Globecat

OFF THE RECORDS: The Triumphant Return/The Album You Need to Hear

2010-01-05T01:33:00.004-06:00

Happy New Years everyone!

We know what you're thinking: what happened to the Globecat? Well, the big holiday rush wound up hitting everyone, including your staff here at GC, but, truth be told, there's been a project that we've been working on for close to a year now, and, with great pride, we are happy to be unveiling it to you right now.

It's called Good With Words: A Tribute to Benjamin Durdle, and its genesis has been long and totally crazy. In short, this was a project spearheaded by Evcat to give tribute to the guy who got him into songwriting/recording in the first place. Ben is a fantastic songwriter (after all, remember the track he did for Globecat's One Year Anniversary?), but he doesn't really "publicize" his songs that much. So, as such, many people were called on to record their own versions of some of Durdle's unheard-of classics, many of whom are GC alumni.

Who, you might ask? Why, there's the incredible Will Stratton, the super-fun Hoot Hoots, our friend Motorcycles Are Everywhere, and the fantastic group The Marches, along with Davecat contributing a song as well! The whole album has been a labor of love from all the artists involved, and given all the hurdles that had to be overcome to get this album released, we are pleased as punch to finally have this see the light of day.

So please, visit http://www.goodwithwordsalbum.com and download the disc (for free!), give it a listen, and blog about it/share it with your friends and family. This is one of the greatest things that GC has ever been involved in, and -- as you can see -- it was very much worth the wait :-)

Exciting interviews coming soon -- thanks for sticking around!
--The GC Staff

INTERVIEW: Motorcycles Are Everywhere

2009-10-15T01:00:00.002-05:00

In short, Motorcylces Are Everywhere are now, literally, everywhere.

Sound designer Matt O'Hare had made a living working the East Coast circut as a man with an ear for the obtuse, able to make a small living as a theatrical sound designer by making each show he did a work of art in and of itself, writing rock songs for shows that called for them and atmospheric landscapes for entirely different productions without as much as batting an eye. As he worked to make a living in New York City doing what he love, things, eventually, turned towards his own music.

Motorcycles Are Everywhere -- the pseudoynm under which O'Hare has been recording -- just barely released their debut album 1983, an electro-rock stunner that melds waves of noise to remarkably considered song structures, resulting in a wholly visceral listening experience. Though you can hear elements of bands like Radiohead and Depeche Mode floating throughout the mix, MAE has emerged with a unique sound that couldn't be more appropriate for our era: fiery yet cohesive, chaotic yet digestable, poppy but with a sense of longing undercutting the whole experience. Yet there is one descriptor that sets MAE apart from his peers during these troubled times: his music is 100% free.

Sitting down with Evcat, O'Hare is more than willing to talk about how his album was largely made possible by the economic downturn, how wildly experimental his recording process has been, and how NYC can very much be a make-or-break arena for just about anyone in any field -- and how those very people very much populate the lyrical landscape of 1983 ...

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>>It's been noted that back in 2006, while you were still focused on sound designing, you once said that you couldn't write songs for yourself -- only for pre-written material. Then, after the February 2009 production of The Maids you worked on for Trinity Rep/Brown, things changed. What happened, and what ultimately lead to the creation of Motorcycles Are Everywhere?

I've been writing music since I received a Casio keyboard as a gift when I was ten or so. It was pretty clear from the beginning that the concept of learning an instrument simply to play preexisting songs was foreign to me. Perhaps not surprisingly, I was more interested in unusual sounds than I was in developing performance technique. I'm still not a very accomplished musician when it comes to playing the guitar (which I switched over to in junior high to meet girls).

Then came the high school punk band. We wrote our own songs, but the hardest part was writing the lyrics. I don't think I wrote one stanza in high school that didn't make me cringe, so that always slowed the songwriting process way down for me. I had mountains of riffs and half-finished tunes, but I had no idea how to write words for them. Amidst the mid-nineties slump of post-grunge, I thought that all lyrics had to be self-referential and be about personal suffering in order to be interesting. And I was incapable of doing that in an honest way. I was just a suburban teenager with a pretty normal life, afterall.

Meanwhile, I was also acting in plays. It wasn't until college that my two interests came together, and I started writing music for shows that I was in. That was revelatory. Suddenly all the source material was right in front of me: the story, the setting, the characters, the director's vision. These elements gave me everything I needed to generate material; both music and lyrics. After that door was opened, I was much more prolific. However, my writing became exclusively focused on theater and intertwined with other people's ideas. Not such a bad thing, and it certainly has a lot of influence over how I approach music now. It stretched me to places I wouldn't have gone on my own accord; trying to write in a Renaissance style or taking a stab at jazz, for example. But until recently, it looked like I had abandoned the idea of writing music solely from my own imagination.

What happened last year was that I started to no longer feel creatively liberated by theater. I had accumulated a lot of various technical skills and new ways to generate music and sound, and yet I felt like I wasn't using them to their fullest potential. There's only so much music and sound you can cram into a play before the story gets upstaged by it. However, there became an irrepressable urge to make music the total focus again. It was then that I decided to start MAE.

>>There appears to be a particularly bitter lyrical streak running through on this album, particularly with tracks like "The Photographer", which are self-depricating and venemous in equal measure. In what place did you write a majority of these songs? Would you say that this album has an overarching "theme" at all? Given how the album's title refers to the year of your birth, to what degree is this disc autobiographical?

1983 was written almost exclusively in New York City. I was still struggling to keep myself afloat as a freelance sound designer amidst the aftermath of the financial crisis. When I left New York in May, jobs were still pretty few and far between. At that point, I was no longer living in the city fulltime, but renting a guest room from friends in Brooklyn when I had enough jobs booked to afford it. When I didn't have any work, I would go back to my parents' place in rural Vermont and record music until the next gig came along. It could be said that if it wasn't for the recession, I wouldn't have had the time to make 1983.

Living in New York exposed me directly to a lot of aspects to our culture that I was only peripherally aware of beforehand. It's the city where people come to test themselves against the best in the world, whether they're an artist or an investment banker. For me, the whole emotional climate of Manhattan and parts of Brooklyn is defined by a perpetual sense of competition and self-consciousness. This energy manifests itself in a lot of ways. For instance, you have people willing to let themselves be exploited for the false promise of fame, recognition, wealth, etc. Hardly something new, but it seemed like it was everywhere I looked. In the entertainment world, people are constantly working for free because of the thin hope that it may lead to something else. I've done it many times. On the other side of the equation, you have the people who recognize this dynamic and take advantage of it. It could be something enormous, like promising impossible returns on a $2 million investment in the case of Bernie Madoff, or it could be something as small as appearing in a risque photograph for an American Apparel advert with the promise that it will advance your modeling career. It's this idea of ambition as a form of currency: I promise to help you achieve your aspirations in exchange for your money, your body, whatever. Unfortunately, I think the exchange is often extremely one-sided. The promised rewards seldom seem to arrive. Throughout the songs of 1983, you encounter people stuck somewhere along the spectrum of the used and the users.

Somewhere along the way George Orwell's novel 1984 became a central reference point for me in the writing process. In particular, I was very interested in the role that technology plays in maintaining the dynamic of power that Orwell describes. I was amazed at how relevant it continues to be -- perhaps now more than ever. I speak only for myself, but living in New York makes it easy to imagine a world where we will no longer have a private moment to ourselves. However, the funny (and perhaps sad) part is that there is no Big Brother forcing this perpetual surveillance upon us, we are willingly giving up more and more of our private lives for the promise of... social networking? Entertainment? The chance at becoming famous? I wish I knew. My take on Orwell's theory is that if your behavior is largely influenced by outside forces, whether it be an omnipresent authority or the social pressure to check for Twitter updates every five minutes, your mind no longer belongs to you but to those outside forces. You no longer possess yourself because you spend all day perpetually reacting to outside impulses.

With all of this in mind, the songs of 1983 aren't really about me directly. When writing, I thought of each song as a monologue delivered by its respective character. Sometimes I agree with this person and sometimes I don't. I was striving to capture not just my thoughts and feelings regarding the place I found myself in, but also to capture something about the people I was meeting, reading about, and interacting with on a daily basis. That said, there are definitely personal events that influenced the making of this record, but they're all mixed up with my imaginings and 1984.

>>Given how guitar-based some of your previous songs have been ("Whatever Happened to Bill Viola?" immediately jumps to mind), you seem to be taking a very conscious step towards more of an electro-rock direction with 1983. What would you say your direct influences are, and how did they help shape the sound of MAE?

It was a conscious direction and it wasn't. Perhaps the most influential factor in why I moved in a more electronic direction was that I was on the road so much. As a result, the musical instrument most available to me was my laptop. It's important to me in my work and also my music to make use of whatever it is I have available to me. I didn't have a band or rehearsal space, and I wasn't interested in making a folk album. What was left was my macbook and my voice, so that's what I used.

Another reason I embraced digital music was that it allowed me to incorporate some of the techniques I had developed in my professional work. Digital editing allows you play endlessly with how something sounds. The majority of the songs on 1983 have a very simple structure because more effort was put into the sound of the instruments and how the vocals were treated. The logic is that if you make the song more accessible in one aspect, you can push the limit in another without alienating the listener. As a result, each song has a fairly distinct approach, which is something that would have been much harder to accomplish with my meager resources if I was dealing with purely acoustic recording.

Before and during the writing process, I was listening to a lot of electro-type hip-hop. In particular, I was in love with Cadence Weapon's Breaking Kayfabe album. In his songs, Mr. Weapon makes no attempt to hide the fact that he's using digital trickery. The seams between loops and samples are very prominent and an integral part of his sound. Jel, the beatsmith from Themselves and Subtle also does this, but perhaps to a less post-apocalyptic degree. So does El-P in his amazing opus I'll Sleep When You're Dead. Everything is chopped up and very dense, but it still hangs together like mosaic. Additionally, the subject matter that I was trying to address really lended itself to a more urban sound, so once a story started to emerge, I started to go even further with the electronic element.

Along with this electronic-based rap, I was listening to a slew of different bands. I deliberately tried to imitate the production on Wire's Read And Burn Eps, which I think comes across on songs like "Astray" and "The Quiet Man". I love the sinister sound of The Swans, and also Liars' second and third albums to pieces, but my favorite album of the last few years has to be Battles' Mirrored album. The amount of ideas and invention in those eleven songs is astounding. It's like the aural counterpart to anime, it's so high-stimulation.

Finally, I couldn't get enough of Deastro's Keepers album. It's a solo, homestudio effort I believe. Very imaginative and just plain honest. There's a lot of agression on 1983, and listening to stuff like Deastro, Mario Diaz's de Leon's album Mira, and Panda Bear's Person Pitch helped temper some of that raw, anger-fueled energy into something more positive. On 1983, maybe "Winston + Julia" and "Beautiful Criminal" are examples of this.

>>It's not one of the most well-known facts about you, but a song that you wrote for a particular production ("Save Our Children from the Wolves" from the world premiere of The Insect God) has gone on to be covered by college vocal groups like Just Cuz. To what degree do your songs lend themselves to being covered, or -- more accurately -- how well do you think your "theatrical songs" work as standalone pieces, out of context?

When I write a song for a play that's going to be performed, the goal is to make something that makes sense within the world that the director, actors, and designers have created. Sometimes it's a fully fleshed-out song with musical accompaniment or sometimes it's something that needs to be performed a capella, or sometimes it needs to not be musical at all. As a sound designer, I'm committed to maintaining the rules of the story that we're trying to tell.

Because I've written music in so many different contexts at this point, I've been able to detect certain patterns and consistancies that are a part of everything I write. For example, no matter how the song is being delivered, rules of structure can always be applied, and each composer has his or her own way of structuring a composition. For me, there's always going to be a beginning, middle, and end in whatever way I define those concepts. As I mentioned earlier, I think by making the structure of a song readily accessible, it allows you to get away with much more in terms of the content. Maybe it's this emphasis on structure that allows a lot of my work to be reinvented in very different contexts, but I'm not sure. I'm of the mind that any song can be reinvented in any way. It might not always be successful, but it can still happen. In this regard, a song is just like a play or any other form of story.

>>How has being a sound designer ultimately shaped your musical experiences?

When you spend all of your professional life listening, you're bound to develop a very sensitive ear. A sound designer will be able to classify different sounds by emotional response along with its more practical aspects. It no longer becomes enough to pipe in cricket noises to indicate to the audience that we are outside and it's nighttime. If he or she uses crickets at all, an experienced designer will spend a good amount of time choosing from an array of different types of cricket sounds from all over the world. Ultimately, the final decision will be whichever one tells the story best, even if you're using a recording of crickets from Bhutan for a play set in Pittsburgh. This sort of attention to specificity means I spend a lot of time tweaking my music to the point where everything exists in the same world, or, at least, it's as close as it's going to get.

In addition to making my ear more sensitive, being a sound designer has also dramatically changed how I actually listen. For me, sound design and composition are both highly visual processes now. Perhaps spending so many hours comparing audio to whatever is happening on stage, or anticipating what's going to happen on stage, has left my brain always wanting a visual counterpart to whatever it is I'm hearing. Like a mild form of synesthesia. When I'm mixing, editing, or just listening for pleasure, I keep my eyes shut a lot of the time because there's a whole visual aspect that's taking place. It's very helpful in the mixing process because it allows me to shape sound in a very intuitive way. Almost literally moving sounds around the way you would different layers of images in Photoshop.

On a practical level, sound design has also put me in many situations where I had to be very creative in order to solve a problem. I think anyone who works in theater professionally has had the experience of being expected to pull something out of thin air. In my world, you'll be asked to write an original composition on a harp in a place where you have no access to a harp nor the money to buy one. So I'll record some stuff on my classical guitar in an open tuning and spend hours tweaking it on my computer until it sounds more or less like a harp. One time I had to write the musical accompaniment to a fifteen minute avant garde opera with only thirteen pages of disjointed lyrics as a reference point. In three days. I had a drum machine, an old Roland keyboard, and M.I.A.'s Arular album playing on the stereo for inspiration. Largely due to the committment of the actors, the end result was amazing and one of my proudest accomplishments. But I never thought I could do it until I did it. Sound design has profoundly shaped what kind of composer I am, in ways both practical and artistic.

>>You seem to very much be experimenting around with certain styles and textures on this album, particularly with the "sampled" phonate sounds on "Beautiful Criminal". To what degree was this album "considered" and to what degree did playing around with different things ultimately shape your creative process?

As I mentioned, I was consciously making an effort to incorporate some of the discoveries I had made when experimenting with sounds and music on professional projects. There were a few things that I knew I wanted to be on 1983. Some of them are hard to articulate, but I'll give an example. Often for a sound design, I'd find myself editing a sound just to the point where it's barely recognizable. I would do this with the intention of making the sound harder for the audience to define, but just enough of the sound is recognizable enough in order to get the imagination firing and generate some kind of emotional response. I read later that this was often a goal of Brian Eno's when he produced; to consciously mask the defining characteristics of an instrument with the intention that the listener will no longer be able to bring their preconceived ideas of what a trumpet or a guitar is to the listening experience. It's my belief that it engages the listener on a deeper level because it asks your imagination to work harder at attributing this sound to its source. When it works best, it significantly delays the time it takes for your brain to make sense of what it is you are hearing, which means that you spend more time reacting on a more primal, more emotional level. Of course, whether or not I achieve this in my own production is debatable, but that was certainly a goal that electronic music allowed me to persue. It makes it much easier to blur lines. For example, many of the textures and sounds on 1983 are actually sampled guitar. Every song has guitar on it in some form or another, but more often than not, it's not recognizable as such.

Another method I used was to try to create a song using self-generated, but more-or-less random sounds. If you go to my website and check out the splash page, there's one of six images or so that will come up. These were made in a similar sort of fashion. I used a very basic drawing program, and made some kind of picture very quickly with random movements in less than a minute. That became the starting point, much as I would write a few short riffs very quickly and record them.

The next step was throwing the picture into Photoshop and then spending a lot of time tweaking it until something interesting happened. For many of the songs in 1983, I used self-generated samples that were improvised very quickly, then reshaped and edited many times over until a real song began to emerge. Much as I have many MAE logos that weren't successful and are not to be found on my website, I also have many songs that didn't work out because the samples I was using didn't lead anywhere. The songs that were successful became the basis for 1983.

>>Within two weeks of its release, MAE has already been blogged about in places as far as Quebec and Hungary. Has the response to the album surprised you at all?

The response has certainly surprised me. The only goal I had when I started 1983 was to finish it. Now that it's done, I definitely want people to hear it, but even if it never reaches more than a thousand pairs of ears, I'd still be content to have finished a full-length album that I am proud of. But I keep finding little posts on the internet here and there (when I am unapologetically Googling Motorcycles Are Everywhere) -- evidence that a few people liked it enough to want their friends to hear it. Those sorts of word-of-mouth endorsements are very satisfying to me.

Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the album release has been where it's ended up. Malaysia, Poland, Brazil -- all over the place within the span of a week. Never have I so directly experienced that the internet has completely changed the way information is exchanged. I am in awe of it.

>>Finally, so far in your career, what has been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

Sometimes I wish I took more time to enjoy the fact that I was getting paid to sound design. Trying to make ends meet in the world of professional theater can be very challenging. With that can come a lot of frustration and the feeling that you're allowing yourself to be taken advantage of. You work very hard for the minimum of compensation. But the people that thrive in theater are those that love it so much, that it doesn't matter. And eventually, you start to be paid what you are worth. Before that happens, however, you have to endure what seems to be an endless amount of time stuck in a dark room for twelve hours at a stretch, going over the same moment over and over again until it is art. It can be painful, and it often took its toll on my attitude. Those are the moments I wished that I had sat back, taken in a breath, and reminded myself that I was getting payed to play.

My proudest accomplishment is that I have been able to sustain a career as an independent contractor. It can be very stressful to not have job security (or health insurance) and there were many times I had to send in the rent check a few days late. What kept me from giving up and getting a real job was an unshakable determination to remain free. I had to sleep in closet-sized rooms or on couches, and I never had much money, but I didn't have to do work I hated or have a boss stand over me. I don't think I can truly express how important it is to believe in what I am doing and to have the freedom to decide what my daily schedule is going to be. Sound design was able to give me this, and I will be forever grateful.

OFF THE RECORDS: (S)milestones

2009-08-27T00:20:00.003-05:00

Hello there, loyal Globecat fans!

There are several wonderful things to celebrate, so let's just get it out there. First off, our humble little blog has now crossed the 10,000 hit mark, which is nothing short of incredible and worthy of mention. It's through your constant support that this has been possible, and for everyone who links us on a blog, Tweets our latest endeavor, or links a quote to an artist's Wikipedia page, we are nothing short of grateful. GC does very little self-promotion: people often stumble upon our site and champion the material, and it's for that we want to thank you.

Secondly, Globecat is taking a short break, but for good reason: co-founder Evan "Evcat" Sawdey has recently been promoted to full-on Interviews Editor at PopMatters.com. The first few weeks are invariably going to be the craziest, simply because his inbox is filled with hundreds of e-mails from dozens of publicists, so GC will take a short vacation until things settle down.

There are wonderful things on the horizon for GC, including a very special project involving several artists that can be considered "Globecat alumni" -- it's going to be a thing to behold ...

Remember to send you ideas and suggestions to globecatmusic [at] gmail [dot] com, and we will be back with you shortly!

Thanks!
--GC

ALEATORY #25: Lands & Peoples

2009-08-20T01:00:00.000-05:00

Lands & Peoples are downright scary.

No, they're not going to scare away children during Halloween, but in listening to the debut release by this trio -- consisting of multi-instrumentalists Caleb Moore, Amanda Willis, and Beau Cole -- it is damn-near frightening how fully formed the band sounds on just their first EP. Though it's easy to spot the group's influences, it proves rather difficult to pin down the Lands & Peoples "sound". Emotional without being self-indulgent, this is lo-fi indie rock with a distinct modern twist, beautifully textured but never once coming across as overlabored (check out their MySpace to hear what makes them so unique). With their eponymous EP just out and a full-length album due shortly, there is no better time than to hit up the band with one of Globecat's trademark Aleatories (and if that isn't enough, Lands & Peoples have the distinction of being our 25th). Without further ado, Lands & Peoples ...

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1. Favorite word?

January.

2. Favorite board game?

Monopoly (Amanda=Car, Beau=Boot, Caleb=Thimble)

3. Favorite key to write in?

Probably A minor, or G.

4. Favorite person to have worked with?

The Secret Mountains, we just finished the first leg of our tour with them ... sooooooo much fun!

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

Fender Prosonic coupled with an Electro-Harmonix Reverb Pedal, woohoo!

6. Favorite visual artist?/Favorite work of visual art?

Tie between Gustav Klimt and Nicholas Gurewitch (of PBF comics).

18. Favorite pick-up line?

"Is your father a lumberjack? No? Oh ... OK ... um ... well ... 'wood' you go out with me?"

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

Upright Bass, we all agree.

31. Other than musician, what career would you most enjoy?

Caleb: Record company scout or producer.
Amanda: Chef.
Beau: Actor, wait is that stupid, uh, Chef, that was a good answer.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

Tours are fun and hard and bathing in a lake, while fun, isn't ACTUALLY that clean. Also iPhones are REAL helpful.

42. What's an image that haunts you to this day?

That scene in The Shining where the hot woman turns into the old lady, OH MY GOD that scene is creepy.

45. What's the best lie you've ever told?

We've never been good at lying.

56. Have you ever considered writing or producing for other artists?

Yes. Baltimore's a place that allows all types of artists to collaborate in the craziest of ways ... and there are so many artists, not just musicians, that we LOVE in Baltimore, so I think if the opportunity ever came up, we [would] jump on it.

58. Least rock star thing you've ever done?

Watching Twilight with Caleb's mom.

72. A few years ago, Beck gave an interview for SPIN in which he lamented the glut of reality TV shows and blogs about musicians, wanting to know less details about their life because he felt they were more mysterious that way (he liked to envision Devo as living in a crazed art-deco pyramid when he was young, instead of just some guys in a tour bus). Do you feel that there's a lack of mystique out there for musicians in today's YouTube age? Do you feel your band carries any mystique?

These days, it is possible to be in complete, honest, and direct communication with people who listen to your music and pay attention to that sort of thing. But, at the same time, you don't have to, you don't have to answer every interview, you don't have to have a blog, or be on Twitter, Facebook, Myspace, etc. I think that a band can use those things as tools to communicate whatever, even outright lie if they want, manifest their own "mystique." But I don't think anyone can deny that "the Internet" with all it's sites and blogs and viral explosions has given SO many artists exposure that they otherwise would never have gotten, that's the important thing ... and it's a good thing, for the most part.

74. Better to burn out or to fade away?

Burn Out.

76. Dream collaboration?

Working with Beach House, co-produced by Chris Taylor and Jon Brion.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?

Well, we recorded and mixed everything by ourselves in our homes. Knowing you're not a professional yet wanting it to be perfect ... letting stuff go was really hard.

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

1) Will Smith--Gettin' Jiggy With It
2) Men Without Hats--Safety Dance
3) Weird Al--Fat
4) Biggy--Big Poppa

90. Sexiest thing about you?

Amanda: "My big heart."
Beau & Caleb about Amanda: "Her legs."
Caleb: "My large nostrils."
Beau: "My unibrow."

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Visit Lands & People's official website here.

INTERVIEW: Chad VanGaalen

2009-08-13T01:01:00.007-05:00

By day, Chad VanGaalen is your everyday, quasi-experimental songwriter with two presitgious Polaris Prize nominations under his belt and a rapidly expanding cult fanbase. By night, he dons a cape, a drum machine, and then becomes the infamous ... Black Mold!!!

Well, not really, but VanGaalen -- following his critically acclaimed third album Soft Airplane (2008, Flemish Eye) -- has decided to open his world to include a side-project called Black Mold, a largely experimental affair that includes everything from faux-classical compositions to drum-n-bass electronic numbers, as well as everything inbetween. It's a remarkable change of pace for the prolific songwriter and animator, but for those who had been listening all the way back to his first album Infiniheart, you got the sense that something like Black Mold was coming, and Mold's debut album (Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz) has songs that were culled from over 50 mini-albums that VanGaalen has been working on from time to time. Sitting down with Evcat, VanGaalen reveals that he's amazed he got away with the fidelity of recording his first album, is now gearing himself up to submit pieces to film festivals, and in the biggest shocker of them all, reveals that -- in fact -- he's not that big a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan ...

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Well first off we wanted to congratulate you on scoring your second Polaris Prize nomination.

Right on, thanks.

You’ve done two records prior to this, but it appears that Soft Airplane just brought you up to a whole new level of notoriety. Has the response to this record surprised you at all?

Um … a little bit, yeah. I’d say so. This is the first record I put out that I really 100% behind. It’s a record that I would probably listen to if I were … forced to listen to it. The other two were just OK, but this one -- yeah, it definitely had a good response.

I actually first heard about you during one of those Laundromat sessions where you play “Molten Light”, and then an ambulance goes by and adds to the ambience of that. Of course, we’re here talking about the Black Mold project, and the first question that comes to mind is simple: why isn’t this a Chad VanGaalen record?

There’s no vocals on it for one thing. The second thing is, well, well see what happens with it but I don’t really have any drive to play any of these songs and recreate them. I guess there’s also having the [chance] to experiment and to put out whatever I want on a Black Mold record -- it doesn’t have to have any rhyme or reason. I mean, Skelliconnection and Infiniheart [both] have Black Mold-ish types of songs, instrumentals or dance music -- [they] didn’t really do much for the record, so they always felt sort of out of place, but with the Black Mold stuff I can just do whatever I want and just kind of have an outlet to put it out to the world. Those songs just never really had a place.

So you did write stuff specifically for this project then, so it’s not just a series of instrumental oddities that were just lying around.

No, I mean yeah: this stuff was strictly meant to come out on a Black Mold record.

Obviously, the Black Mold stuff is kind of all over the place, ranging from dance music to stuff more jazzy in nature, but I would argue “Metal Spider Webs” was the most idiosyncratic song you’ve done, as it loops a simple, solemn cello line over and over again. It’s almost as if you’re exploring darker musical territory than what we’ve seen previously in a Chad VanGaalen record. Can we expect some sort of thematic arc to Black Mold?

As I was explaining before, with the Black Mold stuff, those songs are taken from about 50 or so different records. “Metal Spider Webs” and “Barn Swallow” were taken from a record of sort of more classically bent instrumental pieces that were maybe a little bit more orchestrated, and then “Dr. Snouth” was taken from a series of songs that I wrote for the original Solaris Tarkovsky Russian sci-fi film. The first Black Mold record is maybe an introduction to a whole bunch of other records.

When you say “first Black Mold record”, are you implying that you’ll use this as an outlet later on?

When this record comes out, anyone who buys this will get a download code for a hundred bonus songs that’ll be grouped into sort of little mini-records that will maybe get people like “Oh OK, I get it!”

Jumping back on a point you said just a bit ago about your albums having instrumentals on there -- as well as your work on that Tchaikovsky piece -- well, have you considered scoring movies or things of that nature?

Yeah, I mean just as far as people asking me to do it and having the time to do it. Black Mold is going to come out with three animated pieces that will accompany it, and this one track called “Bald Static” that’s 17 minutes long that didn’t make the record (just ‘cos it’s too long) that’ll have an animate short along with it, so there’ll be 25 minutes worth of animation that comes with the Black Mold record.

So in terms of outside film work, you’re just waiting for that phone call?

Yeah, and also just [having] the time to do it. It hangs on what I’m working on at the moment too, ‘cos I’m trying to prepare more animated shorts that I can enter into film festivals -- and that takes up a lot of time, right?

Just a bit yeah -- now you’ll be Chad VanGaalen, King of All Media!

[Laughs.]

Just a few quick questions here. First off: when was the last time you listened to Infiniheart?

Oh … I don’t know. A long time ago? Years probably?

I always am curious because as one changes and evolves as an artist, it’s always interesting to go back and here where your mindset was at the beginning. What came to mind when you last heard your debut?

Just fidelity. I can’t believe that the fidelity of that record is pretty insane. I know I got pinned as “lo-fi” but I’m very much trying to get past that. When I hear to that record, I think “man I can’t believe I got away with recording that.” An entire drum kit with one mic that I got for free or from a pawn shop -- which can be quirky, but at the same time I wasn’t really … I was trying to work in stereo, and I hadn’t had a lot of success working in stereo, but I’ve learned a few tricks since then …

Who is your favorite Ninja Turtle and why?

Oh man! I’m not quite the huge Ninja Turtle fan -- I never really was. I’d have to say … whoever the dude with the nunchaku was. I’m pretty sure it was Michelangelo.

