One of my favorite live acts and definitely one of the most entertaining bands out there, The Protomen, are coming to Louisville’s Vernon Club on April 2. They played an amazing show at Halfway to Forecastle 2009 and we had a chance to interview them after the show (see video below). I’m really looking forward to this one!!
2010 – No Retreat, No Surrender.
Feb. 28 @12th & Porter – Live 10.29 Broadcast- Nashville, TN
March 13 & 14 @ Animation & Gaming Festival- Cincinnati, OH
March 15- SXSW @ Elysium Austin, TX
March 19th- SXSW- Consequence of Sound Party Party (Location TBD), Austin, TX
March 23rd- Midtown- Knoxville TN
March 25- Heirloom Arts- Danbury, CT
March 26- PAX EAST- Boston, MA
April 1- Beat Kitchen- Chicago, IL
April 2- Vernon Lanes, Louisville, KY
April 3- Yeah (early show) & Wall Street (late show)- Murfreesboro, TN
April 16- JJ’s Bohemia- Chattanooga, TN
Tune into World Cafe on WXPN this Monday, 11/23 at 2pm. David Dye will feature Louisville’s Dawn Landes and two tracks from the forthcoming Sweetheart Rodeo album for his World Cafe: Listen live online at www.wxpn.org. Dawn was featured on the World Cafe for her last album, Fireproof. You can listen to it HERE.
Read our review of Dawn’s show at Headliner’s last year HERE.
Dawn also participated in our Take 5 Series, read the interview HERE.
I Guess I’m Floating and Hot Brown Mess are bringing to town a fantastic show with the Evangelicals and the Holiday Shores. The Evangelicals are a highly touted band from Norman, Oklahoma (home of The Flaming Lips) and they have been making major waves since their debut album, So Gone in 2006. I had a chance to talk with front-man Josh Jones today and, even after the greater success of their 2008 sophomore album, The Evening Descends, he seemed as grounded as can be. They are in that gray area of touring – over a year since their last release and a few months away from their next release – but Josh told me that they plan on playing from all of their catalog, but testing out some of their new stuff live. It’s a short three and a half week tour, but they plan on focusing squarely on the new album after the few dates they have scheduled. I asked him about the band’s history with Dead Oceans out of Bloomington, Indiana and described the growth of their relationship as “organic.” Unlike a lot of bands that send their stuff around everywhere hoping to get signed, he was just talking to one of their people and mutually agreed to “put an album out together sometime.” This is the same label that boast bands such as Akron/Family, Nurses, Bishop Allen and the amazing Dirty Projectors. The ease in which The Evangelicals succeed at everything should make us all jealous and I don’t see an end in sight. See you at the show!
Show details:
Glassworks
815 W. Market St. / Louisville
7:30 doors / $7
21+ (the show was previously advertised as all ages, but sadly, it is not. Take note young ones.)
Technology Vs. Horse (part Kentucky Prophet) will be playing/entertaining at the Highland Taproom tonight (10/17). I’m telling you this will be fun. We’ve been big fans of everything that Mike Farmer (a/k/a Kentucky Prophet) is involved with. Read our interview with him here.
ORANJE happens this Saturday (9/19) at 2323 North Illinois Street from 8pm to 2am! Visit the website to see all the acts that will be performing, along with all the talented artists that will be on display!
We interviewed The Protomen after their performance at this year’s Halfway to Forecastle Fest at the Green Building and discussed in some detail the progress of ACT II. Well, now it is out today for your listening pleasure and for the bargain price of $10 bucks.
