ready to rock?!,” the guys go right into the songs, allowing the material the chance to do the talking, generally without a single break. Luckily enough for those who have yet to experience Man Man live, there is a seemingly-unending barrage of tour dates (see below).
At least partially due to the band’s chaotic live antics and far-out sound, it isn’t unlikely to hear people write off Man Man as a Captain Beefheart/Tom Waits rip-off, or worse, a novelty act. Although the comparisons don’t bother Kattner, being considered a joke can be unnerving, especially when lyrics like, “I wanna sleep for weeks/ Like a dog at her feet/ Even though I know it won’t work out/ In the long run,” are overlooked.
“I take pride in the lyrics,” Kattner says. “I feel like a lot of the songs on both albums are sad, but it gets lost in the wash of the chaos and crazy. But it’s good because it gives things depth. A joke band is the last thing we are. We have fun playing, and why wouldn’t you? [You drive] 10 hours for a show, so why be a sourpuss? Even when my head’s in the wrong place (and it’s wrong most of the time on tour), I’m not going to drag it out on stage.”
Even though the band plans on taking a break from touring, Kattner said there is no desire to follow a critically acclaimed album with a prolonged bout of silence before another record.
“We can’t do that,” Kattner says. “We can’t be stagnant that long. People just don’t have the attention spans nowadays. But also, there’s just no way in hell we can wait a couple of years.”
Man Man will head back to the studio later this year to record new material, of which some songs have already been finished. Kattner says he hopes to release it in fall 2007, but it all depends on what label puts it out, since the band’s contract with Ace Fu has run out.
Tour dates:
October
10 - Norman, OK, The Opolis
11 - Denton, TX, Hailey’s (w/ The Thermals)
12 - Austin, TX, Emo’s (w/ The Thermals)
13 - Baton Rouge, LA, Spanish Moon
14 - Tallahassee, FL, Club Downunder/FSU (w/ Girl Talk)
15 - Orlando, FL, The Social (w/ Wolf Eyes)
16 - Augustine, FL, Café Eleven St.
18 - Birmingham, AL, Bottletree
19 - Atlanta, GA, Drunken Unicorn
20 - Durham, NC, Troika Music Festival
21 - Baltimore, MD, G Spot
27 - Vlissingen, De Piek
28 - Nottingham, The Social
29 - Leicester, The Musician
30 - Manchester, Night & Day Cafe
31 - London, White Heat @ Sammie Jo’s
November
1 - Amsterdam, Club 3voor12/VPRO Radio
2 - Doornroosje Nijmegen
3 - Hertogenbosch, W2 concertzaal
4 - Tilburg, Tilburg 013
5 - Rotterdam, Rotown
8 - Groningen, Vera
9 - Antwerpen, Petrol/Breekmolen
10 - Utrecht, Ekko
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