Interview: Hop Along

By: Caspar Jacobs | Posted: April 30th, 2015 | Original Article

Hop Along is an amazing band releasing their second album Painted Shut on the 5th of May. They're probably grunge or whatever you call it, but it doesn't really matter what you call it because they're GREAT anyway. The songs are powerful and Frances' voice is outright amazing. No surprise that we wanted to interview them ahead of the release:

Hey, thanks for being so kind to answer a few questions for Beautiful Freaks! How are you feeling about the release of Painted Shut?

My pleasure! It's always surreal to release something you've been living with for a while, and have it basically be new again. As a band we're all proud of this one, and excited to see what happens. For me, because the content is so upfront and more personal at times than I've ever been before, it's a little daunting. It's that fear of being misunderstood. But that's always there for many people, I'm sure.

Your press release says that Buddy Bolden and Jackson C. Frank are often depicted on Painted Shut. Can you tell us some more about this, for example why these two musicians and where on the album they pop up? Is there any way in which they relate to a more general subject matter of your songs?

I would say the whole record addresses the circumstance of wanting without knowing where the end of that want is (which I think troubles most of us, certainly myself), and how incredibly impossible desire becomes when you are impoverished and can't take care of yourself. Our society wasn't built with everyone in mind. It wasn't even built with most people in mind. Buddy Bolden and Jackson C. Frank were two extremely talented individuals who died in very sad circumstances and it shouldn't have ended that way for them. Not because of their talent, but because they were human beings. Human beings shouldn't have to die homeless or alone in sanitariums.

You have a very distinct way of singing. How did you 'find' that style and in what role does it play in the way you express yourself?

I'm just doing my best with what I have, you're sort of stuck with your own voice. My voice frustrates me endlessly. It's a tool with many limitations. That being said I've been singing since I was about 7, so I've used it my whole life as a form of expression, I've learned to work with it rather than try to emulate the singers I love. And I'm grateful that I get to spend so much of my life singing, I love to sing. It's a complicated relationship, the one I have with my voice. It keeps changing, it's still changing.

What does being in a band mean to you personally?

When I was playing on my own I wanted to be in a band so badly. I just thought bands had more fun, they can play off of each other and be surprised. I've learned that being in a band is a little more complicated than that, but I found a lot of it to be true too. Sometimes when we play live I look over at one of the guys and they're just lost in a song and freaking out, and that has such a powerful effect on me. It's amazing reinforcement, having friends/ bandmates to believe in something with you, trusting in music together.

What music are you listening to at the moment? And are there any films/books/etc that you have particularly enjoyed recently?

I can't stop listening to Joni Mitchell. In the last year I bought 5 of her records. She's unbelievable, there is no one on this planet like her. I've been listening to Radiolab on the road a lot to keep from getting totally stupid, I have a hard time reading on the road. Still trying to pick up a book and stick with it, I can only seem to do short stories right now. Regarding films, last winter I saw Interstellar in the theater with Joe, one night after mixing, and it had a very profound effect on me. I think it's a really important movie.

Our website is called Beautiful Freaks. Giving your own interpretation to 'Beautiful Freaks', do you think the term fits you as a band and/or as persons?

When I was a kid I was a beautiful freak, I think all children are beautiful freaks. They're new to their bodies, they can barely keep from falling down when they walk. Just look at and listen to a playground. Now I'm older and paying my bills and grocery shopping, I've been in my body for a good while. I finally am happy with my body. I'm also more acquainted with humiliation and the circumstances of others. I can't speak for the whole band, we're all pretty different, but I think with getting older I don't feel like I need to try so hard to stand apart from others. Experience is what's really interesting, and because of that, all people are interesting, all people have stories to offer. That knowledge allows me to get out of my head a little bit, to enjoy the world and others a little more.