Track Listing:
1. Intermission
2. The Good Doctor
3. Father of Death
4. The Hounds
5. The State Vs. Thomas Light
6. Give Us The Rope
7. How The World Fell Under Darkness
8. Breaking Out
9. Keep Quiet
10. Light Up The Night
11. The Fall
12. Here Comes The Arm
For the third installment of our “Six Pack With…” Series, Myron Koch, curator of the Peak Summit Festival. He also had his hand in the Abbey Road on the River Success and will be in charge of the camping area of this year’s Forecastle Fest. If that wasn’t enough, he plays the sax for local band, Paradigm. We sat back and drank some Lindemans Lambic; not exactly a six pack, but oh well. If you look closely at the start of the video, you can see that I have titled this Episode, “A Six Back with…” Not sure what a “Six Back” is, but i’m leaving it the way it is. Call it artistic freedom. Anyway, The Peak Summit Fest is this Saturday, June 20, from 8pm to 4am. Check out what Myron has to say about it and then go enjoy the fest.
Bobby Long and Sam Bradley stopped in Nashville, Tennessee at 3rd and Lindsley as part of Bobby’s short U.S. tour (prepping for a much larger U.S. tour this summer). We were in attendance and got to sit down with Bobby after the show. Bobby is a British musician and sold out every show in his first tour of the States (NYC, L.A. and Nashville). Buzz started about this musician after one of his songs was used on the soundtrack of the hit movie Twilight. He is now making a name for himself and making waves in the process.
Interview by Noelle Bailey:
Great show tonight. We heard it was kind of rowdy last night.
Yeah. It was a little bit, but I really enjoyed both shows. It’s been great. It’s been really, really good.
You’ve had a lot of success here and I think you’ve sold out all your shows in America, right?
Yeah, it’s kind of unbelievable to believe in a way. I haven’t released anything and to come over here and do it is a dream really. You know for any English artist to come to America and play is just a real …that’s the pinnacle of what you want to do. So me being able to do it so early is a really, really cool thing.
How does your fan base in England compare to America?
I don’t know. The shows in London were sold out, but I think it’s probably bigger over here. I think that’s mainly down to it’s just a bigger place really.
I got a copy of what I think you’ve referred to as your “bootleg album”…
Bootleg. Yeah, yeah. Definitely.
Do you have plans to release another album maybe after the tour?
Yeah, definitely. I’m going to start talking, when I get home, to some producers to get an album together. I’m going to probably start recording around Christmas and maybe next summer something will come out. I want to do one straight away but I’m not going to rush into it. If I don’t find the right producer then I’m not going to do it.
Can we expect any collaborations or guest performances on the album?
Wouldn’t you like to know? [laughing].
Well, I know you’ve written some songs with Marcus Foster, will any of that be included?
Yeah, yeah. Me and Marcus write together but we haven’t written together since last summer, since we wrote “Let Me Sign”, because we’re both so busy. Yeah, it’s a possibility that Marcus and Sam might do some singing or something but other than that we are trying to do our own thing. We are trying to be individual. So I can’t promise anything.
Are you touring together some when you come back?
I think we’re starting off together and then we’re kind of making our own way around which is definitely the best. We want to concentrate on our own stuff and that is the best way to do it. We’ve got a real opportunity to really lay down our songs and make sure we can turn this into a long term thing and the only way we can do that is by doing that on our own.
It has to be exciting that you are all making it at the same time.
Yeah, but we are all very different as well and we’ve got different styles. We’re all going into different things and it’s good to bounce ideas off of other people…not in a competitive way but you can kind of look at the other person and think “God, they’re getting this why aren’t I getting this.”
Is there a song that one of your friends has written that you think, “Wow, I wish I’d written that song”?
No, not really, because our stuff is quite different. I don’t think I could imagine myself singing one of their songs and absolutely vice versa. I think our songs are our own. But I love everything they do. It’s not to say I don’t love them, because I do. I love all their songs. It’s just we’re all quite proud of each other and trying to do our own thing.
Have you been signed to a record label yet, or what stage is that in?
I’ve got a publishing deal with BUG Music, who is a great company, and SGO Music as well. They’re my publishers. And Stuart Ongley who’s great.
Is one American and one British?
Stuart Ongley is British based. He’s a great guy. He’s got a personal relationship with me. And BUG Music is in America. They’ve also got an English office. Record label wise I’ve had a few meetings but I’m not going to rush because, for me, this is my life and I’m not going to rush into anything.
