The Pistola Press

Every year around this time, Temple University holds their annual Spring Fling concert. They usually invite artists who will entertain the crowd to the fullest and that’s what they did last night. Girl Talk and N.E.R.D played the spring fling concert last night at the Liacouras Center to a sea of drunken college kids.

N.E.R.D came on after the opening band, who were awful. I forget their name, but they’re just like every other emo/pop-punk/shit band out there today. Pharrell and company played a solid 45 minute set to warm the crowd up for Girl Talk. Their dedicated fans definitely appreciated their performance, but everyone was getting anxious waiting for GT. Check out an interview with Shay Haley HERE.

When Girl Talk aka Gregg Gillis took the stage, everyone freaked out as if he was a rock God. He played a long set of mash-ups that had the crowd going wild all night long. His two person posse had some sort of contraption that unraveled toilet paper into the crowd all night long. They seriously must have used 200 rolls of toilet paper, it was ridiculous. People loved it though. As the night got older, Girl Talk‘s set seemed to just drag on. People started to leave before he closed his set. Despite that, everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Photos below.

N.E.R.D

Girl Talk

N.E.R.D play Temple University’s Spring Fling concert tonight with Girl Talk. Tickets for the show are still available. They’re 10 dollars for students and 20 dollars for non-students. Shae Haley of N.E.R.D phoned in last week to talk about their new album, Grizzly Bear, and more. Interview below.

The Pistola : So where are you right now?

Shay Haley: In LA. Finishing up the album.

The Pistola: Nice. How’s that going? How’s the west coast?

SH: The weather is beautiful and the album is pretty insane. It’s just great, everything’s perfect.

The Pistola: How long have you guys been working on the record?

SH: We’ve been working on this album for, I would say, about a year and half now. We tried out some punk pop sounds. We went in a punk pop direction. We explored adding members to the band, just trying to walk down every avenue to find a new direction and different sounds.

The Pistola: How’d adding new members and such go?

SH: It was fun. It was a learning process. Musically, we explored a lot of new musical directions. We tried a lot of things that necessarily didn’t fit the band, but… (his phone loses service. I get a call back a minute later). My fault Colin, my phone service went out.

So we added a member to the band; we toured with him for a good six months and for whatever reason it didn’t work out. Now we went back to the original setting, which is Chad(Hugo), Pharrell(Williams) and myself. We all did our research and found dope directions that we can all gel together to continue the N.E.R.D move.

The Pistola: You three go way back. How long have you known eachother for?

SH: It’s been over 15 years.

The Pistola: Are they (Hugo and Pharrell) kind of like having brothers in a sense? Do you guys ever fight over something?

SH: Yeah, we definitely bump heads sometimes. It’s healthy for the relationship. When you’re dealing with three different strong personalities, a lot of times we’re pretty much on the same wavelength in terms of creativity is concerned. Then there’s times where somebody will just come out with an idea that just doesn’t make sense for the movement. We have healthy debates and figure out a better plan that makes sense for the group. We’re trying that extreme idea and see how it works.

The Pistola: Do you guys write together or do you individually bring ideas to the table?

SH: It varies. Chad might come with an idea or P or myself. You know, it all varies, but we all work collectively together. P and Chad are definitely the maestros musically behind it but I’m forever going through the crates and the archives, always searching for new sounds and directions that we can go in. So we can be ahead of the curve.  N.E.R.D doesn’t necessarily have to fit with what’s going on; we like to push the envelope and do new things.

The Pistola: So at your upcoming shows, are you going to play any new material or stick to your old stuff?

SH: I think it’s time for the N.E.R.D fans and the other who are coming to see N.E.R.D who aren’t necessarily familiar with the N.E.R.D sound or the previous albums. They’ll get a taste of what this new album is going to be about. It’s pretty great. We’re known for making intense music. So we’re going to continue that.

The Pistola: Are Pharrell and Hugo taking on producer roles again for the new record?

SH: Yeah, Chad and Pharrell primarily produced this whole record. We worked with some outside producers. Those particular songs, we haven’t decided yet who make the album. That’s still up for discussion. We haven’t put together the sequence of the album just yet  Until we mix and master and press, it’s still yet to be determined what’s going to make album and what’s not.

The Pistola: When do you think it’s going to drop?

SH: Right now, it’s tentatively dropping on June 15^th.

