Psychic Walls Of Rock And Roll
The Flaming Lips Swing Back Through Athens With Awards And Costumes In Hand
originally published April 4, 2007
Flaming Lips
The Flaming Lips are coming back to Athens in honey-bright April to play a show at the Classic Center, marking their first performance since receiving two Grammy Awards this February and kicking off a small tour around the Southeast. The band has been gaining critical momentum since the turn of the century with The Soft Bulletin, continuing through Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots and the current release, At War With the Mystics. The ensemble has also been busy with a flurry of various side projects, including a reworking of John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Cambridge 1969” and a song on the Spongebob Squarepants movie soundtrack, “Spongebob and Patrick Confront the Psychic Wall of Energy.” There’s also been talk of the group's long-awaited film Christmas on Mars finally hitting an art theater near you in late 2007.
The Lips' most recent studio album is heavier than the last couple of records, and hints at a return to pre-Soft Bulletin muscularity. Despite this raw weight, there’s a ubiquitous space-jam feel facilitated by heavy-footed use of flange pedals and atmospheric synthesizer arrangements. There are also a couple of tracks on the album with the Lips' signature pop, throwing down disco beats aplenty and sweet melodic vocal hooks guaranteeing the band top spots on pop radio stations and romantically inspired mix-tapes.
A newfound interest in the 5.1 surround sound format has inspired the members of the Lips to rebuild some of their previous releases, adding new layers of sound and pulling apart and reweaving existing content. With Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, the group’s most successful release to date, as well as with At War with the Mystics, there are now 5.1 surround releases in addition to the originals, grouted with Easter egg surprises and a stratified susurrus of odd additions aimed to titillate the aural imagination of any listener lucky enough to possess the proper equipment. These deluxe albums include extra discs with video content and radio appearances, as well as an ambivalently inspiring high-school graduation day speech delivered by frontman Wayne Coyne to the class of 2006 in his native Oklahoma City.
In the beginning of his (almost) alma mater address, he looks up into the collective eyes of a graduating class, the benign smile of a knowledgeable patriarch playing upon his lips, "When I was first asked to preside over this great assemblage, I was not convinced that I was the right man for the job. You see, I am not technically a high-school graduate myself. I felt I was learning more from my life experiences than I was from my classes and my teachers. It is well documented that I worked at Long John Silver's and sold pot out of my apartment. Some of you may say it's a wonder I did not end up going to jail. I would agree with you." The extra footage and tracks give fans a good opportunity to explore the genuine strangeness and scope of the artistic project that is The Flaming Lips, putting the band's music in the context of a much larger endeavor.
The film Christmas on Mars has been anticipated in vain by avid fans of the group for more than three years now. One is hard-pressed to describe what could be expected from a feature-length film created by the Flaming Lips, set on a Martian landscape created in Oklahoma. In Coyne’s words, the film is like, "Maybe Eraserhead or Dead Man crossed with some kind of fantasy and space aspects, like The Wizard of Oz and maybe 2001: A Space Odyssey, except done without real actors or money, and set at Christmas-time."
The film chronicles the first lonely Christmas away from Earth, and stars the bandmembers and many of their friends, including Steve Burns of "Blue’s Clues" fame. The Lips have been scoring the film and giving it time whenever they have a few minutes, but there are no definite plans for release yet.
Since cementing its popularity on the festival circuit and outgrowing clubs like the 40 Watt, where the group made its last Athens stop in 2003, the Lips have evolved their live show to include giant hamster balls, animal costumes and loads of Gallagher-inspired fake gore for a truly unique and sometimes confusing experience. Flagpole spoke with Michael Ivins, longtime bassist and cofounder, via telephone about the band's recent awards, projects and the upcoming show.
- Flagpole
- Athens is the first show since your two Grammy Awards for At War with the Mystics. Will you be taking the stage with a newfound pride or confidence in the wake of this success, or will it be the same old business to you?
- Michael Ivins
- Well, it’s never the same old show with us. As far as awards go, you know, they’re cool, we’re honored, but it won’t change who we are or how we perform. Our motto has always been to just give the best show and to do our best.
- Flagpole
- Have you found a comfortable sound with At War, or will you continue to release albums in strange new directions, redefining your genre with each release?
