Chiefs Like Us

“They’re our bros – we’re friends with Villagers!” exclaims Chief’s Michael Fujikawa on mention of Conor O’Brien and chums. “They were at Reading with us and we played a game of football backstage. James is great but the others are shite!”

The guitarist and drummer Mike Moonves are relaxing in Brooks Hotel, Dublin, merrily shooting the breeze about their fellow Domino labelmates’ footballing skills, their Irish heritage and flying cans of Coke.
“On our way here a Diet Coke can came from nowhere and hit Mike in the leg, we think it came from a moving bus. Most people would be offended but it made us like this place more!” laughs Michael.
The band are in town to promote debut long-player Modern Rituals, a heady mix of breezy folk-rock stylings and ethereal vocals very much in thrall to all things Laurel Canyon. The album is reminiscent of another era yet its sonic constructs are undeniably contemporary.
“I’d prefer to listen to The Band, CSN, Neil Young and The Grateful Dead before a lot of new artists,” confesses Michael. “But there are a lot of fresh aspects to our music.”
“Emery Dobyns, the producer, brought that new school sound to the record,” adds Mike.
One of the more unusual tracks is traditional outing ‘Irish Song’, a nod to Danny and Michael Fujikawa’s Irish heritage.
“My mom is a pathological liar, so I can’t be held to this but I think her side of the family is from Cork,” states Michael. “She’s definitely proud. She’s been back a few times but she is sixth generation, the Irish side came over in the 1800s.”
Although the quartet all hail from Los Angeles it was at college in New York in 2006 that the band came together, started gigging and generated the hype that brought them onto the radar of Domino’s Laurence Bell.
“I'm a huge fan of the label,” admits Mike. “Animal Collective are one of my favourite bands and I love Dirty Projectors. To be a part of that group of artists is really special.”
The band chose Glastonbury 2009 as the moment to sign on the dotted line – in quite an unconventional fashion.
“We came up with the idea to sign inside the stone circle at the festival. So we did our set, met with Laurence and our attorney and we all trudged up in our wellington boots and we inked the deal on the altar,” says Michael.
Did they sacrifice any children or animals while they were there?
“I cut myself!” insists Michael. “For the sake of the story, there was blood!”
This year’s Glasto was not so memorable unfortunately.
“We played the same day that England played Germany in the World Cup. Our manager told us if England win then it’s going to be the best show ever but if they lose it will be the dumps. And they lost,” notes Michael.
But one lowlight did not dampen an otherwise stellar festival season which included pitstops at Reading, Leeds, Latitude and a spot on the bill opening for Pearl Jam in Hyde Park. Did they get to rub shoulders with Mr Vedder and co?
“I’m sure Eddie Vedder and Ben Harper were hanging out. We were on very early so we were hanging out with the lower down bands!” laughs Mike.
Not for much longer we predict.

Modern Rituals is out now on Domino. Watch Chief's 'Night And Day' video on
hotpress.com.