I know this is your last show in America for a while. What are your plans between now and the tour in July?
This is my last show in America until we come back in July. I’ve got some Uni [University] work to finish off which is going to be very hard to come back and do that.
I imagine that will be difficult after all this.
I’m just going to have to leave everything on the plane and get off and it’s back to reality. But I’m looking forward to it. This kind of stuff is wonderful and it’s wonderful playing, but it’s not real life. You know what I mean? Real life is getting up in the morning and trying to get to work or trying to get to school.
We heard you are finishing up your thesis. What specifically are you studying?
I do sound and film, focusing on American folk music. The only reason they let me have an extension is because I said I was coming to America to study it. [laughing].
Is that where the Mississippi John Hurt reference came from tonight?
Yeah, absolutely. I love Mississippi John Hurt. But I love all that kind of stuff. You can choose your own dissertation or thesis and I love all those kinds of old blues guys: Woody Guthrie and Johnny Cash andthose kinds of people. And I get to write something about it. It just so happened I was coming to America now and I’ve been doing research.
We also hear you are a big Elliot Smith fan.
I love Elliot Smith. I’d been dying to go to [his wall]. I spent half an hour walking around and signing my name on the wall.
[Of course, then we tell him they paint the wall every year and break his heart. Then we tell him that he'll have to come back at least once a year to resign it. Doesn't hurt to give him another reason to come back to the states!]
Thanks for sitting down with us Bobby, we really appreciate it and look forward to seeing more from you.
Yeah, no problem. Now I have to go back out there and fight all the madness!
After a few months of being out of print, the third vinyl pressing of Louisville-based Coliseum’s No Salvation finally arrived at Shirt Killer. There are 500 copies in this pressing – 150 on “Oil & Gasoline” colored vinyl and 350 on “Blood & Urine” colored vinyl. Classy, huh? You can get the album from Shirt Killer or from the band on tour, although it’s probable the more limited color will be gone by then. They will be in Louisville on April 10th at Skull Alley playing with Young Livers. It is the last stop on their tour, so if you want a copy of this vinyl, I wouldn’t wait It should be noted that this is not a double LP, you get to choose which color you want. While the “Oil & Gasoline” looks better, you have to go with the “Blood & Urine.” Does Crayola have that in the box? The vinyl is a reasonable $12.00.
After The Protomen played Halfway to Forecastle on January 17, 2009, we were able to sit down with the band on their bus and have a few works with the band. As all interviews with The Protomen, nothing is ever expected, but always entertaining and full of the bizarre. If you have not seen this group from Nashville, I highly recommend checking them out ASAP.
Roughly 6 months out, we’re Halfway to Forecastle, and to celebrate, JK brought out a diverse group of artists to the Green Building on Market. Despite the cold and some electrical issues due to the greeness of the building, the show went really well. The first thing anyone would notice the moment they entered the concert area, after passing through the sponsorship room with Louisville Public Media, Jansport, Louisville Water Alliance, Ohio Valley Creative Energy, etc. was a series of large screens projecting images of previous Forecastle photos, interviews, etc, all of which are mashed together with some intriguing effects. People came in from all over, including a huge group of cool kids in from Cincinnati.
