Man Man lead singer and pianist Ryan Kattner performs Monday night at the Fox Theatre. (Elizabeth Rodriguez/CU Independent)
Man Man, with opener Xenia Rubinos, performed an exciting and rowdy show Monday night at the Fox Theatre.
Taking the stage wearing skeleton bodysuits and chanting, “Drugs, drugs, drugs,” Man Man promised a wild show from the start. Playing songs from its newest record, “On Oni Pond,” the band engaged the crowd with its eccentric performance.
Lead singer Honus Honus got up-front and personal with the crowd, grabbing the heads of fans and drumming on their foreheads — this, accompanied by his glittering cloak, certainly amped up the crowd.
Before the show, Honus Honus, otherwise known as Ryan Kattner, took time with the CUI to answer a few questions, which revealed a more personal and down-to-earth side of the group.
How would you describe your music?
Underrated.
Why?
It just is. I just don’t feel like enough people know about our band.
What sparked your interest in music?
It was just a series of mistakes, really. It was being crazy in my early 20s, and I got really lucky, and I found an outlet for it because I never played music before Man Man. Yeah, so this is my first band. I thought it’d just be that band I had once upon a time; I didn’t think it would become my accidental career.
What musicians inspire you?
Screamin’ Jay Hawkins for vibe, Leonard Cohen for trying to craft some sort of poetic lyrics, although I would never call my lyrics poetry, and Can, just for free-form and all sorts of genres.
Your new album, “On Oni Pond,” is sort of a new style. What brought about this change?
We were different people when we wrote it. We try to make every record a different story because as you develop as musicians and as human beings, you have new experiences that inform your worldview, and I think these were all factors in how the record was put together. It was more of a collaborative effort between me and Chris.
What’s something most people don’t know about your band?
That we exist.
What’s one of the best, most interesting experiences you’ve had while touring?
Being interviewed outside Five Guys in Boulder, Colo., and semi-shivering, which is a crime ’cause this is the warmest it’s been on tour. This tour has been a tundra-hell.
How are relationships among the band members?
We’re like one rotten infected lung, you know? We all have to breathe together to make beautiful music.
What inspires your lyrics?
Life. Not music, ya know? Life and relationships, movies, books, the news, interviews in front of Five Guys burgers.
What’s your favorite song on this new album?
I like “Head On.” I like that song, and we’ve had really good luck with that song, ’cause its been able to reach a broader audience than we’re used to, which is pretty cool. But its nice, like a gummy worm on a hook. Hopefully we can get people to come see us play, and then maybe they’ll see us and see we’re not all ballads.
What do you like to do when you’re not on stage or touring?
I like to watch NBA games, read and watch movies and drink and be a human being. But I like touring. We’ve been on tour since September, so we’re all kind of past the point of not giving a fuck, which is great ’cause that’s when the shows end up being the best. But I like touring because it just gives me a purpose. When I’m not touring, I start to go nuts; I just overthink things.
Is there anything else you want to share about your newest album or your band?
Our new album is great. We always get tagged with ‘experimental,’ and I don’t really think that. I mean we experiment with how diverse our song writing can be, but I don’t think we’re experimental in that we’re inaccessible. I think this album’s great. We just want more people to hear it and give it a chance. If people think they know what we sound like, they should listen to this record because they don’t have any idea what we sound like.
Man Man’s tour continues tonight with a show at 8 p.m. at The Black Sheep in Colorado Springs. Tour dates and tickets are available through the band’s website, manmanbandband.com
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Taylor Charette at tach8043@colorado.edu.
