Fugue State is a band from western Massachusetts, for fans of Wipers, Mission of Burma, etc.
We (Academy Order) had the pleasure of sharing the stage with them in Westfield, Massachusetts on a recent tour, and knew I needed to hear more. Came to find there was a new record in the works with Philadelphia’s Strange Mono, which I was thrilled to get an advanced copy of.
I sat down with Fugue State guitarist/vocalist Shane Bruno to talk more about the LP, the western Massachusetts scene, and life in general.
How long has Fugue State been active, and how did you all come together?
I started Fugue State around 2022 or so as a solo studio project, with the intention of arranging a couple of songs I had written to put out on cassette. Strange Mono was generous enough to release those recordings, which became the Subtlety’s Dead EP.
I put a band together originally with the intention of playing a handful of shows to support that release, and the band kinda took on a life of its own. I’ve known both Jon and Gage since we were teenagers, we’re all from Pittsfield and have travelled in similar circles for a long time. Jon and I played together for about 7 years in Bridge of Flowers and I knew him before that from other bands.
Gage is pretty involved with a booking collective out here in Western Mass, and the 3 of us have collaborated in the past on some improvisational live film score stuff. Anyway, we put a band together early in 2023 and reimagined some of the songs from the EP and wrote a bunch more and have been playing together since
Where exactly is the band based out of?
We are all from Pittsfield, MA, a small post-industrial city in The Berkshire Hills of Western Massachusetts. We grew up going to punk shows at the now long-defunct Rebel Sound Records, and later Chameleons, and a number of DIY spaces that have come and gone over the years. I remember seeing Agent Orange, Greg Ginn, Screaming Females…
Pittsfield has tried really hard to sanitize its image and homogenize its cultural appeal in order to market itself as a tourism destination due to its proximity to attractions like Mass Moca and Tanglewood. As a result, a lot of the bigger music venues here now cater to “safe” genres like dad rock cover bands and tribute acts and are generally wary of original music, especially anything particularly loud or experimental that might piss off the retirees in the Airbnb next door, or the investors who own the building, or whatever.
The antidote to this has always been to take risks and embrace a strong DIY ethos, and over the years many have tried, with varying degrees of success. Currently I will say that Belltower Records and Silver Lake Booking are doing a great job of supporting unique original artists here in The Berkshires, as well as accommodating touring bands, and anyone coming through the area would be wise to contact them first.
Gage and I are still in Pittsfield, and Jon now lives about an hour east of us in the Pioneer Valley. The music scene here sometimes feels disconnected from the nearby, more populated and robust PV and Hudson Valley music scenes, but I think the proximity to these areas, as well as to NYC, New Haven, Providence and Boston, is a huge plus.
I think being on the fringes of these bigger communities has given us kind of an “outsider” status in all of them, which has its pros and cons, but I fully embrace it.
What are some of Fugue State's musicial influences?
My influences are kinda all over the map... From classic punk bands like Wipers, Minutemen, and Dead Kennedys to Japanese psych like Les Railles Denudes, High Rise, Flower Travellin Band… Pere Ubu and their predecessors Rocket from the Tombs are big ones for sure. Roxy Music, Captain Beefheart, Butthole Surfers, Anything Chris Knox and Ian Svenonius have done… one modern release that really inspired me to start this project was Peace de Resistance's “Bits and Pieces” LP that came out in 2022.
Tell us a bit about the material on your forthcoming album, In the Lurch.
I use a lot of free association in my songwriting, which leaves a lot open to interpretation. That said, each song on this record is loosely based around a specific theme, idea, or feeling. Some are more literal than others. “I Don’t Wanna be Here” is self-explanatory.
I wrote the title track “In the Lurch” while I was recovering from eye surgery and couldn't see, and while it’s not really about that at all it kinda came out of that moment of pain and vulnerability. “Mundane Man” is largely an admission of my own impostor syndrome, as is “Moot Point” to some degree.
Are you working with a label for the new record?
We are releasing this with our friends Strange Mono, a benefit record label based in Philadelphia. We are really grateful for their support, they put out my EP a few years back too and they are really wonderful folks to work with.
What are some bands from your area you’d recommend?
To name a few: Sky Furrows, Dauber, Bunnies, Teen Driver, Phroeggs, Owen Manure, Modern Ego, Creative Writing, Immune Friction, Animal Piss, and It’s Everywhere.
What are your touring plans for now?
We’re pretty much staying around the northeast for now since we all work full time jobs (unless someone wants to give us a bunch of money to go tour) but here’s what we’ve got planned so far:
3/22 @ O’Briens, Boston MA
3/28 @ Oasis, New London CT
4/4 @ Hutghis, Westfield MA
4/5 @ Century, Philadelphia PA
4/6 @ Mama Tried, Brooklyn
4/7@ Desperate Annie’s, Saratoga Springs NY
4/11 @ Hot Plate Brewing, Pittsfield MA
4/13 @ O’Briens, Boston MA
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In the Lurch will be on April 4 via Strange Mono (pre-order).
Fugue State on social media: Instagram
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