Well we got one last question for ya: so far in your career, what’s been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what’s been your proudest accomplishment?

My biggest regret … my ability to focus on one thing. As far as touring and presenting myself, it’s a little bit underdeveloped. My skills as a live musician were always sort of lacking and I never really thought it was a necessary thing, ‘cos I was always coming at it from a music-lovers point of view: I just listened to records. Now I’m beginning to appreciate [how to] rock out. My regret is that I didn’t put as much into that career-wise.

My proudest moment? I don’t even know. I don’t have much to pride myself with. I don’t know, maybe just the people that you meet along the way. I’m pretty proud of the fact that I’ve never really had a “weird moment” as far as being in the entertainment industry. I think it’s a pretty weird industry: a lot of horror stories, and I’m proud of the fact that I’ve never really had to deal with weirdos or people trying to fuck me over or anything like that. For the most part, it’s just been good people that have gravitated towards [my work]. People like Ian at Flemish Eye and Sub Pop -- it just came around at a great time and both labels have treated me awesome and I’ve never had any problems. I mean you hear nightmare stories of “Oh they gave me a $50,000 advance and now we gotta tour ‘til 2030 …” [Laughs.]

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Visit Black Mold's MySpace here.
Visit Chad VanGaalen's MySpace here.

INTERVIEW: Chris Milk

2009-07-30T01:00:00.001-05:00

Chris Milk is one very lucky fellow. He's also a very talented one as well.

Milk, in a very short amount of time, has gradually become one of the leading music video artists of our time, starting out big by directing Kanye West's breathtakingly powerful clip for "Jesus Walks" and then moving on to work on clips from everyone to Modest Mouse to Courtney Love, Green Day & U2's one-off collaboration to the most abstract, heart-ripping (literally) clip for Gnarls Barkley's "Who's Gonna Save My Soul?". Like Jonathan Glazer and Mark Romanek before him, there isn't a "trademark" to Milk's vision: just nothing but high-quality work that reflects the needs of the song, not the record label. Alternately funny and dramatic, touching and exciting, Milk -- sitting down with Evcat in an interview that has taken close to year to happen -- finally spills on the inspiration behind some of his classic clips, how he used to pretend to be an industry client just to get copies of his favorite promo clips, and wishes to one day have people ascribe meaning to music videos in the same way they do their favorite songs ...

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>>First thing is first: Gnarls Barkley's "Who's Gonna Save My Soul". I must say, this clip seems to be a tipping point for you, as it melds both your surrealistic comic sensibilities with the gritty, emotional gravitas that fills up your videography. What was your inspiration, and -- ultimately -- what do you hope people take out of this?

Thanks for saying that. It stems mostly out of the personal experiences I’ve had in relationships. I’m more drawn to these sort of stories and would love to tell them more often. Dark, comedic, surreal, this is the type of material I respond to in features, and it’s the kind of music videos I love to write. I’ve actually written a lot more of these but they’ve never been produced. Some of my favorite Kanye videos are sitting in a notebook and will never happen. This Gnarls video I’ve pitched to 3 or 4 bands over the years. I’m actually glad they all said no because I think it was predestined to happen with this song. The emotion and musical tonality line up too perfectly. It had to be this track. As far as the “take away” I don’t really like to think in those terms. All I can do is make something I personally find compelling, put it out there, and maybe it works for other people. I’ve certainly had occasions when it hasn’t worked for anyone. My ex-girlfriend for instance did not care for this Gnarls video at all.

>>When a video director breaks big into the market, it often feels that they go from being popular to damn near ubiquitious overnight, taking on any and all comers, spreading themselves creatively thin in the process (Mark Webb immediately comes to mind). Yet you have been very selective in both your commercials and videos -- what, ultimately, draws you in to working with a particular artist? How has your creative process changed over time?

What’s funny is that when I was trying to get my first video I wrote on any track they would send me. I wrote on some of the most embarrassing music you can think of. None of them would give me a video. I used to write constantly every week, never went out on the weekend, just sat home and struggled to come up with concepts to music I didn’t like. It was over a year and a half of this before I got my first video. By dumb luck and the good graces of God it was for a band that I loved, the Chemical Brothers. Kanye West saw that video and was determined that I do his first video with a budget off his first album. When Kanye broke big I did in a way as well. That was my third video. I had the luxury that most videos directors don’t get of getting to be choosy early.

I decided a while ago though I had little desire to be prolific. I would much rather do a small body of work that I’m proud of than be the guy who does thousands of music videos and works with every artist. Not that there is anything wrong with that, I respect it, it’s just not me. I can’t work that way. I do one project at a time, and obsess over it until it’s finished. I live small. I drive a 96 Volvo turbo wagon. I have very little overhead. I don’t have kids in private school or a Ferrari payment. I can do the few projects I’m really interested in a year, and still be fine.

The artists I’m drawn to are the ones that value music videos as a viable art form in its own right. We are creating something new together. Yes it has the song, but ultimately it’s creatively a new work. Sometimes there are artists that I love, but I just can’t figure out a visual component for the song. So I end up turning it down. Those kill me.

And by the way, I think Mark Webb is really talented. It’s not easy to be consistent with work spanning such a wide range of artists, and I think he has been. Plus his movie is top notch.

>>What videos/directors do you draw inspiration from?

When I was in film school I used to call DP agents pretending I was a potential client to get 3/4 video copies of the clips I was obsessed with. Most of them were by Mark Romanek, David Fincher, or Spike Jonze.

>>Much has been made of your multiple collaborations with Kanye, and -- of course -- there's the fact that he made three different versions of his "Jesus Walks" video, though yours, ultimately, is considered the definitive version. Is it strange to see multiple versions of clips like that floating around -- does it somehow detract from the ownership of your work? (I feel this question particularly interesting for video directors, as we very much live in the age of YouTube/viral media now)

Not really. The "Jesus Walks" saga is a long one that I won’t recount here. But I’ll tell you that Kanye’s intention was never to have all three videos released.

Seeing someone else’s interpretation of a video you had in your head happens all the time. Usually though you lost the job to someone else. Personally I find it fascinating to see someone else’s interpretation. You can get so locked inside your own head with an idea that it’s refreshing to see another angle on it. The more the merrier.

I have a sort of fundamental philosophical problem with music videos though. I’m actually not a big fan of the finite nature of them, like “this is the ultimate definitive sequence of images to accompany this song. There shall be no others”. I think one reason raw music at its core is so powerful is because it intertwines with people and their lives. They sing along to it in the car, it emotionally scores that one summer they had, it allows an interaction and an involvement on the part of the listener. They can make it their own.

Music videos don’t have that. It’s always “here’s the video, shut up, watch it, now go about your life”. I would like to find a way that people can invest in a music video the way they invest in a song. We’ll see though, I’m working on some ideas.

>>Finally, so far in your career, what's been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

Biggest regret is working hard on a music video for 4 months, that by my own rules I shouldn’t have been doing in the first place, nearly perishing in the process, only to have the record company re-edit and animate over the whole thing, then ban me from the label for taking my name off it.

Proudest accomplishment, really I just feel incredibly lucky that I get to make music videos for a living. Five years ago my goal was to just do one before I died.

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Visit Chris Milk's website.

INTERVIEW: The Kronos Quartet [Part II]

2009-07-23T01:00:00.000-05:00

On Part I of our amazing discussion with Kronos Quartet founder/violinist David Harrington, we discussed a lot of what went into making Floodplain, their latest, transglobal masterpiece. In Part II, Harrington discusses the unusual challenges in covering Blind Willy Johnson (and the group's incredible solution), what the Kronos Quartet's "definitive" lineup was, and reflecting on his own personal accomplishments in his three decade plus career ...

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I think some of that is leant to the fact that being in the web/digital era, so many artists now have an avenue of exposure that they would never, ever have had before. I was listening to this Honest Jon’s compilation awhile back that featured music taken directly out of Baghdad in the 1920’s …

I’ve heard that record.

Yeah, and I was completely overwhelmed by the sadness contained in those songs. The only thing I found more fascinating is that about ten years ago, an album like this would have never had a chance even in a niche marketplace, but now we’re in an age where a physical and digital release is easily, easily doable and it has the chance to reach listeners in ways that no one would have previously thought possible.

Right! And that’s what albums can do now: they can celebrate these possibilities. The idea for Floodplain germinated right around the time of the invasion of Iraq by the Bush Administration. Basically, I decided early -- probably in March of 2003 -- that I was going to try to learn more about Iraqi music. Later as the “Axis of Evil” got defined (and that would include Iranian music), pretty soon this lead to the realization that there’s entire worlds of music that I had no idea about. A lot of our albums have something to do with sharing discoveries -- in fact, most of them do. [Laughs.] So for me, this process involved a lot of listening and the thrill of finding something that you really love that you hadn’t heard before that you wanted to play. That’s a part of this album.

With your Dark Was the Night compilation and your Blind Willy Johnson cover -- plain and simply: why Blind Willy Johnson?

Well here’s how that happened: I was on the phone with Bryce Dessner and we were talking over a couple concerts that we were going to be playing at his festival in Cincinnati (MusicNow). We were talking over things, and then he said “You know, we’re right at the final stages of this Red Hot compilation -- you wouldn’t happen to have anything that you’ve never recorded that you’d really like to record?” I said “Oh yeah, definitely.” He said “What is it?” I said “’Dark Was the Night’ by Blind Willy Johnson.” There was this kind of silence over the phone. [Laughs.] A few seconds later he said “I can’t believe it. We’ve been talking about having that song on the album and this would be perfect.” Well our sound engineer Scott Fraser had this idea for me -- and we’ve played the piece on and off for a few years -- and in concert it just didn’t quite come off as vividly as we wanted, mainly ‘cos of my part. It had to do with the sound coming from a bottleneck violin. Scott suggested I put guitar strings on my violin.

That’s what gives it that sound.

Yeah, that’s how that sound came about. A suggestion from Scott Fraser, who co-produced Floodplain and You’ve Stolen My Heart. He’s one of our sound engineers for concerts as well; we go way back with Scott. He’s really an amazing musician. When Scott had mentioned that, I knew that that was the solution, so I really wanted to record the piece that way. We had been talking about recording it, and to me it’s one of the mythic American pieces, right at the center of our entire musical history in a certain way. Anyways, that’s how that happened. Then we were on tour early in September [2008] and we recorded it and a week or so later Scott & I mixed it and we got it to Bryce and after that they decided to call the release Dark Was the Night.

One of those “happy coincidences.”

Yeah, totally! [Laughs.]

I have kind of a personal question for you. You’ve obviously been there during the Kronos Quartet’s inception ‘lo those many years ago. You had a solid lineup for awhile, and only in the past decade have you had a couple of changes. Just out of curiosity: is there ever a “definitive” lineup of the Kronos Quartet in your mind?

Oh I think the definitive lineup is the current one. But, it’s always been that way! I mean, Joan Jeanrenaud was with us for 20 years, and that always felt definitive. Now Jeff [Zeigler] is here and that feels definitive to me, and a lot of it has to do with the material that’s being written and that we’re playing and exploring. We had just come from Australia where we put together this incredible piece using instruments devised and invented by Jon Rose, and they’re musical fences, and together with Jon we created this theatre piece that closed our concert at Sydney Opera House, and it kind of lifted things to a new place in our music, and for me, that’s definitive.

Finally, so far in your career, what’s been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what’s been your proudest accomplishment?

Well, are you talking about professional regrets or personal regrets?

You can interpret it however you wish.

Well when I think of regrets, the first thing that comes to mind is the death of my son. And there’s nothing else that even compares to that in terms of sadness or influence on my life or anything -- so that would be that. In terms of accomplishment, I think I’d have to say keeping my family together in spite of that tragedy and also then becoming a grandparent shortly before Bush, Cheney & Rumsfeld started this damn war. The incredible joyousness of being a grandparent -- it’s something I’d highly advise buy only if I was asked. [Laughs.] Because it’s a very personal topic. All I can say is I now have two grandkids and I get so much energy from them: it’s just … the sense of wonder and idealism and the desire to explore has for me invigorated my life so much.

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Visit the Kronos Quartet's official website.

INTERVIEW: The Kronos Quartet [Part I]

2009-07-16T01:00:00.001-05:00

It's virtually impossible to summarzie the work of the Kronos Quartet into a single paragraph -- but we're gonna try anyways.

Formed in 1973 by violinist David Harrington, the Kronos Quartet has gone on to become one of the most widely-recognized classical groups on the planet, winning a Grammy in 2004 for the Alban Berg album Lyric Suite, working with everyone from Philip Glass to Terry Riley to Steve Reich on specific pieces while also having works written specifically for the Quartet to perform. They've even gained extensive clout in the indie-rock community as well, having worked on the soundtracks to films like Requiem for a Dream and The Fountain, covering Nine Inch Nails one second while contributing the title track to the double-disc Red Hot Dark Was the Night compilation the next. This group has yet to meet a challenge they haven't conquered, and it's for this very reason that the Kronos Quartet remain peerless in the avant-classical realm.

Speaking with Evcat, David Harrington was more than happy to talk about the group's latest disc Floodplain (a transglobal album that tackles songs both forgotten and new -- some even written specifically for this release), their encounters with musical fences, meeting puppeteers in Bali, and learning how to craft the perfect Blind Willy Johnson cover. This interview was so extensive, we've had to divide it into two parts [you can read Part II right here]. So, without further ado, the inimitable Kronos Quartet ...

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So how are you doing?

Oh I’m fine.

Just about ready to go on tour, I hear.

Yeah we are leaving on Friday for Europe.

Excited?

Oh yeah: looking forward to it. Got a lot of cool stuff to play.

Understandably! Which actually leads me to my first question: this year has been extraordinary for you guys, ranging from contributing the title track to the Red Hot Dark Was the Night compilation to releasing your own full-length disc Floodplain. Given that you guys have essentially released an album a year like clockwork since 1985, do you ever see yourself slowing down at all and giving yourself a breather?

You know, breaks are not on the calendar here. [Laughs.] It’s not something I’m really that interested in. I mean, for me, my battery gets charged by music and by hearing wonderful new pieces and composers and instruments -- that’s what I need to do: just keep charged.

When you go on tours like that, do you often go out to try and listen to the music of the places you’re visiting as well or is it usually performing strictly Kronos-type material?

Well, most often we’re pretty involved in the getting to and from our shows and sound checks and things, but generally what’s happened in the last 36 years is that I have meetings with musicians from wherever we are and people hand me a lot of recordings and scores and stuff: it’s one way I’m able to stay in touch with what’s happening in different places. We just got back from Bali a couple weeks ago. We had a week there -- and that’s kind of unusual for us to stay in a location that long -- and it was fantastic, ‘cos not only did we get to hear some amazing music, but we also got to meet the Master Puppeteer from Bali, and he gave us a private performance. He’s retired now, but he sort of came out of retirement …

But an actual puppeteer is what you’re saying?

Yeah. His name is Mister Sitia and he’s generally acknowledged as the greatest of the Balanese puppeteers and he’s in his late 70s right now. His eyesight is kind of going and his body has been worked hard for many, many years. He did a dance performance with us -- his son and grandkids did the music. It was kind of like seeing Shakespeare in Hamlet or Beethoven doing one of his last sonatas. On the order of artistic experiences that I’ve never had but have wanted to have: that was one of the high points of anything I could possibly imagine. That just doesn’t happen that often.

Let’s just jump real quick to Floodplain. I get this sense that you’re always pushing the Quartet into new sounds and new directions, whether it be getting sampled by Faith No More on their Angel Dust album to performing with Nelly Furtado to Nine Inch Nails to Mogwai, all while still working with the likes of Terry Riley on top of that. In listening to the new album, one of the songs that immediately jumped out was “Tashweesh”, a collaboration you did with the electronic group Ramallah Underground. What was the germination for this particular piece?

Well I first heard Ramallah Underground on MySpace. It would’ve been two and a half years ago since I first heard them. I was just kind of looking around on MySpace for some wonderful music. I don’t even know how I found them, but for me I was just hearing a sound and an approach that was distinctive; I’ve never heard anything quite like that, and I really, really like their music. So I got in touch with them. I sent them a bunch of our recordings and they sent me a whole bunch of theirs; so we kind of began to exchange ideas. I mentioned this album idea that I had at that point, and asked them if they would like to write something for it. Basically, they wrote a whole lot of music and asked us to choose something, and what I chose was “Tashweesh”.

So that was a piece they had already done?

No -- they wrote it especially for us and for the album. They wrote three or four pieces for the album, and we chose that one.

One of the more striking moments on the new album I found was “Ya Habibi Ta’ala” which I liked because it sounded both traditional and modern at the same time. It was very strictly tied in with its traditional Eastern roots but was also immediately accessible as well. Do you ever yourself trying to “contemporize” any of these pieces in order to more immediately grab the ears of Western listeners who may not otherwise get a chance to hear these sounds?

Well that’s not something that comes into my thinking, really. For me it’s just finding something that magnetizes me and wanting to find a way to bring into our orbit or our world. So “Ya Habibi Ta’ala” -- I heard that on a recording of this very young great singer from Egypt from the 1940s. Azmahan was her name and she died tragically during the Second World War. She appeared in a few movies. This song just really attracted me and I thought “Wow, we’ve got to play this!” [Laughs.] So that’s pretty much what it was, and then I talked to my friend Osvaldo Golijov and played it for him and he made a version for us and then we kind of worked upon that, and “reorchestrated” or “retranslated” his version or whatever you might want to call it, and that became what you hear on the recording.

Floodplain travels a lot of distance in a short amount of time, ranging from the brutal piece “…hold me, neighbor, in this storm…” [by Aleksandra Vrebalov] to some more spritely numbers, but its ambition and immense worldview are never in question. Ultimately, what do you want a listener to take out of Floodplain after listening to it straight through?

You know, first of all the title of the album, I was trying to explain to my wife what I had in mind -- actually, almost exactly like what you’re asking. Like, what is it that we’re trying to communicate? I was mentioning that for me, the world of music right now is almost like this amazing river which is kind of overflowing with riches and with music. So the banks of the river are flooding. And then she said “Well the album has to be called Floodplain.” [Laughs.] The idea that the traditional classification and little areas of the world of music are not connected -- for me that idea doesn’t work anymore. I feel connected to so many musicians and so many sounds and so many instruments and voices and I would like to share those connections with our audience. Just the vitality of being a part of the world of music right now is -- for me -- totally thrilling and very inspiring. I think that that is at the base of what I would like to try to communicate.

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Visit the Kronos Quartet's official website.

Photo by Jay Blakesberg

INTERVIEW: Riceboy Sleeps

2009-07-09T01:00:00.000-05:00

Riceboy Sleeps is not your average side-project.

Consisting of Alex Somers and Sigur Ros lead singer Jón Þór Birgisson, the two have been working under the "Riceboy Sleeps" moniker for some time, but -- interestingly -- it was only recently that they've included music as part of this experience. Alex and Jón have been working in the visual arts for some time, so far having released two whole books of their pieces (a part of which can be seen on the graphic above). Occasionally recording under the name "Jónsi & Alex", it wasn't until early this year when Riceboy made their formal recording debut with the gorgeous 8-minute instrumental "Happiness" on the Dark Was the Night Red Hot charity compilation. Now, their debut album is due in Europe next week. When Evcat spoke to Alex, he mentioned how much of this album was recorded on a solar-powered laptop, he doesn't like to classify what style of music the guys do, and we haven't even seen their recipe book yet ...

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>>Riceboy Sleeps appears to be an evolution for both of you, as it relies more on texture than melody, making a sharp contrast to both Sigur Ros and Parachutes respectively. How would you classify your own material: drone? Post-rock? Ambient?

We have never classified our songs before. I guess we have never needed to do it... for me, the songs rely more on melody than texture. Even though these songs are slow and full of texture, without the melody it would all fall apart. Melody is always first for us.

>>What made you decide to contribute to, much less make your debut with, the Dark Was the Night compliation?

Our friend Bryce, from the band the National asked us if we would like to donate one song because he knew we were going to be releasing our album soon. We thought it was a good cause and we were happy to do it.

>>Though both bands have recorded in various locations prior, what made you decided to record your record primarily in Hawaii?

We actually recorded the whole album at home in our living room in Reykjavik. We did mix the album in Hawaii though, and that was amazing. We decided to not mix in a studio, and mix the album ourselves somewhere different. Jónsi ended up finding this Raw food commune in the middle of the jungle ... so we went there. We shipped our speakers and other gear there. And we worked from a laptop on 100% solar power. It was a really cozy was to mix the album.

>>Listening to "All the Big Trees" and "Daniell in the Sea", the small ambient touches remind me both of glitch/IDM artist Oval and the slower numbers by Four Tet, almost as if the song is based more on its atmosphere than it's formal structure. What was the writing approach like for this album? Much like Sigur Ros' Hvraf/Hiem release, can you see yourself ever taking these songs into a stripped down, possibly acoustic format?

We were trying to create an atmosphere that felt good to us. Making these songs was a little different to writing ‘pop’ songs on piano or guitar. We would slowly build a song over a long period of time ... until it felt whole. We worked on this album on and off for five years. The album itself is all acoustic instruments and voices ... there are no synthesizers or electronics actually ... We love to treat the voices and instruments heavily inside samplers to create new sounds. So if we decide to play concerts it will be all acoustic too ...
>>For both of your parent bands, it seems that the very purpose of your groups is aimed at sweet, beautiful catharsis. By abandoning traditional pop structures with Riceboy, however, it feels like you're trying to reach the same goal but by alternate means. What, ultimately, do you want a listener to take away from a Riceboy Sleeps experience?

There is nothing specific we are saying. Only hoping to give people a good feeling or inspire them...

>>Will there be live Riceboy Sleep performances in the near-future? If so, what can we expect?

Maybe, we are not sure yet. Nothing this year for sure though...

>>Finally, so far in the formation and recording process, what has been the biggest regret for you guys, and, conversely, what's been your proudest moment?

We are very happy and proud to share this album with people now. We are also quite excited about this special edition box we’ve been making. It is full of lots of neat stuff, plus another EP we made. One regret might be that we have not published our recipe book yet...

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Visit Riceboy Sleeps' official website.

INTERVIEW: The List

2009-07-02T01:00:00.001-05:00

Chris Karman will never, ever, be faulted for lack of ambition.

As the frontman to the alternative space-rock combo Outer 7th, Karman has already carved out his own unique niche in the modern rock landscape, but with his side-project The List, he takes things even further. Formed with fellow guitarist Nate Cooper, The List was initially a musical project based around a sci-fi novel that Cooper's father had written. As time went on, however, the concept was eventually abandoned in favor of the dynamic sounds that Karman and Cooper were able to come up together as The List, ranging from the ping-pong guitar crunch of "STSD" to the hushed, wounded acoustic number "Disease", showcasing a unique brand of eclecticism that is markedly different from Karman's work with Outer 7th (though just as thrilling). With The List's debut EP due out August 25th on Satellite Star, we managed to pull Karman aside to discuss how it felt to have total free reign in the studio, why the sci-fi novel concept was eventually scraped, and why he doesn't mind having The List's debut be equated to that of a good breakup album (even if that wasn't the intention) ...

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>>When you formed the band with Nate, you initially designed it as a way to create a concept album about a novel that Nate's father wrote. Though you eventually abandoned that idea, did any remnants of that concept wind up working its way into the List's music? If so, how?

We eventually abandoned the idea to create a concept album because it was so limiting and I was really looking for a project that would allow me to finally let some of the songs that don’t really fit Outer 7th’s mold see the light of day. Those songs just didn’t fit naturally into a concept album, especially a concept album based on a complex narrative. We really truly abandoned the original album altogether, instead opting for an “anything goes” attitude and a new set of songs. That being said, we may revisit the concept album on some future release. It is a great story that could easily translate into a pretty enjoyable album.

>>The thing that strikes me most about your initial recordings is how wildly eclectic they are, as "STSD" could get play on Modern Rock Radio while "Disease" could easily become a viral blog hit. What rules or boundaries did you guys set out when you began recording as the List? What works did you surprise even yourself by?

I wouldn’t say we really had any rules per se, aside from the idea that we both had to be excited about the material we used. Ultimately, there are a lot of boundaries in Outer 7th, not boundaries that have been consciously put in place, but we’ve been a band for a pretty long time and as a band we’re drawn to certain sounds and styles. I didn’t want to have to worry about any such concerns with the List. If we were both excited about a song, we were using it, we’d worry about where it fit on the EP later.

In terms of what works surprised me, that’s a tough one. Having never had free reign of a studio before, I had no idea what we were going end up with at the end of our sessions and most of the songs morphed to some degree once we started to record them. I was consistently inspired by the creative energy that was flying around the studio while we recorded. In a lot of ways, I was surprised by the outcome of the entire project simply because of how malleable the songs turned out to be.

>>There's assuredly a sense of longing on the lyrical content of this disc, especially on "Go Fly", with its constant reminders of being alone, which -- when added with the bittersweet, straightforward of "Disease" -- makes the List's debut EP feel almost, almost, like a breakup album. Where does the lyrical content from the List stem from, and how does that differ from your work with Outer 7th?

As a lyricist, I certainly have a style, a style present in any song I write be it for the List or Outer 7th. I think the music dictates a lot of the content in the lyrics themselves, so there is naturally a different shape to the lyrics I write for the List as opposed to the lyrics I write for Outer 7th. It’s not deliberate necessarily though. By and large, the lyrical content in the List’s songs is definitely personal and immediate, which isn’t always the case in Outer 7th. You certainly can make a case for the EP as a breakup album, it wasn’t really our intention, but the theme of failed relationships and a sense of longing does crop up on most of the songs.

Given the many moods and styles that the List fly through in these six songs, what proved to be the biggest obstacle when recording/engineering this beast?

The biggest obstacle we had was maintaining a sense of structure to the record while allowing ourselves to delve into different moods and styles. We recorded, mixed and mastered the record in two four-day sessions and they were pretty intense. We had a lot of work to do in what seemed like a very short amount of time and there was only two of us (save for the drummer we hired for the sessions). I feel like because we recorded the entire EP in such a short amount of time using similar recording techniques for each of the songs there are a lot of common threads holding everything together.

Lastly, what do you hope people will take out of listening to the List? What do you ultimately hope the band achieves?

Ultimately, I just want the List’s music to be challenging, but somewhat accessible, however that happens to manifest itself. Hopefully, despite the fact that we follow our whims and try to remain as open as possible, we retain a sense of cohesion (however scattershot it may seem upon first listen). And I hope people enjoy the music, of course.

+++

Visit the List's official MySpace.

ALEATORY #24: Jeepster

2009-06-25T01:00:00.000-05:00

What happens when a trio of alt-rock outsiders that formed in San Francisco wind up getting signed to a French record label prior to releasing their recorded-in-a-Lake-Tahoe-cabin debut? Why, you get Jeepster, of course.

The band -- consisting of singer Jonah Wells, drummer Justin Goings, and guitarist Kyle Marcelli -- just barely released their first album, What If All the Rebels Died?, and it sounds like the distillation of all the 90s alt-rock giants you can think of through a lo-fi aesthetic. It's impossible not to hear the spirit of the Smashing Pumpkins surge through tracks like "Sweet 1:23" or the Radiohead-by-way-of-Harvey-Danger keyboard waltz that is "Fiction Fiction". Though tracks like "Ex Oh" perfectly capture that sense of pre-millennial Modern Rock nostalgia that is so tragically lacking on the airwaves these days, the group still proudly exists in the present, coming soon to a town near you but not before each member participated in Globecat's 24th Aleatory, revealing that not only can the group teach you how to smurf, but also that you should avoid playing at Days Inn Motels and that you should be afraid of "The Man" ...

+++

19. Favorite foreign film?

KYLE: Alejandro Joradowskys Fando y Lis; before Jeepster, I wanted to name my next band Tarr after the fictional city portrayed in it.
JUSTIN: A woman is a woman.
JONAH: Brazil.

22. Favorite vice?

KYLE: Cigarettes, they're fast, relatively inexpensive, and they don't subdue, damage nor hinder human interaction. If anything, they're a catalyst to human interaction, which on a good day, I support.
JUSTIN: Jamming.
JONAH: Soft drugs.

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

KYLE: The ones invented by myself that don't have names, and the ones that don't have names made by other musicians.
JUSTIN: I play drums...
JONAH: Chord/chord? ...progression? ...favorite?

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

KYLE: I learned about the sanctity of life, the various depths of love, and how relavent I feel my art is. It's been a busy month.
JUSTIN: Don't do drugs.
JONAH: "...Gods favorite color is purple."

33. What's something you could teach anyone in an hour or less?

KYLE: How to dance, how to tie a shoe, how to negate the obvious, how to point out the obvious, how to forgive, how to forget.
JUSTIN: Don't do drugs.
JONAH: How to smurf.

