all photo credits: weworemasks

I’ve just been a huge fan of all things related to Nate Reuss since the latter part of the 2000s. That being said, it was quite awesome being able to speak with one of the more earnest singers/songwriters that I’ve listened to over the span of 3 albums and 2 bands.

fun. recently stopped by Houston, TX on their tour with Panic! at the Disco and I had the chance to speak on the phone with Nate prior to their show that evening, where we discussed future plans with the band that included as much as we could get about the new album, touring plans and hey – hip-hop.

Hit the jump for the interview.

-grizzly

Roshan Bhatt, weworemasks: Hey Nate, how’s it going? Thanks for taking the time to chat with us.

Nate Reuss, fun.: Hey man, no problem.

WWM: Let’s go ahead and get cracking. How’s the tour with Panic! been for you guys? You’ve been on the tour for a few weeks now.

Nate: It’s been really good. This is our first tour on the bus so we’re treating it like a summer vacation. I mean, one day, we played ping pong ALL day.

WWM: [Laughs]

Nate: So it’s been pretty great. The shows have been just wonderful. The crowds we’re playing to every night are big so we’re having a really great time playing this tour.

WWM: I think it’s really cool that you guys collaborated on “C’mon” together, how did that idea come about?

Nate: I don’t remember how it came about, really. We were both mutual fans of each other and through the label, we just kind of connected and then we found ourselves in the studio working together. It was a song that I had just come up with them, and then we all just collaborated from there.

WWM: After hearing the song, I definitely feel there’s a more ‘fun.’ presence than a ‘Panic!’ presence on the song. Was that a planned situation?

Nate: It’s funny you say that, cause we’ve never collaborated on a song before. You know, that dual band thing. It was really interesting to see what both sides brought to the table. Even with their sound being a part of it, we kinda just knew where we stood on the song and we built off of that, you know?

WWM: Definitely. Are there more songs on the way, or was that just a one-off situation for the sake of the tour?

Nate: We actually recorded two of em about a year and a half ago. There aren’t any more songs on the way or anything, and we still haven’t figured what to do with the other. We still have a nice mutual respect for each other – and now we’re really good friends. It’s nice to have friends, right?!

WWM: Friends are really cool. [Laughs] Anyway, I’ve read around plenty of places that the album’s done and ready to go. Is there an official title yet or is that something you guys are keeping under wraps?

Nate: No official title. We’re still trying to figure out all that stuff. It’s done. We’re in the state of mixing and mastering. It’s just hard being out on tour. We’re gonna find the time to lay out all the details. We’re gonna meet up with the producer after this tour’s over and spend time putting all the finishing touches on it.

WWM: I’ve heard “late summer” thrown around for a release date – are we aiming (no pun intended) for a September release date or later?

Nate: Oh yeah, man. September, late September. I think we’re all crossing our fingers for that date. I mean, if we can get everything done in time then definitely!

WWM: My fellow bloggers and I have always discussed this – and this isn’t to be taken the wrong way. We feel that in the ashes of the Format’s break up, Aim & Ignite made a lot of sense as far as musical progression goes. Was that intentional or did it just happen naturally?

Nate: A little bit of both definitely. For my sake, just to feel secure. I used the songwriting as a blanket. I don’t play any instruments, so I write melodies all the time. The melodies are so suggestive of the songs. Sometimes I pay more attention to the story as opposed to the actual songs. Then I’m always looking at the orchestration type of production. That’s just the type of songwriting I’m used to. For that first fun. album, we were just excited to flaunt our individual talents, that it came out that way.

WWM: Did you approach the writing process the same as the Aim & Ignite sessions, or can we expect a different identity of fun. going into the album 2’s release?

Nate: I think there’s a pretty different identity on this album, but it’s still a similar type of way that I write songs. If anything, I can take in a bunch of new influences in the way I write songs. There’s still going to be those very Broadway-esque moments [on the new album], but we wanted to be mindful of and try new things this time around. I mean, obviously it’s cliche to say this: we couldn’t be happier. But it’s just the way it goes, I guess.

WWM: I definitely get that, though. What were some of your musical influences going into the recording process?

Nate: A lot of hip-hop, actually.

WWM: Really, now? Didn’t expect that [Laughs]

Nate: Yeah, man. I’ve been listening to a lot of Kanye West and [Nas’] Illmatic.

WWM: God damn, I love Illmatic.

Nate: Yeah! Just a bunch of stuff like that, you know?

WWM: I just thought it was funny you mentioned that, because we post a lot of hip-hop on our website. We all have plenty of other genres to post about, but it’s mainly hip-hop artists, because they tend to drop more songs and more frequently, just because they can.

Nate: That’s freaking exciting and great. I kinda just rediscovered hip-hop and went at it really hard. I engulfed myself in the genre during the writing and recording process. Some of the producers we worked with had a lot to do with that as well, though.

WWM: Really good to hear. Are there any lyrical or musical themes to the new record?

Nate: Not necessarily…but you know, it’s always me feeling sorry for myself!

WWM: [Laughs]

Nate: But seriously, we’ll probably find the album somewhere in the way I was feeling for about a year and a half there.

WWM: You guys are somewhat newly signed to Fueled by Ramen. How has recording the new album been at your new home, as far as creative freedom is concerned?

Nate: It’s actually…I’ve been on major labels before [with The Format] and it was just the worst kind of experience. I only wanted to get into it if they were going to treat us well and it was going to be a good situation. There were a lot of things I didn’t realize when I was young and signed to these labels at 20-years-old, but now it’s 8, 9 years later and I definitely knew what it was that I wanted from them. What I wanted to do – the push and pull. It’s been amazing. Just from my experiences in the past, it’s good to stand up and say it’s been a great experience thus far. I can’t say enough good things about how supportive they’ve been. Even mentioning that I was in the zone with and influenced by hip-hop, and there were a lot of questions. I just told them to trust me – and they did.

WWM: So nice to hear you having a good time. That was the main reason why I asked. There was a lot of talk during the Format days about label situations and what not, so it’s comforting that some labels out there are opening up to new ideas and new music.

Nate: It’s very cool. It’s good for us because people knew what to expect with the first album, I feel like. I had three albums with the first band – so people knew what they were getting into.

WWM: After the record is pressed and released, what would your touring plans entail? Do you want to headline a tour?

Nate: Yeah, I definitely hope so. We love to be around and on the road. It has to be smart, though. It’s nice for us. We put ourselves on the headline tour right before we wanted to record and we left ourselves a lot of room to grow. It allows us to be picky and choosy with whom we tour with. This panic tour lets us play these big shows to kids who probably don’t know us.

WWM: Yeah at first, this tour made little sense to me. I heard “C’mon” and everything kind of just fell into making sense. I wouldn’t have pegged the bands to be that similar until I remembered how similar Pretty. Odd and Aim & ignite are in some ways.

Nate: Yeah, it was interesting. Even when we went to work on that song, I had never listened to them that much before hand and when I listened to Pretty. Odd., I thought the exact same thing. I was shocked at the similarities, really. I love that album to death.

WWM: Well I mean, that’s pretty much all I had! Just wanted to say good luck with the tour and the album release, we’re definitely looking forward to it all.

Nate: Cool, man. Thanks a lot! Definitely appreciate it, guys!

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Aim & Ignite is in stores now, and the new album should be out this summer. If fun. ever comes to your town, be sure to go say hi to the fellas!