Not too often does an act come around where the band name actually helps drive the success of the band. Occasionally, flipping through a CMJ flyer or plotting bands to see at SXSW, a name might catch your eye like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. or the Madison Square Gardeners based on kitschiness alone, but usually it’s the opposite: bands have terrible names that their fans overlook because they like the music.
[Photo Credit: Jonathan Meter]
Well, Food Will Win the War manages to make good on both fronts. The multi-instrumentalist approach to front man Rob Ward’s songwriting makes for a hearty live show and potent studio output, while the band name just seems destined to be one indie music fans will know. With a new album fresh off the presses and shows on the docket at the popular Cameo Art Gallery in Williamsburg next Thursday and the Mercury Lounge on April 21st, it shouldn’t be long before people do know the name Food Will Win the War.
Hidden Track: First off, even though there’s a lot of common denominators and single degrees of separation between you guys and other bands we’ve covered here at Hidden Track for a while, I don’t know much of the back story behind the history of Food Will Win the War. Could you give a bit of background on how you all know each other and where it began?
Rob Ward: Jeff (violin) and I met through a mutual friend, Judah Dadone (of Freelance Whales). And Devlin (glockenspiel, percussion, vocals) and Jeff used to play in Manson Family Picnic together. Dan (drums) and I have been friends for years and years and years. He and Matt (bass) have been playing as a rhythm section for quite a while for various projects. Scott (keys, accordion, vocals) is a childhood friend of a friend of Dan’s. What a tangled web we weave. Or. Not very tangled. But just a web.