38. What is your family like?

KYLE: Very important, very practical, very logical, very loyal, and vey supportive.
JUSTIN: I love them.
JONAH: R e l i g i o u s.

43. What's the road ahead look like?

KYLE: Imagine the road as a collection of variables co-dependent on other varaibels, and that this road has never been driven before. It looks very strange in a very endearing way.
JUSTIN: Worldwide.
JONAH: Worldwide Travel.

45. What's the best lie you've ever told?

KYLE: It wouldn't be a good lie if I acknowledged the truth.
JUSTIN: Nothing good.
JONAH: I can't remember any I'm proud of.

47. Biggest fear?

KYLE: Flying, this is a new fear, one only relavent after a realization of the science behind an airplane.
JUSTIN: The man.
JONAH: Loneliness, though I think I'm finally getting over that one too.

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

KYLE: In the midst of it.
JUSTIN: So far, finishing What If All the Rebels Died?
JONAH: Boogie @ Midnight.

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

KYLE: It's not an occupation. When you realize it's an occupation, it's not art, and you've lost focus from why you started making music.
JUSTIN: When I was born.
JONAH: I've been high my whole life.

55. You're curating a festival. If you could choose any two bands to open for you, who would they be? To open?

KYLE: Warren Ellis from the Bad Seeds doing a solo effected violin set, followed by some smooth dancey fun band like the Whitest Boy Alive or Phoenix.
JUSTIN: The Walkmen, Dr. Dog
JONAH: Ratatat and The Flaming Lips.

56. Have you ever considered writing or producing for other artists?

KYLE: Everyday, I will be as soon as Nate Pendry gets out of jail and Sham Ulrich learns to compose his drunken piano banters into incredibly complex pop songs.
JUSTIN: Occasionaly.
JONAH: And how.

59. Worst venue you've ever played?

KYLE: The Casbar in Santa Rosa, it's a venue inside of a Days Inn Motel, but feels like a skating ring.
JUSTIN: Cafe Coda.
JONAH: Those are some big shoes to fill!

61. What's the best advice you could give to a young, upstart band?

KYLE: Realize the difference between a record and a live show, but keep in mind it all coincides to a listener.
JUSTIN: Quit everything in your life that takes time away from the group.
JONAH: Practice/jam/record.

70. What is a personal belief you hold that you would fight for to the death?

KYLE: Love.
JUSTIN: J E S U S
JONAH: Only love.

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

KYLE: Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds two nights in a row at the Warfield in San Francisco. Those guys are over fifty and have more energy than most bands I see in their twenties.
JUSTIN: Tie between Radiohead and the Mars Volta at Coachella.
JONAH: Deerhoof @ UC Davis a few years ago.

85. What's the biggest mistake you've made that you inadvertently learned a great lesson from?

KYLE: I don't feel that if I've learned a valuable lesson that the actions that caused it were actually mistakes.
JUSTIN: Not drinking enough water.
JONAH: I've made many mistakes but have no regrets.

87. Ultimately, you will want to be remembered as …

KYLE: A sea shell in a sea of shells that encompass the most beautiful mosaic of culture and art the world has ever seen.
JUSTIN: "That dude can jam."
JONAH: A lover.

90. Sexiest thing about you?

KYLE: My winning personality obviously.
JUSTIN: Probably my tunes...
JONAH: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

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Visit Jeepster's official MySpace.

The Globecat One-Year Anniversary Spectacular!

2009-06-18T22:18:00.010-05:00

It's strange to think that one year ago, Globecat opened its digital doors to the world. It started out small: a young, mega-talented folk artist named Will Stratton was the first to step up to the interview hot seat, and since then, we've hosted Grammy-winning songwriters like Dan Wilson, Tony-winning composers like Jason Robert Brown, iconic rock legends like Rob Pollard, one of the greatest music video directors of all time, and even members of the Rolling Stones. Sometimes we contact the artists directly; sometimes the publicists are the ones e-mailing us. No matter what though, we always try to develop a good dialogue, have uncovered some fantastic answers, and — most critically — have brought you the readers some funny, exciting, and downright fascinating revelations about the musicians who you love and care about just as much as we do.

So to celebrate our first year in business, the Globecat staff has assembled a list of fascinating facts, personal statements, kickass songs, and other goodies to usher in Globecat's second year of excitement. So, without further ado, let's begin with ...

Benjamin Durdle's Song

Globecat site designer and occasional recording artist Benjamin Durdle has recorded the song "Carbon Otters" to celebrate Globecat's birthday:

Our Three Most Popular Interviews

Anton Newcombe of the Brian Jonestown Massacre [we're guessing because of his thoughts towards DiG! director Ondi Timoner]
Kompakt Records founder Wolfgang Voigt [who just opens up and is willing to discuss just about any aspect of his career for us]
Orchestral duo E.S. Posthumus [easy: they revealed that they're working on their follow up to their smash-hit debut Unearthed to us, which only makes us wish to do a follow-up interview all the more — also, just damn cool guys]

Davecat's Globecat Memories

"I first came up with the idea in a fit of jealous rage. It was either start a website or kill Evan. In his other job, Evan writes for PopMatters.com, where he works as the Associate Interviews Editor. In that capacity he's interviewed everyone from Avril Lavigne (really) to Lou Reed (really). And okay, I envied his success. I wanted to talk to famous people, too. Or, failing that, murder.

Something needed to be done. I flipped a coin and it was website (though really, it was best of seven: that quarter totally wanted him dead).

Having decided on my course of action, I immediately set to work. Three minutes in I realized I had no idea what I was doing. I got the fire extinguisher and put out the flames shooting from my computer. Whatever had just happened wasn't getting me any closer to having a music website. I needed help.

I had already given some thought to the format of the site, as I am really good at planning things in my head and thinking up acceptance speeches for awards I haven't won yet for products I haven't yet produced. Do they even give out Grammys for Best Website? Just in case, I wanted to be sure to thank T-Pain, for whatever it is he does.

Anyway, I wanted to have a website that focuses solely on interviews with musicians, instead of having interviews as just one of the services offered. Many music websites will sit down with musicians, but it almost feels secondary; after the daily album reviews, track reviews, tour news, music videos, etc., the features where they actually talk with the people responsible for the aforementioned albums, tracks, etc. and find out what they think about all this get pushed to the side, and that doesn't seem right to me.

If you'll excuse a West Coast food metaphor, I wanted my website to be the In-N-Out Burger of music sites. For those of you on the East Coast: the Five Guys of music sites. For international readers: the restaurant with a very limited menu that doesn't offer a lot of choices, but does those few things remarkably well, of music sites. For vegetarians: the salad bar that only has carrots but the carrots are somehow better than all the other carrots you've ever had in your life. Of music sites.

As I wrote one year ago in our Mission Statement, by having musicians share their thoughts on their process behind their product -- the product other websites already do a fine job of reviewing -- the gap between Artist and Listener is closed a bit more. From the beginning I knew that I didn't want to edit the responses we received, not just because I'm lazy, but because I didn't want us to leave anything, at all, out of the interviews. If the artist said it, I wanted you, the Reader, to read it.

Because ideally, you wouldn't need us at all. Ideally, all of your favorite musicians would be able to talk to you at any time. If I could call up Pocahaunted or the Vivian Girls or Nico Muhly at four in the morning to ask them what their favorite campfire story is, I totally would, but I don't have a phone. I do, however, have a website.

What I didn't have, however, was any idea of how to get ahold of some musicians. I figured I could probably go to some shows, stick business cards into the bands' speaker cabinets and wait around to see who responded, but I was convinced there had to be a better way. But I mean, how do you go about contacting artists? Who would even know how to do that?

I filled Evan in on all of my thoughts and found that he was more than willing to help. The next day we started sending out e-mails like crazy, contacting absolutely everyone we could think of and staying up until three or four in the morning. Soon, with a little help from our friends, and an incredible response from artists that had no reason to even give us the time of day, much less long, detailed, insightful, touching, and often hilarious answers to our questions, we had a brand-new website on our hands.

Thank you to all of the musicians who have taken time out of their busy schedules for us over the past year, and especially to all of the people from countries all over the world who have stopped in and read what they have written for you. That's what makes running this site worthwhile.

And to think, it could have all turned out so differently. I'm just glad I didn't leave that coin-flip at best of five. "

Dave, I think you owe me a quarter for something ...

The List of Bands We're Still Awaiting Responses From

Just to show you that this is not all sunshine and chocolates, here are the bands who we have successfully contacted and have managed to speak to directly and/or through their publicists, sent questions in, and ... have received nothing back to date. If you're any one of these bands/artists, please check your inboxes again:

The Books, Christopher Bissonnette, Laulu laakson kukista, Rhys Chatham, The National, Sandro Perri, Dosh, film composer Alexandre Desplat, Luke Wyland, Air France, Oval, The Protomen, Brendan Canning, Stars of the Lid, the Avett Brothers, Lykke Li, Louis XIV, Laura Barrett, & tomandandy

So yeah. We're still waiting.

Evcat's Aleatory

Just to show that we're not totally merciless when it comes to our famed Aleatory questions, the co-founders of the site are submitting themselves through the exact same process. As such, here are Evcat's responses to all 100 questions of the daunting, exciting, and damn-near inimitable Aleatory ...

1. Favorite word?

Xenophobia.

2. Favorite board game?

Strip Guitar Hero.

3. Favorite key to write in?

Any.

4. Favorite person to have worked with?

Dave, presumably.

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

My brand-new effects pedal with built-in drum beats! Makes producing on the fly so much more damn fun ...

6. Favorite visual artist?/Favorite work of visual art?

Album art is still an art within itself, and I'm a big fan of simplicity, which is why any photograph used for the cover a Mark Kozelek album is instantly awesome to me.

7. Favorite composer?

Joshua Ralph.

8. Favorite author?/Favorite book?

Author is a tie between Chuck Klosterman and Ayn Rand. Book ... christ, that's a tough one. I'm going to go with Atlas Shrugged for the time being just due to its life-changing awesomeness.

9. Favorite song to start (or end) a mixtape with?

Basement Jaxx's "Good Luck", Two Tongues' "Crawl", Phoenix's "If I Ever Feel Better", Bell Orchestre's "Throw It On a Fire", Beth Orton's "Stolen Car", Dovetail Joint's "Gassed", Gay Dad's "Joy", Klaatu's "Prelude", and the Dismemberment Plan's "You Are Invited" are all great openers, but that's just a sampling.

10. Favorite lyric?

"Hey, look me over / Tell me do you like what you see / Hey, I ain't got no money / But I'm rich in personality"

or!

"The opposite of true love is as follows: REALITY!"

11. Favorite music video?

It isn't obvious?

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

The Flaming Lips.

13. Favorite Shakespearean play?

MacBeth, 'cos of all the killings.

14. Favorite sound?

That little "new mail" deedle in my inbox. It excites me. Sexually.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

Only applicable to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

16. Favorite campfire story?

I don't really have a "campfire story" as much as I just have amusing anecdotes about my life and the ridiculous scrapes I've gotten myself into more than anything else.

17. Favorite plant?

So many ways to answer this one ...

18. Favorite pick-up line?

"Tell her that you want her to donate her body to science and you're science!"

19. Favorite foreign film?

Kontroll -- also features the greatest soundtrack ever, hands down.

20. Favorite new band?

Los Campesinos! are still rocking my damn world. It's not often you find smart feel-good rock music at insanely high speeds. In many ways, I feel like they were the band designed just for me ...

21. Favorite album(s) from the past year?

Robyn's self-titled is fantastic, Dosh's Wishes & Wolves was jaw-dropping in terms of its awesome, and any year with a new Butch Walker album is a good year to me.

22. Favorite vice?

If you know me, you should already know what it is. If you don't know, put your feet up while I regail you with a story ...

23. Favorite natural oddity?

The ways that thunderclouds collide isn't really an oddity, is it?

24. Favorite historical time period?

Collonial Williamsburg. Or the 1970s. One of those two.

25. Favorite historical figure?

Lou Reed.

26. Favorite badass?

Admiral Adama.

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

Whatever makes that thing sound good (I literally have no knowledge of proper chord progressions).

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

Keyboards and drums -- and not just me dinkin' around on them -- to learn them properly ...

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?

Robyn and South.

30. How many languages do you speak?

Two: English and nerd.

31. Other than musician, what career would you most enjoy?

I'm kind of living it right now mostly ... oh, well, except for actor. That's the big one.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

More people need to listen to Dark Was the Night. I learned that. No, really.

33. What's something you could teach anyone in an hour or less?

How review an album properly (had a discussion about that today, actually ...)

34. What's the best joke you heard recently?

"If I wanted to follow CNN on Twitter ... couldn't I just watch CNN?"

35. What's the best place you've randomly discovered while on tour?

Well, tour, I dunno, but some of the abandoned gas stations on the route between Utah and Illinois make for great horror movie on-location fodder.

36. Lyrics first or music first?

Music first. Lyrics always have to follow and fit the mood.

37. What do you consider most important about a song's structure?

The chorus. That's the part that keeps you coming back again and again, and the more addictive it is, the more you get suckered into its punchdrunk dreaminess ...

38. What is your family like?

Extremely supportive, which I am eternally grateful for but rarely mention.

39. What's something you could probably beat anyone you know at?

Pop music trivia.

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?

I was great in all my acting classes, but not so much when I took French ...

41. If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would it be?

To my beloved (wherever she/it may be).

42. What's an image that haunts you to this day?

The Christmas Eve where the family came home from a church service, I walked in and found our grandma splayed on the floor, bleeding from a severe fall. She was OK, but what a find that was ...

43. What's the road ahead look like?

Unknown and marginally optimistic: just the way I like it.

44. Something you've heard, know is false, but wish were true with all your heart?

That socialized medicine will work.

45. What's the best lie you've ever told?

During a job interview several years ago, I was asked what my greatest weakness was, and said "Sometimes I work too hard." Somehow, they interviewer believed me.

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

My hard drive, obviously ;-)

47. Biggest fear?

That I'll die and not be remembered for anything.

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

Impossible to settle on just one thing, but being on NPR twice, acting in The Ruling Class, and just working with Brian Conley in general have all been pretty amazing high points.

49. Now that you know a much larger audience will get to hear the music you've made, has your writing changed at all? How? What's changed and what's stayed the same?

Well, this isn't particularly true for me ...

50. What's your religious tradition or background?

First Church of Atheism.

51. What are you currently obsessed with?

Prince's girl-group side projects like Vanity 6 and Apollonia 6. Anything with a 6 in it, really. Also, Vanity 6's "He's So Dull" is just all kinds of awesome.

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

Ha ha, this is funny.

53. So far in your career, what's been your biggest regret?

Not doing more, sooner. Sound silly, but, really, I feel like I should have already accomplished more already being 24.

54. So far in your career, what's been your proudest accomplishment?

See #48.

55. You're curating a festival. If you could choose any two bands to open for you, who would they be?

Motorcycles Are Everywhere and the Marches -- they'd be fun, kickass openers.

56. Have you ever considered writing or producing for other artists?

There is nothing I'd like to do more.

57. Most rock star thing you've ever done?

Getting drunk and jumping off the roof of an apartment complex.

58. Least rock star thing you've ever done?

Laundry.

59. Worst venue you've ever played?

The patio of the Gizmo.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

The second Interoffice Romance show wherein I forgot the words to the song halfway through, leaving us coming off as brash and arrogant (which we were, but didn't want other people to know).

61. What's the best advice you could give to a young, upstart band?

Don't compromise a thing: your sound is your sound, and never once should you ever try to sound like someone else.

62. Your favorite song that you've done so far?

"Unrequited" is still a favorite for me.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

Basement Jaxx, for their never-ending awesome streak.

64. Weirdest promotion you've been a part of?

Anytime I had to physically tell people that there was a new Nickelback album at work is when I felt immediately dirty in my heart and my soul.

65. Ever see yourself penning the score/soundtrack to a TV show or film?

Starting with porno, yes.

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

3OH!3's "Don't Trust Me"

67. Do you reach any kind of personal catharsis when it comes to songwriting/performing?

Depending on the song, yes. Getting the really personal stuff out in lyrical form kind of externalizes the problem, making it easier to deal with.

68. Favorite interview you've ever been a part of (aside from this one, obviously)?

Ben Gibbard was the nicest guy in the whole fuckin' world, lemme tell you.

69. There's got to be one: who has been your craziest fan?

Some people once started a Facebook group about me and how sexy I was ...

70. What is a personal belief you hold that you would fight for to the death?

That love is one of the purest, most profound experiences in the whole of existance, and anyone who tries to say otherwise can just ... eat ... poo.

71. How well do you feel your music lends itself to remixing or being covered?

We'll find out soon, now won't we?

72. A few years ago, Beck gave an interview for SPIN in which he lamented the glut of reality TV shows and blogs about musicians, wanting to know less details about their life because he felt they were more mysterious that way (he liked to envision Devo as living in a crazed art-deco pyramid when he was young, instead of just some guys in a tour bus). Do you feel that there's a lack of mystique out there for musicians in today's YouTube age? Do you feel your band carries any mystique?

I think certain bands try to pull it off, most often by staying out of the spotlight (like Jandek). But I dunno -- Jack White is one of the most hugely famous rock stars in the world, and there's still a lot of mystery about him ...

73. Are there any songs that you're working on right now?

One awesomely huge Smashing Pumpkins-styled number that I'm very fond of but haven't recorded any vocals for yet. I want the lyrics to be freakin' perfect ...

74. Better to burn out or to fade away?

Burn out -- leaves a lasting impression better.

75. Very first song that you ever wrote?

Oh god. I still have some of those song sheets around, but I couldn't tell ya for the life of me. Consisted of two chords, I'll tell you that much ...

76. Dream collaboration?

The album I record with Beck, natch.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?

Um ... (Part 2!)

78. Your life has been reduced to a bumper sticker: what does it say?

Your life has been reduced to a bumper sticker: what does it say?

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

Hard to say, but the Most Serene Republic was one of the all-time classics, if not just for the totally-impromptu acoustic set they did around a December campfire immediately following the show.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

Almost arrested for driving late at night outside of Cleveland, accused of smuggling drugs into Ohio while actually on my way to a theatre audition in New Conchord, OH. Poor Brian's car and the psycho-dog lady that was called in ...

81. If you could sync an album of yours to a movie (like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz), what movie would it be?

I'd sync up The Soft Dive Into Oblivion with The Room so damn easily ...

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

Britney Spears' "Unusual You". I know, it's Britney, but it's such a fucking incredible production job ...

83. Have you ever thought of pulling a Jack White-styled Raconteurs/White Stripes thing and be in multiple bands at once? If so, what would the other band sound like?

I'm in the Corresponding Handpieces, The Interoffice Romance, Three Car Garage, the Avenging Unicorns, Liquid Toaster ...

84. Most disappointing concert you ever attended?

Blink-182.

85. What's the biggest mistake you've made that you inadvertently learned a great lesson from?

Really, it was more caving into relationships with girls that I didn't have any particular affinity for, compromising for them just 'cos they wanted to be with me. I learned that you can never, ever do that, and you should never, ever try to make everyone happy just so they like you: that's impossible. Friends come and go, but the true ones accept you for who you are, and since I learned that, I feel positively liberated in my life ...

86. With Radiohead's In Rainbows release and Nine Inch Nails doing boffo business with his online releases, do you see yourself ever doing some alterative kind of release for any of your future projects?

If I have any projects worth releasing in that format, sure!

87. Ultimately, you will want to be remembered as …

A musician, writer, well-respected critic, and nice guy.

88. What's your deepest source for musical inspiration?

Trying to personally best my own pop-song writing abilities each and every time. As great as each new thing is that I do, it has to always be better than what came before: I couldn't live with myself if I "settled".

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

"Good Vibrations" by Marky Mark & the Funky Bunch.

90. Sexiest thing about you?

My ... 'fro.

91. Which single album should be in everybody's home?

J.Ralph's Music to Mauzner By, no question. That and Harvey Danger's King James Version.

92. Which venue are you dying to play but have not yet had the chance to?

Radio City Music Hall, obviously.

93. Longest show you ever played? What was different?

The IOR show on the Gizmo patio. That was one of those rare times where people asked us to perform.

94. What's your hardest song to replicate live?

All the non-solo-acoustic ones.

95. Do you ever read your own reviews?

I usually write my own reviews.

96. The one thing that no one knows about you (yet)?

I once won a high-school talent show for being a contortionist. No joke.

97. Your label wants to do a music video for a song off your album, and have inexplicably procured $1,000,000 as a budget, then decide that you'd best direct the visual accompaniment to your own music. What song do you choose, and what will your video look like?

Oh, easy: "Dirty Sweat" set in a sleek, gritty, nighttime dance club filled with laser light and frantic, highly choreographed dancing. I'd film it on a budget of $50,000 and just pocket the rest, truth be told (yeah ... the "catering table" cost a lot of "money", ha ha ha ...)

98. Would you say that there's somewhat of a political undertone to your music? If so, what motivates it?

No. I don't like music.

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

GREAT (assuming they'd want them)!

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?

I have a lot of experiments and things that have either never quite worked out musically or just never given proper lyrical consideration. Truth be told, these will probably all see the light of day eventually, but I just haven't gotten around to dealing with them as of yet.

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And just 'cos we know you were asking for it ...

Davecat's Aleatory

1. Favorite word?

I have so many. You almost have to break it down by language. English? Carom, maybe. Or entopic. Escalate is good, too. Did you know it's actually a back-formation from "escalator," and not the other way around? Before the 1920s, when the escalator was invented, there was never an "escalation" of anything. Nothing "escalated." In fact, the common definition of the word today ("to increase or develop by successive stages") only came into use in the early 1960s. That's another word I like: etymology.

Other languages: Spanish? Gruñón, or refunfuñar. The first means grumpy, and the second is the verb "to grouch." Complaining in Spanish is awesome. Yiddish? Zaftig, hands down, though I am also partial to chutzpah.

2. Favorite board game?

My grandma had a game called Anti-Monopoly that we used to play that I've never seen anywhere else. It has nothing to do with Monopoly, but isn't really its opposite either. (I don't even know what that would be, a game about living in the woods?) I'm also a big fan of Cribbage and Michigan Rummy, though those are both card games that also happen to involve boards (or mason jars, as we used for the former when I learned how to play from my great aunt and uncle at the New Jersey shore; in that case, Michigan Rummy is without a doubt my favorite mason-jar game).

3. Favorite key to write in?

C, or G# minor, as you're either using all white keys or (almost) all black keys on the piano. It makes things a lot easier for me.

4. Favorite person to have worked with?

In high school I was in a band with two of my best friends, Tyler and Jason, who I've known since elementary school or earlier and am still in touch with. Our band was pretty bad in retrospect but band practice was always a great time.

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

My DD-6 delay pedal, and my beautiful Les Paul. Instead of painting it flat they put a stain on it, so you can see the wood grain and everything. You can tell it used to be part of a tree. I'm a sucker for pretty woods.

6. Favorite visual artist?/Favorite work of visual art?

I'm a fan of a lot of Kazuya Akimoto's work, especially "The Head of Leviathan." They're paintings perfectly suited for ekphrasis (my favorite Greek word). I also love Mariano Fortuny y Marsal's "African Chief": I saw it at the Art Institute of Chicago and couldn't believe it was made with oil paint. It looks photoshopped: the entire painting is blurred slightly, but then you get to the man's face and it's unbelievably clear. You can see every tiny detail of his expression. I have utmost respect for people who can paint like that.

7. Favorite composer?

Arvo Pärt, Sergei Rachmaninov, Charles Ives, and Thelonious Monk have all held that title at one time or another, though some nights Mark Molnar (of Kingdom Shore) is not far behind.

8. Favorite author?/Favorite book?

How did I ever think anyone would be able to answer these questions? What was I thinking? Here are a few books: Bohumil Hrabal's Too Loud a Solitude, Nabokov's Pale Fire, Richard Brautigan's A Confederate General from Big Sur, Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. Authors not listed: Flannery O'Connor, David Foster Wallace, Edith Wharton, Junot Diaz, and especially Bernard Malamud.

9. Favorite song to start (or end) a mixtape with?

Neutral Milk Hotel's "Holland, 1945" has started more than one of my mixtapes, because I love Jeff Mangum counting it off. Also, though I don't necessarily remember ending a mixtape with it, I once had a nightmare that ended with the exact sound that closes out godspeed you! black emperor's "Motherfucker = Redeemer pt. 2" (the last track on Yanqui U.X.O.). That was a year or two before that album even came out, and when I heard it I totally freaked, like Efrim had been stealing from my dreams.

10. Favorite lyric?

"I don't know but I've been told / You never die and you never grow old." - Modest Mouse, "I Came as a Rat." Also, the meteor/oid/ite rhyme from Joanna Newsom's "Emily," which is one of the most brilliant things I've ever heard in a song.

11. Favorite music video?

I love sending Evan links to the music video for Grizzly Bear's "Knife" when I know he's stoned. It entertains me for hours. Maybe that's my favorite board game.

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

I went through phases. I really liked godspeed you! black emperor, I really liked Sigur Ros — all those post-rock guys, really: Do Make Say Think, Mogwai, you know — but I think my heart belonged to Tori Amos. This was back before she started downhill. I listened to Boys for Pele and From the Choirgirl Hotel over and over and over again.

13. Favorite Shakespearean play?

I'm alone in this, but: Julius Caesar, esp. the speech fight between Brutus and Mark Antony in Act III.

On a related note, I can recite most of the "To be or not to be" soliloquy from Hamlet in one breath. It's my one and only party trick.

14. Favorite sound?

Harmonizing train whistles from two freight trains passing in the rain.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

Huge dinosaurs.

16. Favorite campfire story?

It has to involve monsters. When I was young I read all the books I could find on monsters, and especially liked ones detailing ways to get rid of them. Hungarian vampires, for instance, are OCD. If you sprinkle mustard seeds on your roof, when they land on it at night they have to count all of the seeds, and will stay out until each and every last one has been counted, all the way up to sunrise, which destroys them.

As far as monsters that would make good campfire stories, the legend of the Wendigo is pretty good, especially if it's cold out and the person sitting next to you looks tasty.

17. Favorite plant?

There is an enormous tree in the courtyard at the University of Barcelona. I can't remember what kind it is, but I used to eat my lunch sitting on its roots every day after classes got out. It is my favorite plant in the world.

18. Favorite pick-up line?

My most common pick-up line is to awkwardly tell a girl I think she's beautiful and then see if she wants to do something later. I don't think it's ever worked.

19. Favorite foreign film?

Werckmeister Harmonies, directed by Bela Tarr. Close, close seconds: Tarkovsky's Stalker, or Kurosawa's Ran.

20. Favorite new band?

I've been really digging Cymbals Eat Guitar lately. They're like the perfect blend of Lonesome Crowded West-era Modest Mouse (a fine era indeed) with Evangelicals, who had one of my favorite albums of last year.

21. Favorite album(s) from the past year?

In addition to Cymbals Eat Guitar's Why There Are Mountains, I've been listening to the new Bat for Lashes an awful lot. I'm pretending it's the new Tori Amos album, instead of the album that Tori actually released. Two Suns: it's so good.

22. Favorite vice?

My dad has this great antique book press that he painted bright blue. My brother and I used to smash crayons in it when we were little. If turned on its side, it would make an excellent vice.

23. Favorite natural oddity?

Sonoluminescence. If you make a noise loud enough underwater, it will produce light. I'm totally serious about this.

Also, cymatics: the study of the effects of sound on matter. For instance, if you sprinkle sand or something on a metal plate and then vibrate the plate, the sand forms patterns corresponding to the sound waves passing through the metal. Try it at home with some table salt, a cookie tray, and a cello bow. http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=cymatics

24. Favorite historical time period?

Three Kingdoms China, ancient Egypt, the Reconquista and the Spanish Civil War. Some of the craziest things in the history of the world took place in those times.

25. Favorite historical figure?

Though you wouldn't guess it from my answers to #24, Ulysses S. Grant. I'm reading his memoirs right now and am in love with the man, who was at once humble, brave, funny, intelligent, and terrible at absolutely everything. He's one of the more interesting men I've ever spent time with, if only in book form.

Athanasius Kircher and I also go way back.

26. Favorite badass?

Tom Waits. He gon' whittle you into kindling.

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

F#maj9, though whatever that chord is that starts Castanets' "Cathedral 2" is amazing. For progression: "Go Down, Moses."

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

There are so many. I wish I were a better guitarist, a better pianist, a better trombonist. I wish I had a cello, a bass, a bassoon, a berimbau, a domra, a nyckelharpa, an angélique, a surbahar, and someone to teach me how to play them.