The Pistola: Very cool. That’s not too far away.

SH: Nope, that’s right around the corner.

The Pistola: After the album drops, are you guys going to hit the road for a while?

SH: Absolutely, of course, we’re on the road now. We’ve been doing college shows on the weekends and sporadically throughout the week. We’re gonna go hard though in June. Start hitting the festivals and getting our promo tour on for the album release. You know, all that good shit. All those beautiful things with the promoting process.

The Pistola: So I got a few short questions for you. Just say whatever comes to your mind first… Imagine you had to curate your own festival, what three artists or bands would you have play?

SH: Grizzly Bear, Audio Bullys and Kanye(West).

The Pistola: Grizzly Bear? The guys who live in Brooklyn?

SH:Yeah. To be honest, I’m not sure where they’re from. I was introduced to them by Youtube, I’m a Youtube fanatic when it comes to finding dope indie bands who haven’t necessarily got the proper attention that they deserve.

The Pistola: Yeah, they put out a pretty sweet record(Veckatimest) last year.

SH: Yeah, I haven’t done my homework yet but they make some insane music.

The Pistola: So have you had any crazy fan encounters?

SH: No, not really. I try to lay pretty low key.

The Pistola: I guess it’s probably better that way…

SH: Well, to each his own. Some people get in it for the attention and love then there’s those who just get in it for the love(laughs).

The Pistola: When’s the last time you performed?

SH: We performed last Saturday at Duke University right before the national championship game.

The Pistola: That was probably pretty crazy.

SH: Oh, yeah that was pretty fucking insane.

The Pistola: What’s the last new artist or band that just blew you away when you listened to them?

SH: This band I discovered called Mansions On The Moon. You gotta check them out, they’re pretty dope.

The Pistola: You’ve been in the music business for quite a while. If you had to name one thing, what’s the coolest thing that music has brought you?

SH: I guess just being in a position to take care of my family and a lot of my friends.

The xx, who have been killing it ever since their album dropped in August, played a sold-out show last night in the Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church with Nosaj Thing and jj. As expected, it was a fantastic show.

LA experimental DJ, Nosaj Thing, opened the show with a 30 minute set of crazy electronica beats and sounds, only addressing the crowd at the end. The church setting was not the ideal venue for his music, but it was still a great way to start off the night. His music screams dance party so hopefully next time he’ll play a more fitting venue. He’s definitely worth checking out.

jj‘s performance was like a drunken relative at a family gathering who makes everyone feel very awkward. Their set consisted of random appearances from some long haired blonde dude who may or may not be in the band, random video clips of Swedish footballer Zlatan Ibrahimovic/other weird things, and the lead singer stood in the same spot the entire time. Needless to say, it was not the highlight of the night.

The highlight of the night was the xx‘s 11 song set. Everything about their performance was great; the lights, the sound, the atmosphere were all spot on. The Sanctuary was the perfect venue to experience the xx. At one point, it felt as if the venue had been traveling through time in a spaceship. Their music just engulfed the audience and made them forget about the world outside. Do yourself a favor and check this band out.  Photos and setlist below.

Nosaj Thing

jj

the xx

Setlist: Intro/ Crystalised/Islands/Heart Skipped A Beat/Fantasy/Shelter/VCR/Do You Mind(Kyla Cover)/Basic Space/Night Time/Infinity

The xx is comprised of three mates from London England, who have a combined age of 61. They put out an excellent self-titled debut last August that has a very minimalistic, crisp sound consisting of a guitar, bass, drum machine and vocals. The trio will play a sold out show tonight in the Sanctuary of the First Unitarian Church. Tickets have been sold out for months so consider yourself lucky if you do have one. The soft spoken lead singer/guitarist Romy Madley Croft dropped by last week for a quick phone interview, where we talked about SXSW, life as a rockstar and more. Check it out below.

Sidenote: There will be an official after party held by Making Time at the Voyuer Nightclub where Jamie Smith from the xx will play a DJ set. More information can be found HERE.

photo by Chris La Putt

The Pistola: What was it like for you growing up and playing music?

Romy Madley Croft: We started playing music together when we were 14 or 15. Just at school, in the music room and stuff. That sort of developed into a hobby and something we loved doing. So it continued on.

The Pistola: How did you guys start playing live shows?

