HOLLYWOOD, CA- When I heard Foolish Deep’s single “One More Shot”, I was hooked. It was a jam that had some throwback vibes that made me wish I could teleport back to the late eighties to get my yacht rock on. Since science hasn’t deciphered the time-travel code yet, I did the next best thing. I invited them to perform for our Saturday showcase at Madame Siam!
Foolish Deep is a new band, but they’ve been cutting their chops all around town recently. Their performance for us reflected a real tight cohesiveness. Clearly, they loved playing together, and it showed.
The group was founded by Caspar Madaus-Brück, and I was able to catch up with him after Foolish Deep’s performance, and we got to learn about the band’s origin, inspiration, and future plans.
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First of all, thanks so much for being a part of our showcase at Madame Siam. You guys put on a really good show. I hope that you and your band had a good time!
Hey Derrick, thank you very much for having me! We had a great time at Madame Siam. It’s a cool and interesting venue and we enjoyed every minute of our show!
So, am I correct to understand that you and your band met at school? How did you find/connect with your players, and do you all have similar musical interests?
Yes, that’s right. That was my goal when I moved to LA. I was dreaming about finding people that speak the same musical language as me and more importantly understand the vision I have with this project. It took a while until we found the right members. I guess every band goes through changes but we finally found ourselves this year. One day it just all felt right. I am very happy about this constellation. We are all close friends that enjoy making music together.
And what is “the vision” that you have for “Foolish Deep”?
Foolish Deep is bringing back 80’s pop. 80’s music always fascinated me and I intend to make people feel that nostalgia of that era again. At the same time, we include modern pop elements. It is an interesting mix in my opinion. I would like people to see and use our music as something to dig deep into what and who they are. It’s almost like many of us are constantly swimming on the surface, being afraid of what’s beneath us because it’s dark and we can’t see what is really there… but once you dive down to the ground you might discover things you never knew about yourself. You might find the beauty of the darkness. Foolish Deep is not a happy pop band. We want to show and talk about the ugly sides of life. Because life is not always easy and just sunshine. Especially in this world, it seems to me that people tend to numb themselves in order not to face what’s really going on inside. If I can get people to face their emotions in a better way I think I have achieved what I call my vision of Foolish Deep.
Is your band’s name a kind of reflection of that ethos? How did the name Foolish Deep originate?
Yes, it is! We played one of our first little shows and on that day and we still didn’t have a band name … So, I asked everybody in the band to write down words or names and I was hoping to find a cool combination. One of the names I wrote down was ‘Foolish Deep’. It had a nice ring to it. When we played that show, they asked us to come back and play a bigger set. When they asked about the band name our guitar player instantly said ‘Foolish Deep’. That moment was our decision. It is also the name of contrasts. In some way, you cannot take everything in this world too seriously, hence the ‘foolishness’. It also fits us as friends. We always fool around with each other when we play or hang out. Another essential reason for me was the tarot card ‘The Fool’ which stands for new beginnings and having faith in the future of the unknown. It made sense because the band was just starting its journey. The ‘Deep’ goes back to what I mentioned earlier. Our lyrics talk about serious aspects of life like depression, drug abuse, and heartbreak. Both words together ‘Foolish’ and ‘Deep’ should create a balance. A balance is always important.
With regards to your own journey, I noticed on your youtube channel that you have a song sung in German posted up there. Did you have a career in music prior to LA, and was LA the first step on your new journey?
Yes. I moved quite a few times in my life. After I was done with school I decided to move to London. That was where I started my career. I worked in cafes and bars during the day and every night I would perform in bars and pubs all around the city. I was looking to find people to create a band with but it always appeared to me that musicians in London were very focused on their own solo career. After a year and a half of playing acoustic sets by myself, I decided to make a change. That’s when I chose LA to be my next destination. All the songs I ever wrote were in English. But there is something about expressing thoughts and feelings in your mother tongue. That song was an experiment. I wanted to know how it feels to play a song in my language. Even though people obviously always looked a little confused at me when I used to perform that song here in LA.
We spoke briefly after your show at Madame Siam, and we shared an interest in bands like The Night Game. What other music, old or new, are you enjoying right now or derive inspiration from?
The first one was probably my father, a great musician. He is a touring musician and producer in Germany. I used to watch him on the big stages and I knew that that was what I wanted to become. But John Mayer was definitely the artist that inspired me to pick the guitar. He is my hero until today. Other ones are Coldplay, The Police, Johnny Hates, Jazz, Bon Iver, The 1975 and many other 80’s pop artists.
What can we expect from Foolish Deep for the rest of the year?
We are working very hard on our first EP which should be released soon. We will also keep playing shows in LA and soon also outside of LA because that is what we love the most. This is only the beginning of Foolish Deep and you can expect to hear a lot more from us very soon.
Follow FOOLISH DEEP on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
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