The Decemberists - The Hazards of Love

This = outstanding

That is all.

Fiction Plane Interview

Here it is. My backstage interview with all three members of Fiction Plane. Getting back there in the first place proved to be a hassle as well. I was given a confirmation for the interview via email and was told to contact Pete Wilhoit (drummer) only in case of emergency. So my buddy Andrew and I get to Summerfest and start asking around at all the different box offices about the backstage passes. No one has them. I even left the grounds to go to a tiny off-to-the-side Summerfest box office and had no luck there either. Getting back in after that was a little risky too, what with me carrying recording equipment. This was quickly turning into an "emergency." So we called up Wilhoit. No answer. I left him a message explaining our situation.

Fifteen minutes pass. We're panicking. Our once in a lifetime chance was ruined! Then we receive a text message from Wilhoit saying to meet them at the front of the stage in a few minutes. Sweet!

We proceeded to meet up with them and had this discussion:

Top Monkees Tracks

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted. My computer's hard drive crashed so I haven't been able to post anything for the past couple weeks. So, in today's post, I offer you the top tracks from a hugely underrated pop band from the 60s.

When you hear "The Monkees," the first thing that comes to mind is probably a large creature that's closely related to us who flings its own feces. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about Micky Dolenz, Mike Nesmith, Peter Tork, and Davy Jones, America's answer to the fab four. Sure, they had their own tv show and could easily be considered sell-outs. In fact, they were. Most dismissed their music entirely, often making fun of them for being a Beatles knockoff.

But I grew up with them and still love them. I recently took a look back at their work and came up with songs that I still believe are amazing pieces of work. After all, they were the first to use the Moog Synthesizer and Mike Nesmith virtually invented the idea of introducing rock elements into country. That's gotta count for something, right? I'd like to leave out the hits that everyone knew and go with some of their more obscure songs that you may not have heard of but should definitely check out. Here they are, in no particular order:

1) Your Auntie Grizelda
2) All of Your Toys
3) Shades of Gray
4) No Time
5) Randy Scouse Git
6) Goin' Down
7) Salesman
8) The Door into Summer
9) Tapioca Tundra
10) PO Box 9847
11) Zor and Zam
12) D.W. Washburn
13) Porpoise Song
14) Tear Drop City
15) Mommy and Daddy

Incoming Fiction Plane Interview

Wow, so that last post got me quite a few hits. So for any of those just happening to pass by here, I'll be posting my interview with all of Fiction Plane from my backstage visit with them at Summerfest here in Wisconsin. The trouble is, even though it was only about ten minutes, it's gonna take a LONG time to transcribe the whole thing. So when I get a long stretch of free time, I'll be sure to post it on here along with some backstage pics and maybe the short video I took of them playing their new track Sadr City Blues. I might even post the recording of the interview if I can figure out how....any tips? In fact, that might be a hell of a lot easier instead of transcribing.

also, just hit 100 views after being up for less than a month
thanks everybody!

(Possibly) New Fiction Plane Songs

So I was browsing around the interwebs when I came across Pete Wilhoit's (Fiction Plane) personal website. The plan was to contact him via email, but in the background he had a music player shuffling through songs he's been involved in. Well, low and behold, on pops some Fiction Plane. The odd thing is, it's stuff I'd never heard before. In fact, I can't find the songs listed anywhere else. After a little research (keyword: little), I managed to find out the band was currently in the studio working on their new album. So, ladies and gentlemen, I believe we have a leak of a few songs, unintentional or otherwise.

http://www.petewilhoit.com/

Here's the site if you'd like to hear them for yourself. There's some other great tracks on there too.

Cale Parks (Aloha) Interview

I had the most interesting conversation today with my favorite band Aloha's amazing drummer Cale Parks...

I’d like to start with a personal question: Why are people too ignorant to have noticed your amazing music-god-like talent yet?

Cale: Ha Thank you! I'm not sure really. We've been around for a while, and I'm happy to have the loyal following we've developed. People will come around one day.

What do you think is the group’s most challenging obstacle in trying to achieve success in the music industry?

Cale: Well, we're not a new band. We've been around for a long time, since before indie rock was mainstream again. Immediate success now seems to be all about a fresh faced new group. I think that staying together in a band for this long, with this amount of creative output, is a greater example of success in today's music world.

What made you decide to use a vibraphone as a major instrument in the band’s sound?

Cale: Eric, our original vibraphonist, wanted to play his vibraphone more in a band setting. It worked and we all fell in love with that sound, so we kept with the mallet percussion thing over the years.

In your first albums, you managed to connect all or at least most of the songs together, even going so far as to connect your first EP and first two albums, so as to make them all sound as if they’re one long song. Why, then, did you cease to continue this pattern in your later records?

