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  Fake Problems - Heat On The Feet
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Although Naples, Florida is just four short hours from Gainesville�the birthplace of bands like Against Me! and Hot Water Music�the area isn�t commonly considered to be a punk Mecca; and with good reason. �Naples is a really thriving vacation spot, so the whole city revolves around people who come here for three months of the year,� explains Fake Problems frontman Chris Farren. �So it�s a strange environment, but I think it�s a good environment creatively because it�s very� nice.�

Originally formed as a solo vehicle for Farren�s songs, in the past few years Fake Problems has evolved from a project into a bonafide rock band�which features bassist Derek Perry, guitarist Casey Lee and drummer Sean Stevenson�and has already logged more miles in the van than most acts years their elder. �In September we started touring for two weeks out of every month and then that started increasing to three,� Farren explains. In addition to blowing the minds of kids from around the world at The Fest in Gainesville, Fake Problems recently returned from a six-week full U.S. tour and is planning to stay on the road for most of 2007.

The CDEP Spurs & Spokes/Bull > Matador compiles the band�s first 7-inch (which was initially released on Sabot Productions in August) alongside four re-recorded songs from the band�s out-of-print debut CD�and despite the fact that some of these songs were written years ago, there�s a remarkable amount of variance from song to song. �Motion Of The Ocean� carelessly careens like an existentialist hoe-down gone terribly awry; �Oh! You�re Silver Heart� is a heartfelt alt-country ballad reminiscent of Whiskeytown; and �Cannonball� is reminiscent of Against Me!�s early material.

�In my lyrics I definitely like to say what I feel, but I don�t like to alienate people or create a niche so that you can only listen to our music if you share our beliefs,� Farren explains. However, whether Farren is imagining his grief-ridden mother at his own funeral or singing about sleeping on the floor of an apartment listening to the lullaby of police sirens, there�s a universality to Fake Problems� music that transcends genre tags and buzzwords�which, when you think about it, is the way music is supposed to be.

�I don�t like to complain that much,� says Farren when asked about the band�s curious moniker. �I don�t like to trouble people with trivial things, so I just write �em down and play guitar to �em.� Fake Problems recently recorded their first proper full-length album with Rob McGregor (Hot Water Music, Grabass Charlestons), which is set for release in Spring 2007 on Sabot Productions. However until then, these eight songs�as well as the band�s energetic live set, which is probably coming to your town sometime soon�will have to be enough to tide you over.