Father John Misty Live In Studio

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We have been anticipating Father John Misty’s session for months here at WERS, and the day had finally come. Josh Tillman of Father John Misty walked in the studio as his composed charming self to bring some tracks from his Fear Fun to life in front of our eyes.

Many of our listeners recognize “Hollywood Forever Cemetery Sings”, Tillman’s haunting single, but what many have not had the chance to discover just yet is that Tillman himself has so much depth and perspective. He croons through such sentimental heavy tracks and then starts cracking jokes as though he’s a stand-up comedian. We had the opportunity to begin our well-rounded afternoon with Father John Misty with the song “I’m Writing A Novel”.

“I’m Writing A Novel” gave us a sense as to what Tillman adds to his performance. As fans of Fear Fun we know that he is quite the storyteller, but the way he clearly enunciates certain words and speaks rather than singing phrases, leads us to a better understanding as to what Tillman intends to offer with the songs.

After Tillman offered us another favorite, “Nancy From Now On”, he went on to explain what Father John Misty meant to him. He said that he was “bored” with his other projects (including Fleet Foxes) and needed something new. Fear Fun was more of a conversational voice than he was used to, it was more of his perspective.

“It was an ill-faded decision, calling at anything (referring to Father John Misty). The creative shift was liberating,” Tillman explained.

With that, “Son Of A Ladiesman” left us on a bittersweet note. Even though Tillman seemed restless and full of creative versatility, Tillman said that he expects Father John Misty to be at least a two-album project. Speaking on the behalf of the WERS staff, we sure hope to hear more.

By Lauren Moquin
Photo by Jeeyoon Kim