Fun Lovin’ Criminals Are Bringing New Grooves When We Need Them Most

The world feels like a powder keg at the moment, but the panacea for what seems like a daily panic might just be attending a Fun Lovin’ Criminals show.

For over 30 years, and a number of member changes, that band that gave us the ‘90s classic “Scooby Snacks” has been creating a feel-good vibe for all who want to partake.

That vibe is actually reciprocal, as founding member Brian “Fast” Leiser has a deep appreciation for the band’s fans, saying, “They love coming out, forgetting about their problems, and just having a good time at our shows, and we’re very grateful, and blessed that they’re still with us.”

There will be plenty of opportunity to see Fun Lovin’ Criminals live this fall, and well into next year, as they’re going to be hitting the road for an overseas tour in support of their upcoming album, A Matter of Time, which is due out August 29th.

The band’s current lineup consists of Fast, 20+ year member Frank Benbini, and their most recent addition, Naim Cortazzi (band member since ’21/’22), and they’ve called the UK home since Fast moved there from NYC in 2006 (the other two members are UK natives).

A significant reason for his move was the reception Fun Lovin’ Criminals has received in the UK over the years. From the “Scooby Snacks” days all the way to the present, UK radio, and the live music scene there has embraced the band, and the diversity of their sound, which mixes a plethora of genres.

A perfect example of that genre blending can be heard on the lead single from A Matter of Time, “Little Bit Further.”

With that disco-funk jam in my head, I caught up with all three members of Fun Lovin’ Criminals to find out more about their sound, as well as what each member has brought to the band, what they think makes the band special, and why they feel it’s essential to live in the now.

Fun Lovin’ Criminals is a band that has been known for a very long time, but you’ve gone through your fair share of both member changes, and role changes within the band. So how do you keep the Fun Lovin’ Criminals musical backbone while also allowing each new member to bring something of themselves to the band? 

Fast: When the band started I had this stack of CDs that was everything from Van Halen, to Phil Collins, to Gary Wright, to some hip-hop stuff, and Funkmaster Flex mixtapes from Hot 97. I wasn’t really thinking like, “What genre should I mess with?” It was just, “What sounds can I mix together?” Kind of like the Dust Brothers did with Paul’s Boutique, or Mick Jones from the Clash did with Megatop Phoenix.

It kind of just formed this formula that ended up being the formula we still use to this day that’s tried and tested, and we don’t need to really veer from it.

I think it was great once Frank joined the band in 2003, because he comes from more of a lyrical songwriter background than say someone who’s sampling, but we both have this love for hip-hop. I think he brought a lot to the mix when he joined, obviously, with lyrical content, but also with the importance of melodies.

Frank: That’s, I think, the secret to Fun Loving Criminals – the love for all kinds of different music.

With what Fast was saying, that was picked and put into a lot of the early stuff by himself via sampling, but Fun Lovin’ Criminals is quite cinematic, as well, so a lot of the ideas, and a lot of the inspiration also comes from film soundtracks, and can come from classical music, and can come from hip-hop, soul, funk, disco, the whole shebang. That was always my draw to the band from the early days.

I’m a fan of people that that try and change it up, but always seem to have that that underbelly of sound, like a lot of the Minneapolis music with Prince. He was very versatile, and would change up the styles on every album, and every track sounded different, yet it always sounded like Prince. I think Fun Lovin’ Criminals have got that magic about us, as well.

Fast: Yeah. When Naim joined the band in 2021, or early 2022, he had to learn a bunch of old material, but he also brought a lot to the table, as well, because if you want flavors that are kind of Spanish in nature, or even Middle Eastern … he brought extra layers to the band.

Naim: I love the Santana vibe of some of the songs, and especially on guitar, being able to play on top of different styles of music, not just Latin and hip-hop, but also like straight up rock, and of course I’m a big fan of lounge music, as well, so it covers everything that I love.

I think if the band was stuck in one definable genre they’d probably be bored by now, right? After 30 years? So it’s like there’s no rules really, apart from it’s got to sound good, and that’s cool.

You have a new album coming out, titled A Matter of Time, on August 29th. It’s your first new full-length album in 15 years, and I feel like there’s a pretty big meaning behind the title. Tell me about it. 

Fast: You know, we’ve been doing this a long time, and we were nostalgic in the sense of where we are now. We’re in a different place from when the band started 30 years ago, and I think a lot of the songs on the album kind of look back on our lives. I think a lot of people who listen to the album will do the same.

(The album title is) a lyric in one of the songs, “Lovers Rock,” which is the last track on the album. It just seemed like it was a good bit of wordplay.

I also think a lot of the songs, when we sequence the albums, we start to realize – OK, what are the overall themes we’re coming with? Obviously, nostalgia is a big one, and nostalgia has been one since the first record, simply because of mixing all these genres musically.

I think the fans are going to really enjoy it simply because it’s style that we haven’t changed, and the message is to look back, enjoy your life, learn from your mistakes, and keep moving forward.

I love that you said that, because I want to ask about a lyric from the song “Little Bit Further.” It’s such a fun song, but one of my favorite lyrics is “I want to live in the now, I don’t want no regrets.” What does that mean to you? 

Frank: I think a lot of us are all sort of living in the past. If you ever get in a squabble with anybody, they tend to drag up the past, and it really doesn’t serve you. So the whole idea behind that lyric is to not do that, not live in the past.

In the past, Fun Lovin’ Criminals has had so many ups and downs, probably more downs in the last 20 years, if I’m honest, so it’s like I don’t want to live in that space anymore. That’s where that lyric really comes from, which is kind of funny, because it’s such an uplifting disco funk track, but that particular line that you picked up on is a bit of a heavy hitter of a line if you want to read into it, you know what I mean? So it’s kind of cool that you picked up on that.