The show started roughly around 7:30 with Louisville-based jazz band Squeeze-bot armed to the teeth with an accordion, tuba, banjo and drums and not at all afraid to cover Elliot Smith. That is exactly why this is one of Louisville’s more important bands that you need to see. Following Squeeze-bot, we experienced a little power outage, which slowed down the next stage of the night, and forced several of the heaters to be turned off as well as many of the lights being turned off. Next in line were the Cincinnati-based rock trio Buffalo Killers, who were introduced by the Louisville Water Alliance, and who might have been a smidgen too loud for the space because they nearly blew my eardrums out. The Buffalo Killers are what it means to be a rock band, and are kept in good company having shared the stage with the Black Crowes as well as the Black Keys, as well as having had their latest album produced by the Black Keys’ guitarist/vocalist Dan Auerbach. Following, a big chunk of the crowd showed up for Ekoostik Hookah. Hippies everywhere showed en masse to catch the iconic jam band who put on just the type of show you’d like to see. Forecastle tends to mix together indie rock & hippie, and EH provided the later for the night. Following EH was Jansport’s Battle of the Bands winner Broderick, who put on a much better than expected show. You never know what you’ll get with a Battle of the Bands winner, but I was pleasantly surprisde by the talent these guys showed up with. The best thing is that, out of the 1400+ submissions from across the country, these guys just happen to be based out of Bloomington, IN. Our friend Dodge at My Old KY Blog has made his feelings well known about the evolving group, and we can’t help but echo the sentiment that these kids may well have a good future ahead of them with a very tight sound for such a young band, and a great stage presence. Following Broderick was the band I was most excited to catch, The Protomen, who kicked off Forecastle last year at the Glassworks opening party. Keith Robbins had gotten some great video of that performance (Promo Video 1, Promo Video 2). The Protomen have been making some recent changes, relocating from the land of Thundercon to America, but continuing the epic struggle against Megaman from our National shores. The bands debut album is described as a Rock Opera about their war against video game legend Megaman. In full armor, The Protomen took a break from their battle to call all participants to arms against Megaman by playing us for the music fans we are. You’ll see from the photos below, but several persons from the army came into the crowd, dressed for battle. Perhaps one of my favorite moments of the night happened when we caught part of the crew dancing to OK DJz spinning vinyl upstairs where Narwhal & A.Bell kept kids warm all night by going track after track of great dance music for dancing close and sweating on one another. Protomen’s act thrives on schtick and recontextualizing rock with elements of Nintendo 64 while reworking kitsch characters into rock legends. It’s the kind of set where they’re just as likely to use an 80s ballad to talk about destroy planets as they are making love to robot-girls. Put that together wiht an energetic, raucous live show and you’ve got got the makings of concept-band legend. DJ 2nd Nature finished the night with those fans still going strong around 1am.
We had the opportunity to interview Squeeze-bot, Broderick & The Protomen, so be sure to look out for each of those soon to come.
In anticipation for tonight’s Southgate House performance by The Faint, Backseat Sandbar had the opportunity to chat for about an hour with Todd Fink, lead singer of the dance-punk outfit from Omaha. Famous for being one of the leaders in a growing genre and for his on-stage antics and the “half-rave-half-gallery” visual spectacle, The Faint have an eye to the future and just might have the key to industry success packed away in their labcoats…
Tickets are $15 in advance & $18 day of show. 18+
BS: I’m going to jump right in here. You misspelled “Fascination” for the album to include an extra “i” which, as a nerd, I noticed that it happens to put ascii right in the middle of the word…that had to be intentional. How does technology/science influence you? By that I mean more than just the synthesizers you use, but more the philosophy of the album itself, including the lyrics and the way you layer your beats.
Fink: Well, actually the spelling originally was due to laptop malfunction…the “i” key was stuck and when I’d written the title for the demo it showed up. I just titled the demo as a result of that. I did notice the presence of ascii and perhaps subconsciously that is what I liked about it and why I wanted to keep it.
As for technology and its influence on our music, it’s funny because nothing has really changed much over the years, we’ve learned more about software and manipulating waves in the creation of music, but moreover the general way that music is made tends to be the same. I do hear technological overtones lyrically in some of our music, particularly on this record, but our focus tends to be more on the future. Ever sense Blank Wave Arcade we’ve been asking more and more about the future, which tends to be technologically related. In doing that, we try not to give a positive or negative view of future, but something that points out both…if I say something about it positive, I tend to say something negative as well to be objective.
What is it about the future motivates you?
I’ve been interested in the future my whole life…it’s become something of an obsession on this record. I’ve just always been curious about where we’re headed. Since then, I’ve become more obsessed over history and now I’m just trying to learn everything that I can…it’s been something of a new awakening because when I was younger I never really cared about the past and was always looking forward. Now, it’s just so interesting because its like some people are really able to know what the future holds based on the past by studying the past to predict the future, and then you’ve got the futurists, people on the cutting edge of technological discoveries as well who can see entire worlds that most people can’t even imagine. It’s really these people and the way they think that motivates us.
