They Might Be Giants are one of the few great true-pop bands to succeed for any substantial period of time in the impossible-to-figure-out American music scene. Why? I don't know. They're good. They're real good.

Maybe they've survived so long because their clever lyrics and brilliant musical arrangements are unrivaled in the rock music scene. Maybe it's because they tour so much and play so many free shows. Or maybe it's because they remain technologically innovative and unique, offering fans free phone concerts via Dial-a-Song, and downloadable MP3s online before anyone else did.

Maybe because they're both named John.

Whatever the reason, one thing remains undeniable: the music is really easy to like. So much so, that an entire movie has been devoted to them. Traveling across the country now is the rockumentary, GIGANTIC: A TALE OF TWO JOHNS. While it's probably a case of preaching to the converted, it certainly seems to be critically-acclaimed.

kp: I haven't seen GIGANTIC yet. How involved were you in the making of the film (other than being one of the two principle subjects?)
JF: We were the subject--just the subject. We were happy to participate, but it is not our film.

kp: How did it come about, and how pleased are you with the outcome?
JF: We let people film us in a lot of different situations, and are essentially happy with the movie, but we had no editorial input or control, and we actually weren't allowed to see it until it was finished, so by the end it was a little nerve-racking.

I think it is essentially accurate. The personal revelation that I never would have considered before seeing the film was that I now realize John and I are cast, by necessity, as the heroes of the film--which of course is very complimentary--but actually we are just human beings with short comings and personality quirks like anyone else. Life is so much more complicated than a story can ever tell.

Honestly, I am grateful it doesn't really present me as a business man--which I kind of have to be in real life to a certain extent. I suspect audiences probably couldn't handle it or would see it as a contradiction of the spirit of what we do. But at the same time, I think I am a pretty good business man for the band, and that is one of the very real reasons the band has been able to endure as a creative entity.

kp: What was the first record you ever purchased?
JF: Hard Days Night, The Beatles

kp: The first concert you attended?
JF: The Eternal Lights at the local temple

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