Former (for now) Dashboard Confessional frontman Chris Carrabba is appearing at 1982 Bar on July 24 with his latest project, a seven-person folk-rock outfit called Twin Forks. Just like Dashboard Confessional, you’ll want to belt their songs as you drive with the windows down — but for different reasons. Where Dashboard songs spoke of vulnerability edged with mid-2000s emo self-consciousness, Twin Forks sheds those feelings in favor of folksy, uptempo good times. And yes, there’s even some whistling.
What are some of your favorite places in South Florida?
“My No.1 favorite place in South Florida is the Lion & Eagle in Boca. We played there a lot, just impromptu — I’ll play there with myself or with a band. I like Lake Worth a lot, Propaganda. I do secret shows there on occasion.”
What do you miss most about Florida when you’re away touring or recording?
“I miss my friends, my family. I miss the beach something awful. It stresses me out; they don’t have beaches everywhere, it turns out. So I miss that. I’m not a lay-out-and-tan guy, but I like to go to the beach and walk around, play guitar, look at the water for a minute.”
Can you tell me more about how you’re feeling right now about working with a seven-piece band versus just you and a guitar on stage?
“There’s just tons more stuff to react to. It’s sometimes only five, it’s sometimes four pieces, so that’s part of the fun: Not knowing who’s going to be available for which tour and knowing which ways we can experiment to broaden the sound when there’s not as many people; knowing how to not overdo it when there are so many people. And I love that everyone’s a vocalist, so there’s tons of harmonies. It’s rewarding; It’s in the moment. You’re just lifted up into a euphoric place. That sounds real hippie-dippie, but it’s the truth.”
Does it make you want to stick with bands, or do you see yourself going back to solo work soon?
“I don’t know about soon, but I do see that as an inevitability. I’ll probably do a full-band Dashboard run well before I do a solo run. Frankly, I miss the sound to hell and back.”
Is it easy slipping back into the Dashboard Confessional mindset, or have you changed so much as an artist that it feels surreal or different?
“I haven’t written any Dashboard songs recently, but the ones I have have a certain undeniable characteristic that is unique to Dashboard. That said, slipping back into it onstage — even at Twin Forks shows, when somebody calls out a Dashboard song, I’m happy to do it … and it is no trouble to get back to that place, because it all lives in the song.”
What songs are you covering lately?
“We just played with Jeff Tweedy from Wilco, so on the go, I’ve been playing a lot with Wilco. Jonathan said something to the band once that I wasn’t supposed to know about, but I think it’s funny: He said, ‘If you ever hear Chris listening to a song twice in a row, learn it. That means it’s going to just come out one day as a cover.’”
What’s it like playing with Jeff Tweedy? That’s really cool.
“Playing with (Tweedy) is like playing with the best band in the world. You see what they do, you try to understand how they got there and try to get yourself there. It’s inspiring in a useful way. Jeff’s tried everything and made every great choice already, so it helps—it’s like Cliff’s Notes. And the new Jeff Tweedy record is just phenomenal. Where they lay out, the amount of ornamentation or lack thereof — every song is a lesson.”
Dashboard came around the time that Myspace was the place for musicians to be, but so much has changed with music and social media since then. As someone who experienced both, do you miss the Myspace days? Or do you think Twitter is better?
“I don’t know which is better; they were both so useful. There’s this attempt, with Justin Timberlake buying Myspace, to make it more specifically music-driven. I don’t know if that’ll work or not, but it was the tool to use, just like Twitter or Facebook is the tool to use now. I have a particular loyalty to Myspace, being friends with the guy who started it. But when it comes down to the rest of it, these are great tools to reach people you otherwise couldn’t reach. Now, that said, I feel like face-to-face interaction is much better.”
Doors for the July 24 show at 1982 open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12 in advance from Hear It Again Music or 1982 and $14 at the door.
[A version of this story ran on page 9 on 7/17/2014 under the headline "Beaches, Jeff Tweedy and Myspace: A Q&A with Twin Forks"]
Twin Forks, a folk-punk outfit fronted by former Dashboard Confessional lead, Chris Carrabba, will play at 1982 next Thursday. Tickets are $12 in advance or $14 at the door.
