*HIP/STER/EO Interview: Eleanor Friedberger

Some voices soar and inspire torrents of praise, praise which itself soars to lofty heights, and others seem so unfettered, so natural that the 'playing' is mostly ignored until the 'instrument' itself grabs your ear. Eleanor Friedberger is unquestionably the latter, with her sing-song, talk-sing style, it's the crisp, dry enunciation and complex timbre of her vocal that wins over those lucky enough to listen.

Last summer Eleanor Friedberger took a step towards musical independence when she fleshed out a series of demos with the assistance of Eric Broucek (pictured left with Eleanor), who produced and mixed. The record is more or less a mood piece inspired by her memories of a more naive-self moving to New York about 10 years ago. As she herself said in a recent interview with the NY Times Popcast: "... the album is really about reminiscing and memories."

Standout tracks (so far): "My Mistakes", "Heaven", "Roosevelt Island", and "I Won't Fall Apart On You Tonight". There is some great summer pop on this album, stream the songs below via NPR.

Here Eleanor answers a few questions which makes her the first interview to appear here on *HIP/STER/EO!

Alan Williamson: I heard you say that this record was made in much the same way that Fiery Furnaces records are made. In that they are pieced together in the studio, what I've never heard is how you work up your vocals. I know of many singers who will record their vocals over and over trying to hit on what works best, how do you decide which vocal take is the one to go with?

Eleanor Friedberger: Since I made demos for all the songs, I had already worked out how the vocals would go. By the time I got into the studio I knew exactly what I wanted and just did a handful of takes and then went through them line by line, “comping” the best ones. It’s very tedious, but if you know how it should sound, it’s a lot easier. Usually it’s just taking out a word that’s not in tune and replacing with one that is. The delivery was more part of the songwriting process. “My Mistakes” was a song I sang all the way through; it was more about the feeling of the performance. But a song like “Heaven”, was sung on a loop until I had perfect takes.

AW: What, of your first experience writing and recording a solo record, would prompt you to do another one?

Eleanor: Everything about it, really; I learned so much. I can’t wait to record another album, not necessarily to fix what wasn’t right on the first try but to jump off from there. I thought of Last Summer as an experiment or a test, just to see if I could do it. As corny as it sounds, I know my best is yet to come.

AW: Your first solo tour is coming up and that means you've got to come up with a setlist. I wondered which songs from 'Last Summer' would be included, if not all? Could there be any covers or even Fiery Furnaces songs in the set?

Eleanor: I’ll be playing all the songs on the album, with maybe the exception of "Owl’s Head Park" for now. But the set will depend on whether I’m playing with a band or on my own. For instance, I would play “One-Month Marathon” solo, but not “Roosevelt Island.” I’ll definitely play a few Fiery Furnaces songs and a few brand new songs I’m really excited about.

The album will be out July 12th thanks to Merge Records.

Tour Dates:
Jul 11 Philadelphia, PA Kung Fu Necktie
Jul 12 Washington, DC Black Cat Backstage
Jul 14 Cambridge, MA Lizard Lounge
Jul 16 New York, NY South Street Seaport - The Village Voice / 4Knots Festival
Jul 19 Toronto, ON Horseshoe Tavern
Jul 20 Chicago IL The Hideout
Jul 23 Portland, OR Neumo's Crystal Ball - Capitol Hill Block Party
Jul 24 Seattle, WA Doug Fir Lounge
Jul 26 San Francisco, CA Hotel Utah Saloon
Jul 27 Los Angeles, CA The Satellite
Au 22 New York NY Webster Hall w/ Deerhunter
Au 23 New York NY Webster Hall w/ Deerhunter

Read more about Eleanor Friedberger on *HIP/STER/EO

Stream 'Last Summer' Via NPR.



» Launch/PopUp NPR Player

Sixeyes Interview: The National's Matt Berninger 2010

Hello! If you've come here from Sixeyes, well, this is my new blog and I'd appreciate it if you would take the time to subscribe. Thanks!

Please SUBSCRIBE to *hipstereo.

May 11th saw the release of The National's follow-up to breakthrough disc, Boxer (2007). Titled High Violet, it's different, I mean there's less squabbling and fighting in the songs, but don't worry there's still plenty of darkness in the violet shadows. And as usual, the backbone of the National's sound is it's rhythm section. Bryan and Scott Devendorf (drummer and bassist, respectively) are the skeleton which keeps the music solid while front man Matt Berninger is the muscle, or his voice and lyrics are. They guide and carry the listener through the shimmering colour washes of the Dessner brothers guitar work.

Based in Brooklyn, but currently on the road (check tour dates here), the self-deprecating Matt Berninger kindly took time out to answer several questions just for Sixeyes readers.

Sixeyes: I’ll start off by saying thanks for the new music and that hilarious new video for “Bloodbuzz Ohio”. I see the video was directed by a trio of women, one being your wife (Carin Besser). How was the experience of making the video and where was it shot?

MB: I’m glad you saw the humor in it. A lot of people thought it was serious. We were trying to ape these awkward old Serge Gainsbourg videos thinking it would be funny but many people who saw it just thought I was a self-serious douchebag. That’s only partly true. My mom was a disturbed by it. She said, “You look like a pedophilic Inspector Clouseau.” At least she saw what we were going for. It was all shot within a 5 minute walk from my apartment in Prospect Heights.

Sixeyes: How different is High Violet from the record you and the band set out to make, or thought you were making?

MB: We all had different ideas of what kind of record we were going to make but I don’t think any of us thought it would turn into what it did. We talked once about trying to write a fun pop record. I guess this is our version of that.

Sixeyes: I’ve read that the band's songs are built on demos that the Dessner’s record and send to you. Is this true in all cases? Have either Bryan or Scott recorded rhythms or melodies that you’ve worked with?

MB: The initial music sketches are about 60% Aaron, 30% Bryce, and 10% Scott and Bryan. Those percentages were arrived at scientifically.

Sixeyes: What is it that Peter Katis (producer) brings that the band keeps returning to him? Have you ever considered trying a different producer after one EP and four albums with the same producer?

MB: We like Peter because he jumps into the fray with us and joins the fighting. He’s also a genius when it comes to turning our crappy sounds into something great.

Sixeyes: There’s a paper I read regularly that features an interview each month which includes the question, “What should everyone shut up about?” I don’t want to get negative, so I’ll ask you “What should everyone hear about?” (music, art, film, books, politics, environmental issues… etc.)

MB: I don’t know really. I loved the movie Funny People. Eminem has a hilarious cameo.

Sixeyes: I read the story in the New York Times and laughed at the nicknames you’d been given by the others (the Naysayer, Mumbleberry Pie, the Dark Lord, Mr. Knee Jerk, Mr. Sony Headphones and the Echo Chamber). I wanted to give you a chance to return the favor and give up some nicknames you feel the others deserve or have earned.

