Q&A: The Hold Steady's Craig Finn in this Week's New Times Broward-Palm Beach

The Hold Steady's Craig Finn got on the phone with us for a few minutes last week prior to the band's headlining slot on Friday at the Heineken Inspire Miami event at the Moore Building, and it wasn't long before we were peeking at Florida's seedy underbelly.

Of course, Finn and his punk-leaning "bar band" -- who just released their fifth album, Heaven is Whenever -- are always searching for subject matter that includes pill-poppers, barflies, hoodrats, and pretty much anyone else who went through a skater phase, went through a raver phase, or went through a

razor blade phase.

A segment of the interview regarding the Sunshine State:

"Certainly a lot in the past, we've sung a lot about [Tampa's] Ybor City,

which is on the West Coast of Florida. But "Hurricane J" [from Heaven

Is Whenever] is right there. Maybe "A Slight Discomfort" is the

discomfort of summer down there. A Ponzi scheme is something I've always

been super interested in, but it never made it into a Hold Steady song.

My other favorite thing is celebrity impersonators. They go to a bar,

pretending to be someone not super famous -- but just enough to get a

bunch of free drinks and some adoration."

"Killer Parties" off Almost Killed Me:

If they ask about Charlemagne

Be polite and say something vague

Like another lover lost to the restaurant raids

If they ask why we left in the first place

Say we were young and we were so in love

I guess we just needed space

We heard about this place they called the United States

We found out Virginia really is for the lovers

Philly is full of friendly friends that will love you like a brother

Pensacola parties hard with poppers, pills and Pepsi

Ybor city is tres speedy but they throw such killer parties

Killer parties almost killed me

If she says we partied then I'm pretty sure we partied

I really don't remember

I remember we departed from our bodies
We woke up in Ybor city



Heineken Inspire Miami, with the Hold Steady, Cold War Kids, DJ Chad

Ave., Miami Admission is free; 21 and up. Click here.