RMC: We started off emailing and sending messages on Myspace to venues saying, “Can we play gigs?”. And then we got approached our record label Young Turks at a gig and they offered to get us some gigs and give us space to rehearse. After that, they sort of took over for us.

The Pistola: That’s pretty sweet. What was it like traveling outside of England to play a show? Was it scary at all?

RMC: It was kind of weird. They(Young Turks) eased us into it. It started off in Europe, not too far away from home. Then coming over to America for the first time was definitely a really big thing. Going somewhere else, much farther away from home. It was very exciting.

The Pistola: What did you think of America when you first came over here?

RMC: I thought it was great. I’ve visited New York before, not playing music. I really enjoy playing here. It’s such a big country, there’s so many different types of places and things. It’s very exciting.

The Pistola: Very cool. So from what I understand, Jamie(Smith) produced your record. What was that like having a band member act as producer?

RMC: It actually worked out quite well because we’d be so honest with eachother. If it was  a producer we weren’t familiar with or felt a bit intimidated, but we just said how we felt. If we didn’t like something, Oliver and I could just say, “I don’t think that’s right” and any ideas we had, we just told Jamie. He was able to help us with it.

The Pistola: You have been on the road for quite a while now. Does that ever get tiring?

RMC: Yeah(laughs). It definitely does get tiring. I think we’ve been touring pretty much non-stop since September last year. There’s times that you want to go home and you don’t really get much time on your own. We start to be creative separately and alone at first. So we don’t really get that separation we’d like to start writing songs. It’s not really the most creative situation.

The Pistola: Do ever get a chance to check out new bands?

RMC: It can be quite difficult because when you’re on your own tour there’s a lot bands you want to see but miss by a day. We pretty much just see the support bands and that’s it. I saw Beach House when we were on our English tour. They played the same day as us at a different venue so we managed to see them before our set, which I really enjoyed. We got to see some bands at SXSW; we saw Salem and jj, the band who’s support us. Holly Miranda who’s supported us before but we never seen her with a full band. It was actually really great.

The Pistola: Yeah, I saw her before with the Antlers. She has a great voice. How was SXSW?

RMC: It was intense. We did CMJ before and we learned from that, not to do as much as we had before. So we did four gigs and it was just you know.. we’re kind of perfectionists when it comes to our sound. It was hard to get a perfect sound because we were rushed in to do sound check. It can be sort of hit or miss. The bothered us a bit. It’s still fun though.

The Pistola: I understand. So I saw a tweet from Pitchfork the ideal venue to see the xx in was a church. Do you play in church venues often?

RMC: No, not really, but I really enjoyed it. We played the church in Texas and it was really beautiful. I’d like to play some more. We’re going to play a synagogue and another church on this tour.

The Pistola: Yeah, the (First Unitarian) church in Philadelphia, that’s where I am right now. It’s a really beautiful venue. Where’s the coolest place music has taken you so far?

RMC: Um.. we went to Australia and Singapore, and that was kind of crazy. Just to be on the whole other side of the world playing to people  who knew about us. It was great. Singapore was crazier because of the screaming. I never heard that high-pitched scream before(laughs).

The Pistola: What’s been the coolest part of being a rockstar?

RMC: (laughs) I guess just getting the opportunity to see all these places and it’s great to be able to go somewhere and feel welcomed and have a purpose. I think going on holiday and going somewhere could be quite scary. You have to watch out for what you doing and where you’re going. Coming with music, it’s really exciting.

The Pistola: When you were first writing the record, did you ever envision it turning into something this big and taking you around the world?

RMC: No, definitely not(laughs). When we started writing songs, they were just for us. Just because we loved music. I didn’t think anyone would ever hear them, really. It’s kind of crazy that so many people have. It’s great that people enjoy them, it’s a big surprise for us.

The Pistola: What are you plans for when you get done touring?

RMC: I think take some time off and get back to writing as well. Just sort of take a break and let it naturally happen. Sort of not force it, but see how it goes. I’m really looking forward to see what actually happens when it comes out.

The Pistola: Do you think you’ll do anything different from your last recording process to the next one?

RMC: I’m too sure, really. I know Jamie wants to start his own studio. Get like a flat and make a studio there. We recorded at the record company’s garage. It was like a tiny studio. I think we’ll have a little more privacy. You know, we were right in the center of the record company. So I think that will be good; but, yeah, I’m not too sure.