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?

The Autistic Daughters album that came out last year, Uneasy Flowers, though really, most everything Dean Roberts has been involved with has been anywhere from great to phenomenal.

30. How many languages do you speak?

I studied Spanish all through college, and I can read it pretty well, though speaking it is somewhat more of a challenge. It comes back to me in moments of panic.

31. Other than musician, what career would you most enjoy?

I think my calling is in education. I'd love to be a professor somewhere. Failing that, lottery-winner.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

Everything awesome I've learned this month came from Eliot Weinberger's Karmic Traces. His essays on Iceland were incredible, though that could be said about pretty much everything in that book. As long as you're making a list, put his An Elemental Thing on there, too. He has an essay on wrens in there that's one of the best things I've read in a long time.

33. What's something you could teach anyone in an hour or less?

How to count on your fingers in binary. You can count up to 31 on one hand, and over 1,000 with both of them. There's no reason you'd ever need to do that, but, you know, show your friends.

34. What's the best joke you heard recently?

A mathematician, a physicist, and a statistician are duck hunting.

They see a duck flying by, and the mathematician fires, missing by a foot high.

The physicist chides his friend for neglecting air friction and relative velocities, fires at the duck himself, and misses by a foot low.

The statistician exclaims, "Yeah! We got 'im!"

35. What's the best place you've randomly discovered while on tour?

At the Pitchfork Festival last year there was a food vendor selling these amazing Croatian sausages called ćevapčići, made from pork, beef, lamb, and garlic, and served with a red bell pepper, eggplant, and garlic sauce called ajvar, all in a warm pita. It was one of the best meals I've ever gotten from a cart.

36. Lyrics first or music first?

Lyrics. Unless I'm writing songs with Evan, in which case the lyrics are all improvised and come at more or less the same time as the improvised instrumental parts.

37. What do you consider most important about a song's structure?

Bridges can make or break a song. If you have a fantastic bridge it can help make up for a somewhat weaker verse; however, if your verse is good and your chorus is good but your bridge sucks, that clunky bit between the two of them is going to grate on your listener and draw away from the parts on either side of it.

38. What is your family like?

Extremely symmetrical. I have one brother (we're twins). My mom has one brother, eight years older than she is, and her mother; my dad has one sister, eight years older than he is, and his father. Neither my aunt or my uncle are married, so I have no cousins. My mom and dad also each have one cat.

39. What's something you could probably beat anyone you know at?

Fencing. I used to be pretty good, though I haven't done it in years. I don't know anyone else who fences, though, so I think I'd still have the advantage.

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?

English and I always got on pretty well. My worst subject was probably math. I was always a year behind. I'd struggle and struggle with advanced algebra all through that class, and then when I (barely) passed and moved up to trigonometry, suddenly advanced algebra clicked. It all made sense. Trigonometry, on the other hand, confused the hell out of me. If I hadn't stopped taking math classes after that one, however, I'd probably be able to trig-on with best of them.

41. If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would it be?

I've been missing Barcelona a lot lately. I'd try and find a planet that was just like that city and live there for a while.

42. What's an image that haunts you to this day?

There's that scene at the beginning of The Mothman Prophecies where the monster swoops down and attacks the car that has pretty much scarred me for life. No one else ever seems to understand how terrifying that is to me. It comes out of nowhere.

43. What's the road ahead look like?

Grad school, but it might just be a heat mirage.

44. Something you've heard, know is false, but wish were true with all your heart?

The Mayans have some incredible creation myths, including one about one of their gods creating the world and another one jealously destroying it by sending jaguars to eat everyone. It's one of the most badass endtimes ever. The Great Flood? Not quite as scary as getting eaten by a jaguar.

45. What's the best lie you've ever told?

When I was I Boy Scouts we took a camping trip to Eagle Cave up in Wisconsin, which is the largest and only cave I've ever spent the night in. We spent all day spelunking, and people kept talking about how there were probably bats in there, so after dinner, as we were still crawling around everywhere, I pulled myself up into a little crevasse and starting chirping. The kids all came running and calling out, "Bat! There's a bat!" and while they climbed up to — I don't even know, catch it? — I climbed out the back way and pretended I was interested in the bat as well. For the rest of trip they kept talking about how they almost caught it but it flew away. I don't think I ever told them it was me.

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

I used to keep money in the inside cover of my favorite Goosebumps book (One Day at Horrorland; I still own them all). I haven't done that for years and years, though, so don't break into my house and check.

47. Biggest fear?

People I love dying. Grievous bodily harm. Whales.

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

I won a whole stack of medals at a literary festival back in high school, probably because my poetry wasn't angsty and my stories weren't science fiction. I was a good writer back in high school, I don't know what the hell happened.

49. Now that you know a much larger audience will get to hear the music you've made, has your writing changed at all? How? What's changed and what's stayed the same?

This one isn't really applicable, as I don't think anyone has heard my music except the people I've written it with. I can say that when I write-write music, with notes, on the computer, the songs I write are far different from the ones I come up with on my own, messing around on the guitar or piano. I think about things more when I have a staff in front of me than if I'm writing from an instrument, though that usually means that the songs I write down sound more like intellectual exercises than music and the ones I don't sound sloppy.

50. What's your religious tradition or background?

I was raised Presbyterian, though my favorite part of church was playing hide-and-seek or sardines with the other kids afterward. My brother and I would always go to the kitchen after the service and drink all the extra little shots of grape juice that didn't get served as Communion. I really liked the pipe organ. Somewhere in between the three of those (childhood games, grape juice, giant instruments) is my current religious tradition.

51. What are you currently obsessed with?

I get obsessed with something new every day, but for a while now it's been cephalophores: Catholic saints who were martyred by being decapitated who then carry their heads around and speak.

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

If music somehow became my full-time occupation I would be more surprised than anyone.

53. So far in your career, what's been your biggest regret?

Having too many interests that take up too much non-music, non-writing time. I don't know if I regret that as much as wish the Earth spun a little slower and we all got 30-hour days.

54. So far in your career, what's been your proudest accomplishment?

I'm still incredibly pleased that the Comic Book Tattoo feature turned out as well as it did. Rantz Hoseley is one of the nicest men I've ever talked to, and went way out of his way for us to help us line up interviews and get it out there. When I first came up with the idea I didn't think there was any way we'd get it to work, but somehow it all came together.

55. You're curating a festival. If you could choose any two bands to open for you, who would they be?

Talk Talk and Do Make Say Think.

56. Have you ever considered writing or producing for other artists?

I almost have to. I'm a terrible singer but most of my songs have words.

57. Most rock star thing you've ever done?

I wear Buddy Holly glasses, and sort of look like Rivers Cuomo. That's about as rock star as I get.

58. Least rock star thing you've ever done?

I've played Dungeons and Dragons before. AND ENJOYED IT.

59. Worst venue you've ever played?

Just once I'd like to record in a room that wasn't designed for sleeping, storing things, and/or made of concrete.

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

I've never played live with anything other than a marching band, which isn't really the same thing. I whacked someone in the head with my trombone once during a field show, though.

61. What's the best advice you could give to a young, upstart band?

Do all the interviews you can. I hear there are websites devoted to that sort of thing now.

62. Your favorite song that you've done so far?

I did an arrangement of "Cloud 9," from Caryl Churchill's play of the same name, as the music director one term back in college. It was bluesy and wonderful and way too difficult for the actors who had to play and sing it, so it didn't make it into the show. Only a very few people have ever heard it.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

I don't think there are any artists I'm "secretly" envious of. I am pretty openly envious of everyone. I haven't publicly stated how much I love Erykah Badu yet, though, so we'll go with her.

64. Weirdest promotion you've been a part of?

On my drive to work for a long time there was an enormous man, probably 6'3", 275 lbs, wearing a green Statue of Liberty costume, with a giant mask over his face, holding a sign for the local tax preparers. I didn't get my taxes done there, but as a witness I still consider myself part of that promotion.

65. Ever see yourself penning the score/soundtrack to a TV show or film?

I doubt it.

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

I'm so sick of AutoTune. Anything that has been AutoTuned.

67. Do you reach any kind of personal catharsis when it comes to songwriting/performing?

Sometimes the only thing that makes me feel better is turning up my distortion pedal and playing nothing but noise for ten or fifteen minutes. Just sheets and sheets of terrible noise, long-delayed and let to repeat until it slowly fades itself out.

68. Favorite interview you've ever been a part of (aside from this one, obviously)?

My first Aleatory was with Gotye, who is incredibly funny and kind. I hate to pick favorites, but getting back great responses from my very first interviewee felt like a wonderful validation of the site and its principles.

69. There's got to be one: who has been your craziest fan?

When I was little I had one of those visors with a solar-powered fan on it. It had a hole cut in the brim and the fan was supposed to keep your head cool, but my hair is too thick and it never really worked. Actually, I've changed my mind: that's the least rock star thing I've ever done — worn that hat.

70. What is a personal belief you hold that you would fight for to the death?

I'm trying to think of one, but "fight for to the death" keeps tripping me up. There are some things I feel strongly about, but I'm much more of a "let's agree to disagree, then" kind of guy than one who would fight somebody. Not even to the bloody nose, or to the sort-of bruised shoulder. Maybe that's what I would fight for to the death: non-violent interpersonal conflict resolution. Agree with that or I'll cut you.

71. How well do you feel your music lends itself to remixing or being covered?

You can cover one of my songs, that would be great. My songs are up for covering.

72. A few years ago, Beck gave an interview for SPIN in which he lamented the glut of reality TV shows and blogs about musicians, wanting to know less details about their life because he felt they were more mysterious that way (he liked to envision Devo as living in a crazed art-deco pyramid when he was young, instead of just some guys in a tour bus). Do you feel that there's a lack of mystique out there for musicians in today's YouTube age? Do you feel your band carries any mystique?

I feel there's less of a mystique about everything. If you look hard enough you can find information about whatever you want online. It's great for learning and discovery, but sometimes the mystery is what you really want after all. I often find myself somewhat disappointed when I see a picture of an artist or writer for the first time, because I always imagined them as different somehow. I guess it's the difference between "an" answer and the correct one.

73. Are there any songs that you're working on right now?

Always. I get stuck sometimes, but it's nice to have a constant problem to mull over.

74. Better to burn out or to fade away?

Ideally it's a series of slow fades, marked by flares of brilliance every half-decade or so to let people know you're still alive. That way you don't get used up all at once, and you don't get diminishing returns on your talent by churning out albums (books, whatever) you haven't given enough time to. Deadlines are the worst thing that ever happened to art.

75. Very first song that you ever wrote?

I remember when I was six or seven I re-wrote a version of the Christmas carol "We Three Kings" as "We Three Cats." They were on a journey from the Orient to bring baby Jesus catnip and rubber mice. Sadly the song has been lost.

76. Dream collaboration?

Someday I hope to get married to a woman who is far more musically-inclined than myself, and the two of us can write songs together. Other than my imaginary dream girl? Let's go with Burial. The music we make is nothing like one another's, but I'd love to be one of his vocal samples.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?

Right now: finding a singer. Criteria: female, enjoys harmonizing with self, can take a simple vocal line and run with it, is not someone who has broken my heart. Now accepting applications; apply within.

78. Your life has been reduced to a bumper sticker: what does it say?

It probably wouldn't say anything, it'd just look like a Band-Aid to cover up holes in your fender.

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

Yellow Swans, Frog Eyes, and Xiu Xiu at the Bottom Lounge. All three had absolutely incredible sets. I've seen Xiu Xiu several times, and this was by far their best. They could have been by themselves and it would have been one of the best shows I've been to, but the others were way more than just icing. Yellow Swans just played one fifteen-minute song and it absolutely destroyed, we all shouted for an encore.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

Speeding tickets? I got pulled over last week by the nicest police officer ever, though. Very very friendly, courteous, explained everything very politely, and only gave me a warning. Plus, the whole stop was over in three or four minutes.

81. If you could sync an album of yours to a movie (like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz), what movie would it be?

I would love to sync something up with Werckmeister Harmonies, but the music in that film is so incredible already that, really, I just wish I could write scores like Mihály Vig.

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

I've been listening to a lot of Tom Petty lately. I do love me some "Break Down."

83. Have you ever thought of pulling a Jack White-styled Raconteurs/White Stripes thing and be in multiple bands at once? If so, what would the other band sound like?

Sure, if I had the time I'd play music with anyone who wanted me around. We could sound like anything in the world, really. I'm very flexible.

84. Most disappointing concert you ever attended?

Alien Ant Farm played at Oyster Fest in Chicago one year. It was outside on the street and kids were moshing (this is back when "Smooth Criminal" and Michael Jackson was still alive, but probably spinning in his grave regardless) and I guess this girl fell down and got her hand stepped on. She pulled her hand back and got her pinky ripped right off. The show stopped for a good ten minutes while the medical people searched for it, but they never did find her finger. So, that, plus it was Alien Ant Farm, who I was only watching because Cake was going to be up next, and it was just a terrible show. (To make matters worse, we didn't get to see Cake, either.)

85. What's the biggest mistake you've made that you inadvertently learned a great lesson from?

I try and learn something from all of my mistakes, so that when I do it again I'll remember, "Oh, yeah, I wasn't going to do that anymore." It's not that I stop making the same mistakes, but after a while I realize going into it that I shouldn't.

Like with milkshakes. I'm sort of lactose intolerant, but I really like milkshakes, and sometimes I'm okay with accepting that I'm going to have an awful stomach ache later if I have a milkshake now. This is pretty much my philosophy on art and relationships, too.

86. With Radiohead's In Rainbows release and Nine Inch Nails doing boffo business with his online releases, do you see yourself ever doing some alterative kind of release for any of your future projects?

I like giving things away. I can't imagine ever charging someone $15 for a CD of songs I've written. At some point, if I ever release music on a scale larger than four people or so, I'll definitely be considering alternative distribution options.

87. Ultimately, you will want to be remembered as...

It is my fondest hope that no one hears of my death and says, "Well, he was kind of a dick anyway."

88. What's your deepest source for musical inspiration?

Working around my physical limitations.

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

I really want a jazz funeral, complete with hymn singing and dirges, lots of low brass and bari sax. If someone can make that happen, notify my next of kin.

90. Sexiest thing about you?

I have a great chin.

91. Which single album should be in everybody's home?

The Velvet Underground and Nico. Though by this point, I think most people I know do have this in their home.

92. Which venue are you dying to play but have not yet had the chance to?

The Metro in Chicago. It's designed so well, there truly are no bad seats in the house. Personally I'm a big fan of the balcony.

93. Longest show you ever played? What was different?

Again, I'm going to have to fall back on marching band: there was this awful show we did every year -- I think it was the Sycamore Pumpkin Fest, which is in October -- but for some reason this one year it was like 90 degrees or something, and we were all in our heavy wool uniforms, marching for several miles, carrying hot, heavy brass instruments, trying not to faint.

94. What's your hardest song to replicate live?

One of the songs Evan and I recorded involved him using my cello bow on my guitar, and then, after that was tracked out, he gave the guitar and bow to me and I recorded an overdub, without listening to what he had just laid down. The fact that it's not utter crap is what's most surprising, but I have no idea how we'd replicate that on stage.

95. Do you ever read your own reviews?

I proofread my reviews sometimes.

96. The one thing that no one knows about you (yet)?

I keep everything. Everything. Paper-bag puppets I made in fifth grade, all the notes my high school girlfriend ever wrote me, paper crowns from Medieval Times (three of them: red, yellow, and black-and-white checkered), cool rocks I find. There's a empty can of chrysanthemum tea under the passenger seat of my car right now because I wanted to remember that one of its ingredients is "aqueous extract of chrysanthemum." I keep everything.

97. Your label wants to do a music video for a song off your album, and have inexplicably procured $1,000,000 as a budget, then decide that you'd best direct the visual accompaniment to your own music. What song do you choose, and what will your video look like?

The video would be a montage of clips of me spending $1,000,000 within the length of the song, with a little ticker in the corner showing how much I've spent. It'd be like Brewster's Millions except I'd keep all the stuff.

98. Would you say that there's somewhat of a political undertone to your music? If so, what motivates it?

No, I don't think so. At least, not overtly. Personal politics, or morals, or ethics, whatever, informs everything, though.

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

Depends on what the music's purpose is. If it's a song about having fun and making you money, sure, sell it to anyone who will pay for it. But if you look at your songs as works of art, or works striving to be art, commercializing them cheapens that, I think. I don't know, I just do the interviews.

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?

Everything I've written can be considered a B-side. However, Evan came up with a song about gonnhorhea that I played tambourine on. If he won't tell you about that one, I sure as hell will.

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And that's it for now! Come back and join us for another exciting year of interviews, Aleatories, and extreme randomness here, and only here, at Globecat!

INTERVIEW: The Hoot Hoots

2009-06-11T22:09:00.005-05:00

Remember this band name: The Hoot Hoots.

While the phrase gets tossed around a lot, these Beatle-esque psych-rockers out of Seattle are very much on the verge of becoming "the next great indie-rock band", as their feel-good melodies, complex song arrangements, and positively wild live shows seem to be signaling a very important message to would-be rockers everywhere: get over yourself and have some damn fun. In other words, "Cheer Up Suburban Kid".

Initially emerging out Illinois, the Hoot Hoots -- lead by singer/songwriter Adam Prairie, Animal-like drummer brother Chris, and trumpeter Christina Ellis -- have slowly been carving out a niche of optimistic guitar pop that's classic in structure but modern in attitude, their songs referencing everything from Calvin & Hobbes ("Transmogrified") to James Joyce ("Australopithecine") without ever lapsing in the emotional honesty department. With a successful underground EP (Less is More) and a self-produced full-length (The Truth ... Relatively Speaking) to their credit, the Hoots have now migrated to the Northwest (along with bassist Geoff Brown and new guitarist Cooper Smith) and are getting ready to conquer the world all over again, starting with this summer's new Missle Teeth EP and concluding with a full-length by the end of the year. No, they won't be faulted for lack of ambition ...

Speaking with Evcat, Head Hoot Adam Prairie gleefully dishes on how he's grown as a producer, the electronic-direction the band might be heading in, and his ideas for some delightfully controversial cover art in the semi-near future ...

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>>Adam, I remember once you told me you took a course in music production, and how what you learned within the first week made you rethink a lot of the production work you did on The Truth ... Relatively Speaking. Listening to Missle Teeth, everything sounds much richer, more fully-bodied, lots more "sonic details" in the mix. Fundamentally, what has changed about the way you produce your records?

Better gear essentially. For our last album, it was me, a Apple G4 ibook, two somewhat shitty mic (one duct taped to a mic stand), and a two input audio interface from Edirol. Everything was one track at a time. I didn't want to do a low-quality job like that again, so I spent hours on eBay searching for good mics for cheap, and after a few months I had about 10 mics or so that were just infinitely better in terms of sound quality. Instead of Garage Band I'm using Pro Tools M-Powered now, which I sorta hate because of the propriety handicapping bullshit that they do.

But besides the gear, I learned how to mic a drum set and guitar cab much more effectively. I actually put some thought into mic choice and placement before I hit record. Before I would just throw a mic down in front of an amp and just start playing. Plus, the final term of the Audio Production course I took at the University of Washington Extension was with Scott Colburn, who recorded the Animal Collective's Feels and Strawberry Jam, two albums that I absolutely love. We recorded an EP for this Seattle band called Ghost Lobby during that term, and we recorded the core tracks (drums, bass, guitar, keyboard) with the whole band playing in one room. That's such a cool way to record. First of all it's quicker that way, and also the tracks we recorded had a tight, live feel to them. So yeah, both gear and watching Scott Colburn changed how I record... I guess I read Tape Op (which is a completely free, completely amazing recording mag) too, and I try out ideas from that.

>>Of course, this is the second time you guys have recorded one of my personal favorites -- "Cheer Up Suburban Kid" -- and this is now the third version of "Transmogrified" you guys have laid to tape. The best part about these tracks, though, is how they're all so sonically different, the original version of "Transmogrified" from the Less is More EP sounding virtually unregonizable in terms of texture to the hyper, colorful version that's heard here. Will there ever be "definitive versions" of these songs, or is the urge to tinker and perfect just too great for you guys?

We decided to rerecord tunes from the last album for a couple reasons. One, we wanted to craft a pretty up tempo, in-your-face EP that still had some quirkiness to it, and those two songs fit the bill. Plus, I wanted another shot at recording "Cheer Up Suburban Kid" because I did a pretty awful job the first time. I'm somewhat of a perfectionist, and the way I recorded that song the first time kinda makes me cringe. Also, Cooper Smith, our new lead guitarist, is bad ass! He has a tone and a manner of playing that really fills out those songs, and we wanted to feature that on this EP, mostly to give people a chance to hear how we sound right now, especially since our band members have changed a bit. I think I'm done rerecording "Transmogrified. I'm ready to move on to more tunes. We might put one old song on our upcoming full length album, which is in the works now, but for the most part I'm ready to get into new songs, new sounds.

>>In terms of songwriting, the numerous chord changes of "Australopithecine" mark a quantum leap forward for you guys, like condensing prog-structures down into concise pop formats (this track reminds me a lot of Umphrey's McGee). What has changed in your musical approach between The Truth and Missle Teeth?

We write songs as a band much more now. Before, I would record almost all the tracks, then I would teach the band how to play the song. Now, I record a rough demo so everybody can hear the changes, and then we get to work. As for numerous changes, that's something I've been into for a while ever since I heard The Unicorns and early Of Montreal. I have a pretty short attention span, so I get bored with my own songs if they don't change a lot chordally or texturally. I think what you're hearing in "Australopithecine" as well is the addition of more technical flourishes to the music. That's probably Cooper's influence. Like I said, he can fucking shred! And I think I have that as a tool in mind now when I write tunes. It is so freaking awesome to be in a band now where I'm comfortable letting the song grow as we practice it together.

>>This isn't a question: I'm just giving props for the best Finnegan's Wake reference I've heard to date.

Thanks. Kind of random, nerdy reference but I couldn't resist.

>>The ending to "Zoo" might be the single most rocking thing you guys have ever done, almost moving into hard rock territory before being grace-noted by the horns at the end. Given your live reputation, how do you feel these new textures will work in a live context?

Besides some of the extra atmospheric sounds on the EP, we recorded these tracks pretty close to how we play them live. These new textures are a big part of our live sound now, especially the additional chaos elements. I have this pedal called the Fuzz Factory from Zvex that is basically chaos in a can, and Cooper hand made his own version of it which he uses all the time live. Sometimes we wonder if we overdo the noise elements live, because we do not want to be known as a noise rock band at all. But really when it comes down to it, we just say, "Aw fuck it," and freak out. I don't think we get noisy enough to make our songs unmelodic or atonal. I just like crazy, whacked-out fuzz and feedback and glitchy noises as a texture.

>>Given how the Hoots are busy working on a full-length as well, this EP seems to be moving away from more of the deliberate minimalism that peppered some of your earlier work (I'm thinking specifically of "Vision Blurred Green" from The Truth). What kind of sounds can we expect from the new album? Ultimately, what's the next direction that the Hoot Hoots are going to be taking?

I'm really into MGMT, Merriwether Post Pavilion, and M.I.A. these days, so I think we're going to have some more electronic elements as we progress. Or at least more synth sounds. For now, I'm more interested in creating music with lots of shifting, rich sonic textures, so the minimalism of some of our earlier stuff might be something we drop for a while. I don't know though. Sometimes I pick up a guitar and write a song and it sounds fine with just voice and acoustic guitar. But more often than not these days, I hear much larger orchestrations when I write. So yeah, I think for our next album I want us to sound like some amalgam of our current sound with some more atmospheric drone and even more lush vocal textures.

>>Finally, so far in your guys' career thus far, what has been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

Couldn't really think of a regret.... I'm sure there's something I'd rather not do again.... but I know I am definitely proud of this EP. I think we created something that sound pretty damn good on a pretty low budget, and I worked really hard to try and make these recordings sound as professional as I could given the resources. Also, I think my most fond memory of playing live was at Knox College's Wallace Lounge when I returned for a week in January of 2007. The Hoot Hoots played a show at the end of that week after having a few feverish practices (we hadn't played together for a few months). The whole night was amazing, but ending the show with a bunch of friends and drunken pirates on stage surrounding us and singing with us, damn that was great! That's what we want to create here in Seattle, some fun, energetic shows wth plenty of chaos, tight musical precision, and a healthy dose of, for lack of better phrase, absurd gimmick. I'm totally comitted to establishing this band in Seattle right now. It's sort of my single driving goal right now. I have a day job right now that's all right, but it just pays the bills. This is what I want to be doing every day of the week. Oh I thought of a regret. Having our last album manufactured in Taiwan. They fucked up our printing and we didn't have our CD's for a show we were billing as a CD release party. So no Taiwan this time around. This next album is 100% American. It's gonna have fucking eagles and flags and George Bush, Dick Cheney, and John Ashcroft burning the Constitution and pissing on the ashes all over the cover.

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Visit the Hoot Hoots' official website.

OFF THE RECORDS: Evcat on NPR (again)!

2009-06-07T20:25:00.004-05:00

It's happened again! Our own Evcat wound up guesting on WNYC's iconic "Soundcheck" program again this week, discussing his recent massive Purple Rain feature currently running on PopMatters.com! Give it a listen in the player below, and stay tuned: more exciting interviews coming your way shortly!

INTERVIEW: Akron/Family

2009-05-13T01:00:00.000-05:00

The guys in Akron/Family have changed. A lot.

In just a few years time, America's favorite indie-freakout rockers -- when not releasing brilliant albums or giving the greatest live shows you could possibly imagine -- have had to deal with a lot of changes. First off, core AkAk'er Ryan Vanderhoof amicably parted ways with his long-time compadres in late 2007, making Akron/Family a trio for the first time in their professional career. Secondly, the band has switched from their long-time home of Young God Records to the newer, fresher Dead Oceans records. Then, to top it all off, they've decided to put out Set 'Em Wild, Set 'Em Free just this last week, and it's a fantastic, infinitely repeatable disc of pleasures both expected and surprising: it carries on great AkAk traditions (note the shouty folk-rocker "River") while also unveiling new elements of noise rock ("MBF") and breathy post-freakout piano closers ("Gravelly Moutains of the Moon"). It's a sprawling, stunning disc, and it hasn't left the Globecat stereo since its arrival. Yes, it's that good.

Speaking to Evcat by phone, band member Dana Janssen speaks humbly about his new disc, explaining that the trio format has allowed the band to explore new sonic possibilities, and also hints at yet another furture collaboration with Globecat friends Do Make Say Think. Dear friends, we give you ... the Ak!

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So let’s get to the quick of it: how was it like writing and recording without Ryan this time?

On one hand I miss the strengths that he brought to the table, but on the other hand, the three of us have a lot more room to breathe and create and explore ideas between the three of us. It really gives us more space to interact. It’s also interesting ‘cos we’ve sort of had to, like, reinvent the band a little bit.

You guys have gone through a lot of changes these past few years. Is it weird not releasing something on Young Gods after all these years?

[It seemed like] time to move on from that, you know? We’re actually happy to be working with somebody else, because -- I like Michael [Gira, Young Gods label head] and I really appreciate what he’s done for us -- but you’ve got to move on. It’s also nice to have a fresh team of people really pushing your record.

With all these changes you’ve had, would you go as far as to say that this is AkAk Mach II? More specifically, do you feel that this is the same band or a different, more streamlined version of it?

It’s the same band -- well, it’s tough to say. The same spirit, I feel. A little different -- that’s to be expected. Not terribly different. I don’t know.

Well once you take it out on the road, then you’ll know.

Yeah, we’ve been out doing the trio shows for a little while now. A bunch of residencies all over the place -- [they] went really well.

Well this gets us into talking about the latest disc, Set ’Em Wild, Set ’Em Free, which has everything from string and horn arrangements to classic AkAk freakouts. One of the most curious tracks, however, was the noise sludge that is “MBF” ...

In [our] live show, there’s a lot of aspects of noise -- it’s just a part of the live experience that [isn’t] part of the albums; it rounds out the listeners ears in a way that they’ll be shocked when they come see it live, ‘cos I feel that the first record, when that came out, by the time we hit the road, we had a lot [of our songs] done in an apartment: it was very quiet. So there were limitations that that created. With this one, we had a rehearsal space with a whole band setup, so there were new tunes coming about. When [fans] hear the record, they expect that when they come to a show. For me personally, I’d enjoy it [more] if I expect to see something unexpected. [The song] allows people to see all 360 degrees of Akron/Family. That’s what we tried for.

So this is the record that fully integrates the orchestral stuff and folk/pastoral stuff and the crazy freakout stuff ...

