Despite their meteoric success, the members of the band Fun. find themselves staying true to their roots in multiple ways.
The first is the tour the band is currently on. Fun. sold out most of the shows scheduled before June before “We Are Young” became a huge anthem. Especially in a touring market that is struggling to find both stars and success stories, the business-savvy decision might have been to move the dates to larger venues. You lose the intimacy of the small set-ups but you can sell more tickets and put more money on the books.
Keyboardist Andrew Dost told me Fun. wasn’t having any of it.
“They’ve supported us for years, without the success of ‘We Are Young,’ Dost said of Fun.’s fan base during a recent call in to “The Ralphie Radio Show.” “This tour we figured, let’s not move these venues up. Let’s leave it where it is. Let’s go have a party with all the people that have been singing along for years, and then in the summer we’ll meet some new friends along the way.”
Truth be told, I’m sure Fun. is meeting plenty of new friends at the moment. Dost called in to pre-tape our conversation last week – amidst a sound check with radio station winners, two meet-and-greets, seven phone interviews, and the second of a two night, sold out stand of shows at the legendary 9:30 Club in Washington D.C.
Essentially this is the result of “We Are Young” appearing on “Glee,” in a Super Bowl commercial, and being spun on radio stations from Los Angeles to the Empire State. But for Dost, the beauty of the new-found stardom is the opportunity to use the band’s platform for a greater good. Fun. is an advocate for equal rights and treatment of the lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, and transgender community. All three of the band members, including lead singer Nate Ruess and guitarist Jack Antonoff, are straight. But inspired by Lady GaGa, Fun. feels compelled to speak out against what it feels are injustices to the LGBT community.
“Any rights that are denied to anyone, should offend everybody,” Dost said, the interview taped before but airing after North Carolina’s vote to ban same-sex marriages. “[Lady GaGa] is not only an amazing artist, but she uses the fact that people are listening to her to say important things that need to be said.”
Fun. hopes that this new addition to its fan base will continue to listen, as the band just wrapped filming the music video for “Some Nights,” the title track and second single from its sophomore LP.