- Michael Ivins
- We never plan for an album to sound a certain way and are always interested in new sound ideas as they come to us. Our goals are to challenge ourselves with keeping the music interesting to us and our audience.
- Flagpole
- Are you trying to say something new with each album, or is it the same message delivered in different ways?
- Michael Ivins
- We have a basic main idea that threads through all of our records, but still try to say new things in new ways. And old things in new ways. We never change as people, and believe in the same things from album to album.
- Flagpole
- Did you know At War was going to win you vast critical acclaim while recording it, or were you as surprised as anyone else to hear the verdict this February?
- Michael Ivins
- Well, with anything we do, we never assume the results. That’s true for music, writing, all art we create. It takes a work of art some time being out and away from the creator for it to gain its true identity. People interpret it in ways we couldn’t anticipate, attaching their own meaning.
- That said, we don’t create while thinking of or hoping for awards, we just want to be interesting… Recognition is great, but we just do what we like and hope people enjoy it. We’d be doing the same thing regardless of success.
- Flagpole
- Your film Christmas on Mars has been in the works for quite a few years now. Can we expect that any time soon or is it on the backburner?
- Michael Ivins
- Well, it’s always on a burner. It really depends on what else is going on. This last time in the recording studio we made some more music for it. It’s coming along.
- Flagpole
- Any more octophonic releases planned like ‘97s Zaireeka [A four-disc release meant to be played on four stereos simultaneously.]?
- Michael Ivins
- Not really right now, we’re more interested in 5.1 surround sound at the moment. It’s a really cool format. Maybe someday we’ll try that again, but not now.
- Flagpole
- Are there any great bands you’ve heard recently that you’d like to mention?
- Michael Ivins
- What we listen to comes in phases. Right now I really like Deerhoof and this band Liars. My wife and I were listening to this band Gwendolyn out of California with our four-year-old niece. It’s this kind of children’s music that isn’t hard to listen to for adults, it isn’t traditional like that. It’s really refreshing to hear music so straightforward, where you don’t have to worry about production or motives, just straightforward music.
- Flagpole
- Athens tends to be a musician-heavy crowd. Do you feel that other musicians get more from your music or understand it a bit better?
- Michael Ivins
- Well, as a musician myself, sometimes I find that a technical knowledge of what’s going on actually detracts from the moment. It’s hard to lose yourself in a song when you’re stretching to see what pedals someone’s using or checking out their setup. I always prefer festival atmospheres for that reason; it’s easier to submerge in the music when it’s an all-day event.
WHO: Flaming Lips, Stardeath and White Dwarfs
WHERE: Classic Center Theater
WHEN: Wednesday, April 11
HOW MUCH: $36.50
On The Road Again With Gringo Star
The Band Formerly Known As A Fir-Ju Well Is Working Harder Than Ever
originally published April 4, 2007
Gringo Star
Barreling down a lonesome highway, somewhere between Pittsburgh and a small college town called Indiana, PA, Nick Furgiuele is nonchalant when talking about how the last year unfolded for Gringo Star. In August of 2006, the band formerly known as A Fir-Ju Well - Nick and his brother Peter along with Matt McCalvin and Peter DeLorenzo, each taking turns behind drums, bass, keyboard, guitar and vocals - announced it was playing its "last show ever."
But word soon spread that the group wasn't breaking up, merely changing its name. This came as a relief to fans of the Atlanta indie psych-rock band; that is, until the new name, Gringo Star, was unveiled. The backlash was severe, especially in the group’s hometown. For weeks at virtually every show, or every coffee shop around the city, local music goers scoffed and snorted over the silly Beatles pun that had usurped the more mysterious name A Fir-Ju Well. But by all accounts, the rest of the world has been much kinder than Atlanta. “At the onset, we worried about playing towns where we had a following,” Nick admits. “But we just played Little Rock and it was one of the greatest shows we have ever had! With the email lists and word-of-mouth, most people know that we’re the same band.” DeLorenzo weighs in, adding, “It felt like in many cliques and circles around town, there were some inaccurate assumptions about our motivations. As time has gone on, people are starting to get what we're doing and realizing that the essence of the band is the same, only stronger.”