New Jersey hipsters, Real Estate, will play an all ages show at The Barbary on Sunday, April 18th. The band is still riding the wave of their stellar self-titled debut record, which was released last November. Their music has a beachy, summertime feel to it; perfect for a springtime show.  They have been on the road since the release and will continue to be until late May, where they’ll end in Barcelona, Spain at the Primavera Sound Festival. Not too bad for a band who just broke onto the scene. Tickets for their show at The Barbary can be found HERE.

The band recently played Johnny Brendas in January. Lead singer, Martin Courtney, dropped by before that show for a quick interview. The interview and a free MP3 download of “Beach Comber” can be found HERE.

Cymbals Eat Guitars had a killer 2009 with their self-released debut Why There Are Mountains, which was included in Pitchfork’s Top 50 albums of that year. They toured endlessly throughout the US and Europe in support of the record. The band just made a stop at Johnny Brendas with Bear In Heaven and Freelance Whales. Lead singer Joe D”Agnostino dropped by to talk about the band, 2009 highlights and what to expect from CEG in 2010.

The Pistola Press: How are you doing man?

Joe D’Agostino: Pretty well. How are you?

TPP: I’m alright. Just got done with classes for today so I’m just hanging out and it’s Friday. So life is good.

JD: Right on. I’m hanging out too. I’m downloading a bunch of records that I missed out on last year. That Girls record is really good.

TPP: Yeah, it is. I wanted to see them last fall but I was too young at the time to get into the venue they were playing.

JD: Oh, that sucks! The new Beach House is so fucking good too. Have you heard that?  The second track  “Silver Soul” is just really beautiful.  Anyway..

TPP: So how did you guys come to be Cymbals Eat Guitars?  I know you guys are pretty young…

JD: Yeah, I’m 21. Our drummer is 23, our keyboardist is 27 and bassist is 25. I guess we’re all pretty young. The drummer and I have been playing together since we were in high school in cover bands and things and on original material later into our high school careers. Like 11th and 12th grade, we started writing our own stuff.

When we began recording demos for this record, we got a band together via Craigslist. Only one of the members we originally pulled off of there stayed for the making of the record that was our keyboardist. He’s since left the group. Our originally bassist who played on the record, also left after our tour this past September with The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart. The current group of people, Matt and I are the only founding members.

TPP: That’s cool. Where did you guys grow up together?

JD: South Jersey.. near Long Beach Island.

TPP: Yeah, I noticed that you were kind of local from your 609 area code. I’m from Philadelphia.

JD: Cool! Just a short drive. I saw a bunch of shows when I was a kid at the First Unitarian Church, which is still a venue to this day. It was a big thrill to play there when we did in October.

TPP: Yeah, I was at the show.

JD: Oh, really? Did you like it? Wait, you don’t have to answer. I’m just kidding(laughs).

TPP: Well, I’m talking to you now so I obviously did like it.

JD: You never know. People sometimes get stuck interviewing people they don’t really care about so I didn’t want to put you on the stop.

TPP: True. So what was the recording process like? You’re only 21 so I assume you were in school at the time.

JD: Yeah, I was. I had one foot out the door already though. I was going to Fordham Lincoln Center Manhattan at the time. Basically, we started the record the summer before my junior year of college so by that time I was already deep in thought about making the record. So I didn’t really go to school that much. When I did I would sort of sit there with a notebook and I was just in my own world. Not listening to the teachers or anything.

For the second semester of my junior year, I didn’t even complete it. After we had to start making more commitments and playing a lot more shows and rehearsing a lot, it became a full time thing. So I took a leave of absence from school and I think at this point all my scholarships are knolled. I don’t really see myself going back to school.

Anyway, after many, many days in September and October of 2008 of layering guitars and keyboards and vocals and things, we were done mixing the record in mid-October or so.  We had it done being mastered on my birthday, November 7th; I was 20 years old and got a mastered copy of my record for my birthday.

TPP: That’s pretty awesome.

JD: It was great!(laughs). I guess after that I just sent it to a couple of radio stations that I made friends with. Then things sort of launched for us from there.

TPP: It’s great how nowadays you can kind of do that. Like self-release a record and have it just take off.

JD: Yeah! That’s the Internet. I wish I could say something profound about it but I’m glad I grew up in the time that I did…

TPP: …the digital age.

