Fountains of Wayne Meet the Hollies
Fountains of Wayne will appear on the NBC television drama American Dreams as legendary British rockers the Hollies, performing their 1966 song “Bus Stop.” The episode of the show — which often features contemporary musicians portraying Sixties icons on American Bandstand — will air in mid-March.
“Originally when [NBC] approached us, they suggested the Animals,” Fountains co-frontman and songwriter Adam Schlesinger says. “But we were always bigger Hollies fans, so we asked them if we could switch, and they obliged.”
But unlike all of the previous musicians who have appeared on the show — including Alicia Keys and Kelly Clarkson — Fountains of Wayne recorded their own rendition of the song, rather than using a pre-produced track.
“We were more comfortable doing it this way,” Schlesinger says. “We’ve done tons of covers songs as a band, but the tricky thing is when you’re trying to be literal, like we were this time. With most covers you want to take some liberties and change the song around, but we tried to stay as close to the original as we could. I think we came pretty close.”
The always-busy Fountains have begun recording material for the follow-up to their hit 2003 album, Welcome Interstate Managers. They’re also working on a collection of B-sides, and they’ll have a cut on the upcoming soundtrack to Robots, an animated film featuring the voices of Robin Williams and Halle Berry.
Schlesinger is writing music for the Broadway adaptation of the 1990 John Waters film Cry Baby, set to debut in 2006, and his side project Ivy will release their fourth album, In the Clear, on March 1st.