Cale: We lost Eric and TJ joined the band. It felt like a new group again, with a very different energy. Continuing like that with the album concept didn't feel natural with the new batch of songs.

Why did you decide to use the band name Aloha?

Cale: I didn't choose that name, though I love it. I think it has something to do with the multiple meanings of the word. It doesn't just mean hello and goodbye. It is a very deep thing for Hawaiians.

Which do you prefer: playing live or in the studio?

Cale: They're both completely different things, so I don't prefer one over the other. In the studio, we build songs part by part, very rarely playing together in the same room. I enjoy the creative element here. Live, you all play on stage at the same time together. I enjoy the energetic elements here.

Respectively, what are your favorite songs/albums both from your band and other bands?

Cale: I don't really have a favorite song or album. They all represent different times of my life so to speak, so when I hear a song or album, I just think of where I was personally during the era when I recorded the music. It's hard to separate experiencing the music without experiencing memories of where you were when you wrote the song. I think we did a good job on all of them though!

Listening to the band’s work, I get a sense of a nice blend of The Police and Radiohead. Who are some of the group’s major influences?

Cale: Those two are definitely in there! We all have similar record collections. For example, we definitely enjoy the classic prog rockers Yes and Genesis. We've also spent a lot of time with Can over the years. I personally enjoy a lot of 80's and 90's british electronic bands. Taste and influences change for me depending on what I'm into at the moment. It all reflects in a mush of aesthetics within your sounds.

Can we expect a new album in the not-too-distant future?

Cale: Yes. There is a full length LP being finalized very soon. Expect a release this year.

Do you plan on re-inventing your “sound” again, ala Here Comes Everyone, or is the plan to stay safe with the one you have?

Cale: I'm not really sure. We don't consciously try to re-invent while we're creating.

Altoona, Pennsylvania seems to hold a special place in Aloha’s heart, considering it was given a song and was where T.J. Lipple first played with the band. Could you share more about the significance of this location?

Cale: That's it really. TJ's family live there. They're all very nice. It's a nice quiet town in the PA hills. I've had good experiences in the Altoona thrift stores.

The group has moved all across the country for its writing and rehearsing. Do the four of you ever grow weary of this, or does the change of scenery act more as an inspiration?

Cale: I don't personally grow weary. I love traveling. It's just the way we work. It's not like we move for a year of our life or anything. All the relocating and permenant moves, so to speak, have more to do with our personal lives, not the band. Also, once you tour a bit, you understand that traveling 8 hours to practice a few days before a tour starts or going into the studio in another city for a couple of weeks, really isn't that much of a hassle.

In an earlier interview, one of you had mentioned the Mellotron you used on your later albums was homemade. What can you tell me about this instrument?

Cale: This is a controversial issue. It was not an actual mellotron, but rather the sound of a mellotron that was homemade. TJ sampled a violinist playing for him live, in order to simulate his own unique mellotron sound via midi controllers. TJ is always crafty.

I especially like how most of the lyrics to your songs are subtle and vague so as to be interpreted however the listener feels, instead of something bashing or praising one specific thing. What typically goes into writing a song for you?

Cale: Thank you. The lyrics are always the last thing to come in my writing. I always write the music first. Lyrically, I just try to speak vaguely, like you said, about my feelings, and fit it into the melody I hear, sometimes making it rhyme. It does the job for me as far as getting out what I need to with my art and emotions. If it's vague and open to the personal interpretation of the listener, than thats even better, because they can experience it however they want to, like you said.

How has your songwriting process changed over the years, if at all?

Cale: Well, originally with Aloha, we would write together in band practice. Since Here Comes Everyone, we've written long distance via personal demos. This method has remained until now. In my solo music, the songwriting can be very different from song to song. Sometimes it starts with a beat I make at my apartment. Other times with a vocal melody I hear or a chord progression I've been messing around with.

All of your album covers have been quite unique. Is there any hidden or significant meaning behind them (for example, I keep seeing a recurring wolf), or are they just eye-candy?

Cale: The wolf-dog was only on Here Comes Everyone and Some Echoes. We always go to friends who are artists for the covers, then work with them on the design and layout. We usually give them an advance copy to listen to for ideas while they create.

Are the four of you trying to make a living making music or is money not an issue?

Cale: None of us are trustfunders, so we all do what we have to for money. Speaking for myself, I'm not good at anything else, so yes, I make a living off of music here in New York. Times get tough and things change from time to time. Aloha does not make a lot of money, but like they say, it's not about the money.

Is the band trying to achieve some kind of goal? Like, artistically or commercially?

Cale: I guess like all artists we want to make the best possible music that we can. There are no commercial goals.

Have you planned out the future much, or are you just kind of going with the flow? If you have, what plans do you have?

