July 12, 2013
The Psychedelic Furs will be performing a mix of their classic 80s songs at the House of Blues on July 12 as part of their current 40 nights US tour.
“We always love playing in Southern California, crowds are energetic and that really makes for a great show! Plus the House of Blues is a fantastic venue in the shadow of Disneyland!” co-founder Tim Butler (bass) said.
Numerous songs such as “Love My Way”, “Heartbreak Beat” and of course, “Pretty In Pink”, have become staples on college and mainstream radio stations over the years.
Which songs will they be playing on tour? “Everything you’d expect and more,” Butler promises. “We’ve reached back and grabbed a few songs we haven’t played at all since the very early 80’s, and we’ve got a couple of new songs too. We’ll cover it all!”
On stage fronting the Psychedelic Furs is charismatic Richard Butler (vocals), Mars Williams (sax) and Paul Garisto (drums) who joined the band during the “Midnight to Midnight” era, Rich Good (guitar) and, Amanda Kramer (keyboards).
OC Concert Guide caught up with Tim Butler to find out how the tour is going and more.
OCCG: How is the tour going? Have there been any surprises or do you have interesting stories to share?
TB: It’s been going really well. It is exciting to get out there and experience summer all throughout America. We’ve been surprised as to how enthusiastically some of the more obscure songs have gone over with the audience. It’s been great.
OCCG: How did the name “Psychedelic Furs” originally come about?
TB: When we first started in England, a lot of the bands had pretty hard aggressive names like Sex Pistols, Clash and Stranglers…so we wanted something that would stand a bit apart. We had admired bands from the “psychedelic” era such as the Velvet Underground and Love, so “Psychedelic” sounded like a good start. So we would be the Psychedelic something and “Furs” was just something we pretty much thought worked well with it. People would see that in a club listing and think, “what’s THAT all about?”
OCCG: Some artists have claimed to be distracted or annoyed by audiences holding up their cell phones to video a song or take a photo during the show and others seem not to mind at all. What are your views on this current trend?
TB: It really doesn’t affect us all that much when we’re playing. It seems like most of the audience is really more into experiencing the show in the present, rather than concerned about taking pictures or videos.
OCCG: What is on the horizon, post-tour for the Psychedelic Furs?
TB: We are believe it or not….working on a new album. We’ve really taken our time on it, there has been no pressure put on us, and that suits us fine. But there will be new music coming.
OCCG: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
TB: We’re excited to be back in Orange County…and we hope to see you all in Anaheim!
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