Millions have heard Todd Fancy sing, as a multi-instrumentalist for the New Pornographers and as the owner of “That One Night,” the central song for what is arguably the most embarrassing episode of “The Office,” “2008’s Dinner Party,” a party.”
The hilarious rendition and earnest longing aren’t quite right for my artistry, despite his new album, “Star Dreams” (available today)nods to 1980, which also saw the release of “Into the Night” by Benny Mardonis“A classic rock yacht that doesn’t differ in sentiment.
The 10-track album under the Fancy banner was co-produced by Vancouver music veteran Alan Rodger and sporting contributions from singer Mica and New Pornographers drummer Joe Seiders, who swapped his wand for a Yamaha DX-7 electric piano/synthesizer. The pre-tuned sounds of this instrument found their way into some of the biggest hits of the ’80s by Whitney Houston, Kenny Loggins, and Luther Vandross, an atmosphere enhanced on “Star Dreams” using a Korg Poly synth and Oberheim drum machine.
“Maybe this album still feels like I’m in the ’70s because I really can’t help myself,” Fancy admits. diverse. “I was thinking about that golden year of 1980. It’s great for me, switching from the ’70s to the ’80s. It was fast in a way. Like, good luck finding an Adidas rom in 1980. Stan Smith – where do the stripes go? Wide legs, See you later. But then some music, like Air Supply, is the bridge between two decades – a nice thing to listen to, which was the complete opposite of punk from the mid-’70s. It’s crazy what they were up against. They hated the things I loved listening to (laughs) )”.
Micah’s vocals moved a melancholy feel to the album, from the Pretenders-ish opening “Out on the Streets” to the school dance worthy of “Across the Stage.” Back in the archives, “The Best” is based on the words Fancey wrote as a teenager when he was in a band called Kill with his cousin (“Kill, because we were trying to be like Kiss,” he says).
“I gave Micae the MP3s of my mentor’s vocals, And I thought she’d sing to them higher an octave,” says Fancy. “She ended up singing to them low on an octave, and I liked how they sounded. It was kind of a revelation to hire and use singers and feel like I really wanted to hear the end product. It wasn’t like, well, I just had to do this by putting vocals on it.”
Fancey says Seider’s contributions were “ice” at the end of sessions that “really ’80s” were all right. We were in Australia right before the pandemic, and he just sat at the piano and played Billy Joel perfectly. I was like what? Can you turn on the keyboard On my album Please? We kind of wanted to marry DeBarge’s mid-’80s soul and Atlantic Star. It’s tough with DX7. She’s going to get some accusations about it being cheesy, but I love her voice.”
When Fancey first started in the early 2000s, the group did a few live shows, but since then, the focus has been mostly on recordings. “Even though I’m into New Pornographers and love doing it, I don’t know how much a ‘performer’ I really is, says Fancey, dancing it half-joking to the rarity of concerts that came through Halifax when he was growing up.” On my other recordings, I sang Lots of songs. But with that said, we’re thinking of playing live because Mika loves it.”
Meanwhile, The New Pornographers have wrapped up work on the 2019 follow-up to “In the Morse Code of Brake Lights,” which will be released next year. “I made my guitar picks for him in the worst part of the pandemic at home, and it was the most luxurious, much needed experience,” says Fancy. “I really enjoyed it and going back and forth with it [group member] Karl [Newman] via email in a way we’ve never done before.”
Fancy also continues to receive love from the “The Office” fan community thanks to “That One Night.” Fancey got the party going through his friend Alicen Schneider, a fan of New Pornographers who happens to be a creative NBC CEO, during a sushi dinner in Vancouver.
“I told her I liked the British version of ‘The Office,’ but I thought the American version would be bad,” Fancy recalls. “Even so, I was nominated for the song, and I was desperate to get it. It was a bit of a nightmare because the writers went on strike, and there was a long wait.”
Although not explicitly stated, the song notes that Jan Levinson’s (Melora Harden) character had previously seduced her assistant Hunter into losing his virginity to her (“You took my hand / You made me a man / That night / You made it all right”). The episode ends with Levinson and her live-in boyfriend Michael Scott (Steve Carell) in a house feud after they and their guests wait hours for Levinson’s Oso Bucco dinner to finish cooking, while he escapes Pam (Jenna Fisher) and Jim (John Krasinski) with the CD containing the song as a reprieve from the frenzy of the gathering they just attended.
“Maybe it was just a coincidence on my part that I was a part of it,” says Fancey when asked why he thinks the song still has such comedic appeal. “I don’t watch the episode very often because I don’t really want to hear myself sing like an amateur, which is what they told me to do. There is a more polished version where I sing a little better. ‘Awkward’ comes with this show a lot, so maybe it was kind of The embarrassment on TV. It’s also really really funny, when you learn more about these characters. I still get an email or two about it every month. Hey, I’ll take it. It might be my claim to fame.”
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