But not in being some sort of overarching “trying to fit too much into one” record. I feel like we did a pretty good job of navigating the emotions [of this record] fairly effortlessly. It has a very natural quality throughout -- as opposed to having it feel like you’re trying to say too much.

We’ve been having this debate here at Globecat about what the best song off the album is: I feel it’s “River” while Dave sides by “Gravelly Mountains of the Moon” -- is there a personal favorite amongst the band or just a song you’re really excited about playing live?

Not really. [Laughs.] I like all of them, to be honest with you.

Given how this album is more sonically dense, how do you expect that to be integrated into you live shows?

Depends on where we are, I guess. When we’re playing in New York, we have a horn section here, and on the West Coast, we have some friends who can play, so it’s sort of like a regional thing: depends on where we are. I’m blown away that it’s always just so fresh. We need fresh blood -- [it’s] a good inspiration to have.

Well you guys have also had a crazy year in terms of other projects as well, notably contributing your voices to the last Do Make Say Think album.

We were in Toronto last month and did a [some] more voices for them.

For a new one?

For their next record yeah -- it was pretty cool.

What was that experience like working with them?

Oh those guys are great guys -- coolest people I know. I remember when I first came to New York, I had three CDs that I kept constantly in rotation all the time: My Bloody Valentine’s Loveless, Built to Spill’s Keep It Like a Secret, and Do Make’s & Yet & Yet. We went to a show early on and later found out that they liked some of our songs and we loved theirs -- it just blossomed from that point onward. But what great guys -- really sweet and really honest.

One last question: so far in your career, what’s been your biggest regret and -- conversely -- what’s been your proudest accomplishment?

Proudest accomplishment: being able to play with some of our heroes, bands we really look up to. It’s such an incredible experience to play with these guys and learn from them. As for regrets: I don’t know. I don’t think we’ve had one.

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Visit AkAk's official website here.

INTERVIEW: J.Ralph

2009-04-30T01:25:00.003-05:00

So Evcat needs to get something out of the way: this may very well be the most important interview he's ever given in his life.

You see, J.Ralph is an NYU film grad who, in the late-90s, camped out in an abandoned silent theater in NYC to record an album. Sounds simple enough, right? Well, the resulting disc -- Music to Mauzner By -- proved to be an incredible musical tour-de-force, covering dance-rock, classical, jazz, mariachi music, gospel, classic rock, country, and disco in one go. During Evcat's musical development as a kid, this album proved critical, as it introduced him to whole new worlds and, after listening to and reviewing thousands of albums in his life time, it remains his unquestioned Favorite Album of All-Time. Hands down.

Given that Mauzner celebrated it's 10-year anniversary this past February, we figured it'd be a great time to catch up on J.Ralph, who's now busy scoring Oscar-winning movies, crafting music for Super Bowl ads, and -- oh yeah -- working on that follow-up pop album. Without further ado, the unquestionable, inimitable, and amazing J.Ralph ...

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>>I remember my first introduction to you: the video for "Baby" when it was playing on The Box music video network. I even remember that video hitting #1, and even later finding out that it was you who directed it. Coming fresh out of film school, what did you find harder: working on your first album or working on a big-budget music video for your first single?
Both had their challenges but I would say working on the video. Seems like time was always running out. There were a lot of people to manage and we had this funny narrative that we wanted to convey.

>>I think the simplest question needs to be asked right off here: what compelled you to make Music to Mauzner By? I just find it fascinating how after NYU, you not only made an album, but you produced it yourself, played virtually every instrument, and wrote every damn note, even for the orchestral piece. It was a daring move, but it shows that Mauzner really was a big labor of love ...
The record was the synthesis of all the years listening to music and messing with samplers, FX's and instruments. I was fascinated with sound the deconstruction of it. I really wanted to make something that was different from what I've heard. It was important to me that I went beyond what I had been exposed to. Smash everything together and [see] what came out.

>>You were signed to Lava/Atlantic when Music to Mauzner By came out -- what was your major-label experience like? If you had to do it again, would there be anything that you would do different?

It was perfect. 100% very lucky. Jason Flom (the label president) was the most encouraging and supportive force there could ever be. He let us do anything and everything.

>>Though I remember much talk of you releasing Frame the Horse sometime after Mauzner, I find it fascinating that your official "follow up" was the largely orchestral Illusionary Movements of Geraldine & Nazu, later followed by the score to Lucky Number Slevin. What are the challenges you encountered in working in an orchestral context (aside from the much-publicized fact that you couldn't actually read sheet music during the Illusionary sessions)?
Just that you have to really prepare. The players do not play anything that isn't written. Everything must be on the page. It is very challenging and I really like that. The stakes are much higher. No room for error. When you have 75 people in a room at about $50,000 every couple of hours, you really need to know what you want.

>>Aside from your TV soundtrack work, you've remained relatively quiet in recent years -- what have you been up to? More importantly: what big projects can we look forward to from you?

Just did the music for the Academy Award-winning documentary Man on Wire (about Philippe Petits 1974 tight rope walk between the World Trade Center). Also we have been working on an album with Sizzla. And also, as always, still working on Frame the Horse.

>>Lastly: so far in your career -- what's been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

No regrets and never thought about a finished product long enough to contemplate if it was an accomplishment or not. Not knowing what is going to happen next is more important.

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Visit J.Ralph's official website.

INTERVIEW: Fastball

2009-04-22T01:31:00.004-05:00

It's hard being the best retro-rock outfit working today.

Fastball are still probably best known for their late-90s hits "The Way" and "Out of My Head", but true fans know that there was always something a little different about this group group. Their 2000 release The Harsh Light of Day not only featured guest spots from Billy Preston and Brian Setzer, but featured insanely well-produced rock gems ("This is Not My Life") rubbing next to more ambient pop numbers ("Vampires"), showcasing a group of remarkable musical depth. By the time 2004's Keep Your Wig On rolled around, the band had hired Fountains of Wayne pop guru Adam Schlesinger and Spoon knob-twidler Mike McCarthy to help produce, the band finally giving in to their power-pop calling to fantastic results.

Then, there was a break. A long break, in fact. Nearly five years passed until the band put out Little White Lies, a fantastically dry, concise and restrained pop nugget that simply does what Fastball does best these days: making nothing but retro-rocking stunners. The latest disc takes no prisoners, but features no excessive studio flourishes: it's just three guys rocking out the best way they know how, and -- especially in the hyperactive musical landscape we live now -- there's something genuinely refreshing about that. Evcat recently sat down with principal songwriters Tony Scalzo and Miles Zuniga to talk about the new disc, their temporary hiatus, and, of course, "drinking all the bourbon in Kentucky."

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>>I always viewed you guys as pop traditionalists, but with this album you seem to fully go for that dry 70s guitar-pop sound, keeping in vein with the likes of early Cheap Trick and the first two Big Star albums. Is the slight retro bent of Little White Lies totally intentional, or this just the natural way that Fastball's sound has moved in over time?

MILES: I think retro is just part of our DNA. It's not a conscious decision. I like the sound of a Gibson guitar through a Fender Bassman turned way up loud. I like all kinds of music and I'm more than willing to experiment, but no matter how hard I try to make a Can album it always ends up sounding like Fastball.

TONY: I don't think it was all that intentional to sound similar to bands we absolutely love. We love this album and we know it will satisfy our fans who expect a certain sound from us, though that wasn't quite the plan. I can promise that the next Fastball album will be a departure from the expected.

>>Simply put: why the break between Keep Your Wig On and now?

MILES: The infrastructure in the band looked like Chennai airport. I think Rykodisc spent $20 promoting the band. Our management was asleep. The band wasn't getting along. We decided to go our separate ways for awhile. I did two records with my other band, the Small Stars and Tony and Joey were also making music throughout that time. It turned out to be the best thing for us. We came back to the band eager to do Fastball again.

TONY: It honestly doesn't seem like it was such a gap. Since the last album came out we have played many gigs and toured around quite a bit. We do lots of one-off type gigs plus short tours like when we went to Spain and South America. Miles did a couple of albums with his creation The Small Stars while I released approximately an album's worth of material with 3 solo EPs. We have been writing with other artists. I have been working with Jaret from Bowling For Soup. We wrote a new song that'll be on their next record. I guess one can lose track of time being all busy like that.

>>Lyrically, I find that satement of personal denial/defiance that makes the heart of the song "Little White Lies" to be one of the most potent lines on the album ("[I] tell myself these little white lies / little white lies / that I don't miss you / [I] tell myself these little white lies / little white lies / and I just walk around / with my eyes closed"). It's almost like a half-breakup song, focusing instead on the self-denial that emerges post-relationship instead of broad-stroke emotions like "anger" or "freedom". 1> Why make this track the title of your album, and 2> what -- from a writing perspective -- fascinates you most about dissecting relationships?

MILES: That song is a relationship song on the surface but it really came out of the denial we engage in as human beings on a daily basis. We lie to ourselves all the time. They don't call it the ugly truth for nothing. Usually, we're quite happy to be told what we want to hear.

TONY: Everybody can relate to it because we all do it: lie to ourselves. It's what our brains do best. We convince ourselves of all sorts of realities, don't we?

>>In looking at earlier tracks like "Out of My Head" and "This Is Not My Life", there seems to be a running theme of personal identity crisis (or at least a sense of longing nostalgia) that manifests itself in your songs (with this album, you don't want to go to "Rampart St." no more as just on example). Even during "We'll Always Have Paris", you note how "love is getting harder to find". Though some would call this pessimism, I almost feel like the sentiments are balanced out by the energetic music you frame your songs with. How would you define your worldview and how does it apply specifically to your lyrics?

MILES: I am fascinated by fame and how it's a supposed cure-all for the human condition. It's replaced religion as the opiate of the masses. In "We'll Always Have Paris", I'm singing about someone who doesn't want to look in the mirror. They want to party, because it takes their mind off how spiritually bankrupt they are. I have some experience in this arena.

TONY: I think we need a professional to sort out most of these lyrics. I just haven't the time or the wear-with-all but I'm sure glad they got written!

>>Do you ever feel haunted by "The Way" at all?

MILES: I guess if you can call hearing your song on the radio 10 years after the fact haunted, then yes. People act like "The Way" is an albatross around our neck but to paraphrase Roberto Clemente, "The Way" has been very, very good to us.

TONY: I am never haunted by "The Way" in a negative sense because the song has brought about a good many things and I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to write it.

>>Finally, so far in your career, what's been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

MILES: Do I wish I had worked harder when things were really popping instead of drinking all the bourbon in Kentucky and staying up all night with various women who's names I can't recall? Yes. But we're making better music than we ever have and we have a couple of songs that will be on the radio forever.

TONY: Regrets, I've had a few... It's awesome to still be a band after 15 years. My life has changed in oh, so many ways. I have climbed the highest mountains, ... and so forth.

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Visit Fastball's official website.

ALEATORY #23: Japancakes

2009-03-19T00:09:00.004-05:00

Though he's said it here before, Davecat feels it's worth repeating: a band's name can make all the difference. If you've got a stupid name, people are going to be less likely to seek out and listen to your music, however great it is. However, if your name is as awesome as Athens, Georgia group Japancakes, your music practically sells itself. Knowing nothing about their 2001 album The Sleepy Strange, Davecat picked it up at the record store based on name alone and has been hooked ever since. Their most recent album, 2007's Loveless, is an full-length, song-for-song cover of My Bloody Valentine's classic shoegaze album, interpreted in their beautiful instrumental style with shimmery guitar, pedal steel, and cello. Brant Rackley, Japancakes' drummer, took the time to speak with us last month, and we are honored to have one of our favorite bands as our 23rd Aleatory.

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7. Favorite composer?

I'm assuming for classical? If so, I'd say Bach. I remember the first time I heard Cantata No. 140 (Sleepers Wake). It's still stuck in my head. Something about the way the strings float around is amazing. It would be a good song to cover and make our own. Heather and Neff could work some magic on that one. As far as modern composers, I'd have to say Brian Eno. He just makes interesting music. I think I listened to Music for Airports for a year straight. Sometimes it's best to hear the music that's not there.

8. Favorite author?/Favorite book?

I can't sit still long enough to read much, classic ADHD stuff. I do like reading David Sedaris books. His stories are hilarious. Being able to be that honest about family and yourself is quite a feat. I need the number of his therapist. Favorite book(s), All the President's Men, any Dr. Suess, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. I have two kids, so most of my reading these days consists of children's books. I'm a big fan of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.

9. Favorite song to start (or end) a mixtape with?

Starting song is a toss up between R.E.M. "Harborcoat" and Stevie Wonder "Living for the City". Ending song is toss up between Aretha Franklin "Ain't No Way" and Superchunk "Hyper Enough", the first one makes you long for more, and the second gets you all jacked up and ready to go do something.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

Andy Goldsworthy exhibit. He makes some of the coolest art I've ever seen. The patience that guy has is insane. If you've never seen his work I would highly recommend checking it out. Also, watch "Rivers and Tides", it's a documentary about him and his work. I can't really explain it without sounding like a babbling idiot, but to me it's simple and familiar in an awesome and completely foreign way?

18. Favorite pick-up line?

Do you know of anything that will get blood out of a clownsuit?
I'm married...it worked once.

21. Favorite album(s) from the past year?

I liked:

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago. Very stripped down simple record, totally full though.
TV on the Radio - Dear Science. These dudes simply do some cool stuff with music.
David Byrne and Brian Eno - Everything that Happens will Happen Today. This record feels good. Picking out all the little loops, blips, and blurbs in this is amusing to me.
Girl Talk - Feed The Animals. Listening to this is like playing Musical Jeopardy. Very creative. Although I can't listen to it too much.

26. Favorite badass?

Inspector Jacques Clouseau. Every since I was a kid I wanted to be this guy. I got a thing for the bumbling detective.

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

I got nothing for you on this one. I deal in simplicity, you know, pick up drumstick-hit drum.

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

Piano, or anything other than drums really, but mostly piano.

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?

Globally? Each other. Musically? Japancakes, every little bit helps.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?

That the kind of UFO's that exist in my daughter's world, are fart-powered and they are only interested in collecting human underpants. She's a genius.

35. What's the best place you've randomly discovered while on tour?

We played some shows in France for the Sleepy Strange album. We were in Paris for a few days of the tour and there was a chocolate shop down the street from our hotel that was fucking great. I think it was a mother and daughter who owned/ran it. Every time we would go in there they would let us try all the new chocolates for the day. If you could marry a chocolate shop, I would. It just so happens that we also randomly discovered that Paris is the best place to; have your bass player step in dog shit (aprrox. 3-4 times in one day), chocolate bars filled with liquor, and one of the most hilarious clown paintings of all time.

41. If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would it be?

Where ever those UFO's my daughter draws are from. That place has got to be hilarious.

47. Biggest fear?

Although it's not very likely, being trapped under ice. That would be fucking terrifying, especially if you could see someone trying to help you. Realistically, something happening to my kids. I tend to freak out a little bit whenever I have to back out of my driveway. I have this horrible feeling that I'm going to back over one of my kids.

51. What are you currently obsessed with?

Gummy Coke Bottles. Fucking delicious.

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

This question doesn't apply to me. I only pretend it's my full-time job. Over-thinking and under-doing is my full-time occupation.

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

Anything by Kid Rock or Katy Perry. I appreciate "what" they do and they're obviously hard workers. I just don't get it. However, Jimmy Buffet is my least favorite ever, of all time, ever.

68. Favorite interview you've ever been a part of (aside from this one, obviously)?

We were interviewed in a van, in a parking lot on the Seine in Paris. It was cold, crowded, and hilarious.

69. There's got to be one: who has been your craziest fan?

Two come to mind. There was a guy in France who heckled the shit out of us. It was insanely funny though because he just spouted out the only bad words he knew in English. He'd yell stuff like "monkey shit" "I shit on your piss" "I suck your piss" Really funny, then he stumbled outside while we were loading up and knocked over a mirror I bought over there and broke it. Douchebag.

The other dude was in Athens. He hopped up on stage in a green monkey costume and just started playing the harmonica into the mic. Everyone in the band thought he knew one of us and it was just a friend having some fun. Turned out to be some random fan who thought his terrible harmonica playing would be a nice addition to our music. Again, total douchebag.

88. What's your deepest source for musical inspiration?

People trying. Hard to explain. I like to see people trying. Just anything. Something new, kids learning to walk, problem solving and determination type stuff.

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Visit Japancakes' website.

INTERVIEW: Of Great and Mortal Men

2009-03-05T18:11:00.004-06:00

Many people have heard of NaNoWriMo -- National Novel Writing Month, which takes place every November and just celebrated its 10th year in 2008 -- but did you know it has a musical cousin? February Album Writing Month (FAWM) just got wrapped up, challenging musicians to write 14 songs over 28 days, and while one can imagine how much chaff such an endeavor must produce almost by nature, you shouldn't throw the wheat out with the bathwater.

J. Matthew Gerken, Christian Kiefer, and Jefferson Pitcher teamed up for last year's FAWM, taking the challenge one step further: over the course of a month, between them they would write a song for each and every President of the United States of America. Realizing they were onto something great, the three sent their songs out and got some of their favorite indie musicians -- Alan Sparhawk of Low, Mark Kozelek of Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon, (Smog)'s Bill Callahan, Califone, Xiu Xiu's Jaime Stewart, etc. -- to play on the tracks. The result -- Of Great and Mortal Men: 43 Songs for 43 U.S. Presidencies -- is as exciting to listen to as it is informative and an eye-opening look into the lives of these great, mortal men.

Davecat was extremely fortunate to be able to talk with each of the three songwriters about the project, out as a three-disc set from Standard Recording Company -- and now including a 44th song for President Obama.

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>>>> Christian is a history teacher, but what (if any) background do Jefferson and Matthew have in US history?

CHRISTIAN: I should probably note that I’m not actually a history teacher, although I do a fair amount of history-related reading in my classes. My graduate work is in American literature and I’m currently teaching English (rhetoric, writing, and literature) for Stanford University’s cutting edge Education Program for Gifted Youth, Online High School. My students are brilliant and it keeps me on my intellectual toes working with them.

JEFFERSON: I do not necessarily have a “formal” background in American History, though my undergraduate degree is in American Studies, and I have a longstanding interest in history. I think more important in the case of this project, rather than any strong ties to an academic path in history, was simply our inquisitiveness about the subject matter. History of the presidents is arguably about myth and popular culture as much as it is about the formal discourse of history (at least in the greater cultural sense) so a curious mind, a willingness to do a bit of research, and a longing to examine the way in which history is told was all relevant. My graduate work was an MFA in studio art, and while critical theory was present in that, I is, I think, wholly unrelated to this sort of history.

MATTHEW: I studied an obtuse brand of economic and social theory known as historical materialism as a part of my undergraduate degree in Urban Geography and Political Science. It is not really history as people normally think of it, but a certain lens for viewing the world, based in part on history (especially since the industrial revolution). Partly as a result of this project, I started to read more US history books, especially those with presidential themes. Actually, I think the degree to which one is interested in history might be a pretty good barometer for me to use in identifying new friends. I think I would naturally gravitate toward people that have at least some interest in history and away from people showing no such interest. Wow, I got way off topic there!

>>>> How were you able to line up so many popular indie musicians for the album? Were there a lot of personal connections, or did the idea to include others come later in the project's conception?

CHRISTIAN: The project is somewhat amazing to me for this reason. Much of it was connections via friends of friends, and a few labels were very, very kind in helping us making new connections with bands and musicians we love. We knew pretty early on that we wanted to include some guest artists. In particular, I was aware that I was doing an Alan Sparhawk-imitation when I was singing Eisenhower for the first time. So when it came time to do the real recordings (I mean post-demo stage) it seemed natural to ask Alan if he would do it. We’re quite fortunate to have learned that musicians really want to make music. Nearly everyone we asked to share their time with us was quite willing to do so. I’m still amazed by that, although I probably should not be. Musicians are good people. I’ll leave Jefferson to the next part…

>>>> Were any of the songs written specifically to be sung by the artists that perform them on the album? I ask because in some cases (such as the John Tyler song "Hindsight Falls On Deaf Ears" with Bill Callahan) the performance seems so completely suited to the song that it sounds they could have written it themselves for one of their own albums. Was there any collaboration with the performers as far as arrangement of the songs was concerned?

JEFFERSON: None of the songs were written with any specific performers in mind, and only a handful changed at all from the time of the original demos. We wrote the demos as a part of a songwriting challenge called FAWM (fawm.org) in which one writes fourteen songs in twenty-eight days (February). Because of the nature of the songwriting, we felt that we wanted to stay as “true” as possible to the idea from a compositional standpoint. That said, as guests joined the project, we were certainly open to some degree of change in the arrangements. The songs that standout the most to me, as having diverted from the original and having been collaborative are Coolidge which changed a fair amount when Jim Putnam (Radar Bros.) began working with it, Lyndon Johnson which Steve Dawson (Dolly Varden) re-arranged a bit and added lyrics to, and Wilson which Kiefer basically re-wrote when Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu) got involved.

CHRISTIAN: I’m a huge, huge fan of the Staple Singers so my original demo of Tyler was basically me trying to be Roebuck (“Pops” to his friends and family). I tried to get some of the folks from Ollabelle to sing some of their harmonies on it but that didn’t work out. Bill Callahan was a long shot but it turned out he was interested in doing it. Interestingly, out of the entire project, Callahan is the only guy I had no direct contact with whatsoever; everything with him was through kind folks at Drag City. It’s just a transformational performance from him—really mindblowing in every way and we’re very fortunate that he had the time and inclination to do it.

>>>> Speaking of individual songs, I'd like to know more about the (creepy) Woodrow Wilson song "A Life Among Men" featuring Jaime Stewart of Xiu Xiu. Looking through the impressive guest list of artists for this project -- Callahan, Califone, Sparhawk and Kozelek, etc. -- Stewart seems to be the odd man out (in the best way possible, of course). How did he wind up attached to the project, and to "A Life Among Men" specifically?

CHRISTIAN: Jamie Stewart has one of the most distinctive and heart-wrenching voices in music today. Having that voice on this project was very important to me. Turns out his sister is a history teacher and he felt therefore obligated to be a part of our weird history lesson. We pitched a few songs his way and he decided that Wilson was the only one he could really pull off. The original version we sent him was kind of a heavy Pink Floyd trip, but once we got his vocal back (in the mail) I sat and re-configured and re-produced the track so that his voice was really placed at the forefront. I didn’t intend to make a pseudo-Xiu Xiu track out of it, but I fear that’s what I did. Sometimes it’s difficult to avoid one’s influences.

>>>> "Someone to Wake," the 44th song in the 43-song series, was written after Barack Obama's election this November. Had you given any thought before the election what John McCain's song would sound like, had things gone the other way?

JEFFERSON: I was the one slated to write a song for McCain had he won, and the task was indeed difficult. I didn’t want to take the easy route of writing something disarmingly negative because I didn’t like him politically. A few years ago, I watched a film by director Werner Herzog called Little Dieter Needs to Fly, which is about a Vietnam Veteran who was in a prison camp for quite some time. I was fascinated by the extremity of his situation, and the way in which I believe humans can resort to a much more biologically survivalist mode of survival in extreme situations. As much as I didn’t like the fact that McCain’s war heroism came into the election rhetoric, I was fascinated by what it must have been like to go through that experience. So the demo I had decided on was a song about how he was proud of himself for having endured. Of course that doesn’t qualify him to be president in any way, and I didn’t want to write about it politically. I wrote about it in the first person, from a very emotional standpoint. Had it seen the light of day, I think it was sounding something like a slow, but loud Sonic Youth song.

>>>> On a related note, the three of you just did a pre-Inauguration show in DC. What was it like, being in the captial during all the Inauguration festivities? Any good Inauguration stories?

MATTHEW: Yes, we had a big show at the 6th and I Historic Synagogue downtown, a
venue that has lectures as well as great musical performances. It was a beautiful and ornate building and we had this giant light show and videos tied to the presidential music for an eye-candy overload. We invited many east coast and midwest based musicians to "cover" songs from "Of Great and Mortal Men," and I, for one, was blown away by the quality of the guest performances. The three of us also got to sing a couple of our tunes to a large crowd of enthusiastic and attentive people. By the Saturday before inauguration, the City was really beginning to fill up and there were tons of parties and events all around the area, which served as "competition" for our event. We spent pretty much all day at the venue rehearsing, meeting the guest musicians as they would arrive, and otherwise preparing for the event. By the time we were finished with the show, we walked down the block to grab a drink, and it was very clear that we had some "catching up" to do -- there were stumbling, overjoyed people all over the streets of Washington. To me, there was a palpable buzz in the air, too. By most accounts, this was the largest and happiest inauguration gathering in history. It was wonderful to be tangentially associated with it.

>>>> Were you surprised by the takes on some of the presidents that your colleagues came up with? Did anyone write an alternate song for any of the presidents?

MATTHEW: These United States, a great Washington DC based band, did a very cool, very low-fi version of John Adams. For some of the artists, we would send them the song and they would sing over it or play over it and send it back. For others, there was a wholescale re-recording of the song and sometimes arrangement changes. These United States' version was very surprising to me, and was very different from the original. I ended up wanting to keep both textures, and therefore the cut that is on the record features their version at the beginning and end of the cut and my version in the middle. Speaking of These United States, they played an unbelievable opening set at the show in Washington and also covered the song about Taylor ("Rough and Ready") at this show. They absolutely killed! What a talented bunch of people!

>>>> Who are your individual favorite presidents (and why)?

MATTHEW: This is a difficult question. Part of the beauty of them is that they all had flaws... some more than others. Probably Abraham Lincoln did the most overall amount of good, of all our presidents thusfar. Teddy Roosevelt was a great US President, making important strides in land conservation and trust-busting.

JEFFERSON: This is a difficult question, because so much of our knowledge about the presidents is based in a very incomplete reading (and understanding) of history. Though a flawed man in many ways, I would have to say Thomas Jefferson, primarily because of his thoughts on both the principles of democracy (I think he would be rather shocked and disgusted by the degree to which those principles have been eroded in modern politics) and education. His ideals in both of those areas are still entirely relevant if not needed today.

>>>> What are some of the best presidential facts you learned that didn't make their way into the songs?

MATTHEW: Gerald Ford was an All-American center for the University of Michigan (football) and used to request that aides wake him up in the middle of the night if necessary (while traveling abroad) to tell him the Michigan-Ohio State score.

>>>> Any plans for this coming February's Album Writing Month? Vice presidents? Kings and queens of England?

JEFFERSON: I’m afraid that with an eleven-month old son, it is about all I can do to get some food in me and a shower each day. I don’t plan to do the February Album Writing Month this year, though I am working on songs for a new record, just at a much slower pace. While I have deeply enjoyed the process of writing about this subject matter, I don’t want to become the guy who writes about presidents, kings, etc. While most, if not all, of my records have some very concrete themes, mostly borrowed and stolen from literature, I am far too interested in experimentation to stay on the same path. My new project is about the lack of water resources in a fictional town. So perhaps a mayor here and there.

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View the Of Great and Mortal Men official blog.

Gerken / Kiefer / Pitcher on MySpace.

OFF THE RECORDS: Evcat on NPR!

2009-03-02T22:22:00.003-06:00

Hey there, readers!

We just wanted to let you know that Evcat is moving up in the world -- tomorrow (3.3.09), Evan is going to be on WNYC's Soundcheck program, participating in the weekly "smackdown" wherein two guests are brought in to discuss a current pop music topic. Evan, in case you didn't know, is the Associate Interviews Editor at PopMatters.com, and his review of the latest U2 album ran today, which lead to his invite onto the show. He will be going toe-to-toe with Joe Levy, the current editor-in-chief of Blender magazine and the former managing editor of Rolling Stone. It will be a great listen either way, so be sure to tune in!

UPDATE: Embedded below is the complete broadcast. Way to go, Evan!

ALEATORY #22: Fuck Buttons

2009-02-25T00:33:00.008-06:00

Though it's a little late to say it, as everyone knows by now: Fuck Buttons, the experimental duo of Andrew Hung and Benjamin John Power, are intense. Even their name is intense. While probably a noun, Davecat has always hoped their name was an imperative, or a declaration of dissatisfaction with traditional clothing fasteners. With a sound somewhere between blistering noise and epic post-rock, the two electronically shredded their way into our hearts with their debut full-length Street Horrrsing last year, and it's been zippers and velcro ever since. Both gentlemen took time out of their busy schedule to be the subject of our twenty-second Aleatory, and we are, as always, extremely grateful.

