Fender Sessions Featuring Spoon | Fender Guitars

With nine acclaimed albums and a host of EPs and singles to their name, choosing only 13 tracks to appear Spoon’s recent greatest hits album wasn’t easy. Everything Hits at Once not only highlights the best and brightest music from Spoon’s impressive catalog, but also frontman Britt Daniel’s unwavering commitment to honing his craft.

“It took me a long time to figure out how to write a good song, and I’m still learning how to do that whole thing,” Daniel said. “If you’re not trying to figure out a better way of doing what you’re doing, you might be resting on your laurels.

“I’ve always felt the pressure to deliver. I feel like that’s what you have to do. If you’re going to be putting out records, you have to prove yourself every time.”

Daniel, who first picked up a guitar at the age of 15, started Spoon with drummer Jim Eno in 1993. While the lineup has changed over the years, the Austin-grown band has built a legion of fans around the world. But ask any of them to name their favorite album, and you’ll probably get a wide range of answers – from Girls Can Tell (2001) to Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (2007), They Want My Soul (2014) and everything in between.

This is in part due to the band’s unique, ever-present sound and vibe – namely Daniel’s raspy voice and the slashing, rhythmic grooves coming from his iconic Telecaster. Daniel noted that he has two favorite Tele models and was proud to collaborate with Fender on a new signature model.

“It was such a thrill,” he said of the Britt Daniel Tele Thinline. “The first thing I did was call my dad, who collects guitars. Honestly, I’ve never thought about how I would make my own guitar before. Basically, it’s a combination of two Thinlines that I’ve been playing for years.

“I’m the kind of guy who doesn’t like to switch guitars a lot on stage. I like to keep it simple, where this is the sound that you’re playing with. That’s what you got, and if you have one sound, it better be good.”

In the latest Fender Sessions episode featuring Spoon, Daniel showcased his namesake Tele to a packed house. Recorded at Austin’s White Horse Honky Tonk in front of 100 radio contest winners, the band played three songs spanning three different eras of their career: 2014’s “Rent I Pay,” 2007’s “Don’t You Evah” and 2002’s “Small Stakes.”

The set is also interspersed with footage of Daniel explaining the stories behind each song – and why he refuses to stop giving his all on stage.

“Playing live is the most immediate payback you get for what I do,” Daniel said. “The records are documents that last forever. That’s always been the way I’ve looked at it, because records mean so much to me. But there’s nothing that tops being able to go do a good gig.

“That charge and that electric feeling of being there in the moment, that’s unstoppable.”