Fast: When you when you look back on your life, if you’re going to make your decisions based on the mistakes you made, you’re not going to look back fondly on your life.

We all have regrets.

We all try to make the most of each day.

You learn as you get older, definitely, and you know as well as I do, Adam, that when you lose people that you’re close to it changes you, but you hopefully can learn from that, and just keep keep moving forward. That’s the thing, live each day like it’s your last, make the most of it.

Naim: I reckon you regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did do.

Fast: Yeah, at least try. You’re never going to succeed at anything if you don’t at least try.

Frank: I think the nutshell to a lot of these songs is if you go back and watch the last Rocky Balboa movie, there’s a great speech where Sly’s talking to his fictional son outside of the restaurant. It really is encapsulates, especially where I where I come from if I’m writing stuff, it really is that thing that Fast just said – if you stop, and live in that negative place, you ain’t going to move forward.

So if anyone ever wants to go back and watch that particular scene, it’s all about how you got to keep moving forward. Don’t let life beat you down.

Rewinding a bit, being that the ‘90s were maybe the last great decade for music industry excess, when you think about the “Scooby Snacks” ride, what moment or moments made you go – this is nuts. I can’t believe this is happening to me. 

Fast: When we did Glastonbury on the Pyramid stage, that was just sick.

We were doing big festivals, T in the Park, and we just were playing with all these amazing bands, but “Scooby Snacks” was always an anomaly. I was just messing around in my apartment in Brooklyn, with Reservoir Dogs on Laserdisc on the TV.

It was a good, funky, rock tune that seemed the closest to pop that we would do.

That song paved the way, and I think the casual fan of the band will think, oh, one hit wonders, but I think the true fans that come to our shows realize, wow, this band goes all over the place. I think that’s what’s given us the longevity where we can still do it 30 years later.

You’ve also had other songs that have been popular. 

Fast: That’s well and true, but numbers don’t really matter to us. It’s really being able to play shows, write music, and give the fans what they want.

Between 2010 and 2021 things were not good in the band – between band members, between the creative styles, being in the studio – and I think Huey quitting the band in 2021 was the best thing for Fun Lovin’ Criminals, because we can now give the fans what they’ve wanted since then, which is new music, and touring. I mean, there’s places we haven’t played for 20 years in Eastern Europe, Australia, even North America.

I think it was great to get back, and play for fans we haven’t seen in 10 to 20 years.

At any point during that period between 2010 and 2021 were you like – maybe the ride’s over. Maybe I should focus on something else musically? 

Fast: Well, Frank and I did with Naim, actually. We started a reggae band (in 2017), Radio Riddler, where we did all Prince covers of the Purple Rain soundtrack, reggae style. We got a lot of guest singers on it, like Ali Campbell from UB40, Sinead O’Connor, Citizen Cope.

It was because we weren’t writing new FLC music.

You mentioned that Huey quitting FLC being a great thing for the band. Are things still strained? I mean, will he show up at a show? 

Frank: No, he won’t, because he’s Huey, and Huey’s best to be left to just Huey.

There’s no love lost. He’s been quite disrespectful to me and Fast online, so I try as little as possible to even mention his name.

Fast: I do, as well.

I don’t live my life just thinking about, oh, what happened?

I look back fondly on certain times, creatively, with the band. Obviously, each record was getting harder and harder as the ego was getting bigger and bigger, which isn’t necessarily his fault. People tell you you’re the man, and after a while you’re going to believe it, but that’s not really how it was.

He can now go do his thing, and it can be all about him, which is something he was trying to push on us for a long time. We were like, no, that ain’t how it works. Fun Lovin’ Criminals has never been about one person. I don’t see us as a band that necessarily has a frontman in the traditional sense. I always thought of us more like the Beastie Boys, which is a band we love. You can’t really pick one member of the Beastie Boys who would be the front man, they all bring something to the mix.

I think now we’re able to do that much better because the egos are put to the side, and the love of the music is still there, and the desire to push the FLC formula to create new music. I think that’s why fans who hear this new album, I think they’re going to be really happy. We got such a good response from the fans about the two EPs we put out. We’re in a good place at the moment.

Frank: We have a better understanding of what we like to do, how we like to perform to the fans, how we don’t like to get fucked up before a show and disrespect people that are paying money to come and see us. So it’s good on all levels.

And on a personal level, it’s great for me to get my my old brother Naim in … so, yeah, it’s a better vibe.

Onwards and upwards, and hopefully there’ll come a time where we don’t have to discuss the past, because like that lyric in that song says … (“I want to live in the now, I don’t want no regrets”)

Oooh, I like the way you brought it back to that! So, finally, where can everyone see you this fall? 

Frank: It’s impossible to list them all, so what I would suggest is you all head over to our Instagram, you can get everything on there. It will take you to when the album’s coming out, the tour, the tickets, everything you need.

Fast: We’re looking forward to playing places we haven’t played in at least 15 years, if not 20, like the Baltics. These are great places – Lithuania, Latvia.

We haven’t been to Stockholm, or Helsinki for many, many years. Italy is a place we haven’t played in a long time.

We’re starting off in the UK, because the UK is like a second home. It’s a first home for these two guys. Then we get out into Europe.

Frank: We’ve got New Zealand and Australia next year. Then it’d be great to play some of the some of the key cities in in the United States.

That’d be good, if there’s still a world at that point.

Come to New York. We’ll still exist, it will just be a little dystopian. 

Fast: Dystopian is fine. Everyone will have to have to get the rabies vaccine to come to the show.

We’ll be chirping like mice.

Can’t wait.

For more Fun Lovin’ Criminals check out their website, linktree, or Instagram.