MB: Bryan is sometimes referred to as Apocalypse Eventually. Aaron and Bryce at one point were Bung and Munch the Monkey Detectives. Scott was briefly known as Triple Homicide.

Sixeyes: Do you feel the pressure of being the last hurdle a song has to cross before its deemed good enough for the band?

MB: Not really. I relish the power. I like to wield it. I’m a natural wielder.

Sixeyes: John Darnielle, of The Mountain Goats, once (and only once) complimented me by saying he’d never been asked what I’d asked him. So my question is what was the last question you’d never been asked before? It doesn’t have to be in an interview it could be any question at all.

MB: A girl recently asked me to say her name so she could hear what it sounded like in my voice. Her name was Jade. I said “Jade”. It sounded amazing.

Sixeyes: In the song “Vanderlyle Cry Baby Geeks”, where the line is: “…swans are aswimmin’, I’ll explain everything to the geeks…”. Did that line ever refer to geese instead of geeks? Did you put Geeks in the title to circumvent the mishearing of that line?

MB: It was always geeks but people kept hearing geese. Yes, I added it to the title to help clarify. It think it’s also a better song title now too. Form follows function.

Sixeyes: I thought I’d go for the dirt this time, TMZ style (that’s the name of that show isn’t it… I hope). Some behind the scenes scoops about your big time fashion shoot for GQ would be great .You know, like who was the biggest diva?… that kind of thing.

MB: I’m usually the biggest diva. Bono’s hair guy did my hair for that. I think he did a pretty good job although it looks a bit wiggish.

Sixeyes: What about misconceptions about the band? With the increase in press (numbers wise and high profile-wise – NY Times, Uncut, Paste, etc.) have you seen an increase in misconceptions about band members and your music?

MB: People seem to think of us as miserable sad-sacks. I would describe us more as tender buffoons or nervous jackasses.

Sixeyes: Boxer got its name from the lover’s quarrels in several songs, or so I’ve read, and in the New York Times piece about the new album and where its title originated you’re quoted as saying, “None of it makes any sense. It’s all so crazy, but it seems so important”, in reference to a religious tract which inspired the title High Violet. Do you think that quote could be applied to the album's songs?

MB: It does suit the record I think. Most of the songs are desperate blurry approximations something meaningful. The thing itself is pretty flexible.

* * * * * * *

conversation 16 [mp3] from High Violet

Pop Quiz: The National's Matt Berninger

Well, here it is... the first and possibly the last POP QUIZ to appear on Sixeyes with favourite interview subject, Matt Berninger of The National.

* * * * * * *

Favourite city to visit?
Amsterdam. I like the canals and the bikes, not the drugs and whores.

Favourite venue to play?
Still Bowery Ballroom. It feels homey.

CD or vinyl?
I only listen to stuff on my iPod now. The sound is inferior but i'm lazy and turning over a record seems like a pain now.

Boxers or briefs?
Conservative briefs.

Beer, wine, or Calimocho?
Wine.

Favourite singer?
Changes too fast.

Coke or Pepsi?
Trying hard to think of something witty... nope, Coke.

The English Patient or High Fidelity?
I hated The English Patient. I wish everyone involved with that movie had died in a cave. High Fidelity is really good.

Madonna or Britney?
Pepsi

Favourite lyricist, or writer?
Too hard. I have about 20.

Sean Penn or Mickey Rourke?
Also tough. Penn.

Sugar or Aspartame?
Sugar?

Morning or night person? Uhh… afternoon?
I don't think I lean toward any of those times. It depends on what happened the day before.

Miami Vice or Starsky and Hutch?
Simon and Simon.

Bowie or Springsteen?
I used to date a girl who would often fantasize aloud about a Bowie-Jagger sandwich which turned me off Bowie for a few years. Springsteen and I were both left out so there's a kinship there.

The Mountain Goats' John Darnielle: Interview 2008

Heretic Pride is the title of The Mountain Goats new record which once again will be released on 4AD. It's the eleventh full length for John Darnielle and it continues the tradition of Darnielle songs teeming with sharp prickly lines that snowball into memorable stories which, in many cases, introduce the listener to people and places unknown beforehand. You know, kinda like what happens when you read a good and entertaining book. So, if you didn't know already... surprise!... that record, Heretic Pride, will be released tomorrow, Tuesday February 19th. There are also a whack of tour dates scheduled, beginning Tuesday in Fairbanks, Alaska, but I don't see any dates even remotely near Toronto... WTF?! (Sorry, I had to get that off my chest - let's hope somebody remedies this problem ASAP). Although, irrespective of this major oversight, I sent Mr Darnielle a series of questions and like magic they reappeared magically (funny how that happens, magic I mean) and as is always the case, his answers outshine my questions... which is how it should be, enjoy the read.

A special thanks to Lalitree Darnielle for the above photo. Check out her flickr page here.

BUY Heretic Pride.

* * * * * *

Sixeyes: I’d like to start by asking if you’re a heretic… in any sense of the term? (Not that there’s anything wrong with that - a la Seinfeld).

John Darnielle: No no, heavens no. I'm apostate, insofar as I hardly ever go to church any more, but actual heresy is something you kinda have to do with malice, and I think anybody who did any downtime reading the Church Fathers probably carries a horror of being branded "heretic." At the same time, though, I mean - if this is the middle ages? yes, no doubt, I am one, we're all one. What piety there is in the world is fake-ass piety, ugly self-righteousness, false austerities when there's any austerity at all. The world may have outgrown something as bizarre and cartoonish as the concept of heresy. Which is a shame from a narrative standpoint, but probably good for the rest (i.e., "all") of us.

Sixeyes: Heretic Pride opens with “Sax Rohmer #1”. I’ve never read any of Rohmer’s novels, so I can’t tell if his novels, or his life has inspired this song, or if you just like the name Sax Rohmer. Are you a fan of Rohmer’s?

JD: He's kind of a problematic guy to be a fan of - him and Lovecraft both are "products of their time" if you're being polite or "total racist assholes" if you're being realistic. So, you know, any fanhood I have of his stuff is mitigated by the way he describes Asian characters ("cunning", "inscrutable", etc, but that's just the tip of the iceberg) - my wife's from Thailand, I can't be down with tired Orientalisms. At the same time, though, the cartoonish danger-lurking-around-every-corner Fu-Manchu-about-to-invade-England-by-sea world he's imagining has this druggy bizarre filmic quality to it - as landscapes go, Rohmer's have got real depth, and texture, and grain. So a lot of the images in that song are stock stuff of the sort that Rohmer could do blindfolded - agents in the shadows, that sort of thing. In that sense, it's a tribute to his skills. But you always want to keep your distance from a dude like Rohmer. I almost changed the title but thought I should not front, I like to go with my first impulses in writing.

Sixeyes: And while we’re getting literary, just how do you know how Lovecraft felt when he was in Brooklyn, anyway?