JD: Just like I said. Sitting here downloading all these records fo’ free; regardless of the morality of that. It’s very useful.

TPP: 2009 recently just came to an end and you had a pretty great year. Are there any events that stood above the rest?

JD: Yes!(laughs) The first huge thing was probably the Pitchfork Festival(held in Chicago) in July. Going out there and not really knowing what to expect opening this huge festival. You never know how many people are going to show up at one in the afternoon. As it turns out, I’m bad judge of crowds but I was told that it was somewhere close to 5,000 people that came to see us for opening day. That’s still the most people we’ve played in front of. That was very memorable and very, very exciting and mind-blowing.

After that, the next defining moment had to be opening two shows for The Flaming Lips in London. Talking to Wayne Coyne(lead singer from The Flaming Lips) was really surreal. It still feels like a dream.

TP: So what are your plans for 2010 besides touring with Bear In Heaven?

JD: After that tour, we’re going to hit the summer festivals circuit. I know we’re going to Norway to play the Oya Festival and Way Out West Festival(in Sweden). Both of which Pavement is playing. So hopefully I’ll get to shake (Stephen) Malkmus’s hand.

When we get done that, we’ll start working on new material and put out a new record. We already have four songs. From there, we’ll keep on keepin’ on(laughs).

22 year old electronic musician Alan Palomo, formally known as Neon Indian, dropped by last week for an interview. His debut record Psychic Chasm was very well received by the critics, even being named the 14th best album of 2009 by Pitchfork. Pretty impressive. Palomo shows no sign of slowing down as he has quite a jampacked schedule ahead of him in 2010. In the interview, we talk about his writing process, playing on Jimmy Fallon, taking acid and more.

The Pistola: So what are you up to?

Alan Palomo: Not much. I actually woke up just a few hours ago because I pulled some kind of late night studio thing. Finally get back to the studio not too long from now. Kind of the thing I’ve been doing the past couple of days. Trying to finish up a single and on top of that, I’m producing this track for Miniature  Tigers, which is what I did last night. Just kind of been keeping consistently busy since I moved up here (Brooklyn, NYC).

The Pistola: You said you’re in the studio working on a new song?

AP: Yeah, absolutely. Just kind of isolated single that  could sort of hint at where the next album might go.

The Pistola : Would it be for Neon Indian or would it be for your other projects?

AP: Oh, it’s for Neon Indian. I mean pretty soon I’m going to start writing the first VEGA record. So right now I’ve kind of been focused on Neon Indian before I dive into anything.

The Pistola: Very cool. So where are you from?

AP: Originally, I’m from Monterrey, Mexico but I moved to Texas when I was about five or six. I pretty much lived there most my life right up until about two weeks ago.

The Pistola: Where’d you move to?

AP: Brooklyn.

The Pistola: What influenced you to make the move there?

AP: Well, I mean I think it was kind of just at a point where, I mean I only lived in Austin for about eight months.  And I sublet my apartment in May. I’ve literally toured since then. I’ve been consistently on and off tour from May to mid-January. By the time I got back, my lease expired. What happened was the motivation was to work on the VEGA record up there but I don’t know. I figured pretty much everyone I’ve collaborated with is already up here. So it just seems like a really interesting community to have much more immediate access to.  Looking at it from that angle, it’s really quite wonderful for that.

The Pistola: It’s definitely place to be for musicians. So when you were growing up, did you play any instruments?  I see that you are more into the electronics side of things with a keyboard and a bunch of effects.

AP: Yeah. I mean not exactly. I’ve always kind of grown up around music and absorbed it passively. Just because my parents… my dad was a musician so I kind of picked up guitar and bass and drums  at a pretty early age. For me, I was always kind of more interested in film and that was always something that spoke to me a little more immediately. It wasn’t until late high school that fatuation with music coming full circle and I tried to attempt making it.

The Pistola: Are you still interested in film?

AP: Yeah, absolutely. It’s what I studied in college. Obviously,  I took some time off to kind of just do music for a while. It can be far more interesting segways into working on film and just trying it directly. If anything, maybe having some future Neon Indian release being this score to some kind of short film that I produce, you know?  Or that I write the screenplay for. I definitely see a interesting template there to start mixing up the medium a little bit.

The Pistola: That’s a cool idea. I’d definitely be interested in seeing how that turns out. So from what I understand, you wrote the record by yourself. What was the process like writing by yourself? I’m you’re used to it but do you start off with a beat then add? Or do you find hooks to run with?

