Fruit Bats in Goose Island
The Chicago-born indie rock band performed an acoustic solo set in between fielding questions live with the Chicago music podcast Sound Opinions
Eric D. Johnson of Fruit Bats picks at his acoustic guitar, singing high notes through the corner of his mouth. Meanwhile, fries sizzle in hot oil to my left as hints of grease and salt fill the air. Glasses filled to the brim with beer clink behind me.
It was all happening at Chicago’s Goose Island Pub at Salt Shed during an intimate acoustic set and interview being taped live for Sound Opinions, the renowned radio show and podcast. The event was ahead of the indie rock band’s headlining sets there and at the city’s Empty Bottle venue.
For the podcast, hosted by Chicago rock critics Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot, Johnson performed songs in between lively bouts of discussion about his Chicago roots, his various musical projects and his creative process.
Fruit Bats have a lively folk-rock and alt-country sound reminiscent of Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile—a heavy emphasis on intricate guitar chords—but Johnson got his start in Chicago in the ’90s, in part because of the indie rock scene.
At 19, he got a job at the Old Town School of Folk Music, which he claims was the start of a series of blunders that would ultimately benefit his long-term career. In the late ’90s, he fronted the indie rock band I Rowboat, then went on to become a member of the experimental folk-rock group Califone. While on tour with Califone, he became friends with the members of Modest Mouse and The Shins, who ultimately introduced him to the record label Sub Pop, which would sign Johnson’s Fruit Bats in 2002.
Johnson also joined The Shins for a 2006-2011 stint and formed the folk band Bonny light Horseman, thanks to the 2018 Eaux Claires festival. The band consists of Johnson, Anaïs Mitchell and Josh Kaufman. In 2021, the group was nominated for two Grammy Awards and won a Libera Award for Best Americana Album.
And somehow, in the midst of all that, Johnson has released 14 Fruit Bats albums. He’s one of the musicians who is constantly on the go—when he’s not working on one project, he’s working another. It likely speaks to why he considers himself “from everywhere,” too.
With messy, uncombed hair and round silver-wired glasses, Johnson played a newer song, one he claims is a love song to places like Chicago, called We Used to Live Here. Later that evening, Fruit Bats held a Midwest jam at Empty Bottle with the likes of Dr. Dog’s Eric Slick, Chicago artist Andrew Sa and the band Tobacco City. His backing band was made up of Chicago musicians.
Do you remember this place? / We used to call this our home / We were the perfect age / And the rent was so low / All that we had then was our love / Making it up as we went along / We used to live here / We used to live here
Putting history aside and going back to that live podcast taping, the stripped-down performance allowed for a special isolation of Johnson’s vocals, rattling the microphone and speakers as he crossed vocal ranges within the span of a few words.
DeRogatis requested Johnson wrap up the afternoon set with his song The Rock Doc. Sound Opinions used to have a segment called the Rock Doctors, where they’d recommend modern rock music for folks who get stuck listening to the same artists over and over. The live recording will now be the theme song for the segment’s revival.
Keep up with Fruit Bats here.
Start with Fruit Bats’ Humbug Mountain Song, and you might notice the emphasis on strings and an alt-folk sound.
Pay attention to how banjo chords take prominence over the guitar between verses. The song uses instrumentation beyond the normal rock fit of guitar, bass and drums. It adds sonic layers.
Kendall Polidori is The Rockhound, Luckbox’s resident rock critic. Follow her reviews on Instagram and X @rockhoundlb, TikTok @rockhoundkp