JD: He left behind reams of evidence! H.P. "Dudebrah" Lovecraft, who incidentally was the meanest hacky-sack player of his day*, wrote letters to his friends and associates practically every day of his life. When he moved to Brooklyn from western Massachusetts, he felt horrified - the whole concept of New York City was pretty well beyond his grasp, dude was from western Massachusetts and the gulf between societies was greater then than now. (Or possibly not, maybe, you would have to ask people who've spent more time in western Mass. than I have.) His descriptions of Brooklyn are little miracles of misanthropy - he had a hard time in Brooklyn and took it all out in his mind on the immigrants among whom he lived. He was kind of like the silently angry neighbor dude who's going postal right under everybody's noses, only the only thing he ever did about it was write, write, write, eventually channeling his xenophobia into bizarre visions.

*this is a lie

Sixeyes: I know that you won’t talk about your process of writing a song, but I wonder if writing has become easier for you? Are you more self-assured, or is self-doubt always there, just now a smaller bump in the road?

JD: There are so many assumptions in this question - that notion that writers always have a little nagging voice of self-doubt, or feel a weight on them when they write - I can't speak for others but it's never been true for me. The feeling of writing is like body-surfing totally mongo waves - you reach a point of pure doing, where what you do is who you are and vice-versa, this really physical point of total bliss and engagement. It has always been that way for me. The reason I don't talk much about the process of writing is that it's private, and I believe in preserving some pleasures for the private realm.

Sixeyes (a): How do you go from being the hermetic songwriter to the communal process of bringing your songs to life in the studio?

JD: Lots of alcohol. This is kinda only sort of a joke. The studio is a difficult place for me on the best of days, I'm kind of a control freak with my songs and people have to constantly remind me "we're not trying to ruin your song, we're actually trying to do something cool with it." I have trust issues in this realm. I think these trust issues are largely rooted in the fact that everybody thinks reverb on vocals is just a terrific idea, when in fact there is nothing worse in the whole world. So that makes me think "I gotta be there for all decisions or people are gonna get happy on the reverb."

Sixeyes (b): And is it stressful when you first share new songs with others, or is it in any way a relief?

JD: Oh no I love sending songs to Peter. I mean, our relationship kind of has its origins, or at least had some early peak points, in me calling him up and goin' "Dude! You have to come over to my house and sing on this jam! It is a totally awesome jam!" (That song was "Cubs in Five" for those keeping score.) Writing and show-and-tell isn't really stressful at all, the only hard part is the transition from what I do by myself to the growth into a bigger, multi-faceted thing.

Sixeyes (a): I’ve read that Scott Solter and John Vanderslice helped out once again in studio.

JD: Yes: they are the producers. I have to say they do more than help out, they are the architects here.

Sixeyes (b): So, how prepared is your production team before you all meet up at Prairie Sun? Are Solter and Vanderslice familiar with the songs beforehand?

JD: Good and unusual question! On previous albums we haven't been all that prepared; usually Peter and I will have had a few practice sessions and then everybody else will just figure out what they're gonna do once they get there. This time Peter and Jon and I had had several practice sessions plus a tour, and really knew how we played together, and Erik had sent me demos of his parts and an early arrangement of "San Bernardino." Not trying to brag, but JV said that, for this album, we were one of the best-prepared bands he'd seen in the studio, and that made me feel proud.

Yeah, I start sending Scott and JV songs once I have an album-length bunch. Peter gets them hot off the press, one at a time, usually.

Sixeyes: Sticking with Prairie Sun, you’ve recorded there before, so why again? What is so special about this studio for you?

JD: It's been sorta like returning to the place where something good happened! The first one we did there was The Sunset Tree, and that album opened all kinds of doors for me; then we did Get Lonely, which was a little polarizing, but we were and remain really proud of it - it's quite different, really sort of a detour that gave me lots of pleasure. So then I thought, wow, if we can go back there and do something that different from what we did before, what else is possible up there? Also, and probably more importantly, a lot of crucial thrash metal bands have recorded there.

Sixeyes: From what I’ve seen you keep up to date with what's happening at the cutting edge of music. Is that done out of an ingrained desire, or a way of feeding your creative mind with ammunition, or both?

JD: I have to say I don't think this is true! I listen to loads of stuff, some of it quite obscure, but I don't think I'm actually up on what's going on that's cool or anything. I probably couldn't I.D. even one of the recent hot indie rock bands except maybe Vampire Weekend. I listen to a ton of music for the same reason anybody else does I'd guess - sheer visceral pleasure, a pleasant and rewarding use of my senses. Right?

Sixeyes: All right. Well, inspiration must be an elusive thing that an artist can’t really pin down, you can’t stuff it away in a drawer and pull it out when needed, but do you think that inspiration can lead to something hollow if the artist isn’t in the right frame of mind? Be it joyful, miserable, or lustful as examples. Do primal emotions, you think, make for better songs?

JD: No, there isn't much that I disagree with more than the last bit you raise there. Writing - any writing - is a cerebral process. Some people (I think of Artaud) have gone to great lengths to try to make it otherwise, but at the end of the day, you're imposing structure on something pre-lingual. Primal emotions don't take place at the level of language: they're screams and grunts and cries and whimpers, not rhyming couplets. While I'll acknowledge that some days a writer has the thing workin' and other days he doesn't, I pretty much reject the concept of inspiration: writing is work. Good fun hard rewarding work, but work. Not magic. Steady practice shapes a write the way a sculptor makes a statue, I think - not waiting for inspiration to strike.

Sixeyes: Keeping with the ‘On The Road’ aspect, while on stage do you ever feel that same rush you get from listening to a great metal song?

JD: No, they're different qualities - even the most active listening is at root a passive process, though I guess there are some theories of listening that'd find a statement like that pretty offensive. Come to think of it, I do, too, since I think the act of listening is what gives life to a song. Anyhow though performing is a whole different deal - playing is a whole different deal. Different channels getting engaged. There's a level at which the most important part of playing is listening, for sure, but it's a different sort of listening.

Sixeyes: On your website you’ve got some tour dates up and you’re starting off in Alaska, have you ever played that far north before, or even visited the state in the past? Is that ever a consideration when planning a tour, to go places you’re curious about?

JD: Yeah we played Fairbanks last year. Since most of what I see of a place is the inside of a club and then later the inside of a hotel room, I don't really think too hard about seeing places I haven't seen before. Though it is nice to cross another one off the list, we've played almost all fifty states now. I look forward to rocking Wyoming, North Dakota, Montana, Hawaii, Maine, and Delaware someday!

Sixeyes: Now, I’ll finish up with this: I hear you’re into cooking and have even been pulling out some old vinyl recently. What would John Darnielle serve up when friends come over? And what about that old vinyl, just how old are we talking about here? And what have you been spinning?

JD: Given enough prep time I would have to go with my samosas and a coconut chutney. Those are pretty much my calling card. Though I have a loaf of French bread I've been doing that's spectacular.

