Faraquet

A few misconceptions about Faraquet

Looking back from 2008, the narrative seems pretty clear: In 1997, guitarist Devin Ocampo, drummer Chad Molter, and bassist Jeff Boswell form the power trio Faraquet. The band tours hard, pioneering a herky-jerky style full of confounding rhythms, odd harmonies, and the kind of dexterous guitar work that would baffle music nerds for a decade. Wild popularity ensues as D.C. thrills to the sound of compound triple meter. Faraquet goes on to release two singles, a split EP with Milwaukee's Akarso, and a full-length on Dischord Records before parting ways in 2001. But now, on the eve of the band's first complete-lineup show in seven years (Faraquet performed four dates in Brazil last summer sans Boswell), it seems that the story didn't really go that way.

Who knew that Molter couldn't play the drums? That nobody came to Faraquet shows--well, at least not for a few years? That King Crimson was not an acceptable punk-rock influence in 1997? Molter (who now resides in Colorado) reveals a few misconceptions about the band and hints at the larger--and sometimes lazier--picture.

Faraquet enjoyed widespread popularity as a result of hard work and heavy touring.

The A.V. Club: Do you feel like Faraquet became more popular once you disbanded?

Chad Molter: The interest definitely came after the band broke up. For the first couple of years we were just plugging away playing for nobody. Toward the end it started to pick up and opportunities presented themselves a little more often. Also, we weren't a self-promotion machine. We only went on three tours. [Molter later recalls two more short tours with Burning Airlines, bringing the total to five tours in roughly five years.] We played the West Coast once. Never did Europe. It's not surprising that it took people a while to come upon the band.

AVC: Why did it take so long for the band to do anything?

CM: Because we were really slow. It took us a while to write new songs. And we were a little bit lazy, too. And nobody cared.

Chad Molter knew what he was doing behind the drum kit.

AVC: At the beginning of Faraquet you had never played drums before. Devin's music is pretty technical--what was the learning process like?

CM: It actually was really painful. The kind of stuff Devin writes is pretty physically demanding, and I was definitely not there at the beginning. Those guys were very patient with me. It took a year or so. I figured out a few tricks. I'm not about the rudiments; I'm about tricks.

AVC: What are the tricks?

CM: I can't tell you.

Faraquet was a part of D.C.'s art-punk scene.

AVC: How did you guys fit in with the rest of the D.C. music community back then?

CM: Maybe this was true in the '90s more than now, but there was the arty crowd and then the not-so-arty crowd. We fell in with not-so-arty crowd even though I thought our music was pretty weird, but whatever.

AVC: Would I have seen you hanging out with The Cranium [a late-'90s art-punk D.C. band, members of which went on to form Gang Gang Dance]?

CM: No. [Laughs.] Never us and the Cranium hanging out. I remember the few times I went to The Embassy [a punk group house in Mt. Pleasant that was home to bands such as The Make-Up], it was like you get that silence where everybody stares at you, you hear a pin drop, and then the party resumes. I was definitely a fan of all that music and I knew a lot of those people, but we were just not a part of that whole thing.

It was cool to be into King Crimson in '97.

AVC: Did you feel sort of alone among your peers in terms of liking classic rock?

CM: People were into punk or whatever. Talking about being influenced by classic rock was looked down upon. But those were our big influences, even though we weren't a classic-rock band. But yeah, having that as an influence we felt a little bit alone at the time. Then again, we didn't care.

The full-length LP The View From This Tower cemented the band's status as an indie-rock powerhouse.

AVC: Did signing with Dischord change anything? Did more people start turning up to shows after the full-length came out?

CM: No. We recorded the album ourselves and paid for it ourselves. Then it took a while for Dischord to say "okay, we'll put this out." By the time it came out, the band wasn't around for very much longer--we did one more short tour, I believe, and then broke up. We didn't stick around long enough to see things change.

AVC: Did the record sell well? Has it continued to be popular since you broke up?

CM: It did. And it continues to sell pretty well--I mean, I'm comparing it to other Dischord releases. In that realm it has done pretty well. I haven't noticed any surge, I think that it has just steadily sold. [To date, the record has sold TK copies.] I don't know why or how it has happened. It resonates with a lot of people and still has a fan base eight years after the fact.

The members of Faraquet are ready for their reunion show.

AVC: Have you guys practiced?

CM: No. Not at all. I'm flying back [Thursday, Sept. 11]--we have a week to rehearse. Devin and I played these songs a year ago in Brazil. So I think we'll be okay. --Aaron Leitko.

Faraquet performs at 9 p.m. with Statehood and Red Tag Rummage Sale Friday, Sept. 18, at The Black Cat Backstage. Tickets are $8. Call 202-667-4490 for more information.