Several bands in the dance rock movement gives fairly readily identifiable retrospective nods, and while vague comparisons to 80s synth might be appropriate, nothing about the faint feels retro to me, but now with your new-found appreciation of the past, is there any chance of The Faint starting to look back into the past for the next album?
No, I don’t think we’ve gotten futuristic enough just yet, we’ve not gone far enough and we have a long way to go. The great thing about the future is its unending nature…I think we’ll stick to that. I look at that differently than those bands doing the retro thing though. We actually did that to a limited extent on Blank Wave Arcade, except that we were very consciousness that we didn’t want to be doing a 80s revival album, so every time we went that way, we’d throw in something that was obviously not from that time period. Nostalgic is fun, but that just isn’t what we want to do.
So what is it you started out wanting to do? I can’t imagine many electronic dance-punk bands in Nebraska? Was there an electronic scene happening at the time, and how were you received there early on?
Really, it started from us trying to escape from indie rock in 1998 when the sound changed. We just wanted out and wanted to do something different and around that time is when our sound really shifted for Blank Wave Arcade. That was really the new beginning. We put down our guitars for keyboards and decided to really head off in a totally different direction. There was a great scene happening and we were big fans of a lot of these bands from Omaha and they were all doing something different, new and interesting, but it was still mostly indie rock. When we got into it ,we just realized that we weren’t interested in doing what they were already doing, so our inspiration came from doing something new. By 98 or 99 we found what we were looking for and it didn’t sound like anything else. Once we found it, the scene was really supportive of us.
On that note, you were one of the first bands playing this kind of dance punk music. What do you think about the flurry of bands flooding the genre? Do you think that The Faint was an inspiration for them?
We were part of an inevitable movement in music with good bands involved and have been around longer than people think. It was happening for a while before it got suddenly popular. For example, ChkChkChk (!!!) and The Rapture are both bands that would probably fall into the same general classification and have been around for a really long time, only people eventually took notice and it just fell into favor at some point.
Being someone who obsesses over the future, what do you make of the future of a movement as being something that fell into favor?
I think the issue arises when people try to pin us to dance punk. I don’t see us as labeled in that genre, and while you can find a lot of it in our albums, and even more that fall into the set, the thing is that we make music that suits the times. There are lots of beats to dance to…house and dance punk forget that.
In light of the number of other dance bands these days, as someone who gained a lot of attention on the front side of that and has managed to remain at the top of the movement, what do you do to distinguish yourselves from all of the other artists playing the music for the fad?
(laughs) Honestly, that’s not our strong point – we don’t think about it much – although, having a record label now, we should be. We do the normal things like hire a press person to work the record, but beyond that, I don’t really know. We don’t really focus on publicity or promotion (magazine ads and that sort of stuff), although we’re doing that now more than in the past. I think the way that we distinguish ourselves is that we consider the live show really important. We want it to be an event every night that is different than a regular show. We want it to be an experience that people hear about and want to come to our shows. If we had a lot of money, it’d make it very different.
You’ve gained quite a reputation for your live performances. How do you go about putting together the visual aspects for a tour and coming up with your incredible costumes?
One thing usually just leads to the next. We used to wear all black in the blank wave arcade days because it was all fog machines in strobe lights and the black showed up really well. Eventually everyone was wearing them though, so we moved on.
After that, we had screens and we wanted to do video linked to the music. But before we got it together and bought the projectors and screens, it took a while to get the videos made and still some of those first videos are used run through different effects or on different surfaces to create a new way to present them. Then, we wanted to find an invisible screen, I’ve done research looking for one, but just wasn’t been able to find anything that will really work for us. We did found sheer materials to work and that’s how we eventually found a way to use them on this tour.
