John Ostby, lead vocals, keyboards
Eric Fa… Read Full Bio ↴SPYMOB
John Ostby, lead vocals, keyboards
Eric Fawcett, drums, vocals
Brent Paschke, guitar, vocals
Christian Twigg, bass
How do you describe a year in which your band toured the world, played on a gold-selling record, performed on "The Late Show with David Letterman," scored radio and MTV airplay, garnered critical acclaim, shared stages with everyone from David Bowie to Jay-Z and recorded its debut album?
"I call that a really good year," says vocalist John Ostby, whose group Spymob hit it big in 2002 as the backing band for Neptunes side project N.E.R.D. For the average artist, such achievements usually mark the summation of an entire career -- if they're lucky. Spymob, however, is just getting started.
Their eagerly awaited debut album Sitting Around Keeping Score glows with the absorbed influences of Todd Rundgren, Steely Dan, Jellyfish and Split Enz. It's also the first rock album released on Star Trak, the new Arista subsidiary founded by the Neptunes.
About the Neptunes/N.E.R.D. collaboration, Ostby says, "It changed our world. One day we were playing hole-in-the-wall gigs in our hometown of Minneapolis and the next we're touring Europe and performing on BBC's 'Top of the Pops.' It's the kind of stuff you dream about from the day you learn to play, but not something you can plan."
Pharrell Williams, however, had it all mapped out. The visionary Neptunes producer foresaw endless possibilities after hearing Spymob's much-buzzed-about demo. "They reminded me of the music I grew up with," he says. "Their songs sounded like Steely Dan crossed with the Meters and Prince and it just blew me away." Williams sang Spymob's praises to his attorney, who, unbeknownst to him, already represented the band. Meetings ensued, ideas were exchanged and excitement built as Williams told Spymob drummer Eric Fawcett, "I'm gonna blow Spymob up. Everyone is gonna know who you are."
After asking Ostby to lend backing vocals to the Neptunes-produced Kelis track "Mr. UFO Man," talk of a more serious collaboration began. It all came together in June of 2001, when Williams and partner Chad Hugo decided to re-cut N.E.R.D.'s debut In Search Of... using live instrumentation. The two-man hit factory, whose multi-platinum producing credits include Nelly, Mary J. Blige, Kid Rock and dozens more, had their pick of star power and A-list session players. They chose Spymob. "Those guys were integral to the making of the album," says Williams.
Rolling Stone agreed, praising In Search Of... by writing, "Credit has got to go to (Spymob bassist) Christian Twigg and Eric Fawcett for supplying Search with dexterous, downright joyful bass and drums." Entertainment Weekly applauded the Neptunes' decision as well, writing, "...the gamble paid off. In Search Of... has a crackling vigor missing from the first stab, and its melange of genres makes for music unlike anything else around."
Anything up until now, that is. Spymob raises the ante with Sitting Around Keeping Score, a boundary-busting album that swings and sways with seductive flair. Nine of Sitting Around Keeping Score's 12 cuts were produced by Stephen Lironi (Black Grape, Hanson), while Minneapolis-based Alex Oana produced the title track and "Walking Under Green Leaves." Appropriately, the band produced and recorded the spare and compelling "I Still Live at Home" at their home studio.
When someone suggested that the Neptunes re-mix one of the album's tracks, Williams laughed. "Chad and I are usually brought in to fix all kinds of things on records," he said. "We didn't want to touch this one at all." Adds Hugo, "Pharrell and I were inspired to form the Neptunes because of our love for old soul, jazz and rock records. I get that same feeling of excitement and energy when I listen to Spymob."
"Their attitude toward music is refreshing," says Ostby. "There are plenty of producers out there who just want to put their stamp on records, but Pharrell and Chad are mature enough to know that if it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Though Spymob's sound evokes classic rock and soul-music icons, they keep their grooves current by incorporating loops and samples into songs built on vintage instruments. Says Fawcett, "John has an old Rhodes piano, our guitarist Brent uses a vintage Fender Strat, our bassist Twigg plays a Fender Precision Bass and I play old Ludwig drums. Those vintage instruments have a warm sound, which makes the songs sound really rich."
At the heart of the band's sound is Ostby, whose supple voice, unique phrasings and reflective meditations lend depth and color. In his lyrics, he reveals a singular perspective full of irony, optimism and reverie. In "It Gets Me Going," Ostby turns the seemingly mundane life of a family dog into a deliciously ironic tale set to a rollicking pop song colored by buoyant piano lines, bold Hammond riffs, soulful guitar fills and subtle electronic nuances. The perked-up "Thinking of Someone Else" begins with a broken toe before its protagonist wanders into a dreamy remembrance of childhood and his mother's nurturing. In "2040," Ostby imagines domesticity in a not-so-surreal future. Belying its effervescence, "National Holidays" is a poignant and heartbreaking look at a divorced couple's custody of their only daughter. The sleek "German Test Drive" transports listeners from their late-model Corollas and Civics to the cockpit of a sports car on the Autobahn. He also imagines the life of a NFL legend in the final track, "Joe Namath." "Our job is to take John's quirky witticisms and observations about the world and wrap them in music you can move your ass to," says Fawcett.
Spymob's story begins nine months after Fawcett and Ostby's graduation from Minnesota's St. Olaf College, where the two roomed and played in a band together. Ostby was contemplating a career in film scoring in Los Angeles, while Fawcett had been accepted into a PhD program in the history of science at the University of Wisconsin.