Old vinyl - I don't know, I listened to some old Caruso sides on an LP that had to've been from the early sixties at the latest the other day. I've been otherwise listening on the turntable to Barrington Levy, Peste Noire, Sadomator, and Chic's Real People, which I totally missed the first time around and is awesome.

* * * * * *

BUY Heretic Pride

There is a massive amount of Mountain Goats music to be found at eMusic.
Check out eMusic's Free trial offer of 25 DRM-free downloads here.

"Sax Rohmer #1" Video

Mountain Goats MP3s
From Heretic Pride
marduk t-shirt men's room incident [mp3]

From Get Lonely
new monster avenue [mp3]

From The Sunset Tree
lions teeth [mp3]

From We Shall All Be Healed
palmcorder yajna [mp3]

From All Hail West Texas
source decay [mp3]


TOUR DATES
February
19 - Anchorage, AK
22 - Vancouver, BC, Richard's on Richards
23 - Seattle, WA, Neumos
25 - Portland, OR, Doug Fir
26 - Portland, OR, Doug Fir
27 - Eugene, OR, WOW Hall
29 - San Francisco, CA, Bimbo's

March
1 - San Francisco, CA, the Independent
2 - San Francisco, CA, Bottom of the Hill (matinee)
4 - Los Angeles, CA, the Troubadour
5 - Los Angeles, CA, the Troubadour
13 - Northampton, MA, Pearl Street
14 - Boston, MA, Museum of Fine Arts
15 - Boston, MA, The Middle East
18 - New York, NY, Webster Hall
19 - Brooklyn, NY, Music Hall of Williamsburg
20 - Philadelphia, PA, First Unitarian
22 - Washington, DC The Black Cat

April
5 - Perth, The Rousemount
6 - Adelaide, Fowlers Live
8 - Melbourne, Billboard
9 - Hobart, The Republic Bar
11- Newcastle, The Cambridge
12 - Sydney, Manning Bar
15 - Brisbane, The Zoo
17 - Sunshine Coast, Lake Kawana Community Centre

John Vanderslice Interview: Part 2

Here's what you've been waiting for, part two of sixeyes interview with JV. If you missed part 1, with talk of sex on desks, Don Rickles, and Rhythm Ace drum machines, PLUS the exclusive premiere of "Numbered Lithograph" Live at Tiny Telephone, you can jump back to it right here.

Now, here's Part Deux of sixeyes interview with John Vanderslice...


SIXEYES: With Bowie being your hero, do you aspire to reinvent yourself, if not image-wise, but musically each time you set out to make a new record?

John Vanderslice: Oh yes, but I never do. Isn’t that strange?? It seems like an easy thing to do... I really admire how Bowie changed musical styles like actors changing roles. Genre was like clothing in theater, something you inhabit for effect. Now I know how difficult it is to take those clothes off!!

SIXEYES: You've penned a number of songs that deal with and/or are set in Baghdad (the obvious being "Plymouth Rock" and "Trance Manual", and now you've advanced to the point where you are naming your upcoming album after a section of the city. I've got to ask if you've ever been there and if not, what have you read or seen that has affected you so much that that city keeps reappearing in your work?

JV: Well Baghdad city seems to be the epicenter of so much American folly. In the middle we've got a heavily fortified green zone, where we're building a billion dollar US embassy, by far the largest in the world. It's on 104 acres and half of the 5,500 employees are security. This is INSANE! But fascinating, right? I mean, why? It's the one of the only projects we built in Iraq that was delivered on time. And another indicator we're never leaving.

I've never been to the Middle East. I would love to take that drive from the airport to the green zone.

I don't think I really understand why we're there. Oil, China, heartland theory, funding a shadow government, yes I'm sure all those, but there are other reasons I haven't figured out... and that keeps me coming back to Iraq.

SIXEYES: This has nothing to do with the new record, but a while back I was listening to "Big Band Stars” and got a strong impression from the lyric that you were perhaps a fan of Melville’s Moby Dick? And that thought came back to me when I read something you’d written on your website about hurling a harpoon into black water. Does the story of the whale hold special significance for you?

JV: Oh yeah, Melville and Chaucer were the two big things for me when I went to UC Berkeley. I think anyone who tours and makes music over a long period of time must be haunted by some unknowable monster!!

SIXEYES: Just what is the plan for promoting the new album? Is the main thrust going to come from blog interviews and previews on blogs like Sixeyes, or are you going to lay down serious cash on a half page ad in an indie mag, or two, or three?

JV: Well, we're trying to do something different from our past records. I personally live on the web, so that's the place I want to push the record. We probably won't have any print ads for Emerald City. Everything is different now, and by the time my next record comes out we'll have to rethink it all again.

One thing that has to go: the three to four month lead time for a record release. This is retarded! That’s all to set up national press. Can you think of anything slower and more 20th century than doing something FOUR months in advance to get a record review? Shit, there's tons of nights where a blogger emails me THE NIGHT of a show and has written and photographed extensively about the performance they saw two hours earlier. That’s more my speed.

SIXEYES: Who shot and edited the Tiny Telephone Emerald City Tour film? And did you get involved in any way with the post-production?

JV: Scott Ottaway was the mastermind. He contacted me about filming a show in Seattle and I thought he'd be a natural. He brought two camera crews down to Tiny Telephone and kept everything rolling. I wasn't very involved in the post-production. I was too busy with my pit-bulls (it's dog-fighting season here). I told Scott I wanted as few cuts as possible, and for him to keep it very natural and unprocessed. He did a wonderful job.

SIXEYES: How long a process was this? Was it an all day affair?

JV: Two 14 hour days. By the end we felt like prostitutes on Super Bowl weekend. Whatever that means :)

SIXEYES: And I'm curious about who came up with the idea to shoot the film and offer it to favourite blogs of yours? Also, was this in any way to deter the entire album appearing as mp3s as soon as it hit the shelves?

JV: It was Barsuk's idea!!! Which is great because they can't blame us if it all goes wrong. Ha!

No it wasn't done to deter any p2p sharing. More of a way to show appreciation to fans and blogs for the support. And also to prove we can actually play these songs live!!!

SIXEYES: In the song “The Tower” you mention Tarot cards and I’ve seen a deck of Tarot cards in a picture of the console in Tiny Telephone. How heavily are you into Tarot and that kind of thing?

JV: Well, I love the Rider-Waite-Smith deck; I think the narrative ideas in it are fascinating. The song "the tower" is about the perils of ego and hubris. As far as my own beliefs, I am a godless soul who doesn't buy any of it.

SIXEYES: The current press release on Emerald City says that you wrote the bulk of the record while attempting to get your French girlfriend a visa, has that situation been resolved? And what did you learn, or are learning, about your government from this sad state of affairs?

JV: Well we're still dealing with all of that!!!

Well, I certainly learned that you need to constructively use all the anger these things produce, and not become bitter and crazy...