Cale: I plan to make music and go with the flow always. If you get a big job and have a baby, that is all part of going with the flow, not to get too zen, but it's all relative to living. Aloha will never break up. If we take a break from recording or touring, it doesn't mean you have to quit being a band. Too many groups make this mistake. We all have a great personal relationships with one another. We will always make music together in some form, for whoever still listens. I will always make solo music in some form as well.

Chris Hrasky (Explosions in the Sky) Interview

This is probably my biggest interview yet. Chris Hrasky, drummer for Explosions in the Sky, was kind enough to allow me to interview him.

I’ll start with a simple question: why did you decide to use the band name Explosions in the Sky?

Chris: We played a local college radio show on July 4, 1999 and as we were unloading our gear we heard the fireworks exploding. So one of us said “can you hear the explosions in the sky?” and that was that.

Your work on the Friday Night Lights soundtrack certainly helped to boost your popularity. How was making a soundtrack for a movie different from any of your other albums?

Chris: It was actually a lot less stressful. When we work our own records we feel a lot more pressure. With a soundtrack you’re really just writing background music, or little sketches of songs.

What is your typical writing process when in the studio?

Chris: In the past we’ve always gone into the studio with everything completely written.

How has your songwriting process changed over the years, if at all?

Chris: It hasn’t changed in the sense that its always been a process of trial and error for us. We don’t really have a set method. I sort of wish we did. It would make things a lot easier.

Who are some of your major influences?

Chris: There are so many, I wouldn’t even know where to begin. All four of us agree on the greatness of The Beatles, though. We’re really inspired by their ability to write songs that were both innovative and completely catchy.

What made the group decide to be instrumental?

Chris: It just sort of turned out that way. Honestly, I can’t remember even talking about it. But we all like the idea of there not being a leader or principal songwriter in the band. This can often make things difficult and is the reason it takes us so long to write songs. But, in the end, it’s the most rewarding way for us to do things.

On that note, does this keep you from getting any radio airplay?

Chris: We get a fair amount of college radio airplay, but certainly no commercial airplay. But I’m not sure radio has that great of an influence anymore. We’ve been able to sell a pretty good amount of records without much airplay.

Which do you prefer: playing live or in the studio?

Chris: Playing live. You feel much more energized and not nearly as worried about screwing up. And its nice to have feedback from an immediate audience.

What was your favorite on-stage moment?

Chris: There have been a lot of great ones. Having one of our amps start on fire was kind of funny and ridiculous.

What can you say about the odd coincidence on your Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die… album cover?

Chris: That story has been overblown. Someone claimed that that record came out the day before 9/11. That’s actually not true. It came out two weeks before. And its really more than that…a coincidence.

Many consider your latest album’s name All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone to be a direct reference to The Catcher in the Rye. Is this true?

Chris: Its not a direct reference, but we all love that book.

Esteban Rey has done a few of your album covers now. What can you say about his work?

Chris: Well, he’s one of our closest friends and its nice to work with someone that you love. We really work him hard and make him do things over and over again. But he always follows through.

I’ll admit I was first introduced to you while watching Late Night with Conan O’Brien. What was it like to play on his show?

Chris: We were really nervous but it ended up being pretty fun. The crew were all really laid back and easy going, which was a surprise. It was a nice night.

There seems to be a big story behind the idea of The Rescue involving your van breaking down for eight days, causing you to be flat-broke and live in a stranger’s attic. What can you tell me about all that?

Chris: We recorded our second record in DC and on the way home we played a show in Syracuse. But then our van broke down and the part for the van was on order and we had to live in an attic for a week. There were blizzards every day. It was kind of nuts. The attic was owned by the guy who put our show on. So we owe him a lot. These were the early days when nobody knew who we were and we were completely broke. This was December 2000.

It seems American Analog Set, another excellent band, helped get you started in submitting one of your original demos. Are they good friends of yours? Both being from Austin, did you ever meet up and/or play together?

Chris: I actually live next door to the singer/guitarist of AmAnSet. We played a few local shows with them and they were always a band we loved and still love. These days I go next door and play dominos or watch Lost or basketball games. Also, our dogs are friends, too.

One of you had mentioned you prefer being called a rock band over a post-rock band. Why is this?

Chris: We just think of ourselves as a rock band. It seems post-rock is just a term made up by music critics.

You’re now included in all sorts of commercials and television shows. Have you ever unexpectedly heard one of your songs on tv before? What was that like?

Chris: I don’t watch much TV, but anytime I hear one of songs in a movie or something I feel very strange. It’s a surreal feeling.

What are your plans for the future? Are you working on any new albums/tours?

Chris: Trying to write new songs. But we’re also taking it easy. It seems like our lives have been dedicated to this band for the last 10 years so its nice to be able to sort of live a normal life for awhile.