Feature / One Question Interviews
Felix Hagan

Words: Loren • December 23, 2017

Felix Hagan
Felix Hagan

SPB: What song (by any artist) has the best use of bongos?

Felix: That would be “Funky Nassau,” the version by The Blues Brothers. Never has bongoing been so succinctly demonstrated as a musical force. It’s in the second Blues Brothers film that I saw when I was ten, and it made me want to never sleep until I could play songs as well as they could. Plus it made me drench my first hundred songs in a whole school orchestra’s worth of percussion. Bongos forever. On a bongo-based sidenote, check out the 1959 film Expresso Bongo. It features a young Cliff Richard playing a character called “Bongo Herbert,” and is also a timeless parable of the music industry.  

Also, you may be interested to know that our new single just came out. If you fancied featuring it in any way that would be absolutely wonderful:

https://youtu.be/Wpqac74aoDM

Loren • December 23, 2017

Felix Hagan
Felix Hagan

Related features

The Greatest Story Ever Told: Felix Hagan

Music / The Greatest Story Ever Told • April 2, 2017

Felix Hagan & the Family play grandiose pop songs tinged with hints of musical theatre, classic rock, and jazz. Hagan's shows have been described as a whirlwind of show-off nonsense (in a good way!) with Hagan playing ringleader to a seven-piece backing band of highly theatrical, immaculately dressed, misfits. The … Read more

More from this section

Greg Soden

One Question Interviews • January 22, 2026

Greg Soden (Unscripted Moments: Conversations with Propagandhi) SPB: You’ve obviously followed Propagandhi for many years – what was the biggest surprise or revelation to you about the band as pieced the book together? Soden: To me, the greatest joy in interviewing members of Propagandhi for five years was the mutual … Read more

Hooch

One Question Interviews • January 21, 2026

Scott O’Brien (Hooch, Smut Peddlers) SPB: How is the approach to your solo work different than with Smut Peddlers? O'Brien: My solo work, which has actually turned into a new collaborative band called Hooch, was a way to work on music I wrote that was somewhat stylistically different from Smut … Read more

Storm Boy

One Question Interviews • January 20, 2026

Storm Boy What is your favorite 1990s artist? God there’s so much to draw from in so many different scene: much of which we consciously incorporate into our creative process -- like Fugazi, Jesus Lizard, the Cure, and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, but also bands that influenced us simply by … Read more