THE SPI INTERVIEWS: Fastball

October 16, 2008 4:11 PM

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Zack Quaintance

The Monitor

Listen to the recorded audio interview!

Fastball catapulted to fame in the late ‘90s with the catchy single "The Way," but they haven't made major waves in a while.

But an upcoming show on the beach could change that.

Fastball will join more than 50 other bands Halloween weekend at the South Padre Island International Music Festival. In its second year, the biggest music event south of San Antonio has attracted some big names, Fastball among them. Lead singer and bassist Tony Scalzo said his group awaits the gig, which should make for a great warm up.

Fastball has recorded its first studio album in five years. They laid it down in Austin, and Scalzo said fans can expect the same poppy hooks and melodies from past efforts. They're waiting to release it. First Fastball wants to tour in support of it, starting in November.

But will they hit big with another The Way? Hard to tell, because the band had no idea The Way would hit so hard.

"I expected it to get about as big as a peanut," Scalzo said during a phone interview. "I didn't think the other guys would like it. I was reserved about submitting it to the band. It kind of came out somehow and Miles [Zuniga] goes ‘what's that?' And it became part of that record."

The label had chosen a different single from that album, but some strong pre-release radio play led to The Way becoming the single. It also led to one of the most surreal moments in Scalzo's life. He remembers hearing the song blaring from a bar in Italy as he walked down the street.

Maybe the new album will produce another uber single, hard to guess. But in the meantime, Sclazo said the band will continue to enjoy its gigs, especially the South Padre date.

Before his phone interview, Sclazo fired off a few questions of his own.

"Who's playing [at South Padre]?" he said.

Willie Nelson. Foghat. Los Lonely Boys. Blue Oyster Cult. They're all coming.

"No way," Sclazo said. "Blue Oyster Cult? They were one of my favorite bands growing up. I saw them in '78 in California growing up. Wow."

Now his band will play the same ticket with them. Cool.

Fastball