I was reading an interview from 2001 and it mentioned a click track in Clark’s ear to ensure precision for the set…I imagine that takes a lot of work. is the set still as structured, or have you become more spontaneous?
It’s gotten really easy for him now. He listens to the click before the set and we’ve got all the videos linked to the tracks along the click track. When he’s playing now, if he’s on time, he shouldn’t hear anything at all, and if he’s off, it allows him to catch back up. Its important to get as many things synced up as we can so that it can be a really tight set. By tight, I don’t mean better playing than other musicians, but rather that everything matches and works together perfectly.
You mentioned earlier having created your own record label, can you tell us a little bit about it, and why you decided to do this?
Yeah, we created Blank.wav to release Fasciination because, for us, a record label didn’t seem necessary anymore, not for the expectations we have these days – we don’t expect to be the Beatles. Certain type of people will relate to our music and we’re happy with that. We just decided to skip the middle man and avoid the complications of the opinions of others. It’s given us a lot of freedom to do things exactly the way that we want to do them.
As for Blank.wav, we’d like to put out other artists in the future. Everything went well on this record and we were happy with how it all came together. Releasing other artists will have to be something in the future if at all, because we spend a lot of time touring and we’re planning on starting to write our next album over the next few months.
With that in mind, what are your thoughts about the state of the music industry? Are record labels becoming irrelevant with things like YouTube, MySpace and others, as well as artists adopting the “pay what you want” model (although that seems to have quickly died out)?
It’s going to happen a whole lot more in the future. Once bands have enough of a name and a catalog of music, I just don’t see the need to deal with a record label. Just starting out, you could even take out a big loan, but it’d be very risky and wouldn’t give much leeway which artists need to build a name.
Can record labels survive being just the jump-off?
Probably not. The ones that sign good artists will develop into something else eventually rather than just traditional record labels. Their function will have to change a little to morph with times. For now, the most important are the indie labels, because they are the ones who are likely to not have the excessive expenses and can really help an artist to achieve success and by being good at what they do, they’ll be able to maintain a steady stream of artists and since it is a lot of work to go out on your own, there will always be work for the indie labels.
So, to bring it back, you mentioned you’ll be starting the next album over the next few months?
Yeah, I told the guys I’d try to have some things by January, but we recently just finished up a Europe tour that was grueling. Flying solo and not having the support of the record label, we had to do virtually everything ourselves, and since we didn’t get a lot of help, we haven’t had much time to write. Unfortunately January is getting close, so who knows if that is going to happen. Also, each time we start writing an album, it’s really hard to get back into it. You tour and tour and tour and then coming back to the studio is like trying to learn how to write music all over again. Once we get into the mode and find something we can all agree on, then it just comes out.
Speaking of finding something you can all agree upon, what are the records getting the most play time in the van between cities?
Right now, it’d have to be “Lambs Anger” by Mr. Oizo. Also Fuck Buttons – they sound pretty good. I always try to keep up with whatever Diplo is doing. Then there is Das Glow who did a remix of “Mirror” for us on Boyz Noize records, putting out 12” and that’s how I found out about him. Also, a lot of dubstep stuff.
Any plans to work with any of these artists for a remix?
Jacob & I are big Mr. Oizo fans, and we’d love to do that.
10 years in now, is performing still as fulfilling or do you look at it more like a job? I guess what I’m asking, what are your thoughts on professional musicianship?
(laughs) Not a huge fan of musicians. As far as us performing, I really think of it more like we’re throwing a party. We are just hosts trying to make sure that the party goes over well and we happen to play the music. I enjoy it now more than in years past for several reasons. The visual part of the live show is better, the set list is better and we can do things exactly how we want.
Last question…anything you want to say to the people of the Ohio Valley?
