01 May Start The Weekend With Morning Fatty

Tomorrow, Florida grown, funk/rock/reggae band Morning Fatty will set the stage for headliner 311.

It was in 2003 that John Pop and Jared McEachran bonded over a common love for punk and ska music, and began to play with the idea of forming a band of their own. Neither one of them could have predicted at that time that they would become a little too big for their own good.

“Morning Fatty began as a 12-piece act,” explained bassist Pop. “It was very difficult getting practice together.” The group, shifting geographically between high school and college began to be edited and, for a spell, split up.

Pop and McEachran were attending the University of Florida in Gainesville, a few years later, when they received a call from former bandmate Andrew White. White wanted a change of scenery, and packed up his things and moved in with the two collegiate musicians.

“We set up our gear and started jamming for fun,” Pop said. “I was heavily involved in the college party scene, throwing three keg parties a week, and having hundreds of people over. Naturally, as we got drunk, we would gravitate to late night drunk jam sessions.”

Friends took notice of their not-yet-sober sounds, and begged for more. The boys decided to rekindle the band. But they needed a guitarist. Miller Joyner was soon introduced to the trio through a mutual friend. He would become the fourth and final member of Morning Fatty.

“We practiced hard between college and partying,” Pop said. “We ripped a few of our old songs and drastically altered them to make a completely new product. By late 2011, we were ready for live performance.”

Their massive, friendly fan base caught the attention of local promoters and venues in Central Florida. Morning Fatty was invited to open for bands like Badfish, The Wailers, and Iration. The positive feedback continued to grow.

In 2012, the band decided to reach out to Roger Lima, the bassist and vocalist of Less Than Jake.

“We got along exceptionally well with Roger and he dug our band,” Pop said. “He got us a few shows to open up for Less Than Jake. We went on later to record our first and second full length album at his studio, Moathouse Studio. Knowing Roger gave us an edge, he was our producer on the album and even sang back-up vocals on a few songs.”

After finishing college, the band began pouring their hard-earned money into equipment and preparing for a tour. They purchased a “shitty” 1993 Ford Econoline van and packed their bags.

“It was rough,” said Pop. “No agent, no management, no direction. Just four kids with a crazy dream driving all over the east coast playing shows.”

The tour, followed by multiple more over the next two years, paid off. Morning Fatty began playing music festivals, including Rombello Music Cruise, Blackwater Music Fest, and opened up for Dispatch at Flavet Field. They recorded two full albums and an EP.

Now, Morning Fatty is on their seventh nation tour, and humbly share that have played in nearly 40 states.

“We tour extremely heavy, spending almost eight months of the year touring, and only four months at home back in Gainesville,” Pop said. “We retired our old ‘93 econoline van last year, and upgrade to an awesome 3- foot RV making touring way easier.”

On Friday, the band will open up for the massively popular 311.

“Opening up for 311 is huge for us,” Pop said. “[311’s early work] was a massive inspiration on our musical style and now we get to share the stage with them at Sunfest. It’s a dream come true.”

Even with all this background, I STILL had questions for the Florida-grown band, and so I asked.

What can SunFest fans expect to see and hear from you?

Pop: Sunfest can expect a dynamic funk rock reggae explosion! Our set is mostly tied together and seldom stops for anyone to catch a breath.

There are a lot of guitar solos, tightly locked in grooves, and a few heavy electronic breakdowns. We provide an eclectic range of sounds that should please any listener.

Are you excited to catch any other SunFest acts?

Pop: Unfortunately, we will only be at Sunfest the day we play, May 1. We have several other shows before and after Sunfest. But trust me, we won’t be missing 311’s set.

I understand. I read you guys tour extensively. What’s the first thing you do after a show?

Pop: After the show we usually find our way to the merch booth to talk with fans and hang out. We are heavily involved with the people that support us. Unless we are completely beat, you will usually find us at the after party.

When we get home from tour, [we] sleep. Netflix and sleep.

What do you have to have with you while on the road?

Pop: Having the RV allows us to have everything we could possibly need for the road. We are the most over-prepared band, but the two must-haves are a bottle of Sriracha and our trusty ninja sword. Yes, it’s a real ninja sword, and has been super useful when camping all over the country.

You never know when a ninja attack could happen to you and your band.

I love, love, love that you share your degrees/college education on your website. How do you feel your education has help you as musicians?

Pop: We pride ourselves that we got our degrees while building up the band. It was also a quick look into how much we didn’t want to be delving into our respective careers our degrees were for. (This is for Jared and myself.)

Andrew finished community college for music, that obviously works well with his career. Miller is currently enrolled in the first ever online Burklee music bachelors program and is near completion. He does assignments on the road via a wifi hotspot. This is also very helpful for his career.

Jared did systems engineering and is now the most overqualified drummer. I did advertising which has helped a little, but like any college degree, it’s mostly the experience that you pay for, the wherewithal on how to complete deadlines and prepare for events. Everything else is learned by hands-on experience.

What do your parent’s think about your music?

Pop: At first our parents were skeptical, as any would be. But after they started seeing our growth, and seeing our bands shirts worn by complete strangers in public, they started warming up to the idea. All of them 100 percent support what we are doing.

I read you used Kickstarter to help produce your album “Resistance.” How was that experience?

Pop: We turned down a $45,000 record deal out in California. They wanted 100 percent ownership of our album. Instead our awesome fans raised a little over $10,000 for us to create our own album. It was produced by Roger Lima, of Less Than Jake, at Moathouse and mixed at Sonic Ranch in Texas. It was definitely a step up from the first album and helped capture a little bit more of what we sound like live.

What is your songwriting process like?

Pop: Andrew, Miller, and myself write the lyrics. Usually someone will come with a song idea and lay it down, Jared will put a beat behind it, and everyone will fill in their ideas to create some awesomesauce. Months later, the song tends to evolves as it gets tweaked little by little.

What do you love most about Florida?

We always appreciate Florida when we tour up north. When it’s 40 degrees outside and the northern locals are in T-shirts claiming, “It’s nice outside,” we stick out like sore thumbs. The four Florida boys are bundled up in sweatshirts and jackets.

What does the rest of 2015 have in store?

Pop: We are hoping to break more into the festival scene. We have probably played about 12 to 15 of them, but want to eventually switch to touring a festival circuit. It’s what we are leaning toward. The rest of 2015 will mostly be spent touring and writing new music.

And lastly, when are you happiest?

Pop: We are happiest on stage when creating moments: when the four of us are locked in, the lights are flashing, the crowd is jumping and fully engaged with what we are doing, sometimes singing along. There is no better feeling than sharing your hard work and having people genuinely excited and enthused to be there.

Morning Fatty will take on the FPL Stage, Friday, May 1, at 6:15 p.m.