SIXEYES: Ok, on a lighter note... from photos I’ve carefully scrutinized it seems that all the members (excepting you of course) of your band are smokers. What’s it like being the odd man out when you’re on a six-week tour with three tobacco fiends?

JV: Yeah that's kind of a bummer. It’s strange I don't mind tobacco, what really messes me up is processed smokes. I used to work in a cigar bar and all that real tobacco was fine for me. I tried to get my band mates to roll their own. That lasted about three days.

SIXEYES: Now that you’re a world traveler and have seen things I can only dream about, or see on cable, where would you like to go if you could go anywhere right now?

JV: Vietnam!!

Seeing how the previous question was about 'travel', I thought I'd now ask John to take a trip down memory lane for his thoughts and feelings on the past six solo albums he’s recorded and released. And, as always, JV being a generous and open soul, he offers to pay for gas so I can come along, tells me that I'm coming along on his next European tour, and says something about blueberry pancakes, or was it blueberry blunts... here he is, on the couch:

Mass Suicide Occult Figurines (2000)
My first solo record, and my first record for a label. It’s really half an mk ultra record and half experiments in recording myself at tiny telephone. The heavy band songs (bill gates, speed lab, what did you do today, big band stars) were mk ultra songs tracked live with John Croslin. I love the title, and I love the sound of the record, but I can't listen to it. It’s too fragmented and unfocused. It wasn't until I cleared my mind of my old band that I was able to move in a new direction.

Download the entire Mass Suicide Occult Figurines album here at his homepage.

Time Travel is Lonely (2001)
Probably my fondest memory. It was the first record i felt like I found any kind of style that was true to what I was hearing in my head. I had made a lot of breakthroughs in recording since MSOF, finding a noisier, more distressed way of tracking. This was the first record I worked with Scott Solter, who did some tracking and overdubs. John Croslin mixed it at Tiny Telephone on our (then) new Neve 5316 console.

Download a couple of tracks from Time Travel Is Lonely here.


Life and Death of an American Fourtracker (2002)
This album feels a bit rushed to me, notice it was my third record in three years. some individual songs are high points for me (the mansion, 424) but the overall feel of the record is not fully realized. Some of the sonic experiments that Solter did (the percussion in "Nikki O Nikki", the drums in "Amitriptyline") are mind blowing to me today. After this record came out I decided to slow down my recording schedule, partially in response to the increase in tours.

Download a couple of tracks from Life and Death of an American Fourtracker here.

Cellar Door (2004)
A new direction. The first full collaboration between Scott Solter and me. It seemed to really benefit from the slowed down recording schedule. Sonically, Scott and I have never topped “Up Above The Sea”.

My only regret is leaving a track on the record that's probably the most requested song from the record. I won't name it!!

Download a couple of tracks from Cellar Door here.


Pixel Revolt (2005)
The biggest seller and many people's (along with TTIL) favorite. I really feel it's too long. If I had it over again I would pull four songs of the record and put them on a companion EP. I grew up with 40 minute LPs and, for me, that's the ideal format.

The songs for the EP would've been:

1. Peacocks in the Video Rain
2. Continuation
3. Radiant with Terror
4. Crc 7173, Affectionately

Then you would've had a ten song, 40 minute record and a very interesting EP.

Download a couple of tracks from Pixel Revolt here.

Emerald City (2007)
9 songs, 40 minutes! Yes. The first record made with a band: David Douglas, Ian Bjornstad, David Broecker. Mostly tracked live with Scott Solter. No other players appear on Emerald City. It’ll take me a few years to figure out how I feel about this one. In general, my estimation of a new record is a manic-depressive cycle. One day you're stunned you let so many mistakes make it to tape, and other days you feel you'll never be able to make music like this again.


From Emerald City: white dove [mp3]

JOHN VANDERSLICE: Live From Tiny Telephone + Interview Part 1

Emerald City, John Vanderslice's latest solo record and his first with a tried and true band backing him, was released on July 24th through Seattle's Barsuk Records, and it stands up well beside his last release, the critically acclaimed Pixel Revolt. But this time out not only is the sound pared back, but the content as well, with nine tracks which crackle, buzz, and mesmerize like the overload of media information we are inundated with each and every day (Pixel Revolt had 14). JV feels this buzz, he lives and breathes it as an avid consumer of online culture and print media, and he may understand it better than some because his new baby, Emerald City, is being promoted in a different way with print advertising being pushed to the side and JV's home away from home, the internet, being the prime focus. And the main push right now is his Tiny Telephone Emerald City Video Tour which is using nine of his favourite music blogs to host each of Emerald City's nine tracks in glorious 16 x 9 videos (go to his homepage for links to all the videos posted, so far). Sixeyes is proud to present the latest in that series, "Numbered Lithograph". Here it is, along with part 1 of the sixeyes interview with JV below... enjoy.




From Emerald City
white dove [mp3]

BUY Emerald City

VISIT:
JV homepage
JV myspace

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

SIXEYES: John, the new album opens with acoustic guitar, was there any specific reason you leaned more heavily on acoustic for this album? Was it because you were tired of the electric, or is it just easier to work with an acoustic in a live recording environment?

JV: Well, to be honest I find recording electric guitar very difficult. Also, Scott Solter and I call it the "cookie monster" at Tiny Telephone because it chews up so much dynamic range. It steals space from vocals and most harmonic instruments that live in the middle. It’s like going out on the town with a loud-mouthed guy who's wearing a "sigma pi" sweatshirt. Unless you're getting jumped, he may be a liability.

There’s something more feminine and subtle about an acoustic, even when it's distorted to high heaven.

SIXEYES: Sometimes it's the little behind-the-scenes things that I wonder about, such as your going out with a photographer and scouting locations (that sounds so Hollywood) for the cover shot. What is that like? Do you typically spend a day having your picture taken? And why put your mug on the cover this time out (sixeyes: this is the first time JV has been on he cover)? And who is that woman sitting behind you on the cover of Emerald City?

JV: Well, remember Alan that I would love nothing more than to be a cinematographer. So photo shoots for me are amazing. Autumn de Wilde and I drove around for hours scouting places to shoot. She is a tremendous photographer and the only reason I ended up on the cover, I'm not sure who else I would trust that to. We shot for about 14 hours straight, and that's pretty rough. I mean to look interesting for five minutes is tiring, right!

So, we drove by an open garage door with an old lady and her son listening to Dr. Laura (right-wing self-help blabber, if you don’t know her, it's hilarious), Autumn said: "Stop!" We got out and she charmed the women into letting us take photos with her. I drive by her house everyday but haven't seen her yet to tell her she's on the cover. I'll wait until I get them back.

I wanted to put myself on the cover because I wanted to make more of a direct connection with the listener, and because my hero is Bowie and he's almost ALWAYS on the cover!

SIXEYES: A cinematographer, eh? You know, even if I don't currently own a camera (cell phones don't count) I sometimes find myself thinking, as I gaze through windows of cars, or buses, or trains, 'that would be a great shot', or 'that's a very cool location for a shoot'. Do you ever do that? And do you also, as I do, think 'oh hell, what am I doing, I'm not gonna make a movie'? Or maybe it's just me.

