The XYZ Affair: The _Heeb_ Interview

I recently sat down with Alex Feder, the lead singer of the Brooklyn- based band, The XYZ Affair. The band is known for its arena/pop sound and their music video, "All My Friends," featuring former Nickelodeon TV personalities Marc Summers, Danny Cooksey, Michael Maronna and Jason Zimbler. The band was recently featured in Stereogum and in 2007 was voted "band of the day" on Spin.com.

Why the name The XYZ Affair?

Ha, is this seriously your first question?

Do you remember what happened in the historical XYZ Affair?

Sure. It was a diplomatic dispute between France and the US during the Adams administration. They were seizing our ships and demanding ransom for them.

The first Adams or the second one?

The one that was president in 1797. Pardon me for not being a total history buff.

That’s okay. Did we get France to stop?

Say, ya know what’s a useful tool at times like this? Wikipedia.

I see. There is a separate Wikipedia entry for The XYZ Affair (the band). Was that a defining moment for you guys?

I thought it was certainly pretty funny to see. We didn’t write it ourselves. I actually don’t even know who wrote it. I was flattered. It WAS a defining moment for me when our we had a section on the All Music Guide.

You went to a Jewish day school.

It’s funny, I thought that going to a big college would be tough for me because I went to such a small high school. But in the end, I think that my high school experience wasn’t really all that different from anybody else who grew up in the suburbs. Well…except that we had to wear Kippot. Interestingly, I became slightly more religious after graduating high school. I never kept Kosher at all while at [my high school], but when I got to college I felt disconnected from the Jewish community. All my friends are non-Jews. So I started keeping basic Kashrut so that I’d feel connected in some way.

Do you still keep Kosher?

I keep fake Kosher. I don’t eat pork or shellfish, I don’t mix milk and meat. However, I don’t buy Kosher meat, I eat out at non-Kosher restaurants. It’s a Kavanah thing for me.

How do you think going to a Jewish day school influences the band and your songs?

I’m not sure that the Jewish part of it has influenced my songs at all. I used the line ‘I was badly burned but not consumed’ in a song, but I think that’s about it. Going to a small private school has influenced my songs in that I grew up in a sort of sheltered environment. I’m like the exact opposite of Bruce Springsteen, or every hip hop artist ever. I think that’s why I try to write things that are funny and a little more light hearted. I’ve had a fairly easy life and upbringing, for which I am extremely grateful.

Does the band have a lot of groupies?

Not at all. We usually all have serious girlfriends. We might be the most boring band ever. No drug problems, very little drinking, no groupies.

What do you guys do on the tour bus? Play a lot of board games?

Jeez Louise, I wish we had a tour bus. It’s a van. One of us is driving, the rest are reading, listening to music, watching movies on a laptop, or sleeping.

If the band was an animal, which animal would it be?

Probably a sloth.

That’s not really a traditional animal to represent a power/pop band?

Yeah, I’m not sure what animal would really capture us. What animal exudes arena pop?

A liger?

Liger. Go with it.

Want to plug any upcoming shows?

Well we have two more Piano’s shows left in our Residency, this coming Monday, the 18 and then Monday, the 25. We’re playing at the Mercury Lounge on Saturday, June 27 with a great band called Wheat. And we just released two free songs for download that you can get off of our site or Myspace!