I just hope people come and have a lot of fun at our party…
Tickets are $15 in advance & $18 day of show. 18+
The Faint – Desperate Guys
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The Faint – Get Seduced
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The Faint – The Geeks were Right
[audio=http://www.aderogatoryterm.myonlineplace.org/The%20Faint%20-%2002%20-%20The%20Geeks%20Were%20Right.mp3]
Pinback plays tomorrow night at Headliners for a scant $15. Unfortunately, I can’t make it, because I’m working on Durang/Durang at the Kentucky Center. So, y’all be my eyes and ears, i’ite? Thankfully, I got a chance to talk with Rob Crow (half of Pinback, curator of all things comic, Robot carrier, musician extrordinaire) for the LEO a couple weeks ago. Cuz the LEO asked me to do it, I can’t post the interview here, but I’m linking it up for you and leaving you some tasty Pinback tracks as well. Should be a great show. Tear.
The Shondes (their new album, The Red Sea, was one of my top albums of January 2008) played at The Rud back in December and now they are back for more, playing at Headliner’s on Friday, September 5th withVenus Trap (a great compliment to The Shondes), Lucky Pineapple (one of Louisville’s best) and Young Widows (new album, Old Wounds, out this month).
Guitarist, Ian Brannigan, took some time to answer some of our questions…
BS: Your new album, The Red Sea, has been getting great reviews everywhere…what has been the most satisfying thing said about the album?
IB: There have been a number of really good reviews, so it’s hard to pinpoint but I think my favorites have been the ones that didn’t try to pigeon-hole or “identify” what we are doing in a few words – but instead really listened to the music and wrote the review after trying to sort of “interact” with it. Reviews that listened to the arrangements, the songwriting, the lyrics and then came back saying they really enjoyed it tend to be the most rewarding for me – I think it says that we had an effect on the person rather than just filling their need to hear something that sounds similar to band-x.
BS: I read somewhere that the bassist for Pere Ubu produced the album, how much of an influence did David Thomas & Co. have on your sound?
IB: I love Pere Ubu. They wrote incredible songs, were musically/stylistically talented and versatile and wrote good lyrics. Tony Mamone was the first person (after contacting quite a few people) that immediately was excited about working with us – he heard the songs from our demo (Lets Go, I Watched The Temple Fall and Your Monster) and understood what we were trying to do and how he could make that work. Being a fan of Pere Ubu, I thought this made perfect sense and it was really exciting and rewarding working with him.
So far as our actual sound is concerned, I don’t know how much of Pere Ubu you hear in the Shondes. I hear it in the way I think about certain parts or hear certain parts – so it’s definitely an influence on my writing and guitar playing – but I don’t know if it’s immediately discernible to most listeners.
BS: This is the second time (at least) that you have played in Louisville, do you have any connections in the area?
IB: We’ve played at the Rudyard Kipling twice before the upcoming show at Headliner’s and we’ve always had a great time in Louisville. The folks in the band Venus Trap have always been great to us and the community we’ve gotten to connect with there has been super nice and really supportive. Louisville shows are always fun and packed and sweaty in all the best ways!
BS: I took a look at your tour schedule and it looks grueling…any band rituals on the road?
IB: Usually, later in tour when the longer drives start to get to us we fixate on some sort of roadside food-stop, be it fresh berries or fast-food or some good snacks. This tends to be sort of fun and will sometimes result on us taking odd detours. We’ve recently discovered the gift of audiobooks/comedy cds which pass the time really quickly. And then, there is always 90210 (the original series) and we have Season 5 on DVD with us to watch when we need to wind-down.
BS: You are known not to shy from politics…any comment on McCain’s new running mate?
IB: I mean, it’s totally classic that he would choose this woman – who is quite right-wing – as his running mate when running against Obama. It’s pretty sick, actually.
BS: Back to music….what can we expect at the show on Friday?
IB: We have a lot of new material that we’re excited to be playing out this tour, so you’ll get that mixed in with songs from the album. This is the second time we’ve toured with the songs from the album so I’d say that the level at which we’re performing them is quite high since we know them so so well now. It should be really fun, I know we’ll be having fun.
I’ve seen Venus Trap before and they’re always good plus I’m excited to be playing with Young Widows and Lucky Pineapple, so the show should be a good one, definitely not worth missing.
