The News: Craig Finn will celebrate Halloween 2017 with a show at City Winery. Finn released his third solo album outside the confines of The Hold Steady in March of this year. Prior to the release of that disc, We All Want The Same Things, Finn dropped by WFUV for a powwow with me and a three song session that you can see as well as hear if you follow the link. That was the second time we had crossed paths at FUV. The first was in the winter of ’14 when he was a guest DJ with me pressing the buttons and asking a few questions.
The Hold Steady have become an essential New York band since coming together in Brooklyn about thirteen years ago. Three of the guys live in Greenpoint within a few blocks of each other with the remaining members in Manhattan and Memphis. I spoke with Craig Finn and Tad Kubler (pronounced “Koobler”) back in the spring of ’14. The occasion was a release party for Teeth Dreams at Hill Country Live in the Flatiron District where the fellas played the new album and a handful of bonus tunes.
A bonus video below offers more bits of the show, which was a toned down affair, and Finn speaking about anxiety and truth themes on Teeth Dreams. It also offers a preview of what may become the next Hold Steady classic Jimmy Got Soup that grew out of a question I asked about the many memorable named characters of Hold Steady songs past. The chat also includes some kind words about their bandmate Steve Selvidge and the guitar interplay between he and Kubler that emerged in performances and recording.
This past winter, The Hold Steady celebrated the ten year anniversary of Boys And Girls In America with a deluxe version along with sexy reissues of Almost Killed Me & Separation Sunday. They marked the occasion with four shows at the Brooklyn Bowl that were especially celebratory as Franz Nicolay rejoined the band. Nicolay, who traditionally has the best mustache in rock, was on hand playing keyboards as he did from 2005 to 2010.