JV: Yes, I think of that stuff all the time, I usually take 300-400 photos every tour. And yes I know I’ll never make a movie. That would be absurd! It’s a very potent fantasy to be able to shift into another creative area. But it took me 15 years of playing and recording to even begin to figure it out, so I’m not sure if I want to go through that again!

SIXEYES: The eighth track on Emerald City is "Numbered Lithograph", a song that was previously titled "Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Numbered Lithograph". I didn't know who Mackintosh was before being prompted to search him out online, I was certain he was an artist, a painter, knowing of your interest in art history, but he's not, he's an architect (sixeyes: he's renowned as an architect, but did paint as well). How did you receive inspiration for the lyric in this song?

JV: Well, a girl I dated a few years ago did her arts degree at Stanford on Mackintosh, so I got interested in him through her. When I was in Glasgow I went to the Glasgow School of Art and the CRM cafe. Amazing!! I first found out about him through his wallpaper and tile designs. I am obsessed with anything domestic and crafty.

SIXEYES: What startled me and put me off on first listening to the album version of the song (I listened to a couple of live versions many times before getting a hold of the album), was that mysterious clicking-clacking-burbling-gurgle that wiggles it way throughout the song. But now I enjoy it, although I have to ask: What the hell is that?

JV: Ha!! It's a Rhythm Ace drum machine, one of the earliest drum machines ever made. I'm sure it's being jammed into a bunch of effects and distortion boxes. I'm glad you got used to it!!!

SIXEYES: And the abrupt ending, both lyrically and musically, what are you trying to say by ending the track the way you have?

JV: That song to me is about fragmentation and isolation. And things that are separated from their usual place or environment. The girl from the table, the cell phone from the girl, the bird from nature and the singer from friends and a healthier life. I wanted an anti-chorus, it actually doesn't sum up the emotions of the song, but makes the narrative feel more fractured. The quick and ruthless cut was part of that.

SIXEYES: Your old collaborator, Scott Solter, was once again in studio with you for the recording. You've worked together quite a bit and I was wondering if his role ever changes, or does he always contribute musically as well as production-wise?

JV: Well, his role gets bigger and bigger with each record. I LEAN on him! Some songs he hangs back, makes a few suggestions here and there, and let's it happen. Other songs he'll do a complete tear down. "Tablespoon of Codeine" is a Solter production. Top to bottom. Now, Douglas, Brock, and Ian wrote a lot of the music, but Scott shaped everything. My version of the song sounds NOTHING like the completed song. "Time To Go" is very similar to the demo I recorded.

SIXEYES: The upcoming Emerald City tour lists the touring band as David Douglas, Ian Bjornstad, Daniel Hart, and Dave Willingham. Who are these new guys and what's up with Dave (Mr. Comedy) Broecker missing from the line-up?

JV: Ha, Broecker is funny as hell. The movie guy voice he does is requested as often as some of the songs! He'll play with us in Seattle this month and always for the NW shows. He's getting married and trying to have a real life:) You can't blame him. We will probably play as a trio now with additional players as they're available. Daniel Hart is a genius. He plays in Physics of Meaning and Polyphonic Spree. He's an excellent violinist and singer. He'll add a lot to the set. Dave Willingham is the sound engineer for the Spree, we're lucky to have him.

SIXEYES: I get the feeling that you didn’t have any writer’s block when it came to getting these songs down on paper. If so, was that due to the fact you were bursting with ideas from your globetrotting tours over the past couple of years in support of Pixel Revolt?

JV: I had no trouble this time around. I think the best thing was taking a longer break. We have a two-year gap in between Pixel (Revolt) and Emerald (City). That’s by far the longest yet. I think the next record will be a lot faster than that. And yes the tours help, you have SO MUCH visual and emotional input that it's bound to pour out when you're still.

SIXEYES: Staying the course here, didn’t you write Pixel Revolt at your desk? I seem to recall you saying that. I want to know if any of Emerald City’s songs were penned away from that desk? Do you ever write while on the road?

JV: Yeah, I do everything on my desk. Sleep, eat. Even make love to my girlfriend. My desk is my life! I’m there right now listening to a Don Rickles interview on Fresh Air and typing this to you Alan!!!



That’s a really good question because for the first time, I wrote songs on tour. The first two on Emerald, "Kookaburra" and "Time To Go" were written in Australia when I was on tour with the Mountain Goats.

We stayed on after the tour at Killcare Beach (pictured above - photo by JV) and swam and hiked. It was one of the best times of my life.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Whoa now! Hold on good reader, this is just the end of PART ONE!! PART TWO of this interview will be posted tomorrow. Please come check it out as it features what I like to call 'John Vanderslice: a self-analysis in six parts'. Which is his own thoughts and feelings looking back on all six solo albums he has released. And there's lots more, stuff like Baghdad, Bowie, Moby Dick, shadow governments, Super Bowl prostitutes, Tarot cards, and hand rolled cigarettes to mention a few.

See you tomorrow then, thanks for reading and I know that John thanks you for listening and for watching.

Hipstereo Interview: The Veils' Finn Andrews

From the moment major labels execs started waving five album deals in his fifteen year old face, he was on the path to leading his own band. At sixteen he left school and home in New Zealand to head for London to make music. 2004 saw the release of The Veils' debut, The Runaway Found. An album teeming with promise, it slipped under the radar of many who should have heard it. The album boasted the magnificently dreamy balladry of "Lavinia", a song that has wound itself about my core like a wild vine. The talent of Andrews staggered me when I heard the rest of the album and further more when I learned he was but twenty years of age. The sweeping romance of the imagery countered with Andrews cracking rasp, which could, and often did, rise with a feral grace, seduced many of us who are romantics at heart. The seduction continues with the second effort by Andrews and the new members of The Veils, Sophia Burn, and Liam Gerrard... the album is called Nux Vomica. Not as polished as The Runaway Found, production-wise, the new recording shows a growing confidence in Andrews as a songwriter. The ferocity unveiled on the debut is even more on show here in songs like "Not Yet", "Pan", "Jesus For The Jugular", and the title track, "Nux Vomica". And worthy successors to the lovely "Lavinia" are here as well, namely "Under The Folding Branches" and "House Where We All Live", the former being as romantic a song as Andrews has yet written. The only thing holding The Veils back from stardom is time, time to be heard, time to build an audience, and time to do things one at a time.

Finn Andrews was kind enough to answer some questions from an imaginary hammock on an imaginary dusty porch (when he wasn't worrying about time and space).

Visit The Veils myspace and be their friend.
Download Nux Vomica with eMusic's free trial offer of 25 DRM-Free MP3s.

* * * * * * * *

+Sixeyes: Let's start at the beginning... what instrument did you first pick up, guitar? And is that first instrument the one that still gets the most attention today?