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AH = Andrew Hung
BP = Benjamin John Power

1. Favorite word?

Musk (AH)
Transparent (BP)

7. Favorite composer?

Arvo Pärt (AH)
Jon Hassell (BP)

11. Favorite music video?

Gihm's "Green Grass of Tunnel" (Múm) cover (AH)
"Window Licker" Aphex Twin (BP)

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

Portishead (AH)
Nirvana (BP)

16. Favorite campfire story?

The one about the girl's pet python that starved itself to eat her. (AH)
I don't know any good stories about campfires (BP)

18. Favorite pick-up line?

I bet you've got a fanny. (AH)
You and me and a bottle makes three (BP)

33. What's something you could teach anyone in an hour or less?

How to emotionally manipulate your mother. (AH)
How to deal with being emotionally manipulated by one's mother (BP)

34. What's the best joke you heard recently?

I went to a seafood disco last night... Pulled a mussel! (AH)
What did the 0 say to the 8? Nice belt! (BP)

38. What is your family like?

Slowly deteriorating (AH)
All over the globe (BP)

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?

Maths/History (respectively) (AH)
Science/art (BP)

43. What's the road ahead look like?

Wonderous. (AH)
Exciting (BP)

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

Under my ball sack. Peanuts. (AH)
I have nothing to hide, but if I did it would probably be down at the bottom of my bag. I'm pretty sure there are things in there that I didn't even know about (BP)

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

I still haven't come to that conclusion. I believe that will be an answer that awaits me on my deathbed (not to be too morose, but it's true). (AH)
I knew this was wanted to do this for a living ever since I was young so to be able to do this is a priviledge (BP)

60. What's the worst show you've ever played? What would you have done different?

The one where we played to an end of year student party. I should have cried onstage not off it. (AH)
We played to only our support band once in Birmingham and if I could do things differently I would have made sure there were at least a few people there (BP)

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

The whole set of one of the bands I heard last night (AH)
That X Factor winner's cover of Hallelujah by Mr. Leonard Cohen (BP)

76. Dream collaboration?

Kate Bush (AH)
Suicide (BP)

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

Sonic Youth Roundhouse 2008 (AH)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor at Camber Sands (BP)

91. Which single album should be in everybody's home?

Hounds of Love (AH)
Raw Power by Iggy & the Stooges (BP)

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

I could write a book on my thoughts on this issue... but basically, 4x4 car ads = good, ethical companies = bad. (AH)
Uggg. It depends. Leave me alone (BP)

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?

Peanuts. (AH)
Some of our first ever CDr's will probably never see the light of day. Just for me and Andy to drag out sometimes on reflect on how things have changed (BP)

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View Fuck Buttons' MySpace.
View Fuck Buttons' bio at ATP Recordings.

ALEATORY #21: dj BC

2009-02-10T00:21:00.006-06:00

Mashup King? America's favorite DJ? A man who is just grateful to do what he loves on a regular basis?

It's hard to come up with a good title for Bob Cronin (although he's more affectionately known as DJ BC). Yet Mashup King isn't a bad start. As the post-millenial craze of musical MP3 mashups was gradually turning into a ceritifed phenomenon, it was DJ BC who quietly began leading the pack with some innovative, controversy-stirring releases, starting with "The Beastles" (a famed Beatles/Beastie Boys mashup album) and -- shortly thereafter -- the innovative Glassbreaks release, wherein rap artists found their words mixed in with beats created solely from Philip Glass samples. Though both projects have long been unavailable, this hasn't stopped Bob from becoming one of the most notable mashup DJs this side of Girl Talk, and his latest release -- a fully-legit remix collaboration with Big D & the Kids Table -- has even given him some rock cred as well. Now of course, comes his greatest challenge: mixing and matching up some answers with the latest Globecat Aleatory, here talking about his desire to play the piano, being disappointed by Freddie Hubbard, and, of course, the sexiest thing about him.

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5. Favorite piece of equipment?

Pioneer CDJ 1000's (X 2) . These babies allow scratching and turntable-type manipulation of CDs (and hence any digital sound I can burn to Cd) which means the world to someone who works with CDs rather than vinyl. I also find them much easier to work with than vinyl on many levels. And they do more. Speed up with no pitch change ftw! (this is where I get endorsed by Pioneer and get free gear).

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?

The Replacements! I loved 'em. I was trying to be a punk rock type, generally. I liked gothy, punky, skater-y bands. The Cure, The Sex Pistols, Ramones, Bowie, The Smiths, The Clash, that sort of thing. But the 'mats were probably the top. I also was WAY into 60's music, like Led Zep, The Doors, The Beatles, CSNY, The Byrds, and so forth.

13. Favorite Shakespearean play?

Probably Hamlet? That's the one I remember the best. And it has ghosts. This is a strange question to ask a DJ.

19. Favorite foreign film?

Withnail and I. It's British, so perhaps not as foreign as some other choices. But it is truly wonderful and a cult classic in Britain. All Americans should watch it. Use the subtitles or turn it up, those muttering Brits are brutal to understand.

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

Piano.

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?

Me, and Big D and The Kids Table. We deserve massive success, free steaks and Abita beer.

38. What is your family like?

Loud, funny, large and kinda goofy. With a new layer of babies sprouting.

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

If I told you, they would no longer be hidden. Duh!

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

Opening for Coolio's Boston date, and the release of "Strictly Mixed and Mashed" - a 100% legit album.

55. You're curating a festival. If you could choose any two acts to open for you, who would they be?

Sheesh... ANY 2? and they are opening for ME? This is a difficult question. I am tempted to pick sucky acts, and then I would look better. But then everyone would leave. I would have to say...here's four that I would love to even see perform live. Being on the same stage with them would be mind blowing.
-Stevie Wonder
-David Byrne with the Talking Heads
-P-Funk
-Reform the 1990's Brand New Heavies with all the guest rappers, ie Black Sheep, Pharcyde, Edo G, Kool G Rap, etc.

56. Have you ever considered writing or producing for other artists?

Yes, and I have done so - www.remixrevolution.com features two records I worked on with Big D and The Kids Table. Strictly Mixed and Mashed is a remix/mashup album I did with their music. Rude Remix Revolution is a collection of others remixes and fan mixes and the like, which I compiled with the help of Dave McWane. I've also done officically sanctioned remixes for Heaven 17 (formerly Human League), The AKAs (feat Gym Class Heroes), Uncle Shaker, VBMN and Sonic Boom Six.

Basically I want to do whatever I think will be fun, and hopefully win some listeners. And I hope that at some point, I will get a little interest and I can make my own record a la Mark Ronson.

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

The Free Credit Report bullshits. I want to kill them.

70. What is a personal belief you hold that you would fight for to the death?

Free Credit Report.com commercials suck massive donkey balls. I will defend that with my life. Please do not provide any links to their horribleness. They should not in any way benefit from my hatred.

76. Dream collaboration?

Collaboration with any of the rappers I admire would be a dream come true. Public Enemy, De La Soul, Q-Tip and/or Fife Dog, KRS One, Kanye... or any of my "opening acts" above. And being able to pull a sample or two from a classic rock song (or a funk classic) without fear of being sued into the stone age would be quite gratifying!

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

Sort of getting busted with weed. The campus cops snagged me late one night. Brought me to like a trailer/substation on campus. Pushed me to narc for hours. I told them nada. They finally released me at like dawn. No charges. Still proud to have not narced.

84. Most disappointing concert you ever attended?

This is a tough one. I am tempted to say Freddie Hubbard in Manhattan, 1992-3 ish. You may know him as the player of the horn riff (from Herbie Hancock's "Cantaloupe Island") the 1990s rap group US3 used in their one hit song "Cantaloop." He was terrible. He could barely play. But his band was great- basically, they were respectful replicas of Hubbard's former contemporaries. There was a Coltrane-looking guy in a grey suit who dressed and played exactly like Coltrane. A Miles-looking guy, dressed in a red suit like Miles, with Miles' old trumpet, playing like Miles Davis. A piano player in a dashiki playing like Herbie Hancock. The only one who couldnt keep up was Freddie Hubbard, even though the young guys were carefully structuring everything around his pitiful, barely-able-to-make-a-note solos. And Hubbard was pretty angry about it. And the trainwreck was something to see. His band made him look worse, if anything.

90. Sexiest thing about you?

My penis.

91. Which single album should be in everybody's home?

The White Album (Beatles, natch). This record was formative for me. The range of styles, the dark patches (Helter Skelter, Piggies, Revolution 9), the Manson 'connection,' the sheer beauty of the more mellow tunes like "Blackbird" and "Mother Nature's Son"... there is so much here to love, scratch your head over, or both.

95. Do you ever read your own reviews?

Yes! If someone cares enough about me to review something, I care enough to read it!

96. The one thing that no one knows about you (yet)?

I am wonderful, yet I totally suck. I derserve large platters of cash to be brought to me by naked ladies. I like cats. My back hurts.

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Visit DJ BC's website here.

ALEATORY #20: Casiotone for the Painfully Alone

2009-02-03T01:00:00.000-06:00

Owen Ashworth feels your pain.

This is probably why he records so many damn good songs as Casiotone for the Painfully Alone -- as perfect and descriptive a band name as there's ever been. Maybe you've heard his songs, or seen Los Campesinos! lead singer Gareth wear a CFTPA T-shirt in the documentary that came with the group's We Are Beautiful, We Are Doomed album, or maybe you'll just see Owen at SXSW this year, or pick up his new rarities album Advance Base Battery Life on March 10th, or maybe even pick up his new new album Vs. Children in April. No matter what though, Owen's aesthetic -- after all these years -- remains almost exactly the same: plug in a keyboard, turn on the mic, and just play it baby. We feel for you.

Congratulations to both him and us: this Globecat's 20th Aleatory -- thanks guys.

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4. Favorite person to have worked with?

I used to work in a bakery with a woman named Kara who was really funny and great. we ate a lot of damaged baked goods together.

10. Favorite lyric?

I ain't no goddamn son of a bitch you better think about it baby

13. Favorite Shakespearean play?

Cats

14. Favorite sound?

Flute samples played in chords

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

Wild animal taxidermy dioramas in natural history museums

17. Favorite plant?

I think it's a tie between kudzu and basil

39. What's something you could probably beat anyone you know at?

I don't mean to brag but I am very good at cribbage

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?

I took some anthropology classes in college that I did pretty well in. I never skipped my anthropology classes. I have never done very well with math. I skipped lots of math.

42. What's an image that haunts you to this day?

There was a picture of a dude who had done a mess of PCP and then cut off his face and fed it to his dogs. I saw it on the internet. I still think about it every once in a while and go "ugh" or "ack." Once you put something in your brain you can never take it out again, kids. Think twice before clicking those warning disturbing image links on www.snopes.com.

43. What's the road ahead look like?

It is covered with snow and hazardous

44. Something you've heard, know is false, but wish were true with all your heart?

I heard that polar bears hide their black noses with a front paw or leg when they hunt. This helps them blend in with the snow so they can sneak up on school children or seals or whatever. Sort of like a reverse negative Dracula. Polar Drac. I'm pretty sure this is not true but the image is too endearing and chilling to not want to believe in.

49. Now that you know a much larger audience will get to hear the music you've made, has your writing changed at all? How? What's changed and what's stayed the same?

Oh man I don't know. I think the biggest factor that has changed my writing has been my age. I get older and I think about different things so I want to sing about different things. Also, once you've written a song, you can't go around rewriting it forever so you actually have to come up with some different ideas every once in a while. I am averaging about thirty songs per idea these days.

54. So far in your career, what's been your proudest accomplishment?

Playing in Russia felt pretty nuts. I feel weird listing any names but there have been some people who I have been very proud to have met and shared mutual admiration with. Okay fine Tom Hanks.

57. Most rock star thing you've ever done?

I accidentally knocked all of my equipment off of a stage and the people in the front caught it and pushed it back upright. And everybody thought it was on purpose and some kind of cool trick. IT WAS NOT A COOL TRICK

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

My friend Nick from No Kids because he lives in Canada and gets all kinds of amazing government grants to record expensive andfabulous sounding records. Also, because I would like to be able to play piano like him. I am pretty lousy musician and I am envious of lots of people's musical abilities.

67. Do you reach any kind of personal catharsis when it comes to songwriting/performing?

Yeah, I guess so

78. Your life has been reduced to a bumper sticker: what does it say?

NPR

92. Which venue are you dying to play but have not yet had the chance to?

I would like to play at the Warfield in San Francisco, CA. I saw Kraftwerk play there once and I hear it's haunted.

94. What's your hardest song to replicate live?

There are a few songs on my new record that were arranged for many more hands than I have. I haven't tried to play them live yet and I really don't know what to do with them. There are also plenty of old songs of mine that I just don't like to play because I just don't really like them anymore. I would find it hard to replicate those songs with any sort of sincerity, even though they aren't particularly difficult to play.

99. Licensing your music out to companies for TV ads: good or bad?

Shit I don't know. I haven't done it yet but maybe if I have a kid who needs braces some day I'll feel differently. You pick your battles, you know?

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Visit Casiotone for the Painfully Alone's website.

ALEATORY #19: Jason Robert Brown

2009-01-29T17:49:00.007-06:00

Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown is bored.

After all, the man has released quite a few albums, has created one of the single greatest pocket musicals of all time (The Last Five Years), and even picked up the theatre-world's highest honor when he penned the score for Parade, still a theatrical staple all these years later. Nowadays, it seems that the last thing that JRB wants to do is what's expected of him -- he's now taking risks both big and small to keep things interesting.. He contributed songs to the big-budget, Tony-nominated production of Urban Cowboy and most recently can be seen writing tunes for 13, the kid-oriented/acted/performed musical that premiered at the prestigious Mark Taper Forum and has since made its away to Broadway. Yet now, Jason takes on his greatest challenge: responding to the latest Globecat Aleatory!

(Jason enters Stage Left and recites the following ...)

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2. Favorite board game?

I am a mediocre but avid Scrabblist, and my wife and I used to have epic hostile Scrabble matches, but I travel so much these days that board games are impractical on any consistent basis. I do a lot of Scrabbling and Scrambling on Facebook, but while it is infinitely more addicting, it's ultimately less gratifying.

4. Favorite person to have worked with?

In 2001, I got to work with Jon Hendricks, the legendary vocalese writer and singer; Jon sang the vocal parts on the incidental music I wrote for David Lindsay-Abaire's play "Kimberly Akimbo," which included the song "Grow Old With Me." I grew up listening to Lambert, Hendricks & Ross (as well as the version of that group that included Yolande Bavan) and, in fact, most of my knowledge of bebop repertoire comes from having known the vocalized versions first. (I may be the only musician who hears Miles Davis's "Freddie Freeloader" and thinks of the lyrics, thanks to Hendricks's monumental recording of it with Bobby McFerrin, Al Jarreau and George Benson.) Unlike working with movie stars or rock stars, working with jazz legends turns out to be fairly easy: you pick up the phone and call them. Someone I knew had Jon's manager's number, somehow that led me to Jon's home phone, I called him, offered him a thousand bucks to come sing for three hours, and voilà, I had a recording of one of my heroes singing one of my songs. And Jon was a lot of fun to hang out with that day as well, smart and fast and game for anything (at one point, he was making bird and monkey noises).

5. Favorite piece of equipment?

I'm unapologetically analog in most of my habits, though I readily the concede the convenience and fluidity of the digital world. Nonetheless, in order to do my work, I need a piano, a bunch of 2B pencils, a pencil sharpener, staff paper, and a drafting ruler, all of which (except the piano) I travel with at all times. Of those, the piano is the most important, and my favorite piece of equipment therefore is the Yamaha C5 that sits in our backyard studio.

9. Favorite song to start (or end) a mixtape with?

Mixtape? I haven't made one since I was 22. I remember making one for my Dad right after I left college that started with Fred Astaire's recording of Irving Berlin's "I'd Rather Lead A Band." And ended with Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong doing Gershwin's "A Foggy Day," which is a song my Dad always sang with me when I was a kid.

11. Favorite music video?

I wouldn't even know where to see a music video these days, outside of YouTube, I guess. I was growing up when MTV first came on the air, so I tend to have a very proprietary sense of music videos – I was an early adopter! In that vein, whatever I offer will be sort of hopelessly unhip, as though I stopped paying attention twenty years ago, which in fact is the case. But coolness be damned: "Sledgehammer" by Peter Gabriel, still the winner by a mile.

15. Favorite exhibit or subject at the museum?

I've seen two separate exhibits on the work of Henry Darger, which I find endlessly fascinating. It's not just the no-formal-training thing (which, to be honest, annoys me no end when people claim that as a virtue), it's more the unfiltered imagination, and the willingness to improvise new tools when his own technique isn't sufficient. And the whole self-contained mythology of the work is inspiring in its own way.

18. Favorite pick-up line?

That I've used myself or that someone's used on me? I don't think I ever had a repertoire of pick-up lines for my own personal use, I'm horrifically shy when it comes to women. Nor have I really been picked up, though I did have one girl ask me to sign her boobs after a concert once. That was killer. (I didn't do it. Maybe her boobs weren't big enough for my whole name?)

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?

Neil Finn does this thing all the time where he's been sitting in a minor key and then just pops in to the relative major, and it's always the most delightful moment. You can hear it in Crowded House's "When You Come," right at the top of the chorus: "And that is why" (there's the minor) "I stumble to my knee-ees!" (there's the major). So satisfying. I steal it whenever I remember to; certainly in "Over," I do it right in the verse.

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?

Kate McGarry, incredible jazz singer, though "jazz" is too confining a label to put on the work she does; she and her husband, guitarist Keith Ganz, are brilliant interpreters and very deep souls. And Kate's songwriting is very strong and very fresh.

31. Other than musician, what career would you most enjoy?

Ultimately, I think music is just the outlet I generally choose for my creativity, but I live to create, and if it weren't music, it would be something else. As mercurial as I am, whatever I would most enjoy today would make me crazy by the middle of next year.

34. What's the best joke you heard recently?

I've been telling this one for a while now, but it's a winner, courtesy of David Evans (who is the world's foremost joke-teller):

Mr. Lipkin hasn't been to the doctor in a long time, finally he decides it's time for a checkup. He goes in to the doctor's office, the doctors says to him, "All right, Mr. Lipkin, it's been quite a while, we're gonna need some things. We're gonna need a blood sample, a urine sample, a semen sample, and a stool sample." Mr. Lipkin looks at the doctor and says, "Should I just give you my shorts?"

36. Lyrics first or music first?

I get asked this question so often I should probably come up with an interesting answer. Really, what comes first is generally the title. That may not be the title I finally end up with, but I need someplace to start, and usually a good phrase is the best medicine. If I can encapsulate what I want the song to say in a couple of words, then I always know where I'm heading. From there, I'll start determining a musical energy, a particular style; that's decided as much by the character and the situation and the moment in the plot as by my own whimsy. And once I have that "groove" (which may or may not be very groovy), I'll start singing a melody to it, appending the title whenever it feels appropriate. I've been describing that process that way for so long that it's really no longer accurate, at least not always, but it still sounds like a good answer.

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

Well, now, if I told you...

48. Biggest moment of triumph?

Honestly this: when the woman who was to be my wife and the mother of my child first kissed me, in Atlanta, Georgia, in 2000.

61. What's the best advice you could give to a young, upstart composer?

Write SONGS. Too many theater composers feel the need to write huge sequences without any sense of the underlying structure. Songs, songs, songs. If you can master AABA, you can stretch it any way you want.

63. Band/artist you're secretly envious of?

Secretly? I'm the most openly envious person I know. What good is envy if you're gonna keep it all inside? And furthermore, why just direct it at one band or artist? I'm envious of everyone, all the time. Keeps the creative juices flowing.

64. Weirdest promotion you've been a part of?

Honestly, nothing comes to mind.

75. Very first song that you ever wrote?

I think when I was eight years old, I wrote a song called "Come Back To Me," which told the story of a lovelorn young man desperate for the return of his girl, Jenny. (I did not know a girl named Jenny at the time, at least not well enough for me to immortalize her in song.) The chords, moving every two beats, were C, Bdim, Am, G, F, G, C. I thought I was the first person to come up with those changes.

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

In the same week in (I think) 1997, I saw Michel Petrucciani play Birdland with Anthony Jackson and Steve Gadd AND I saw Aretha Franklin do a gospel concert at Avery Fisher Hall. To see musicianship at that high a level up close, twice in one week, really raised the bar for me. Aretha only did a half-hour long set, but it was still clear that she wasn't coasting or faking – she was feeling it, she was reaching for it, and whatever she needed to express, she had the tools to do it; and Petrucciani played with such inventiveness, such tastefulness, and such unbelievable groove that I redefined my sense of what jazz piano was supposed to be just from that one concert. So: not a bad week.

87. Ultimately, you will want to be remembered as …

At the moment, I'll say I want to be remembered as a musician. When people write about the theater, so much of the focus is on the words, the acting, the singing; I write for the theater by going from the music out. If you don't understand the music I'm writing, then you won't understand the levels of theater I'm creating, and I feel that, all too often, the music just gets lost in the discussion. So I'd like to be remembered as a guy who put a lot of serious thought into how to make the music part of the theater, and how to make all the parts breathe together with the music leading the way.

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Visit Jason Robert Brown's website.

ALEATORY #18: Plants and Animals

2009-01-21T00:23:00.006-06:00

Global warming aside, 2008 was good to Plants and Animals. Parc Avenue, their debut full-length (out now on Secret City Records: pick it up, friends) was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize (given to the best Canadian album of each year), and ranked very highly on many many other year-end lists. Somewhere in between gearing up for tour and getting lavished with praise, drummer/vocalist Matthew Woodley found time for us and filled out our eighteenth Aleatory. Many thanks to him, and to the rest of the flora/fauna of the band!

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1. Favorite word?
Hamburger

4. Favorite person to have worked with?
Sarah Neufeld

6. Favorite visual artist?/Favorite work of visual art?
Alex Usow (www.sharksandhammers.com)

8. Favorite author?/Favorite book?
Jonathan Lethem - Motherless Brooklyn

16. Favorite campfire story?
The one about the very horrific thing that actually happened very close to where we're camping tonight.

18. Favorite pick-up line?
Do you you work at UPS? Because I noticed you checking out my package. WHA!

20. Favorite new band?
Metro League

22. Favorite vice?
Sears Catalogue

27. Favorite chord/chord progression?
I'm more of a metric modulation guy. Partial to anything in D though.

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?
Piano

29. Who do you wish more people were listening to?
Katie Moore

39. What's something you could probably beat anyone you know at?
A whistling competition

48. Biggest moment of triumph?
Nova Scotia under-15 provincial fencing champion

65. Ever see yourself penning the score/soundtrack to a TV show or film?
Yes I do.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?
Going to work in between.

81. If you could sync an album of yours to a movie (like Dark Side of the Moon and The Wizard of Oz), what movie would it be?
Anything with Danny DeVito.

90. Sexiest thing about you?
I have no neck.

95. Do you ever read your own reviews?
If it's critical.

96. The one thing that no one knows about you (yet)?
I'm saving up for a neck implant.

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?
Less Danny DeVito, more Will Smith.

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Visit Plants and Animals' website.

INTERVIEW: Love Is All

2009-01-13T01:00:00.000-06:00

Punky is a way to describe it, yet that's not exactly right. Poppy is another good word, but it somehow escapes a comprehensive definition of what Love Is All is all about..

Starting out as a poppy outfit called Girlfriendo, Love Is All have gradually turned into a top-rate speed-guitar band that effectively blurs the line between mainstream and indie, their insane speeds too freaky for a pop audience, yet their hooks just too damn irresitable to be filed under the "punk" moniker. Yet this doesn't seem to stop Swedish collective from doing what they do best: kicking ass and taking names. With 2008's A Hundred Things That Keep Me Up at Night having just graced a slew of Albums of the Year lists, we couldn't think of a better time to check in with the group, the lovely vocalist/keyboardist Josephine Olausson happily talking about what makes a good cover, the power of the veto, and not having a regret all these years into the game ...

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>>A Hundred Things That Keep Me Up at Night is winding up on a whole bunch of year-end best-of lists for 2008. Given that Nine Times That Same Song was an album that was basically a collection of all your previous singles, what were the creative challenges you guys faced in coming up with a full-on album of all new material?

I think that the thought of making a full length album is sort of intimidating in itself. We have always been (and still are) very a much a song based band, I think. We like to think of every single song as important in itself, not just as a part of an album. There are a handful of songs that we ended up not including on the record simply because we didn't like them well enough. So, the major challenge was basically to write enough songs that we liked enough to put them on a record. And to try and forget that we were actually working on anything full length.

>>This year has also marked your first turn into full-on remix territory, which, I must say, came as a bit of a surprise, as the lo-fi indie-punk sound that you guys have doesn't immediately lend itself over to remixing. What surprised you about the remix project, and what did you learn from these different recontexualizations?

Yes, that came as a bit of a surprise to us as well. I've never really thought of our music as remixable... but our (then) British label Parlophone really kept on pushing the importance of getting our songs on the dance floor. I suppose the biggest surprise was seeing what other people heard in our songs and hearing all these different contexts in which our music could be put in. I'm not sure what we learned from it, but there were definitely some inspiring things in there.

>>Speaking of recontexualizations, you guys have quite the back catalog of cover songs that you break out on occasion. Right now on your MySpace, you have a sludgy, sticcatto cover of Prince's "Darling Nikki", which works in your hands incredibly well. What qualifies a song to be worthy of a Love Is All cover?

Hum, I'm not sure. Basically that someone in the band really likes the song and that we believe that we can do it well in a Love Is All style. The actual cover ep that we did though was made without anyone else in the band having a chance of veto-ing each members choice, (which was really nice for a change as we tend to get super involved in every little choice made.)

>>Do you ever listen to your Girlfriendo recordings at all? How do you feel you've changed/advanced since those days?

I haven't actually listened to them in years... maybe I should. I think of Girlfrendo as very much a different kind of band in so many ways that it's hard to compare the two. I'm proud of having been a part of that group but I am very happy that I am in a different band now. I was very young when we started Girlfrendo. Love Is All is a much more chaotic, more democratic, more creative band for me. I get to add more of myself and we write the songs in such a way that nothing is ever really finished until everyone has put a part of themselves in the music. There is simpy more of everything in LIA which is something that really fits me - both musically and personally.

>>Finally, so far in your career, what's been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your biggest accomplishment?

No regrets. And having been able to live on music alone for the past three years is definitely a huge accomplishment that I never though possible.

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Visit Love is All's MySpace.

ALEATORY #17: Collections of Colonies of Bees

2009-01-09T18:21:00.006-06:00

Ten years ago, Collections of Colonies of Bees was a folk and bluegrass duo. Today, they boast five members and (accurately) describe their sound as "where Rhys Chatham and Arnold Dreyblatt meet pop." Somehow, this little experimental traditional-bluegrass-meets-modern-technology project by two members of jazzy post-rockers Pele had become, over the course of the weirdest decade of personnel additions ever, a sonic maximalist superpower, evoking yes Chatham, yes Dreyblatt, but also Do Make Say Think, also jazz and Steve Reich and the minimalists and the maximalists of contemporary composition.

Four of the five Bees filled out the Aleatory: guitarist Chris Rosenau, baritone guitarist Dan Spack, and drummer Jon Mueller. Much thanks to all of them for participating! And if you're going to be in Japan this February, be sure to catch them as they roll through with special guests Toe.

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3. Favorite key to write in?
Rosenau: Seems like C. Not really intentional, just seems to happen that way.
Spack: B.

7. Favorite composer?
Rosenau: Steve Reich.
Spack: Reich.
Mueller: Phill Niblock.

12. Favorite band when you were in high school?
Spack: Rorschach.
Mueller: Swans.

24. Favorite historical time period?
Spack: late 1800s.
Mueller: 1920s.

37. What do you consider most important about a song's structure?
Spack: Keeping it free, so to say, but locking into rhythm patterns from any of the other players.
Mueller: Its ability to take you out of reality.

40. What was your best/worst subject in school?
Mueller: People.

43. What's the road ahead look like?
Rosenau: Great. Finishing a collaboration record with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver in November, touring Japan again in February, then writing and recording the new Bees record for most of 2009... looks like fun.

53. So far in your career, what's been your biggest regret?
Rosenau: Not documenting things musical. Songs, practices, shows; either in pictures or video. I enjoy revisiting things I have been involved with many years after they end, and it bothers me when I know the only way I have to remember a limited number of these things that I do not have documented is my fading memory.

55. You're curating a festival. If you could choose any two bands to open for you, who would they be?
Rosenau: Melvins | Big Business band c. 2009 + Spike Jones and his City Slickers c. 1942. Of course, there is no way I would play *after* either of these performances. . .And as long as we're putting this show together, let's tack Johnny Cash c. early 1960s on the bill as well.

