Hot Rock 'n' Roll Destroyers:
Fontana

Sometimes I too get the sense that rock 'n' roll is pretty much dead. I don't just mean dead and buried with a beautiful bouquet of flowers on the tombstone. I mean dead, laying in the gutter and getting splashed with rainwater by every car that drives by it. Then little nuggets of hope come along and spur me to keep on keeping on. Who is the latest you ask? The hottest band in my world … Fontana.

Do you remember how there were the kids in high school that started a band really early on? You would be like, "Wow, they are really good for someone my age," but then they would break up. Some of those kids were probably in Fontana, but luckily they never stopped rocking.

It all started in 2002 when guitarist Paul, bassist Geoff and drummer Colin got together and began banging out some classic rock cover tunes. "We played our first show on May 14, 2003," Geoff says. "It all went downhill from there." I remember seeing them do Fugazi covers at a show at Flipside Records. It was incredible. It was amazing. It was rock 'n' roll.

The band's sound is something that is completely lacking from most modern music. It's a hodge podge of several prehistoric artifacts such as The Stooges, surf music and Sun Ra that is sonically challenging without being completely spastic. "It's not like we have some set formula we operate by," Paul states. "After playing songs hundreds of times, what may sound totally improvised or whatnot is just natural."

Something else that is natural is the band's exciting stage show. Paul flops around like a chicken with his head chopped off while Colin destroys his drumset and Geoff is left to smile and watch the mayhem unfold. It's certainly not boring, folks. "I'm sure I feel some 'connection to the music' or I'm letting out some inner frustration about things and all that kind of crap," Paul says, "but I really find a thrill in acting so absurdly and having people shake my hand for doing so."

Up on the platter for Fontana this month is their new three-song EP for X! Records, entitled I Feel Like A Jerk. As for future shows, Geoff states, "As long as people keep coming to see us, we'll keep playing." Colin interjects, "And even if they don't, we'll probably keep playing anyways." | RDW
by Eric Allen July 17, 2007