Meet The New Band, Same As The Old Band
Nine months down the road, the joking in Atlanta has subsided and the group is working harder than ever. Before turning south to play CD release parties in Athens and Atlanta, the group will have played 22 shows in 22 days. Not far into the tour, the band’s van died. Where many would have thrown in the towel, canceled the remaining dates and limped home, the Gringos soldiered on. The replacement vehicle is a small red pick-up truck on loan from friend and fellow Atlanta singer-songwriter Anna Kramer. It is by no means a luxury haul, as the itinerary includes two people in the cab and two people in the back of the truck with all the gear. The scene captures an image of the DIY spirit in its truest form, and stands as a testament to the kind of dedication that saves the group from being written off, by even the most boisterous nay-sayers.
Later this month, Gringo Star will release a new self-titled EP that mostly reworks older material, while offering a handful of new numbers as well. Revising some of the oldest songs from the group’s catalogue indicates that Gringo Star is the same band it has always been. But indeed, some things have changed. From the opening drum roll and Southern surf rock sounds of “No Reason,” Gringo Star portrays a sense of maturity that eclipses the swirling and overtly psychedelic qualities of its former self.
The song “No Reason” previously appeared on A Fir-Ju Well’s 2004 release Absolutely A Fir-Ju Well under the name “Guevon.” “Transmission” was plucked from the group’s ’02 self-titled debut full-length. And other songs - “Coming For You” and “Not A Sound” - are pulled from a 7” released by Rob’s House Records in the summer of ’06.
A Bright And Shindig Star
What’s immediately noticeable about each song is the refined sound quality. Under the guidance of producer Paul Durham (Black Lab) in his home studio in Bozeman, MT, the group fine-tuned these older songs to take on a more accessible hue. Whereas each song originated in various states of lower-budget production, and was bound by extended jams and experimental rhythms, the new versions are clean, quick and concise. New songs “Esmerelda” and “No Man” follow suit, and as Nick explains, the CD is a demo of sorts that was put together in hopes of catching the attention of a larger label.
“We have about 16 more new songs that we need to put out,” he chuckles. “We’re just using this EP to get a label behind the full-length. We've had a couple offers in the last few months. We’re just waiting for the right thing to show itself.” And who doesn’t make themselves look better on a resume? In the meantime, the group is maintaining the same rigorous live schedule it has always kept. In addition to crisscrossing the United States, Gringo Star will embark on its third U.K. tour in May.
In spite of the local backlash, the name change has propelled the group, hopefully, into the stable of a larger record label. “We're still introducing the band to the world and we're still evolving,” DeLorenzo adds. “It’s helped us focus our energy, and the band feels more unified than ever.”
Who: Gringo Star, Phonograph, Lost Art
Where: Caledonia Lounge
When: Tuesday, April 10
How Much: $5
Black Doom With White Curtains
Alabama's Angelic Process Gracefully Walks the Ambient Metal Tightrope
originally published April 4, 2007
Angelic Process
Oil and water. Orange juice after brushing your teeth. Conscience and the Bush administration. Some things just don't go together, no matter how hard you smack the square peg into the round hole. Most bands realize this and safely stay tucked into their little niches. Understandable. Others attempt fusion, and the few who achieve a modicum of success are rightfully hailed as awesome.
From Miles Davis to the Jesus and Mary Chain to Kevin Federline, there are varying degrees of fusion as well as realization. Apart from silly matches like vegan hardcore and classical piano, perhaps the most delicate balance an artist can strive toward is that of ambient music and metal.
It's a bit of an understatement to say that it's a thin line where the two meet. On the one side sits ambient music, defined by its master Brian Eno as "aural wallpaper," meaning that while it can be deeply absorbed through close listening, it also serves a secondary purpose by pleasing the ears in a background role as white noise. It's music to read to, condoning both zoning out and blissing out. On the other side crouches metal, particularly doom metal. The past couple of years have seen metal open up a lot of doors, and no other sub-genre has gained more than avant metal.
Alabama's The Angelic Process has for six years been striving for just that balance, and with increasing rewards. The duo, who go by the names of K.Angylus and MDragynfly, chatted with Flagpole and expounded upon the art of mixing volatile cocktails of powerful music.
- Flagpole
- I understand you have a soft spot for Athens.