Finn Andrews: I played around on a lot of different instruments pretty early on - I learnt the didgeridoo when I was about 6, circular breathing and all. I’m currently trying to teach myself the Viola but I’m still pretty shit at it. I figured I’d at least be as good as John Cale within a few months but it really doesn’t seem to be working out like that.

+SE: I was wondering if anything you've read had inspired songs on the new album, or on the first album?

FA: I read an essay by Susan Sontag in the paper last week that made me want to build a fucking city. It had a line in it, I don’t know if it was one of hers or not but it went: “Time is so everything doesn’t happen all at once, and Space is so it doesn’t all happen to you.” That cheered me up immensely.

+SE: I've gotten the impression from some lyrics and older interviews that you may be a homebody, that you like the comforts of hearth and home. If that's true, or not, how do you handle the constant flux of life on the road?

I’m really pretty perverse – I want whatever is furthest away from me most of the time it seems, so when we’re on the road all I really want to be doing is swaying in a hammock on some dusty porch, strumming a banjo and humming to myself.

It might have something to do with growing up between New Zealand and England that nothing ever seems like that far away.

+SE: In the performance videos I've seen of the band and in photos you've adopted an image that some have described as pseudo-Amish. Is this a deliberate look you've settled on, or just a happy result of your style choices? And if deliberate, why?

FA: It’s amazing the amount of attention a big hat gets you. I just like dressing up in weird shit from time to time - bands all look the fucking same and I just woke up one morning and thought “Fuck it, I’m putting on an enormous fucking hat.” I don’t wear it anymore though.

+SE: I want to know what drives you to create? And why did you decide to make another album? I mean it seems like such a hassle and all to get a record made unlike say a painter who only answers to himself and does all the work on his own.

FA: I think it depends entirely on how you look at it: I haven’t met many painters who are laughing it up at people in the music industry cause they’ve got it so much harder. Anyone that works in the arts kind of has to just accept pretty early on that it’s a fucking struggle getting anything of any real worth made and you better just get used to it.

+SE: Nick Launay, who produced Nux Vomica, had worked on your father's (XTC) albums in the past. Did you know Launay personally because of this connection?

FA: Yeah, sort of - I used to go round to his house a lot when I was a kid and I’d amuse myself in his living room while the adults were up stairs making loud noises in the studio. It’s kind of come full circle.

+SE: Did you always have the idea of making music as a way of life in the back of your mind because of your father's career as a musician?

FA: Oh God no! It looked like the most horrific fucking profession imaginable – I wanted to make films or be a fisherman or something.


How do you think his career affected your confidence towards music and making a living at it?

FA: It made me very aware very early on that nearly everyone in the record industry is a self-promoting chancer who will work you to death and try to steal your money. That’s proved pretty much spot on so far.

+SE: Is there an artist or musician whose work you hold aloft as a goal you're attempting to equal when you write? Someone you measure yourself against?

FA: I read an interview with Martin Sheen this morning and I kind of want to turn out like him in 40 years time. I love Devendra Banhart’s stuff. He’s so free in the music he’s making and he really excites me about the music that will be made tomorrow. I used to be very obsessed with musicians more of my father’s generation when I was in my teens, people like Patti Smith and Tom Waits, but now I feel a lot more towards those closer to my age, people whose work is blossoming all around us right now. People like Rufus Wainwright, The Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Antony & The Johnsons, Bill Callahan. They’re kind of all driving me nuts at the moment.

+SE: What does the rest of the year hold for you and the band?

FA: We’re actually moving to Oklahoma to squat in The Flaming Lips living room and rehearse a record. You know how it is. We’ll be there ‘til August and then hopefully there’ll be a new album out by the end of the year. I can’t wait.

* * * * * * * *

From Nux Vomica
advice for young mothers to be [mp3]

BUY Nux Vomica and/or The Runaway Found.

TOUR DATES
When performing live the band line-up is:
Finn Andrews (vocals, guitar)
Sophia Burn (bass)
Liam Gerrard (piano and organ)
Henning Dietz (drums)
Dan Raishbrook (guitar)

APRIL
25th: Islington Academy, London, UK

MAY
2nd: Mezz, Breda, The Netherlands
3rd: Doornrosje, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
4th: Melkweg, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
5th: Bevrijdingsfestival, Groningen, The Netherlands
6th: Rotown, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
14th: Anciennes Belgique, Brussels, Belgium

JUNE
7th: Mercury Lounge, New York City, NY, USA
8th: Union Hall, Brooklyn, NY, USA
9th: Great Scott, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
11th: DC9, Washington DC, USA
12th: The Khyber, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
14th: El Mocambo, Toronto, Canada
15th: Shelter 16, Detroit, Michigan, USA
17th: Empty Bottle, Chicago, Illinois, USA
18th: 7th Street Entry, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
19th: Grand Emporium, Kansas City, Missouri, USA
21st: Larimer Lounge, Denver, Colorado, USA
24th: Plaza Club, Vancouver, Canada
25th: Crocodile Club, Seattle, Washington, USA
26th: Doug Fir, Portland, Oregon, USA
28th: Cafe Du Nord, San Francisco, California, USA
29th: Spaceland, Los Angeles, California, USA

The Devastations: *Hipstereo Interview

Interview by Alan Williamson



The music of Australian-bred trio, Devastations, is akin to nights when you're so tired you can't sleep--those sleepless nights when you see and hear things in a different way and they stick with you because of that fact. 3 a.m. is a different world for those who rise at 7:30 each morning and the music created by Devastations is from that dark of night, that dark of dreams, and the darkness within us… the 3 a.m. of the soul.

Formed from the core of Melbourne rock band, Luxedo, in 2002, Tom Carlyon, Hugo Cran, and Conrad Standish, have always kept moving, either creatively, or geographically. Critical acclaim befell the trio after the release of their self-titled debut in 2003--a recording ripe with promise, one that easily demonstrated the talents of the band, especially through the songs, "Loene", "We Will Never Drink Again", and "Previous Crimes". The songs have a smeared European decadence shrink-wrapped about the brooding talents of Carlyon, Cran, and Standish. If you find the intelligent music authored and essayed by Brooklyn band, The National, to be moving, then I highly recommend you seek out Devastations. They have a more sparse sound, three members in comparison to The National's five, but the songs of both outfits skirt the dark fringes. And each boasts a singer whose tobacco-stained throat curls up from the words like smoke, smoke that attempts to obscure the ache and yet only shrouds it in the vocal charisma of the singer. It's a cultural crime that more have not had the opportunity to discover them, although the crime fighting indie record label, Brassland, has taken the proper steps to right this wrong… they've signed Devastations and will give their latest disc, Coal, a Stateside release this coming Tuesday, October 24th.

Video
+ Take You Home - live footage 'SKC', Belgrade, Serbia. (windows media file)


(An interesting tidbit: vocalist and bassist, Standish, is a childhood friend of Angus Andrew of Liars and he contributed three songs and guested on the Liars latest album.)