66. Worst song you've heard recently?
Rosenau: I just heard "Turn Me Loose" by Loverboy about 5 minutes ago at work. That's the worst song I've heard recently.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?
Rosenau: The hardest thing about recording the current Bees release (a collaboration with Justin Vernon of Bon Iver) has hands-down been coordination of schedules between everyone that is involved.
Mueller: Getting the mix nailed.

78. Your life has been reduced to a bumper sticker: what does it say?
Mueller: Eat healthy.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?
Rosenau: Franklin, WI.
Mueller: Tea, South Dakota.
Spack: Billings, Montana.

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?
Mueller: Anything by Natasha Bedingfield.

84. Most disappointing concert you ever attended?
Spack: The last shorty show. Only because it would be the last.
Mueller: The Kiss reunion tour.

85. What's the biggest mistake you've made that you inadvertently learned a great lesson from?
Spack: Marriage.
Mueller: Dating.

87. Ultimately, you will want to be remembered as …
Mueller: I'd simply like to be remembered.

100. Even with the gradual decay of the B-side, most artists still have vaults of unreleased songs. What's in yours?
Rosenau: I have 32689059028 hours of finished and mixed four track songs that will, I am sure, never be released except to good friends in drunken 2:20 am emails.

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Visit Collections of Colonies of Bees' homepage.
Collections of Colonies of Bees on MySpace.

photo credit: Katherine Berger, www.ellagraph.com

OFF THE RECORDS: Tripped a Fan

2008-11-27T19:39:00.003-06:00

Happy Turkey-ocalypse, everyone!

In a very short time, Globecat has become quite a little entity into itself. Between Dave, Ben, Anna, and myself, this small little interviews blog has somehow transformed into something substantial and significant, a place where people go to for the latest in-depth interviews with some of music's biggest names and newest stars. It took about a month to set everything up, but when we launched in mid-June of this year, none of us could have predicted that we'd be interviewing the likes of Rob Pollard, the Vivian Girls, Phil Elvrum (our first Aleatory ever, BTW), and so many more. Then of course came Davecat's massive, fantastic Tori Amos Comic Book Tattoo feature (have you read it?) and my crazy-epic interview with Mouse on Mars. Every day we get e-mails from publicists, bands, managers, and many many more: it never ceases to amaze us.

Yet, as you can imagine, this site has consumed quite a bit of our time, and -- especially following today's Thanksgiving feasts -- we're ready to take a little bit of a break. We're not going offline or anything (far from it); we're just taking a bit of a breather before we jump into all of the interview-filled insanity that is 2009.

So, in the interim, we want to do two things. First, we want to thank you regular fans that read us, link us, and blog us on a frequent basis -- we're intensely grateful for all of your support. Second, we want to invite you to send any new sounds, ideas, or songs to globecatmusic [at] gmail [dot] com, as we'll still be checking it on a regular basis before we relaunch in a few weeks with an expanded staff and even more fun/exciting content.

So keep it tuned right here for the latest! Thanks for helping in this wonderful year -- let's make '09 even bigger.

Thanks,
--Evcat

ALEATORY #16: A-Trak

2008-11-26T00:17:00.005-06:00

It's not every day you get to use the world "prodigy". Then again, it's not every day that you win five of the world's biggest DJ competition championships, making you the first DJ (ever) to do so.

Yet that's exactly what A-Trak (real name Alain Macklovitch) did. This young Candian DJ has so far accomplished a lot with his mind-bending mixes ("Feeling for the Pack" being Evcat's personal favorite), remixes (Kanye's "Stronger"), and his record label (the fabulous Fools Gold imprint). When not touring with Kanye West, he spends his time perfecting his craft, creating Nike+ Original Run mixes for iTunes, and answering Aleatory questions for Globecat! And here they are!

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1. Favorite word?

Discombobulated.

7. Favorite composer?

Prince.

14. Favorite sound?

"Fresh" scratch sample.

20. Favorite new band?

Vampire Weekend.

22. Favorite vice?

Picking my nose.

23. Favorite natural oddity?

Boogers? (trying to keep a theme going here)

26. Favorite badass?

Ron Burgundy.

28. What instrument would you most like to learn to play?

Old synths.

32. Best thing you learned this week/month?.

In England, the reason why there are no garbage cans in public places is because of terrorist threats. I thought I just couldn't find them and started thinking there was something wrong with me.

41. If you could go anywhere in the universe, where would it be?

Legoland!

46. Where do you keep things hidden? What do you keep hidden there?

I wish I had a shoebox or something like that... but I don't really have anything hidden.

53. So far in your career, what's been your biggest regret?

No regrets dude! I've been blessed.

66. Worst song you've heard recently?

Anything by Pink.

72. A few years ago, Beck gave an interview for SPIN in which he lamented the glut of reality TV shows and blogs about musicians, wanting to know less details about their life because he felt they were more mysterious that way (he liked to envision Devo as living in a crazed art-deco pyramid when he was young, instead of just some guys in a tour bus). Do you feel that there's a lack of mystique out there for musicians in today's YouTube age? Do you feel your band carries any mystique?

This may seem counter-intuitive at first but I actually think it's possible to be on youtube and write blogs and still carry an air of mystery. If what you're showing of yourself is out of the ordinary, then your fans will constantly want to see more. I started writing blogs when I did my first tour with Kanye 4 years ago and I haven't looked back since. I remember the first time I met Jay-Z I posted a picture of myself with him and Kanye backstage. Even though people saw that I met him I'm sure they were wondering what our interaction was like, so it actually sparked more mystique.

74. Better to burn out or to fade away?

Quit while you're ahead, like Seinfeld.

77. What was the hardest part about recording your current release?

My lastest release is my single "Say Whoa". I think the hardest part of recording that song was finding the right sounds. The track is really stripped down so every element had to fit, and I tried a bunch of bass sounds before getting to that one.... which in fact is really simple.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

I never had any run-in with the cops. But I've had all sorts of adventures with border patrol during my travels, especially when I was younger and didn't have work permits. They use to bring me to "the room" when I was 16.

86. With Radiohead's In Rainbows release and Nine Inch Nails doing boffo business with his online releases, do you see yourself ever doing some alterative kind of release for any of your future projects?

You just taught me the word boffo. I like it a lot, and I will use it a lot. And to answer your question... yes.

88. What's your deepest source for musical inspiration?

Rhythms that pop up in my head.

89. You just died. I'm sorry. Fortunately, your will states that you want very specific music to be played at your funeral. What did you choose?

The theme from the Curb Your Enthusiasm.

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Visit A-Trak's official blog.

INTERVIEW: The Marches

2008-11-18T01:00:00.001-06:00

We get a ton of e-mails here at Globecat. This shouldn't be too surprising: we deal with a lot of artists at any time, so we are inevitably signed up for PR mailing lists, get invited to CMJ parties, and receive lots of e-mails from managers who are kindly helping us contact some of our favorite musicians. Yet, every once in awhile, we get an e-mail from a band, contacting us directly. Obviously, we have not the time nor the means to take time out for each and every upstart act for an interview, but, every once in awhile, there's that one group that is just so profoundly different, new, innovative, and daring that, yes, we want to take a risk on them. This is how we discovered the incredible Pale Young Gentlemen, and this is how we discovered The Marches.

Richard Conti, for all intenstive purposes, is the Marches. Band members flow in and out, their contributions making the Marches seem like it's much bigger than it is. Yet there's something profoudnly magical about this band, as unlike, say, the Brian Jonestown Massacre or NIN, Richard Conti does not have a studio. Or equipment. Or anything. The inside jacket to 4AM is the New Midnight, the Marches' debut, tells of this album being recorded in the houses and homes of family and friends, all on borrowed equipment and borrowed time. It should be the homespun indie-basement masterpiece of yesteryear, but, it's much more than that. Songs like "Need Me Back" feature Aphex Twin-like drumming, sorrowful horn sections, and Portishead-styled female cooing, making for one genre-twisting, head-spinning experience. Vocoders get tossed around, pop songs move in and out of the ether, and even when you hear some voices strain against what is obviously the bad acoustics of a bathroom wall, there's a humanity and vulnerability that seeps through these notes, trasncending their budgets and their surroundings. It's a Major Label album on a nothing budget. It is under these circumstances that the best music is often made.

Speaking with Evcat, Conti details the making of this album, his proudest moments in doing so, and the obvious struggles of recreating such a sprawling set in a live context. Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you ... The Marches.

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>>The thing that immediately struck me about the album, unsurprisingly, was the sheer wreckless abandon of genres that was tackled, ranging from the simple rock tones of "Wish You Were Here" to the faux-classical leanings of "Sometimes Sex Isn't About the Money", along with the overriding Motown/Dap-Tones classic soul vibe that permiates the rest of the disc. When you're recording a Marches song, do you start by tackling a specific genre or is it more of an organic process?

I have no say whatsoever in what style the songs are. It’s whatever it starts or evolves as. There are so many styles that I listen to, I didn’t want to limit my output. I wanted to make the best song for every song without compromise. With that said, I heard this Quincy Jones interview on the anniversary edition of the Thriller album. And he was saying that he told Michael Jackson that for the album to be the success that they wanted it to be, they would need to have a rock song with crossover appeal and that’s how “Beat it” and Eddie Van Halen’s solo came about. I think I already had the guitar riff for “Wish You Were Here” but that Quincy Jones statement made me think it was (or would be) good to have a rock song on the album too.

>>One thing that seems to be important in the disc is the homespun feel to it, as various rounds of applause and between-song banter appear prominently throughout the disc. What was the reasoning behind their inclusion?

I don’t know how it happened but there is some humor in this album which goes hand in hand with the applause on “Wish You Were Here”, the bickering on “End of the Album, pt. 2” and people laughing in the middle of songs here and there. It feels nice to hear that type of thing. Friendly. Especially since everything on the album is either so sardonic or dark harmonically speaking. A nurse’s smile with your flu shot.

>>Given the sprawling nature of 4AM is the New Midnight, it must be somewhat of a challenge to recreate these tunes in a live context. What can we expect during a Marches live show?

Live is amazing. Completely raw and stripped down. There is no way I can have sax sections or organs or grand pianos at shows. There are vocals, guitar, drum set and then I do vocals, synth, bass, samples, and saxophone. The guitar is clean with reverb and handles most of the albums sax section and piano parts. It’s like hearing different versions of the same album. “Rudolph Valentino” is one of my favorites to do live because it becomes a punk song. The bass is very distorted. And it’s such a juxtaposition, this evil strangling bass line and Brizza’s supple immaculate vocals over it. “Bad Touch” we did in French. I always hate it when I see a band live and it’s exactly like the album except just not as good sound. There’s really no point to that. Live should be different from the album.

>>It has been noted that a majority of this album was recorded on borrowed equipment in various friends' houses. From a production standpoint, was there ever an attempt to "unify" the record given its various surroundings? What were the pros and cons of moving the Marches around to different spaces?

The album is unified in that it was recorded on crap. Maximum $200.00 mic’s and $100.00 preamps that weren’t even mine. Plus when I mixed everything, that’s going to have my stamp on it, with reverb I used, how many times I layered vocal tracks, where I pan the drums, etc. Even though it was recorded in 20 different places, it was recorded and mixed in my own idiosyncratic way. I mixed a lot of vocals like how Elliott Smith does, even the robotic ones.

As far as pros/cons of moving to different spaces, only cons. Really though, the album would never have been recorded any other way. I feel fortunate that I live now and have a portable studio that is my laptop. If I lived in any other time period previous, this album would have never been made. By being able to go to friends’ houses I was able to get as many people as I wanted on the album and I was able to get the right people for the right parts. There would have been no way to get this many people in the studio at the same time if I had to record in a traditional studio. And I would never have had the money. And all the mixing and tweaking that went into it. Really microscopic, and that all adds up. You couldn’t pay a mixer to do that detailed of a job, to care that much. Because they don’t do that detailed of a job and they don’t care that much. No one else is going to work harder for your anything other than you.

Some of the tracks miraculously really sound like they were done in a studio proper. But the overall sound is not as clear as something like The Good, the Bad and the Queen. That could actually be a good thing. Chris and I have been listening to a lot of 90’s music lately and a lot of it sounds really dated in a bad way. There is even an acoustic guitar in a James album that sounds really 90’s and it’s only an acoustic guitar. Unkle sounds really dated. And these albums were recorded with decent budgets I’m sure. But then you hear Robert Johnson recordings, old Russian Orthodox choir recordings or some Charlie Parking recordings. And they sound like crap because they were recorded on crap. But the music is amazing and it doesn’t sound dated, only aged, and aged well at that. Ghostly and reverent. And in Motown, sometimes the drums are peaking. One time I was transcribing some horn parts for the Marvelettes “Don’t Mess with Bill” and I couldn’t figure out if I was hearing a guitar or a horn section. How bad does the sound have to be if it’s difficult to tell the difference between 3 saxophones and a guitar? But no one has shit on Motown and it holds up. My theory is that the better the recording quality the easier it is to sound dated, the worse sound recording quality the easier it is to age well. So the fact that the Marches 4 a.m. is the New Midnight was done on nothing for nothing is a good thing.

>>Listening to the duetting robotic vocals of "Bobby Brown", I'm somewhat reminded of Kanye's recent vocoder-affected work, but I have a feeling that listening to this disc five years from now, another element will be reminiscent of some other stylized pop figure. Is there any particular song or moment on the album that you are particularly proud of?

In “So Ill”, when the instrumental break down comes in right before the last chorus, for those 16 seconds, if you close your eyes you’ll be in 1965 Detroit.

End Scene. So if you listen to Mark Ronson, and who am I to criticize as he’s not rapping about murdering people, calling black women bitches, etc. He’s doing amazing work by injecting 60’s soul into popular hits with Amy Winehouse, but with all the money, all the $30,000.00 microphones, all the studio time, engineers and orchestras, he’s never produced anything more Motown than those 16 seconds in “So Ill”. And that’s the truth.

>>To what degree is Richard Conti the Marches? i.e. the Smashing Pumpkins -- regardless of band roster -- is fundamentally Billy Corgan. Given the numerous contributors to this disc, how is the Marches, as a band, defined?

I am the Marches. It’s like Nine Inch Nails/Trent Reznor. Personnel can and will change. I don’t know how I can answer the second part of your question. Whatever I do is what the Marches is.

>>Finally, so far in your career, what's been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

Proudest accomplishment is this album, 4 a.m. is the New Midnight. Worst thing is that my Grandfather died in February and I didn’t get the album out before that happened. But my uncle did show him the video for “Sometimes Sex isn’t About the Money”. So he saw something. Another big thing is that all my grandparents’ names are on the album jacket. In print.

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Visit the Marches' official website.

INTERVIEW: John Pierson [Screeching Weasel/Even in Blackouts]

2008-11-14T09:00:00.000-06:00

John "Jughead" Pierson has been a fixture on Chicago stages for twenty-two years. As a musician, he was guitarist for the extremely influential punk band Screeching Weasel, and now writes the songs and strums the chords for the acoustic pop-punk group Even in Blackouts (pictured above: Pierson with EiB's lead singer Liz Eldrege). As an actor, Pierson has been a part of The Neo-Futurists' long-running show Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind: 30 Plays in 60 Minutes since 1996. (If you see them perform, he's the guy with the crate.)

In the spare moments in between stages recently, John took the time to talk with Davecat about music and theatre, theatre and life, and what it's like to be an outsider in a scene you've influenced so heavily. Thanks so much, John: we truly apprciate it.

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>>>> How much does being a member of the Neo-Futurists affect your daily life, and your life as a musician? Does any of the TMLMTBGB philosophy of non-illusory theatre, the stage as a continuation of daily life, etc. carry over into Even in Blackouts' live shows?

Being a Neo-Futurist affects every day of my life. Since we write short plays about our true experiences, almost anything in a day can be turned into a performance. It makes one aware of the universal elements in our own unique lives. Too Much Light also helped me to better write in a short, concise form, which lead to me finally being able to write a song. All through Screeching Weasel, I really didn’t think I was qualified to write song lyrics. Everything sounded dumb when shortened, but having to create meaningful multileveled material every week in TML helped me to simplify themes, and confirmed my already apparent style of abstracting nonlinear events, and writing through emotion instead of a literal linear logic.

I don’t know how playing live with music and theater have affected each other. I have been doing both equally as long, so they have always existed together. I tend to be much more out-of-control when performing music, I feel I am only tied to a rhythm and all else is chaos and dangerous potential. Theater, even in random order, is much more controlled, for the most part.

>>>> In the same vein, what connection is there for you, if any, between being onstage as an actor and as a musician? Between writing music and writing plays? Are they different mediums to explore the same ideas you're always struggling to express, or are your music and your playwriting separate?

I think much of this question came out in my last answer. I have been told lately that I am the type of artist who exhausts a theme, in a positive way. For instance in TML every few months I will show up with a play where I stick my head in a crate, or I walk in a crate, or do a head stand in a crate. Crates are a theme I am in the process of exhausting. I try to explore every aspect of a metaphor, challenging myself to make similarities feel different. This crate theme does not carry over into the band. But the writing for the band has a definite series of images and themes that I am exhausting: Ghosts, memory, family, decaying houses, miscommunication, and doors.

>>>> You've been a major figure in the punk scene, both in Chicago and elsewhere. Blink-182, Green Day, and others have cited Screeching Weasel as an influence, and you've been in the pop-punk business since the mid-1980s. How has the scene changed since you've been a part of it? Has time been good to the scene, or is it all going the way of the Fireside Bowl?

This is a hard question for me to answer. Much of my beliefs about scenes and my relation to them are exhaustedly explored in my book, Weasels In A Box. Even in a scene of outsiders, I felt like an outsider, perhaps we were all like that, but I had a harder time hiding it than others. All the bands you have mentioned, I have spent time with, have gotten to know them, but would never even consider myself a close or distant friend to them, I know nothing about their lives and their relation to their scene.

I could say that the kids of the early nineties appeared to be more excited by the foundation of the punk movement, people seemed to put more emphasis on social awareness, still believing in creating change. We believed in helping outcast kids struggling with a school system and culture that felt restrictive; a country that prides itself on individualism but doesn’t support it’s progressive arts, and is afraid of a child who questions his teachers and parents. Even when Ben Weasel was writing a goofy song about a girl, there was always an undertone, a moral system we believed in, fighting depression with activism instead of drug abuse, getting yourself out of a stifling town before it kills you; learning to see the similarities and differences in the things we may fear, like other cultures, sexual preferences, knowledge… Its not that I believe these elements are gone from music, it is the diffusion that is inherent in trying to emulate instead of being inspired. Many of the pop punk bands of today dominate their lyrics with meaningless, sugary, gumball chewing, sarcasm. We felt one of our goals in the punk scene was to rescue it from where hardcore had taken it, unknowingly, to a non-melodic, and very serious, pedantic, political leaning that left out the importance of a sense of humor, and playfulness. We brought back the melody and harmony into punk songs and magnified the playfulness and absurdity we saw in our forefathers: Circle Jerks, Adrenalin OD, Descendents. My one criticism would be that from what I have seen, the preceding generation may have taken the new leaning too far once again.

>>>> Most of the places you perform now are small in size: the Neo-Futurarium seats 150, many of the venues Even in Blackouts has played are bars and basements. What is there in particular that's so appealing about these intimate spaces for you? Would you feel comfortable on Broadway, or playing the United Center if the opportunity arose?

No, I would feel uncomfortable, but I would do it! I am not driven towards that lifestyle, but I do not scoff at them either. It’s just that my passions are planted in the exploration of the intimate. I love hearing the reactions of individuals and not those of a crowd or mob. It helps guide me in my pursuits more honestly. It is not a wise-financial move, but this smallness contains elements that are important to me.

>>>> Do you write specifically for Liz, or are words words and it doesn't (or shouldn't) matter if they're sung by her, another woman, a man, etc.? Likewise, when writing for TMLMTBGB, is the focus mainly on fitting the format, or are you looking to make plays that could potentially be performed by any group of people anywhere?

I think it is very important, this is not to say I can’t write songs from a man’s point of view for her to sing. It is just important to be aware of the point of view and tone, so that I am saying what I mean to say. I was more conscious during the beginning of the band, to write songs that were more sexually ambiguous. What is similar in our lives. I would talk to her about our relationships and try to construct songs that were true for both of us. If leaving were to be so easy is a good example, is speaks of the difficulties of love and personal space, and really has no specific gender. Later I played with putting myself in the woman’s position, and also writing from both sides like in "Curtain." The new record is sprinkled with songs written from the point of view of someone who has to deal with me, and dangerously self-contained people like me. This comes out in songs like "Untitled Conflict Song" and "517 East Highland."

In Too Much Light, is important not to get stuck in any one way of writing. We have to be so prolific that we would very quickly start repeating ourselves if we didn’t take into consideration who we are writing for and what are the circumstances involved in our current lives and environment. This is just as important for me in Even In Blackouts.

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Visit Even in Blackouts' website.

Visit the Neo-Futurists' website.

ALEATORY #15: The Bound Stems

2008-11-11T00:37:00.006-06:00

Sometimes, life can surprise you. It certainly surprised Evan Sult.

Evan, you see, used to be the drummer for this little band called Harvey Danger (whose frontman, Sean Nelson, was Globecat's second-ever interview). After their cult-classic album King James Version got virtually ignored, the band amicably split, and Sult joined forces with Bobby Gallivan, Dan Radzicki, and Dan Fleury (all high-school basketball buddies) to form the Bound Stems, an extraordinary little pop group based out of Chicago. Their first album, 2006's Appreciation Night, received great reviews, but their latest disc -- The Family Afloat -- has received near-universal praise, receiving an extraordinary 82 rating on Metacritic, and, of course, let's not forget about that time the band got to open for the Lemonheads.

Sult may be surprised by the success of his various bands, but the Globecat staff here was even more surprised by the answers Sult gave for Globecat's 15th Aleatory: honest, funny, witty replies that not only give insight into Sult's unabashed love of music, but also into the man behind the drumkit and what it is that motivates him. Ladies and gentlemen, Evan Sult of the Bound Stems ...

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1. Favorite word?

Words are family. Today I have been appreciating the word "undo"—four letters, and such a gratifying, complex meaning. Tim Sandusky (Appreciation Night co-producer) and I were talking about it today. "Undo" pre-dated the digital age as a word, but the concept of "undo" (versus, say, "undoing") is possibly the greatest single innovation of our age. And then we got into a sort of ongoing consideration of the possible differences between "un-" and "dis-," which led us to consider such options as "disused" versus "unused"—clearly different meanings. I think now of words such as "disable" and "unable." And, of course, there's no such thing as "disdo"...though it's interesting to consider what that phrase might imply.

Most days bring a new favorite word.

9. Favorite song to start (or end) a mixtape with?

I like strange music with a pop spine as much as I like pop music with a strange heart. Two of the best recordings in the world are "Master-Dik" by Sonic Youth, and "The Classical" by The Fall. "Best recordings," by the way, should not be confused with "best songs," just as best friends are not necessarily the same as best experiences.

16. Favorite campfire story?

My partner Paige and I were at Mammoth Cave Park in Kentucky not too long ago and we had a couple guitars and pretty soon we were singing songs by Silver Jews, Pavement, Bound Stems, Tom Petty... It was late, we were being really quiet, but eventually the park ranger came over and told us we had to pack it up. We spent another half hour talking with him about music while he checked out our guitars; he was probably the friendliest guy in a uniform that I've ever met. Plus, the fire itself was built perfectly. I don't know about you, but I get kind of obsessive about constructing a well-made, efficient fire. This one was a long-burning beaut.

I know, not the same impact as The Ghost With One Red Eye, but my favorite campfire story.

18. Favorite pick-up line?

"You know, you're right: you SHOULD quit smoking."

Man, when I was first single after an 8-year relationship that I thought would be my last, I realized a hard truth: I had NO GAME whatsoever. None. My essential character was either interesting or not to the person I was talking with; I was no more capable of small talk as a single person than I was as half of a couple.

I eventually...eventually I think I just got more comfortable being myself. Everyone knows the connection happens the day after you really, truly stop trying—and everyone knows it's impossible to consciously stop trying. Once I got there, I had my share of adventures. I'm really glad I'm not single now. The girl I used that line on, I tell you, she's something else. And neither of us have smoked a cigarette in a long time.

22. Favorite vice?

Skipping work to get in some time at the practice space. Don't tell the folks I work with!

26. Favorite badass?

Honestly, the biggest badass I've met in my life may be a gentleman by the name of Lee. But he's a secret. The biggest badass I've never met may be a gentleman by the name of Mark E. Smith.

35. What's the best place you've randomly discovered while on tour?

There are a lot of great places I'd never know about if not for tour.

The one that springs to mind first is the Middle East in Cambridge MA. Their falafel is the best I've ever had, there's free internet, it feels like a coffeeshop staffed with people I like talking to, the sound guy always knows his biz, the drum monitor is enormous, and the Boston paper has the only crossword that can keep up with the New York Times'.

Wait! I nearly forgot because it's been so long, but when I was in Harvey Danger we got to go to the GREATEST PLACE IN AMERICA (while it existed), which was called Fort Thunder. It was in Providence RI, and it's gone now, but it was the weirdest, coolest community of whacked-out comic artists, screenprinters, bike redesigners, and interior space inventors I've ever even dreamed of. We knew this guy Brian Ralph who lived there, and as he took us around the space, my brain dropped out of my skull and bounced along behind me. I've never recovered. I contributed a few of my impressions to a beautiful elegy on Fort Thunder written by my friend Tom Spurgeon, which you can find here: http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/1863/

THAT was the best place I found on tour.

36. Lyrics first or music first?

I'm the drummer, so: whatever gets a song started. On Appreciation Night, we mostly didn't know the lyrics, or even the melody, even as we were laying down the instrumental tracks; Bobby sweated those out later. On The Family Afloat, we knew a lot more about some of the songs--"Winston," "Taking Tips," "Cloak of Blue Sky"--so we could adjust parts to feelings. I love doing parts on drums, or in later production, that relate to the lyrics. Like in "Happens to Us All Otherwise," there's a moment where Bobby sings "while the telephone rings, the telephone rings!", and we spent half a day figuring out how to build in the disruption noise a cell phone makes on your stereo when it's got an incoming call. I mean, why not?

43. What's the road ahead look like?

We'll see. Bound Stems just put out The Family Afloat in September, so hopefully that'll pick up listeners through the winter. We've got a teacher, a student, an artist and some professionals in the band, so we won't be on the road for awhile, but we'll be playing shows as possible.

Paige and I are writing and recording music as Sleepy Kitty, and we hope to have some music to show soon--we have one song on an upcoming Huey Lewis tribute comp called "Are You Still With Me?!". Radz is on track to become a PhD, Bobby loves to teach and may be looking at law school in the future, Fleury just got a new job, Janie's been putting in a lot of time at work, I've got a new art+music studio in St. Louis that I'm ecstatic about... hopefully our new circumstances keep us excited about making music. It's certainly possible. I know Bobby's writing some acoustic-based songs, and Radz was building some amazing soundscape pieces during the writing process for the last album, so maybe those will develop into Bound Stems songs, or into new projects.

Me, I just want to write music!

One thing I do hope happens in the near future: one of Bound Stems' best songs, in my opinion, is called "Hooray Madame Corday!", and we intentionally left it off The Family Afloat so that we'd have something awesome waiting in the wings. I really want that song to get out in the world and get heard. It's about the French Revolution, and it features the life, death, and vengeful ghost of Charlotte Corday. I hope we can release a single or an EP or something with "Corday" as the centerpiece.

44. Something you've heard, know is false, but wish were true with all your heart?

"Americans are better than that."

52. At what point did you realize that music was going to be your full-time occupation?

Sitting in an unfurnished corner of one of the New York airports with the members of Harvey Danger, discussing the crazy major label record deal we'd just been offered. We were all struggling to understand the ramifications: we were going to have to quit our jobs and careers, we were going to be spending a year on tour, we were entering a whole new industry that we'd heard legends and rumors and tall tales about all our lives.

That was when I knew it would be an occupation--and it was, for several years. But for various reasons, it wasn't until after Harvey Danger had ended and I'd moved out to Chicago, met these guys that eventually became the rest of Bound Stems, written music furiously for a couple of years, and paused to figure out what we wanted to do next, that I realized: I want Bound Stems to make an album. I'll put in all the money I have, all the time, all the energy, all the art, all the skill, everything I've got--which was meager compared to what Harvey Danger's resources were there for a while, but which was so much more complete in terms of my own creative efforts. I wanted the album (which became, a couple of years later, both Appreciation Night and the Logic of Building the Body Plan EP) to be a pure statement of exactly what we wanted to make. We spent 3 or 4 nights a week writing, and I spent every day before work, during lunch, and walking home from work, listening to practice space recordings and rough studio mixes.