AP: There’s usually a variation of the same process. I think when I’m starting a new song, it always starts off with some sort of primitive drum machine rhythm and cheap bassline that I’m starting to build things off of. If not, just an interesting sample I feel that I could re-contextualize and start manipulating in such a way that it personalizes it. It tends to vary a little bit.

It’s just this thing that I do that really just sort of seems to unfold much later in the night. I can remember a lot of occasions in Austin, where I would go out to this place called ‘I Heart Video’; basically this video rental store that’s open till like three in the morning and just pick out some random Werner Herzog movie or something. And sit down and at some point towards the end of the film, last in the night, you’re at that sweet spot between delirium and creativity that’s the perfect situation to start writing after conglomeration of all these different things.

It’s usually not until then that things really happen. I try working on music during the day and it never really seems to pan out all that well(laughs).

The Pistola: Very interesting.  Was it difficult translating your music to a live band?

AP: It definitely required a bit of recontextualization. Obviously, when I  set up the music, I hadn’t really garnered any expectation about it. I think the last thing on my mind, initially as I was writing the songs, how am I going to translate this into a live environment.

Eventually, my perceptions of Neon Indian were evolving as people’s perceptions were kind of forming. It was at that state that I realized I had an album coming out. It was all sort of whirlwind because I wrote the album in a little under a month and I wasn’t entirely sure what I was going to do with it.

Once I got to that point, I had to start of thinking about what different components on the album I could translate to a live environment in front of an audience and make it fun for people. That was really a challenge.
It was very much a home studio record. It was sort of like becoming the best Neon Indian cover band in town. Your taking songs you’ve written and trying to match them with these incomparable sounds that you can replicate with some kind of band. Part of that was doing all the guitar stuff live and taking all the little samples and increments of sound and looping them in strange ways.

I think the biggest challenge was how little time we had to prep everything. I can remember the first 8-10 shows were pretty precarious and troublesome. It wasn’t until after that where we hit a stride where were getting incredibly comfortable with it. Comfortable enough to start deviating from the original songs in fun, interesting ways.

The Pistola: I kind of got that sense when I watched you on Jimmy Fallon the other night and you mashed those two songs… it worked so well.

AP: That was a very unique challenge because we realized we had 3 and a half minutes, which “Terminally Chill” barely clocks in at three. Jimmy really wanted to hear “Terminally Chill” but we were really stoked on the idea of possibly performing “Ephemeral Artery” because that was always one of the songs that hit the hardest live.

So we found this happy medium where we were like, “If we could throw an extra minute in there, how about we do a melody of both songs?” and it was just ridiculous. Getting four and a half minutes on TV is absurd.  So we really had to find an interesting conglomeration of who we are. We had the interesting single then this visceral live track. I was really happy with how it turned out.

The Pistola: How did it feel playing on a late night show?

AP: I barely remember it(laughs). I feel like I went into this weird animal adrenaline.  I remember setting up between commercial break then I remember coming back from commercial. And as soon as Jimmy was holding the record, it just went completely fuzzy.

I felt like I was running on some intense fighter flight, sort of mental state. Where you think you’re going to die so you’re body is coercing with all this adrenaline. So yeah, it was a little bit like that(laughs).

The Pistola: Since you have a song titled, “Should Have Taken Acid With You”,  I can only assume you’ve taken acid before. Did the drug play any part in the writing process?

AP: It was actually about a missed opportunity to take acid. To this day, I still haven’t taken it. Granted, I’ve  had plenty of other run-ins with potent hallucinogens and psychedelic drugs but acid has not been one of them.

The story behind, “Should Have Taken Acid With You” was that I was…. It was kind of the birth of Neon Indian, really.  It all started with that song.

I had this dream that I had taken some potent psychedelic drug with my friend (Neon Indian visual artist) Alicia(Sardetta). I had this really absurd experience. Right as it was kicking in was when I woke  up so I wasn’t really sure if I was awake or not.  So I felt kind of funny and texted Alicia about it. She responded, “Oh, is that something you want to do?”. So we set aside this time to take acid over the holiday break. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make it San Antonio, which is where we grew up.

Roughly, about a month later I wrote this humorous, cheek apology in form of a song and that was the beginning of “Should Have Taken Acid With You”.

