Ho Hey: The Lumineers Able To Reflect On A Whirlwind Year
Tuesday, 19 November 2013
Written by Katie Territt
The Lumineers started 2013 with their fair share of hype at their back. Ho Hey, the lead single from their self-titled debut, was everywhere and their tour dates were selling out way in advance.
Almost 12 months on, Jeremiah Fraites, the band’s drummer and one of their founding members, is able to look back at how they appeared almost from nowhere, despite almost a decade together under their belts, with huge emphasis on the success of that one single.
“It most definitely has felt like a whirlwind to us,” he said. “While it never felt like a long time coming necessarily, it took us about 10 years to be an overnight success. A song like Ho Hey was the result of many, many years of writing songs. Eventually we just kinda felt like we stumbled onto ‘our sound’ and the songs on this self-titled album definitely reflect that.”
Fortunately, though, Ho Hey has not placed the Lumineers in the unenviable bracket of possessing a ‘one song record’. The reaction to their live set proves that.
“We are very fortunate and blessed that Ho Hey does not overshadow our record,” he said. “We made a record that is meant to be played from track one to the end. Our live shows accurately reflect that fans are enjoying the entire record, not just the one song.
“People are singing lyrics from other tunes such as Dead Sea and Slow It Down. They seem to almost be singing every song night after night. Never in a million years would I have thought people would be latching on to so much, but we are very blessed indeed that this is happening at the moment.”
Despite barely a year having passed since the release of their debut, this summer saw the Lumineers release a deluxe edition featuring some new tracks and video footage. The decision saw the band receive some negative press in the process.
“On one hand, I felt like we had received some flack for it being the same exact record, and why we were even releasing it in the first place,” Fraites said. “To me though, it seemed like a wonderful way to share with fans two different facets of the Lumineers. The first was that we had some video footage from our travels, but didn’t really have a home for it.
“So this was a great way for fans to delve deeper into our lives as musicians with a short mini-doc. The second was that we wanted to take a musical risk with our fans. I say risk due to the fact that we released older songs that didn’t make the initial record and they sounded kinda shitty, lo-fi if you will, which is how we used to record our music. But hey, it’s just how we liked our music.”
The band are still on the road in support of their debut - including a string of UK and Ireland dates that get underway on November 21 - but Fraites also has one eye on the process of writing and recording new material. The latest release from the band is a contribution to the soundtrack of Catching Fire, the new Hunger Games film, which came about in suitably chaotic fashion given their current workload.
“We are currently touring in Europe until Christmas, then Australia and New Zealand in January and then China, Japan, and Dubai in February. Let’s say March 1 we shall begin,” Fraites said. “But, in the meantime look out for a song called Duet that has been floating around YouTube dimensions, as well as a tune called Gale Song that will be on the Hunger Games soundtrack.
“We were approached and we felt like we really delivered something great. We took an old song, rearranged some lyrics to better fit with the movie, and then recorded it. We were super proud of the tune, especially since surrounding it was not the best circumstances.
“We were in Chicago for Lollapalooza. We played a secret show at midnight. We then woke up the next morning and during our six free hours, went into a studio in Chicago and recorded the song. Then we played our gig at Lollapalooza. We were lucky in a way that everything just kinda worked in the studio that day. Otherwise, it probably never would have been completed.”
Since the start of the year, demand has continued to increase for the Lumineers’ exciting, passionate live shows. Having already graduated to venues like Shepherd’s Bush Empire, their latest tour will see them headline shows at Dublin’s O2 Arena and Alexandra Palace in London. Although Fraites finds it daunting to make the step up, he and his fellow bandmates are excited about what the future holds.
“It’s almost scary in a way,” he said. “Things have developed so quick for this band, it’s hard to gauge where it’s all headed. I think myself and the rest of the band members are still trying to make sense of it all. I honestly feel like we have achieved more than I ever could have dreamed.
“Every Lumineers show is exciting. We constantly strive to try and make the shows feel exciting not only for us, but for the crowd most importantly. After touring extensively, we probably should be more burned out than we are, but we honestly love the music to death that it’s hard to do anything but be excited on stage, especially in front of our adoring European fans. I still can’t believe we get to tour over here.
“British fans do not necessarily jump out in my mind as being different except for the fact that we seem to be bigger here than almost anywhere else in the world. So to the British, thankyou for your love and support. You are amazing, and the Lumineers love you for this. Truly.”
Thu November 21 2013 - DUBLIN The O2 Dublin
Fri November 22 2013 - MANCHESTER O2 Apollo Manchester
Sat November 23 2013 - EDINBURGH Corn Exchange, Edinburgh
Tue November 26 2013 - BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy Birmingham
Wed November 27 2013 - PLYMOUTH Plymouth Pavilions
Thu November 28 2013 - LONDON Alexandra Palace
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