Fleming & John - The Way We Are

by Brian Vincent McGovern

In 1995, Fleming & John released Delusions of Grandeur on the small, independent R.E.X. Records. But before the band's suddenly loyal fan base could learn all the lyrics, the album was picked up by Atlantic, and the record was seen in more and more music stores around the country. For the next few years, they continued to prove themselves, playing venues like Conan O'Brien, and even the 1996 South By Southwest, the largest music conference of its kind. But strangely enough, the band never really "broke" — not by music industry standards anyway. "We have had lots of support worldwide from fans and music business people during the time that we promoted our last album," explains John, "but it takes a lot of good things happening at the same time to really break a ‘new' act."

He puts it in perspective by looking at how he and Fleming might make a music purchase. "By the time we go to the effort to buy a CD, we have usually heard something on the radio, seen it on TV, read about it in Rolling Stone, heard it from a friend, etc.... but that's because we are lousy fans!" he laughs.

Perhaps, unlike with Delusions..., enough of these things will simultaneously happen, and the world at large will be introduced to Fleming & John.

John shows no signs of bitterness. After all, how could anyone be spiteful, when so many other musical opportunities show themselves regularly? Along with working on seven or eight songs for Jewel (which are not on her latest album), he also helped out on the self-titled project by former label mates Sixpence None the Richer. "That's me on accordion on ‘Kiss Me,'" he adds. "We're so happy about their recent success."

And then there's Ben Folds Five. "I just finished a bunch of arranging work on a new Ben Folds Five album that will be coming out in April... definitely Ben's best work yet. I did a lot of work on Ben Folds' side project Fear Of Pop Vol. 1," which, warns John, is "not for the casual fan!"

He's done all this, in addition to producing an album for his nephew's band, Rich Creamy Paint, which is slated for a Summer release from Hollywood Records.. As for Fleming, "(she) was trying to focus on our songs, and we both needed time to recover from our last album. You kind of need to go home for a while, he adds, "cut your grass, wash your car, paint your house!"

While Delusions... was made with a conscious effort to streamline the production to fit in with the live shows the band was doing at the time, The Way We Are isn't limited by the old "can't we pull it off live" rule. And one of the most conspicuous things that doesn't show up here is the rock & roll guitar, which introduced songs like "I'm not Afraid." "I could honestly live the rest of my days without hearing another guitar solo!" John announces. "There is still some "lawnmower" guitar on a few songs, but rock has gotten sooooo very boring... We can barely listen to the radio anymore."

"(Delusions...) came out," he continues, "and we got a lot of reviews that said it was overproduced. I was like, ‘Oh yeah?? I'll show you overproduced!!' We just gained a lot of experience on the road, as well as working with other people and we have grown as artists... we think so anyway!"

Another thing that makes The Way We Are even more rich, eclectic, and, well, international, are the variety of instruments used on the recording. "Fleming says that is the reason it took us so long to make the album!" John laughs. "I was ordering all kinds of stuff from all over the world — Turkey, Egypt, China, India, North Carolina, etc. — and every day UPS would drop off a big box on the front porch! We'd open it up, (and) it would be wrapped in Arabic Newspaper or something, and then Fleming would say, ‘What is that?' I usually knew. Then she would say, ‘Why did you get that?' I never knew. Then she would say, ‘How much is that?' I would then change the subject, and try to figure out how to tune and play whatever it was, and then use it on a song as quickly as possible before we got our credit card bill!"

While the first record was released on a so-called "Christian label," the band has never considered themselves part of the Christian music industry. John likens the classification of "Christian vs. Non-Christian" categories to the difference between categories like "rock," pop," and "alternative." "We are Christians," he clarifies, "but we have a disdain for religious labels on music just as much as we dislike stylistic labels on music. All music/art points to God, either respectfully or accusingly. Our music is simply a reflection of who we are. "We have chosen to stay outside of the CCM industry because that just isn't what we do," he explains. "R.E.X. approached us on a personal level, and we really had friends there. They were extremely helpful in getting us started. Delusions... was only distributed to mainstream stores and radio. We were very happy that fans of some of the other REX bands liked us as well. Obviously, when you are marketing your music to a religion-specific audience you limit yourself mathematically. Imagine if Led Zeppelin records were only sold in Buddhist/Occult bookstores, and if you could only buy Marilyn Manson at Toys R Us!"

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