The Pistola: (laughs) Good story. So you have different names like VEGA and Neon Indian. Do they represent different styles of music or…

AP: Yeah, I mean like I can never get too tied to something I would individually do myself. I don’t really know what a “Alan Palomo” song would sound like. I always look at these things the same way I look at films. Individual concepts with their own set of ideas and artistic objectives.  I don’t really see it as one linear thing that’s constantly evolving because I get too excited about different genres of music. I kind of jump from one to next. And I think that jumping from different styles keeps me sane(laughs).

The Pistola: (laughs) I see. What lies ahead for you in 2010? I see that you’re hitting pretty much every festival.

AP: Well, I think this year is going to be like a ceaseless output. The idea is to not only finish up the VEGA album before it’s time to start hitting up festivals but shortly upon returning, the immediate objective is to write the next Neon Indian album.

British indie rockers Editors played the Trocadero Theatre on Saturday night(02.20) with The Antlers. A few weeks prior to the show, Editors bass player Russell Leetch checked in for a phone interview before the band headed to see Avatar. We went on to talk about several different topics including producer Mark Flood, football(soccer) and the New Moon soundtrack. Interview and a photo from the show below.

The Pistola: So you guys are on the west coast right tomorrow and you starts tour tomorrow…

Russell Leetch: Yeah, tomorrow in Seattle. We’re suppose to be doing Conan this evening . Obviously, he’s not on air so we’re not doing it. We’re doing another promo instead. But tour starts tomorrow and I’m looking forward to it. It should be fun, it’s been a while since we’ve been here(US).

TP:What were rehearsals like for the tour? Were they different from past tours?

Russell: The last tour we did, we had to put the songs together when we were rehearsing them because that album was made in the studio. However, this record we composed it all beforehand. So we actually played everything live, played all the synths live and then recorded it live. It was actually a lot easier for us to translate on to stage.  We have a lot more equipment and a lot more drum triggers that have potential to go wrong all the time.

TP: Right. Since you guys are using a lot more synths and such, did working with Mark Flood have a lot of influence over the new record?

Russell: Oh, yeah. Flood’s from a background that specializes in that. He’s done some classic albums like Violator by Depeche Mode and more. Pretty huge records with kind of synthness in them. It just seems when we went to him we already started working on synths so he just seemed like the best choice.

TP: I was reading that you had recorded 18 songs for the new record. How did you decide on cutting down the songs to just nine songs?

Russell: Well, when you say, ‘cutting’; it’s right. We released like an EP along with the record in the UK, which is called Cuttings II. Basically, it was the songs that were left off the album that we didn’t think fitted. Those nine songs fit well together as a piece . The other tracks are a little bit more guitar oriented with the riffs. So they’re a little bit different.  We put out the EP and I think you can get it on iTunes in the States.  I’m not certainly sure.  So people can see what else we were doing. Maybe we’ll do a record that has more big riffs as well.

TP: I’m sure you guys get this a lot, but how did you end up on the New Moon soundtrack?

Russell: The director asked Tom(Smith) directly. He liked the band. He heard the demo of the song cause we actually sent them out to a couple of people. He was just interested and just ended up using the demo version. It’s just Tom on his piano at home by himself recorded on the four-track. And it made a big Hollywood movie.

TP: Did you end up watching the film?

Russell: I haven’t actually.  Never seen it, no. I mean it’s not really a film for me. I’m sure I’ll watch it at some point, but it’s not something that I haven’t actually decided to see.

TP: I haven’t either, but it has a pretty killer lineup of musicians…

Russell: Yeah, it’s nice to be involved. I like St. Vincent. I like Seu Wolfe. Obviously, I like Radiohead.

TP: Very cool. So are you guys football fans or I guess I should say soccer?

Russell: Yeah! I mean Ed(Lay) and Chris(Urbanowicz) are really big football fans. They actually have a sports agent. And they go on a lot TV and radio programs in the UK as kind of celebrities and talk about football. That’s how much they like it.

TP: Really? Who do they support?

Russell: They support Ipswich and Nottingham Forest. I used to support Aston Villa, well I kind of still do but I just don’t follow as hard.

TP: They’re doing pretty well this season.

Russell: Yeah, definitely. They’re getting better and better every season so I think it’s good for the fans. That’s why I stopped liking them because they were just so boring for ages.

