How did Sidewalk Fiction start?

Cernuda, Nir and I have actually known of each other since middle school, but we didn't start playing together until January of 2006. In late 2005 Nir told me I had to sing for his band (his band being at the time himself). I considered myself a guitarist before a singer so I initially wasn't open to the idea, but he was insistent so I gave it a whirl. Cernuda had a little experience with playing guitar. Being my roommate it was only natural that he wanted to join…we told him he could be sound guy. He fell into a deep depression, told us he wanted to play, bought a bass and got surprisingly good in a short amount of time. We started with The Clash and Velvet Underground covers until we were comfortable playing together at which point we began writing songs. For about eight months it was only the three of us and no drummer, until one day Nir posted an ad on the internet and found Shaw (who ironically worked at the same job as me). The first time we all played together was about two hours before an open-mic night. We rushed through the three or four songs we had at that time, played the gig, and have been doing it since.

Who/what are your musical influences?

Musically we all have a variety of influence. Nir and Cernuda share a common revere for the Chili Peppers and Mew. I'm heavily influenced by the Clash, the Strokes and the Walkmen. Nir's also a pretty big Television fan. Recently we've all been listening a bit to Band Marino. Shaw has a wide range of influence. Right now he's into Violent Femmes a lot, and some eighties moving into early nineties punk.

Do you have any non-musical influences? if so, who/what are they?

Lyrically I am heavily influenced by literature: Steinbeck, Garcia, Morrison and lately Poe. Garcia's One Hundred Years of Solitude has some of the most amazing images, which I plan on one day incorporating into a song. Shaw is a fan of James Joyce. The art work of Maggie Taylor follows Nir around; while walking in parks and cooking hold a special place in Cernuda's heart. Comedians like Mitch Hedberg and Lenny Bruce are inspiring, as well as an episode of The Sopranos.

What can we look for in the future from you guys?

Right now we have our demo recordings which were conducted at our house in Gainesville. This summer we intend to record a full length record and continue in putting our music out there one gig at a time.