Jersey Arts 5 Interview: Good Old War's Dan Schwartz
We had a chance this week to sit down with Dan Schwartz of indie-folk trio Good Old War, who are playing the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival on June 4. We spent a few minutes chatting about favorite outdoor festival moments, the joys of playing a hometown show, La Isla Bonita, and the sweet mysteries of funnel cake.
JA: What's the best thing about coming back to the greater Philly area?
DS: It's home; we get to play for our families and hang out. We live here, it's an easy commute!
JA: What's the best thing about being part of a festival bill like Appel Farm?
DS: You get to have a whole day and enjoy it--there's not a lot of waiting for the show to happen. You're just in it. You can let yourselves get caught up in all the other stuff to see and do.
JA: Does being part of a festival change how you guys assemble a set list?
DS: We're kinda lucky in that we might change our approach to a song, but we've tried to create music that will go over in any setting. We won't change too much; we might throw in a new song or two, which we're really excited about.
JA: What's your favorite song to play at an outdoor festival?
DS: We haven't done too many--it's been a while since we've done an outdoor festival! "Window" is a lot of fun.
JA: What other act are you most excited to take in at Appel?
DS: Definitely Gogol Bordello.
JA: Fun fact: They toured with Madonna.
DS: No way! That's awesome.
JA: There's all these videos on YouTube of them performing La Isla Bonita together. It's wild.
DS: I'm gonna have to check that out.
JA: What's next for you guys?
DS: We've got a big tour coming up, with an announcement coming up in a week or so, with a couple of regional shows.
JA: What's your favorite junk food at a festival?
DS: I'm headed straight for the funnel cake, no question.
Say hi to Dan and his bandmates this Saturday, and swing by the Discover Jersey Arts booth for neat swag and a shot at winning all sorts of awesome prizes, including a Halloween Getaway in Cape May. See you there, friends.