TP: (laughs) Nice. How did your tour with The Antlers come about? Was it a booking agent type deal or did you guys have a say in the opener?

Russell: No, we always have a say who goes on tour with us. It’s always put to us. We always try to create good, interesting bills. Even if the person only knows us because of a tune on the radio, we want them to like the bands that we like. And to vary up, we don’t just go for bands that are exactly like us. We have had a lot of varying sports; some are hits, some are misses, but we really like The Antlers record. It’s one of our recent favorites.

TP: So are you looking forward to anything this year in 2010 since it kind of just started?

Russell: We’re doing loads of gigs and I’m sure the festivals will lots of fun. Just kind of cracking on, doings shows. Just looking forward to getting back in the studio and doing another record, really. There’s lots of things that are just popping up all the time.

“Last spring MONO flew from Japan to New York City to perform two truly magical, memorable nights with esteemed Wordless Music Orchestra backing them. The 30-piece MONO played a 90-minute set that ranks among the greatest live experiences we’ve ever witnessed. What most people don’t know is we flew our producer friend Matt Bayles to record the concerts, and the whole glorious event was filmed by a team of poorly-paid superfriends. It all sounds and looks absolutely stunning, and we’re so thrilled with how it all turned out. There will be a CD+DVD, as well as a limited-edition 3xLP+DVD with all the bells and whistles you could hope for. Look for the pre-order to begin here on March 1!” – Temporary Residence Limited

Along with the release of their live album/DVD, MONO will go on an extensive world tour. The band will tour most of Europe and play a one off show before they head to North America for two months. Their tour will stop at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia on Tuesday, June 1st. If you have never seen them before, make sure to prepare yourself for a very loud and mind-blowing performance. Definitely worth your while to check them out.

Tickets for the show can be found HERE. Scottish band The Twilight Sad will open all shows on the North American leg of the tour. (All tour dates below.)

Sidenote: I conducted an interview with Taka, guitarists/songwriter from MONO, for The Calcutta Blog with a friend. Check it out HERE.

MONO 2010 US Tour Dates (All dates with Twilight Sad)
Apr 30 @ Emos, Austin, TX
May 01 @ The Loft, Dallas, TX
May 03 @ Launchpad, Albuquerque, NM
May 04 @ Plush, Tucson, AZ
May 05 @ The Clubhouse, Tempe, AZ
May 06 @ Casbah, San Diego, CA
May 07 @ El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
May 08 @ Slim’s, San Francisco, CA
May 10 @ Berbati’s Pan, Portland, OR
May 11 @ Neumo’s, Seattle, WA
May 12 @ Biltmore Cabaret, Vancouver, BC
May 14 @ Urban Lounge, Salt Lake City, UT
May 15 @ Bluebird Theater, Denver, CO
May 17 @ Waiting Room, Omaha, NE
May 19 @ Triple Rock Social Club, Minneapolis, MN
May 20 @ High Noon Saloon, Madison, WI
May 21 @ Turner Hall Ballroom, Milwaukee, WI
May 22 @ Lincoln Hall, Chicago, IL
May 23 @ Magic Stick, Detroit, MI
May 24 @ Grog Shop, Cleveland, OH
May 25 @ Brillobox, Pittsburgh, PA
May 26 @ Lee’s Palace, Toronto, ON
May 27 @ La Sala Rossa, Montreal, QC
May 28 @ Middle East Downstairs, Boston, MA
May 29 @ Daniel Street, Milford, CT
May 30 @ Bowery Ballroom, New York, NY
Jun 01 @ First Unitarian Church, Philadelphia, PA
Jun 02 @ 9:30 Club, Washington, DC
Jun 04 @ North State Sound, Durham, NC
Jun 05 @ Masquerade (Hell Stage), Atlanta, GA
Jun 07 @ Exit In, Nashville, TN
Jun 08 @ Hi-Tone Cafe, Memphis, TN
Jun 09 @ Spanish Moon, Baton Rouge, LA

We Are Scientists played Johnny Brendas on the first night of their “Big Fucking Deal Tour”. They debuted a bunch of new songs from their upcoming record, which will be out sometime in May. WAS had a pretty solid number of diehard fans show up. Most of them knew all the words to all the songs. In an attempt to get the band back for an encore , one girl screamed as if someone was trying to kill her. It didn’t work and it was just really, really annoying. Photos below.