Stacy Jones and American Hi-Fi Do it on Their Own

In 2001 a little band from Boston called American Hi-Fi burst on to the alt-rock scene with catch melodies and hooks, combined with big drums and loud guitars. They scored a minor hit with the song/video "Flavor of the Week" and they managed to release two more discs. Sadly however, thanks to a very fickle music industry the band was dropped from their record label and then like a thief in the night they were gone. American Hi-Fi is back with a new disc about to drop (Fight the Frequency), their own label and a renewed sense of purpose as a band. I got a chance to chat with frontman Stacy Jones this week and he was more than willing to clue me in on what his band has been up to, the return of their original drummer and the band's relationship with (wait for it, wait for it) Miley Cyrus!??!

David Carr: Stacy it's been a while since we have heard new music from American Hi-Fi. What have you been up to?

Stacy Jones: Well I have been up to all kinds of stuff! After we finished touring for our last record (Hearts on Parade) I really felt burnt out. This band tours a lot and we had been on the road for quite sometime! I just spoke to my manager and let him know that I needed time to chill out. I ended up building a studio in LA and folks wanted to know if I was interested in producing some bands. Before you knew it, I was producing music and writing for other bands. I ended up producing artists like Meg and Dia, Towers of London and I did a song by The Plain White T's for a soundtrack.

David: That sounds great! Did you miss playing music at all?

Stacy: No not at all but here's why. A buddy of mine asked me if I wanted to become the musical director for Miley Cyrus's band! At first I didn't understand what he meant. I told him I had no formal training, and that I could not read musical charts and stuff. He told me to slow down and then he explained that she needed someone to put together a rock band for her, and oversee the live elements. The first thing I did was hire Jamie from Hi-Fi! While we were on the road as Miley's band, we started writing songs that ended up on this record.

David: Sounds like we have to give a little credit to Miley Cyrus with regards to getting the band back together! I have had a chance to listen to the forthcoming disc. On past records your songs always sounded happy regardless of whether it was a happy or sad song lyrically. On this disc I detect a little more maturity in the song writing. The themes are a little more serious. Do you agree?

Stacy: In general I am an easy going/happy dude. I am not the brooding, dark artist type. Having said that, I went through some dark periods in my life -- I went through some rough personal stuff and it shows up on the record. The other thing that speaks to the maturity on this record is that we are all ten years older now. There is no way we could put out a record now and have it sound like the first disc we did. That just wouldn't be possible.

David: This record marks the return of your original drummer Brian Nolan. Why did Brian leave the band and how did you rope him back into the group?

Stacy: Brian left the band in 2004 because he had a child and he really wanted to be with his family. Like I said, this band toured a lot once we started releasing discs and he really wanted to be there for his daughter. Now his daughter is older and in school and he and his wife are a little more rooted and have a routine -- I just called him up and asked him if he would be into playing some drums and his reply was "f$%k yeah!" It was that organic! This whole process of getting the band back together has been organic.

David: Now Stacy you began your career as a drummer in Letters for Cleo and Veruca Salt, so in the studio are you and Brian constantly fighting over who gets to sit behind the drums first?

Stacy: Not at all! Brain is an amazing drummer and besides, when I was producing other bands I got to play drums on other people's records.

David: Speaking of producing music, you all have worked with some heavyweights in the studio, including Bob Rock and Butch Walker. Who produced this latest disc?

Stacy: We produced the record ourselves. With every record I have worked on I have always paid attention to what guys like Bob Rock or Butch Walker were doing in the studio.

David: The band has seen the rougher side of the music industry when it comes to dealing with the business end of things. How are you going to do things differently? What lessons have you learned?

Stacy: We are not bitter about anything that has happened to us. Personally I feel blessed to have the career that I have had. The music business is very cyclical and there are peaks and valleys along the way. Even when the industry didn't pay attention to us we were still out there, playing shows and giving 100% every time we played. We are doing this record on our own this time. We have our own label and we are working with Sony Red for distribution. We have a little more control this time around but if you try to micromanage every single aspect of this, it will drive you crazy! We are following our instincts with this record but at the end of the day you can't control a lot of what happens.

David: So once the record drops, will you guys hit the road and headline clubs? Will you be opening for someone?

Stacy: You know that's a great question. I really don't know! HA! We obviously want to play shows -- we have been looking at some tours we would like to do, it just needs to make sense. We want to do this the right way -- we will probably do some support slots but nothing is set in stone right now.
David: Stacy, I am a sports fan and I know you are from Boston but you now reside in LA. Who were you rooting for during the NBA finals and are you still a Boston Red Sox fan?

Stacy: HA! Yeah I have lived in LA for about eight years now but I am still a Boston Red Sox Fan! I do however root for the home team since I live in LA. With the Boston/Lakers series -- man that was rough! I lived in England when I was younger, before the days of satellite TV. I used to get these VHS tapes of American sports. Whoever taped these events for me was a huge Laker fan so I grew up loving the Lakers as a kid. Rooting for my favorite team during that series became a bit of an issue!

Their plans maybe a bit up in the air and Stacy may have an east coast/west coast sports conundrum to deal with but one thing remains clear, American Hi-fi will be releasing their fourth studio disc "Fight The Frequency" August 17th. Check the disc out and check them out when they hit your town.