"I didn't think I was going to form another band," Ostby says. "But that's where my heart was." He called Fawcett, played him some recently written songs, and the two agreed to return to Minneapolis and form a new band. "We were on a Blues Brothers mission from God," laughs Fawcett.
Once home, they met up with Brent Paschke, the guitarist who would help bring their developing sound to fruition. Ostby says, "I was coming from a background of pop music centered on the piano-stuff like the Beatles and Burt Bacharach, and also soul stuff like Stevie Wonder, Gamble and Huff and the Philly sound. Brent came in with a rock and funk feel, sort of like (Red Hot Chili Peppers axeman) John Frusciante. I think the fusion of piano-pop with the more aggressive, unorthodox guitar was key to forming our sound." A longtime friend and former classmate of Paschke's, bassist Christian Twigg, cements the group's lineup with his driving bottom-end groove.
What's the secret to the band's across-the-board appeal?
Says Fawcett, "We're willing to go to weird places musically to find inspiration, that's who we are.
National Holidays
Spymob Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To check on her, see how her week is going
But you disapprove
Other times I'll call up
He picks up and makes me feel like I'm intruding
You get to wake her every day
And we divide up National Holidays
Last weekend I watched her in
A game I never knew that she played
But she led the team
Afterwards I picked up
A schedule so that I could come the next week secretly
You get to wake her every day
And we divide up National Holidays
This month is highlighted yellow with one box of blue
It didn't help things the last time I complained
Don't want to upset her, I try to explain
But you of all people should walk one year in these shoes
Can we at least be civil to one another?
She only has one father and one mother
Years ago you told me how
You could not imagine life without our little baby
Wouldn't it tear you up too
If you could only see her one day out of thirty?
The lyrics to Spymob's song National Holidays explore the complex relationship between a father and a former lover who shares a child with him. The singer expresses his desire to check on their child and be a part of their life, but the father disapproves and makes him feel like an intruder. The two divide up "National Holidays," which indicates that while the father has custody, the singer gets occasional visits. The highlight of the month shows one box in blue, which might represent a day that the singer can spend with the child.
The singer continues to express his longing to connect with their child by attending their games and shows, but the father's resentment towards him becomes increasingly apparent. The singer implies that the father takes the child for granted as he gets to wake up to them every day while the singer only gets a few visits a month. The song reaches a climax when the singer pleads with the father to be civil and empathize with his situation. He reminds the father that their child only has one father and one mother and that it would tear him up if he could only see his child one day out of thirty.
Overall, National Holidays is a poignant and heartfelt reminder of the complexities of co-parenting and blended families. It touches on themes of love, loss, and the joys and sorrows of parenthood.
Line by Line Meaning
Sometimes I want to swing by
Occasionally, I feel like visiting her
To check on her, see how her week is going
To enquire about how her week has been
But you disapprove
But you do not encourage such visits
Other times I'll call up
At other times, I'll make a phone call
He picks up and makes me feel like I'm intruding
But when he answers the phone, I feel like I am interrupting
You get to wake her every day
You have the privilege of waking her up every day
And we divide up National Holidays
We share the holidays that are celebrated nationally
This month is highlighted yellow with one box of blue
This month is marked with yellow and a blue box in the calendar
Last weekend I watched her in
Recently, I watched her participate in a game
A game I never knew that she played
A game that I had no prior knowledge of her playing
But she led the team
But she was the captain of the team
Afterwards I picked up
Later on, I procured
A schedule so that I could come the next week secretly
The schedule of the next game so that I could attend it clandestinely
It didn't help things the last time I complained
My grievances did not alleviate the situation the last time I expressed them
Don't want to upset her, I try to explain
I attempt to clarify myself without upsetting her
But you of all people should walk one year in these shoes
You especially should consider being in my shoes for a year
Can we at least be civil to one another?
Can't we treat each other politely?
She only has one father and one mother
Remember, she has only one father and one mother
Years ago you told me how
A long time ago, you told me how
You could not imagine life without our little baby
You couldn't envision living without our kid
Wouldn't it tear you up too
Wouldn't it cause you to feel distraught as well
If you could only see her one day out of thirty?
If you could only meet her once in every thirty days
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRENT PASCHKE, BRIAN ROESSLER, ERIC FAWCETT, JOHN OSTBY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Bochanable
This is my favorite song on the album. When I spoke to John Otsby about the song and he told me he didn't have a kid, I was even more impressed because it sounds so authentic. I love the story it is quite enrolling. Great band, great album, great song!
JLT Yes
Woohoo! Child custody and divorce problems!! Yeah!
I listened to this when I was in high school and honestly thought it was a song about an overprotective family restricting the boyfriend from seeing their daughter. Oh boy was I wrong.
mikealan61
I gotta agree with your comments about this being such a catchy song with sad lyrics. The first few times I listened to it I didn't know the lyrics and just loved the groove in it. Then I actually listened to the lyrics and was caught by how such a happy melody could have such sad lyrics. I still love the song, although I have wondered if one of the guys in the band has dealt with the lyric's topics, hence the the song.
Samantha Schechter
This song has such a great melody, but once you listen to the lyrics, it's really sad. ;n;
Kevin McLogan
Saddest upbeat song ever.
Benjamin Felix
Awesome.
memnocksdevil311
cant seem to find a couple of spymobs best songs on youtube :/ .....
Jon Skeens
Hi memnocksdevil311, what are the best spymobs songs you can't find? Are you able to upload them? Thanks.
memnocksdevil311
the full length is ok, songs are good, but they were better when they wernt overproduced