- MDragynfly
- While not an Athens native, I spent a good deal of time there and eventually ended up moving to a sweet little house off Chase Street. There's nothing spookier than walking down Boulevard at 2 a.m., but I think some of my best soul-searching was spent pounding the pavement, trying to find myself. It was a rough period of time for me, but Athens will always be my true home.
- I moved to Alabama to be closer to my family and stayed after getting a great job there. [Laughs.] Not that I didn't love working at Taco Stand; it's the kind of thing you have to do in a college town. After moving, I met K and everything with the band came together. We still spend a good bit of time in Athens when possible, and I stay in touch with a lot of my friends there.
- Flagpole
- How much of an influence does ambient/ drone/ etc. play in your music? I'm fascinated with how two extremes such as this and doom metal can meet in the middle and create such a wondrous maelstrom… Could you describe how you go about balancing the delicate with the brutal while avoiding the cliché soft-loud formula?
- K.Angylus
- The use of drone plays a very important part in The Angelic Process' sound. Drone is a very primal sound element that can be found at the foundation of most all ancient cultures. We take drone and instead of just letting it drift like a lot of ambient music does, we harness it, give it a charged emotional connection to the song. Drone is such a powerful thing and most bands never properly recognize that. When we first applied that idea of drone, with the heavier, more extreme end of metal, everything just fell into place.
- MDragynfly
- I generally tell people that we're not as much composers as we are translators. It's more stream-of-consciousness than method or formula. We like to show the full spectrum of emotion or state of being, everything from hate and anger, hopelessness, to absolute joy and epiphany. To us, this is what living sounds like, and when we write something, it is obvious if it is an Angelic Process song or not.
- Our purpose isn't to play with our audience like puppeteers, leading them forward quietly and then slamming them into a wall. It seems that some bands are going for that. What I want is something that a person can wrap themselves up in and then ride the wave, whether it is through joy or pain. I always hope that our music is an experience, perhaps even a spiritual one, as it is for me.
- Flagpole
- Avant-metal has received an enormous amount of fanfare in the last couple of years, due to the dominance of Sunn O))), as well as many others. Why do you think this fairly young genre, or sub-genre, if you prefer, has ratcheted up so much interest?
- MDragynfly
- I am so excited for our genre right now. Around the world, people are discovering us, collectively, and can't seem to get enough. I think part of that is due to bands like us and like Isis who seem to bridge the gap and make a smoother transition into doom, black metal, and other more extreme genres.
- Many people are becoming disenfranchised with pop music, not only the sound, but the attitude and the way it makes, or doesn't make, them feel. They need something deeper, and with the Internet, all kinds of music are accessible to people who might have never encountered it otherwise. MTV is losing its stranglehold over what people will be exposed to. I can't wait to see how things change over the next few years.
- Flagpole
- Obviously, like everyone else, you guys love My Bloody Valentine. Would you say shoegaze is on par with drone and doom on your influence list?
- K.Angylus
- I always loved the experimental attitude the shoegaze bands had toward the guitar, and that they never lost sight of using it as a songwriting element. Obviously, My Bloody Valentine was something extremely special and stood well apart from its contemporaries. Loveless was one of those albums that, when I heard it, changed the way I thought about music. That fluid guitar sound really resonated with me. Combining it with things I liked about other bands seemed like a natural response.
- Flagpole
- How does your sound translate to the stage?
- K.Angylus
- Extremely well, we believe. Most people think we layer everything on the records a million times to get that sound, but it's not nearly as much as one might think. We build our own effects pedals and modify all our gear. That, combined with my playing guitar with a cello bow, created much of that sound. So live, we use volume and our absolutely HUGE bass sound to fill in the spaces, along with a laptop for the drums and additional atmospherics.
- Flagpole
- Any plans for the near future?
- MDragynfly
- We've got a lot of exciting things going on this year. Our new album Weighing Souls With Sand will be out on May 15 on Profound Lore Records, and then Sound Devastation in the U.K. will be releasing it on vinyl around mid-July. We will be touring as much as possible in the U.S. and Europe to promote these releases and are really looking forward to meeting everyone who has given us such great support. We feel extremely fortunate.
WHO: The Angelic Process, Giant Squid, Grayceon
WHERE: Tasty World Upstairs
WHEN: Wednesday, April 4
HOW MUCH: $5
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