I'd like to thank Devastations guitarist, Tom Carlyon, for taking the time to answer these interview questions.


* * * * * * * * *

*Sixeyes: I’ve got to start by saying that the Nick Cave comparisons I repeatedly find in album reviews are getting tiresome. All harping on the same things: the vocals, song subjects, and that both singers are tall. Okay, it's a lazy comparison, and they are favourable comparisons, but do you see the similarity others cite so often?

Tom Carlyon: Comparisons full-stop are pretty limiting. I’m not sure what it achieves. It’s like palm-reading – I don’t believe any of it. It’s probably more apt to say The Devastations share similar influences. But then again, maybe we don’t. I just don’t know.

*Six: ...or, is it taken as a compliment and let go? Has there been a comparison you found much more apt, or even incomprehensible?

TC: Well, Nick Cave is no schmuck. Better being compared to him than, say, Donny Osmond. Someone once compared us to the sound of a meteor cooling in the cut grass. That’s far more appealing.

*Six: If you had the luxury of providing the press with a brief description of the band and it's sound, which the press would have to use, what short, succinct phrase would you give them?

TC: Tropical Goth.



*Six: Coal was recorded in Berlin, Melbourne, and Prague, and I hear that the Berlin location was formerly the East German headquarters for radio and television... is this also where Radiohead have recorded? How did you choose this location and while I'm on this subject, who produced the record?

TC: Not sure if Radiohead recorded in the same Berlin Studio. Quite possibly – it’s an immense compound with many studios under the one roof. We chose the location on the advice of our friend Alex Hacke who recorded these sessions. We were living in Berlin at the time, had just finished 4 months of fairly solid touring and had the opportunity to begin a new record (Coal) – it seemed like a good idea at the time. As far as production goes, we (as in Conrad, Hugo and I) produced Coal.

*Six: What outside force had the greatest effect on Coal?

TC: When we left Melbourne in 2003 we were elated at the prospect of leaving home for an eternally prosperous future on the road! This feeling was undoubtedly delusional but it had a large influence on what songs we chose to record, how we decided to arrange them and where we would record them etc… We also toured solidly for 4 months before recording began. This put us in the same car for a long time so we were forced to talk about our next record. Unfortunately we screwed up the Berlin sessions due to our own inept playing (too much prep) and had to re-start nearly everything again in Prague. In the end, time became the biggest factor. Having abandoned the Berlin sessions and re-started everything in Prague some months later we then finished Coal over 8 very long months in Melbourne - due largely to financial restrictions, engineer illness and touring commitments. This lengthy process actually opened the door for collaborations with both Padma Newsome (Clogs) and Bic Runga.

*Six: Like several prominent Australian bands before you, you've made a long distance move to the 'old country'. Where does the band now call home, or even feel at home? And why did you leave Australia?

TC: We left Melbourne because it takes 23 hours in the air and another 10 in transit just to get to London Koko in Camden to play with The National on May 31st. Now, we’re just trying to keep on the move – like gypsy’s or something. After the UK tour Conrad and Hugo will move back to Berlin for a while and I’m going to set up a duchy somewhere in Moravia – put the wife and kid in a castle and find some subjects. Actually, there’re plenty of castles in Ireland. I shall book a flight to Cork.

*Six: What strengths and weaknesses do you feel that working as a trio brings to Devastations music? Also, I believe the band expands to a quartet when on the road, who is it you rope in for this position?

TC: Working as a trio is my favourite format for watching other bands and playing live because every aspect of a band and it’s music is visible. The musicians look naked and the sound is right in front of you. Also, you can hear the fuck ups and you can see any chemistry between the individuals – if it exists.

Having said that, if (as we have) you write songs that have string arrangements, piano choirs and go-go dancers, you can’t fairly represent them as a three piece. ‘Sex & Mayhem’ as a 3-piece is akin to hearing ‘Sexual Healing’ played on trombone. One other down-side of a three piece is that the guitar becomes the instrumental centrepiece and that can get a bit tiresome after a while.

On piano, we initially roped in Kiernan Box. He’s been with us for 2 years now. When he’s not available we are lucky enough to have Nigel Yang to fill-in.

*Six: Even before your signing to US indie Brassland, I heard a similarity to former Brassland artists, The National: in the baritones of the singers, the way both bands aren’t afraid to veer off the ‘rock’ roadmap and take less traversed pathways. And I’ve learned that both have also utilized the talents of instrumentalist Padma Newsome. Was Padma, or The National, a factor in your choosing Brassland, and how do you know Padma?

TC: Conrad told me Brassland was a cool label in NY releasing interesting music and getting good feedback from all corners. So, some months later, I just sent a copy of our first record – expecting to hear nothing more. Months later we were on tour in Europe when we got an email from Alec saying he’d seen our itinerary and we should hook up with Clogs in Paris. We duly hooked-up meeting Padma as a result. A few weeks later we were sound checking in Bra, Italy and Alec conveyed his intention to sign us – I think he even used the term ‘against my better judgement’. We were ecstatic.

Padma’s incredible contribution to Coal came about some months later when we were all back in Australia. He lives in Mallacoota. We would send song files there and receive back from him incredible pieces of music that stand up in their on own right. Padma is a genius.

*Six: Much of what I've read online mentions the Yeah Yeah Yeahs Karen O and the wonderful compliment she paid your self-titled debut album when she said… 'The Best Thing I’ve Heard All Year' [MOJO Magazine Dec, 2003]. Have you ever met her, or wanted to seek her out to thank her? And have you seen any positive effects from her kind words?

TC: I think she saw us play in Berlin once. I didn’t meet her although I will definitely thank her for her kind words when/if I ever do. Con met her in Melbourne when the YYY’s toured Australia and stayed in touch to some degree. They eventually did some recording together in LA a while back.

Some people definitely took a bit more interest in us after Mojo. Even we did. It was the first time our name had appeared in a UK publication. Afterwards we were inundated with weird emails from record companies saying how much they love us and would we be interested in private helicopters etc. At the time we were touring Germany and selling CD’s out of a 2-door hatchback. So we said ‘yes, we would like a private jet’ – then never heard another word from any of them. Strange people.

*Six: What about the song writing – is it a group effort, or individual? And who is penning the lyrics? There is some wonderful imagery within the songs.

TC: It’s a group collaboration. The songs are inspired by and therefore written for this band. The imagery comes from the dubious poet hiding inside us all.

*Six: Finally, what does the rest of 2006 hold for the band? Any plans to tour North America in the near future?

TC: Well, right now we’re on tour in the UK. ‘Coal’ is coming out in US through Brassland in July and in the UK/Europe through Beggars Banquet in August. We will definitely be touring the US at some stage this year. We’ve never been. I hope you like us.

* * * * *

Devastations website
Myspace
Contact the band: thedevastations@yahoo.com