Evenings in the studio with Tim Sandusky. Nights wandering through Chicago with a little recording device, grabbing Chicago's trains, buses, bikes, conversations, snowcrunch. That was when I knew I wanted music in my life full time. Harvey Danger showed me the lightning-strike version; Bound Stems showed me the version where we earned every inch.

58. Least rock star thing you've ever done?

I have met rock stars. I've never been a rock star. I could just as easily tell you the least attorney thing I've ever done, or the least astronaut thing I've ever done. I've never lost a case on the moon.

59. Worst venue you've ever played?

Never blame the venue. Although the guy at the Khyber in Philly who told us he couldn't afford to pay us while literally holding fistfuls of $20 bills from the all-you-can-drink night that was just getting started: that guy can fuck right off. And the sound guy in Des Moines who failed to notice that Bobby was getting shocked by the mic even though Bobby kept appealing to him ON MIC to do something: that guy should get fried, then fired. Knucklehead incompetent petty thief lout!

67. Do you reach any kind of personal catharsis when it comes to songwriting/performing?

Songwriting is the GREATEST. I don't know if "catharsis" is the word I'd use, but teasing a song from its first bits to the moment when you can actually play the whole thing through from beginning to end--man, there's just nothing like it. Except, of course, recording the song. Songs don't really exist until there's a recorded version. There may be a few recorded versions, there may just be one, but that's what it takes to get from the idea of a song to the song as an actual thing that exists in the world. And getting to that point is about the most gratifying feeling ever.

Performing is something else entirely. I've learned a lot playing with Bound Stems. It's tricky figuring out how to make a show more than the sum of its parts. I don't know if, say, Blonde Redhead actually feel as transported onstage as they make me feel when I'm watching them. In my own bands, in my own experience, the best moments are the rare ones when the band soars out into uncharted territory--a brief opening jam, a prolonged instrumental section, an averted disaster--and makes it safely back to familiar ground. To me that's proof that a bunch of folks who work hard together on something can learn to speak a collective invented language.

68. Favorite interview you've ever been a part of (aside from this one, obviously)?

In Washington DC, Harvey Danger was interviewed by a high school kid for his high school paper. Sean and I just buttonholed the kid and really used that interview to think about all the weirdness we'd been experiencing for the previous year. It was a huge release for us personally, and absurdly overdone for the context. I mean, we probably talked to the guy for 4 hours.

The part that really makes it great, though, is that Bound Stems toured through DC a couple of years ago, and who should come up to me but this kid--now no longer a kid, of course, but a really interesting guy with an interesting life. He was a writer for a local scene magazine, he was thoughtful and well-spoken--and his band, the Fake Accents, was playing with us that night! Which I thought was just a flat-out amazing turn of events.

79. Best concert you've ever been to?

I think that Howe Gelb, with or without Giant Sand, is probably my favorite performer. He has a way of interacting with the audience and the band that I've never seen before. It's a sense of humor, but also a sense of, I don't know, responsibility to his own weirdness. Every moment he's onstage is just as fascinating as every other moment, whether he's singing a song or telling a story or tuning his guitar or getting conversational with the hecklers who seem to be drawn to his light like so many moths. I suspect the heckler may even travel with him, though that would be crazy. He's spent so many years making so many albums, and they all express his singularity.

80. Worst run-in with the law (to date)?

My mugshot comes from a misunderstanding with store security regarding some medicine I didn't steal but that I did accidentally put in my pocket. I went all the way through Seattle's King County court system to get exonerated--jury selection, cross examination, the whole bizarre ritual.

"Not guilty, y'all got to feel me!"

But here's a better story: I was walking down the sidewalk in Chicago when I saw an open, upright briefcase on the sidewalk. I checked up and down the street--no one. Knowing there had to be some reason not to, I leaned down and cracked the briefcase further open to see what was inside. I saw sunglasses, file folders, plastic bags...and then there was a crackling sound. RIGHT beside me was a parked police car, with an officer climbing out of the driver's side and talking into his radio. Mustachioed, short, burly, mirrored glasses, the whole thing. He saw me crouched over the briefcase, yelled, "FUCK are you doing in MY BAG?!", and came barreling at me. I jumped back, but he rammed me into a fence and just laid into me verbally. I just kept my hands up and kept my mouth running. He looked ready to break my jaw--but his radio squawked again, and as he decided whether to deck me or do his job, I slid out of his grip and backpedaled away as fast as I could, apologizing as I went.

I can be such a dumbshit.

82. Current pop song that you would file under "guilty pleasure"?

Nothing at all occurs to me. One thing I've noticed though is that songs I used to HATE ten years ago are just as woven into my musical background as songs I loved. Stone Temple Pilots, Marcy Playground, Sublime, stuff that used to make me really grind my teeth--a lot of it is just part of the past now, and it's fine. That's probably the closest I feel to guilt about music: finding myself singing along to "Love in an Elevator" while running an errand in the band van. Twenty-two year-old me would have rolled his eyes and muttered something about corporate manipulation. Thirty-five year-old me doesn't worry about it. I neither like nor dislike the song, the musician, the words--it's just stuff I know osmotically, like the current status of TomKat's child. For some reason, the older the song, the mellower its effect on me.

Actually, I've been somewhat surprised to discover that A) I never hear Offspring anymore, which is a real blessing, and B) I'd say Green Day from any era turns out to be my least favorite music on the radio. And this one is no surprise: Lenny Kravitz writes the laziest songs on the radio, bar none.

More to the point, though, I just don't find myself around pop radio, music on TV, or any of the places where one hears contemporary songs. Even the grocery store only plays decades-old classics. And when I goto the corner 7-11 and hear the dumb John Mayer song that's always playing there--"Say whatcha wanna say" or whatever it is that he repeats for the entire shopping experience--it doesn't make me any more likely to check the radio dial for "new music."

85. What's the biggest mistake you've made that you inadvertently learned a great lesson from?

My Harvey Danger major label experience was all about mistakes. I was distracted by nonmusical problems, my band stopped liking each other, we had entirely the wrong attitude about our own opportunities and capabilities, and we cancelled each other out far more often than we reinforced each other. We loved each other in our own ways, and we had the best of intentions, and we went into it with our heads up and our eyes open--and it didn't matter at all. We ran right into the ridiculous, idiotic, intelligence-insulting, cliched problems that come with working with a major label. We just got creamed by the context.

A year or so after that band broke up (and before they got back together, bless they souls), I left for Chicago not knowing whether I'd play drums again. Once Bound Stems got underway, and as it got more serious, I used the Harvey Danger experience as a lodestone in reverse: whatever HD had decided at that same point, I was going to try a different path this time. It wasn't that I wasn't happy with HD, it was just really clear to me that I didn't want to be on a major label, or aim for a major label, or act like a major label band. I don't think major labels are good for music or musicians, and I am pleased at their fading relevance. I would rather make music in a broken-down barn than listen to a radio promo guy telling me why he's picking the dead wrong song as our single.

And I have to say: I'm happy that so many people got to hear Harvey Danger, and I've met some great people because of that band. Musically, personally, professionally, it turns out I'm more comfortable with the scale and the arc of Bound Stems' accomplishments to date. There's a very direct relationship between the work we've put in and the opportunities we've received.

90. Sexiest thing about you?

By the time you read this, Paige and I will be set up in our new space in St Louis: Sleepy Kitty Graphic Arts Music Etc. It's 3000 square feet of art + music studio projects in a reclaimed brewery that hasn't been occupied since Prohibition. We've scrubbed every surface, painted everything, built a kitchen and bathroom, and moved in all our screenprinting and musicmaking gear. Now we'll have the capacity to do pretty much anything that occurs to us, in pretty much any medium, with pretty much whomever we choose, any time of the day or night.

What could be sexier than that?

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Visit the Bound Stems' website.

INTERVIEW: Mouse on Mars [Part III]

2008-11-07T01:00:00.001-06:00

The third and final portion of the Globecat interview with Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars is here. In Part I, Werner talked extensively about the formation of the dynamic electronic duo, and in the audio-only Part II, claimed that The Love Below was better than Sgt. Peppers. In this final portion, this excitable uber-producer talks about the future of electronic music, how he first met Stereolab, and almost regrettning not signing to Virgin Records. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you Mouse on Mars ...

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You’re such big fans of collaborations. I remember reading a story about you guys and how you just sent in your first demo to the label that Stereolab was on, saying “even if you don’t like what you hear, thank you for signing such great artists” -- and, of course, it wasn’t too long after that before you began collaborating with Stereolab.

We sent this demo, this tape to Too Pure [the label], saying “can you pass it onto [Stereolab]? We really appreciate that band.” It was honestly the only [label] at that time that was trying something that we were interested in on a musical level, which was like music made by a band -- it could even be like one person or two -- but producing music that was completely ... I don’t like the word “hybrid” ... I think you know what I mean. It was music that could’ve been -- it was just “otherworldly”. [Just] a completely different proposal of music; as in, like, not retraceable. […] But it was still [thought] of as music from a band within an indie context, but I think it was like an explosion because it was very subtle, it was very ambient, very melodic …

But that was something where we felt ... because some people had heard our stuff -- even some labels in Germany -- and honestly none of these people understood what we wanted to do with this music. Everyone said like “If this is supposed to be techno, this is really wrong. I mean, what do you want to be: do you want to be a band? Do you want to be producers? Is this meant to be ambient, ‘cos it’s much to neurotic and there’s much too much happening and too many weird sounds and too many changes?” [Everyone] was like, “you can’t chill on that stuff” and everything was wrong. It was not a band. So when we stumbled across [the label], we thought that this is something that we should get in contact with just to see what they think of it. I mean if they had an idea of how we should deal with what we had done -- ‘cos honestly we were a bit desperate! -- ‘cos we just didn’t get any good feedback on what we did. [The label] was just listening to the thing and got back to us and said “We want to speak to you. We have no idea what you’re doing there, but we would like to speak to you -- but could you send us a proper demo first before we get together? What we received had some technical problems -- still, we want to hear it properly.” OK, we sent them another tape -- which was exactly the same thing they had heard in the first place -- [and] they said “It’s making mistakes and it‘s the same! Something must be wrong with your master.” Anyway, we said “No no! This is the way it’s supposed to be: like a long gap in the middle and all these kind of weird sounds inbetween, like, bass distortions” -- all things which were really taboo at that time. And then they came and they came and hung out with us -- these people from Too Pure [Records] -- and basically signed us; and we knew this was the right label to be at. Later we met [Stereolab] when we had an interview date at a café when our album [Vulvaland] was about to be released. Yeah, it must’ve been 1994 -- and they had an interview date for their album at the same café -- and this is where we met the first time. So that is the story about that. [Laughs.]

You’ve been labeled before as an IDM [Intelligent Dance Music] act, and you were talking earlier about the changing state of music. Being in the throe of it all, what do you see as the current state of dance music, and -- more importantly -- where do you see it going, especially in this age where anyone with a MySpace page can put out an album?

Well that’s a lot of questions in one. First, I think dancing has nothing to do with electronic music. You can dance to everything you want to dance to. Yeah, if you’re really scared, you can dance to everything you want to dance to. I think there’s a lot of “dance” music that is really not using any electronic elements and especially now, like, if you see in the past five years, so much ethnic music -- especially in Europe or East Europe -- has really replaced techno in many places. It’s probably something that’s not so practiced in the U.S.; it is definitely here, and it is definitely in Berlin: you have a lot of, like, gypsy bands and ska bands and bands with really high speed rhythm sections [and] incredible brass arrangements that people go mad listening to. So if we speak about techno and electronic music, that’s a totally different arm, and of course that is linked to technology very closely, and technology is all moving in steps, I would say. There are sometimes like incredibly big steps [being] made in a very short amount of time, and then suddenly it seems to slow down. And then things suddenly accelerate again on a totally different platform. So I think [that] once you want to understand history a bit or draw conclusions from what you know concerning the future, you really have to think and assemble bits that are not obviously linked together -- I think that might help you with an estimation. I don’t think any linear prognosis will lead you anywhere. [Laughs.]

That’s the thing: if you speak about electronic music, I think yeah, the most interesting bits for now have been made in the 90s. I think the reason [is that] the past couple of years have been about content -- even dogmas, even like certain traditions which you accept to belong to or not, or you want to deal with or not -- but far less [in terms of] technical things. I think the technology ... it’s just there. The iPhone: it’s nothing big anymore. I mean when I started making music, to own a sampler was an amazing thing, really. And if you think about what’s possible now, yeah: think of your iPhone -- it’s all in there. So what do we want to talk about? It’s nothing to talk about! And the rest of where creativity comes from ... wow, it’s like an endless field of discussion. There’s not much electronic music that I really enjoy listening to. I’ve never really enjoyed pure contrasts or very streamlined ideas of like designing biographies or works of art or works of music. I always like the mix and I like the impurity and I like the way things kind of leak out and become uncontrollable. And unfortunately electronic music for a long time was very predictable and very controllable and there was a whole industry around it -- and still is! [They] want to make it -- keep it -- very predictable, let’s say. But fortunately things will always change.

OK, one last question: so far in your career, what’s been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what’s been your proudest accomplishment?

Biggest regret ... you mean like not signing to Virgin Records or something like that? [Laughs.]

If that’s a legitimate regret, then by all means!

We did regret [signing to Virgin] at some point, but in the end, again, we thought we did the right decision because we stuck to the people we really trusted and we knew who we wanted to work with -- yeah, no regret there. [Pause.] Wow, it’s really hard! In a way, I sometimes regret being too honest and not being like “cool enough“ or “business-like”, you know? People who sometimes can really make decisions very cold-heartedly, like, very precisely deciding what is best for the future ... and Andi and me are nothing like that. We’re always like “let’s waste what we have and just throw out ideas and see.” I think sometimes it would’ve probably been better to hold back a bit and being a bit more cool and maybe, I don’t know, waiting with things a bit more -- I don’t know. Actually, I think we would do the same stuff again. And then the biggest, best thing we’ve done is exactly that: just not regretting anything. Like pretending it’s all fine: I think that’s all it always is. Even now, the music industry is just down and nothing really works and we’re just pretending it’s all fine and it’s the best moment ever to be creative because no one can tell you what’s right or wrong anymore! There’s no Next Big Thing and no record label that dominates your creativity. You just do what you want to do and you just throw out your stuff on MySpace or maybe you want to be the one who has like the most MySpace profiles ever -- you can do that, it’s fine! I know people who just open up MySpace profiles one after the other. [They] just pout out the music there and don’t mind if anyone is ever going to listen to it or would ever buy it -- they don’t’ even think about records or all that stuff.

I love records. I think I’ll keep on doing records until I die. I like that. I like the object and I just love it. So I think yeah, we’ll keep on doing that. And for the rest? Just trying to stay being a team -- like a baseball team or something. I think I’m a good catcher and Andi’s a good pitcher. He is a Coen [and] I am the brother.

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Visit Mouse on Mars' website.

INTERVIEW: Mouse on Mars [Part II]

2008-11-05T12:17:00.004-06:00

Part II of the Globecat interview with Jan St. Werner of Mouse on Mars (don't forget to read Part I and Part III). In this portion, Jan mentions his fondness for collaboration, and claims that OutKast's The Love Below trumps the Beatles' Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band ...

Mouse on Mars Interview [Part II] - Globecat Music

INTERVIEW: Mouse on Mars [Part I]

2008-11-03T01:00:00.001-06:00

Jan St. Werner is doing the most rock star thing he can think of right now:

He's pushing his daughter on a swingset.

When Evcat got ahold of Jan in his native Germany, indeed, he was pushing his daughter on a swingset, which was later then followed by an adventure of him parking his car and getting a good view of the sunset. Jan jokes that "Yeah, bet this wasn't what you were expecting were you?" Yet for spending an afternoon with one of rock's most unconventional figures, it actually makes sense.

Jan, along with Andi Toma, forms a band called Mouse on Mars -- one of the most genre-busting, insane, delightfully crazed acts to ever walk the face of the earth. This electronic duo started out as big fans of Stereolab, initially sending their demo to that band's Too Pure record label in hopes that they avant-electronic work they were doing would get some notice in 1993. Their debut album Vulvaland came out in 1994. During this 2008 interview, a lot has happened: the band has collaborated with Stereolab multiple times, soundtracked films, changed their sound on every single album (ranging from big beat to ambient to jazz-affected pop numbers to everything else in between), formed a whole seperate band with The Fall's Mark E. Smith (called Von Sudenfed), and are still regarded as some of the most genre-busting musicians working today. During this epic, three-part interview with Globecat, Jan talks candidly about how MoM got formed, what electronic music holds for the future, and how -- yes -- he would love to produce a track for Britney Spears.

In Part I, Jan talks about the MoM aesthetic, what he's been up to since the flurry of activity the band was a part of in 2005-2007, and reveals that -- surprisingly -- he has never heard a Mouse On Mars record ... [and don't forget to check out Part II and Part III of this epic interview.]

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How are you doing?

Good. I’m completely relaxed.

Well I’m of course a big fan -- have been following you guys for years. Yet I must say this is a bit strange, as normally when I conduct interviews, there’s a new album or something else to discuss, but you guys have been pretty quiet as of late. What have you been up to?

We do play a lot, actually. We travel like businessmen, we travel like undercover in airplanes sometimes like for, I dunno, completely weird travel roads to play a show in Spain and then the next day one in Italy and then in Germany [which] then maybe takes us to Russia which I think is the next concert. We do some kind of smaller … well not smaller, but kind of different things, like we played in a group or did like a project with a group, which is more like related to how to play new music, and I’m kind of in [process] -- kind of [an] event that took place in Berlin at the Academy of Arts. That was just one show and we practiced […] and now we’re going to do a couple of more shows [with them] next year. So it’s projects! It’s true like this kind of, let‘s say, the big disco ball of modern art is maybe not as visible as it used to be. But things change anyway. I mean, the music industry is changing and things change and they change for you personally, like your biography, and then things change for the band and we’ve been running for awhile, so things have to become different.

To be honest, I don’t understand why certain bands -- how they manage to make a record, go on tour -- I dunno, hang out in their whatever-it-is …

Mansions?

Or barns out there in the countryside or whatever and then make another record and go on tour and make another record and do this for like 10, 15, 20, 30 years? For me it’s unbelievable. We’re doing this like we’re doing like lots of different projects related to art, and then from our different musical projects ... And then we also did the soundtrack for a movie, and we did another band (basically): this project with Mark E. Smith [Von Südenfed] -- that took some time … [and] then we do some remixes, and then I do a lot of solo, like, smaller or kind of more obscure projects and releases … so we’re completely lost in music and don’t do anything else but music, but it’s not always Mouse on Mars that comes out of it -- so that’s the reason why. But, we do record a new album and sometime next year -- hopefully early next year -- there’ll be a new album and it’ll [get] more or less the same promotional push and all that stuff that you usually get.

One of my favorite things about Mouse on Mars is how you guys have never really done the same album twice: you go from dance-floor stuff to dub to jazz to big beat to abstractions, etc. I think that you have one of the most varied, crazed back catalogs of any artist working today. For jumping around to so many genres, is there any particular “phase” that stand out for you?

Um, to be honest the changes are not that obvious or not that -- I’m really not aware of these things. To me it feels like we’re still riding the same shuttle, we’re still on the same path; but the things that happen to you and the things you see and the way you speak about them and the way you fill your pockets or do your shopping along the journey … is changing, and that is probably what you want to speak about. But I think the core of what we do is still very much the same. The way we work together hasn’t really changed much. Our obsession with sound and particular qualities of sound haven’t changed that drastically. I think, of course, along the lines [that] your skills maybe change or maybe your focus within production is shifting I think we’re very much the same and not much has changed about Mouse on Mars; but, I think that’s probably the reason why we can be so flexible and so open for, like, different impressions. But it’s not that we intentionally try to be a different person [or] a different band, like change our character or change our dress. Actually, we don’t feel at all like that: we feel like we’re very, very average, completely normal people, like not sticking out in any way and everything we do is just working on “our thing”, but it doesn’t even seem like anything’s changing. But I guess if I would like look at our back catalog and compare things, I would have to say “Yeah yeah yeah, this is probably where we were still a bit more, in a way, restrained or a bit more introverted” or “maybe our attention was more focused on mid-frequencies“ or “maybe it’s getting a bit harsher and our focus is shifting a bit up to higher-frequencies” or “the spectrum is opening a bit more” … but concerning [our] development, it’s not that I think things have changed: there was no drastic change in our biography, nothing major concerning our personalities that have brought any change. There was no car crash, no loss of a band member -- nothing like that! There’s absolutely no interesting stories about us. I think we, as people and producers, we’re like completely in the back and this is basically what we work on: we work on an idea that can exist apart from us -- and that is what Mouse on Mars has always been to us. It’s kind of like a, yeah -- really like a character that is animated by us, but it just goes its own way. We have to deal with it, we have to think of it as like writing stories or something, you know? Maybe we’re kind of like the Coen Brothers in a way, you know? Not interesting as such, but trying to get out a different story each time, but in the end it’s always the same story. [Laughs.] I’m really sometimes frustrated by not being able to change as much as I would love to. I think we had so many ideas of like “Maybe we should get a producer, maybe we should just have someone else to write the music and we just play”, but then we have so much fun doing it that we just keep on doing it.

Well it’s not like we’re going to see you produce a Britney Spears album anytime soon …

I would definitely produce Britney Spears! No question! The thing is: it would never, ever happen. No one would let us do it. Even [Britney] wouldn’t let us do it, even if she was completely out of her mind.

Just yesterday I was listening to Vulvaland, and comparing that to Radical Connector and the like, and I was amazed to remember that that album was straight back in 1994, and that dance-floor feel didn’t sound dated at all. So, just out of curiosity, when did you last listen to that album?

[Laughs.] Honestly, I have never listened to any of our discs!

Really?

It’s absolutely true, yeah. It happens that I stumble across a track [of ours] or that someone else is playing it somewhere, somehow -- or maybe we want to hear something in the studio in a more analytical way, like “Ah, let’s get back to that track and see how that sounded or how we used that or how that idea was used” or something like very technical or very analytical. I never ever put on a Mouse on Mars album just to listen to it or enjoy it. It’s because I’ve run through that, like, a thousand times and there’s just so much music. If I have time to really listen to something, I just put on … whatever! Definitely not what I’ve already heard like 1000 times. [Laughs.] It’s like life’s too short for that.

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Visit Mouse On Mars' website.

INTERVIEW: Tim Ries [of the Rolling Stones]

2008-10-30T18:16:00.005-05:00

Pulling off a good cover song is nothing short of an art. Artists have been notoriously picky about who can properly cover their material, their reactions ranging from outright praise (Morrissey would often bring Smiths-covering soundalike bands on tour with him) to blatant character assassination (Prince wasn't fond of Alicia Keys' covering a B-side of his and was especially not too fond of the Foo Fighters' take on "Darling Nikki", even if he wound up covering a Foo song at the Super Bowl over a decade later).

Yet receiving the original artists' blessing is a wonderful thing. It's even more wonderful when you're able to get the original artists to actually play on the track, and all the more impressive when you're also considered one of the finest jazz musicians working today.

Tim Ries is the Rolling Stones' long-standing touring saxophonist, having traveled the world with them while also carving out a hell of a niche as a top-notch arranger as well. In 2005, he released The Rolling Stones Project -- an album of Stones covers done in a remarkable jazz context. So successful that album was, Ries would spend the better part of two-years working on its epic, double-disc follow up. Now, Stones World is finally here, and it's a world-beat affected joyride through the Stones' back catalog, Ries' interpretations coming off as both drastically different and ultimately respectful at the same time. It's a sprawling album (and yes, the Glimmer Twins themselves stop by to assist on occasion), and Ries was more than happy to sit down with Evcat to talk about his inclusions of French rappers, his multi-year journey towards this project's completion, and, of course, getting the reaction of the Stones themselves ...

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>> Listening to Stones World is a remarkably different listening experience from the first Rolling Stones Project album; at first, I thought that the jazz interpretations on the first one made sense, given how many Stones' classics are based in blues dynamics. With World, however, there is a much stronger emphasis on integrating international flavor into the proceedings -- what were the challenges that you faced in interpreting these rock numbers into fado songs and the like?

The challenging part was finding the right song for each singer, the right key and then of course the actual arrangement. I really wanted to retain the melody but to alter the songs with the many different grooves, harmonies, time signatures, and even language. Once I spoke with each artist and we agreed on the song I began working on the arrangement. Often, there were only a few hours to come up with the idea as many of the recording sessions happened within a 24-hour period from the time we arrived in a particular city. Timing was everything, and a good bit of luck.

>> Of all the songs on this disc, I keep coming back to "Hey Negrita" as the most drastic reworking, even though structurally it's quite close to the original. You have African vocalists, a full band, Jagger on harmonica -- coordinating this must be a far cry from the tight group you formed for Universal Spirits. Given the African base of which you based this one, what were the criteria you had for assigning which world style to which song?

Yes, it was so not like any other jazz recording that I had ever done, whether it was mine or as a sideman. Usually, one would write the music, maybe have one rehearsal and then record 8 to 10 songs with a quintet in one or two days and then you mix it and put it out. This was a two-year process with 72 musicians and I loved every minute of it. Well, most every minute. In the case of "Hey Negrita", I had met these wonderful musicians in LA and sat in with them. As I was listening to their music I was thinking of which song from the Stones catalogue would be the most similar to that vibe. I met a number of people who went to Niger to visit the tribe and one such visitor was a filmmaker named Adrian Velicescu. He put together some truly inspiring documentary footage. I was captivated by the music and the desert and really wanted to find the song that most suited Tidawt. I went back to the hotel and listed to a few songs and Hey Negrita seemed like the perfect fit. I sent them the English lyrics, was then translated into French and then to Tamasheq, their language.

>> Most surprising on this disc was the inclusion of rapper FE on "Salt of the Earth", which -- now replete with harps and the like -- is something closer to an empowerment ballad. What inspired the use of multiple female vocalists on this interpretation?

This song, the arrangement, and the choice of many female vocalists in multiple tongues, as well as the rapper FE, was the culmination of the entire project for me. While traveling the world with the Stones I was so fortunate to meet and record with all of these great artists. African, Brazilian, Indian, Middle-Eastern, South American, Flamenco and fado, are a few of the many styles of music that have inspired me for more than 20 years. Most of the songs on this CD are either in one or two languages. I really wanted to have an arrangement that utilized as many of these places and sounds on one track. You are right when you mention an empowerment ballad. It seemed fitting to have all females. The world has been run, and poorly I might add, by men for far too long and it is time to pass the torch to the earth mothers. There were such positive vibes in the studio that day.

>> Upon the release of this new disc, you're playing a short series of shows celebrating its release -- what can we look forward in the live interpretations that will be different from the studio incarnations?

The CD release gig in NYC at the Jazz Standard, October 28th-30th, will have many people on stage and will sound very similar to the recording. In fact, all the vocalists from Salt of The Earth will be on hand. Some of the concerts will be with a smaller unit: at Yoshi’s in Oakland, Vibrato in LA, Martyrs in Chicago, The Firefly in Ann Arbor and Chris’s in Philadelphia. All the gigs will have great musicians like: Larry Goldings, Bernard Fowler, Darryl Jones, Michael Davis, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Ana Moura and many others. All the live gigs will have different bands, except for Bernard, who will be on most of them. We open things up on the gigs and the players can stretch on the solos.

>> Most critically, what did the Stones themselves think of Stones World?

I think, or should I say, hope, they are cool with it. They seemed to have a good time when they recorded. Charlie played on quite a few tracks, Keith on two and Mick and Ronnie on one. It’s my second disc of their music and I hope that I did justice to their music.

>> You've played on releases from huge pop acts all over the world -- what keeps you coming back to playing with the Stones/covering their songs again and again?

I had such a great time with The Rolling Stones Project recording and there are so many Stones songs that it really wasn’t an arm twister. We have played nearly 50 concerts with the Stones Project Band around the world and I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I love dissecting music and reworking the arrangements. More than anything, it’s the thrill of performing and recording with some of the greatest musicians in the world with some of the greatest songs ever written.

>> Finally, so far in your career, what's been your biggest regret, and -- conversely -- what's been your proudest accomplishment?

My biggest regret was not having recorded with my father who played the trumpet. His sound was absolutely gorgeous and could make you cry. I think that’s why I have no problem asking so many people and recording so much music. I don’t want to miss any opportunities to record with my favorite players. My proudest accomplishment isn’t a musical one, but my three daughters are at the top of the list. Besides that, I am elated that I can actually compose and arrange music, play the saxophone and piano and teach and make a living while doing it. Otherwise, I might have to work for a living.

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Visit Tim Ries' website.