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Not exactly compelled to write about the down-and-out angst of life, Fountains of Wayne doesn't write songs from a bottom-of-a-beer-glass perspective. Instead, FOW bassist Adam Schlesinger and vocalist/guitarist Chris Collingwood prefer to inject wry humor into finely crafted pop songs that have more bounce than a rubber ball hitting a marble floor. But don't call them a novelty band. "We don't want to write punchlines, but we want to write songs that will make you smile a little bit," Schlesinger says. "When we first started writing, we never thought the joke songs were any good. But then at one point we realized you can write a so-called serious song and still have a little humor to it." 1999's sophomore release, Utopia Parkway, a lighthearted collection of quirky songs that go through everything from the secret crush ("Denise")  to suburban America ("The Valley of Malls") to living out one's prom night to the fullest before growing an extra chin and working past retirement age ("Prom Theme"). For Schlesinger and Collingwood, the journey to musical success has been a serious matter for more than 10 years. The two met at Massachusetts' Williams College in 1986, gradually becoming acquainted, sharing a passion for Britpop, exchanging records and playing music. They eventually moved to New York, where they started The Wallflowers, a name they would later sell to Jakob Dylan. Changing their name to Pinwheel, the duo eventually signed a deal with a small, now-defunct record label in New York and started recording an album. However, the label went out of business and the record was never released. At that point the two decided to split ways, with Schlesinger going to the New York-based pop band Ivy and Collingwood heading back to Boston where he would play with country band Mercy Buckets. The two didn't see each other for about five years until 1996, when Collingwood returned to New York, marking a reunion and the beginning of Fountains of Wayne. Despite having never played a show as FOW before going into the studio, the band's self-titled 1996 debut, which included the contagious pop anthem "Radiation Vibe," garnered positive reviews from critics and an increased fanbase, warranting tours with acts like The Smashing Pumpkins, the Lemonheads and countless radio station visits and European festivals. (Schlesinger is part owner of Chicago-based Scratchie Records, which released FOW's debut and is also co-owned by Smashing Pumpkins guitarist James Iha and former bassist D'Arcy Wretzky.) Schlesinger says their newest release is more representative of FOW, particularly with the inclusion of guitarist Jodi Porter and drummer Brian Young on Utopia Parkway. (Porter left the group a few months back.) "That made it sound more like a band, which is what we wanted," Schlesinger says. "We only made the first record the way we did out of necessity because we didn't have a band yet." After a long split, the two had performed together for about a week before recording. "Luckily because [Chris and I] play a few different instruments, it was easy for us to get the songs on tape the way we wanted it." Although Schlesinger remains thankful that one of his songs was chosen as the theme track for the Tom Hanks movie "That Thing You Do!" he is also tired of the comparisons. "The downside was that for a long time, people thought of us as the band from "That Thing You Do!" But I think we've outlasted that, and people know us for who we are." | July 2000   Omar Perez is the editor of Altar Native, as well as a freelance writer in South Florida. He has written for publications including The Miami Herald, The Daily Business Review, City Link, LM Magazine, and the Sun Sentinel Community Newsgroup. When not working he enjoys the Florida Keys, a good frozen drink, canoeing and the outdoors, concerts and live shows, as well as forcing new bands down people's throats, whether they want to hear them or not.