A Place to Bury Strangers

Athens, Prepare for Sensory Overload

originally published April 9, 2008

A Place to Bury Strangers is known as the loudest band in New York, but the live show will overwhelm you with more than just sheer volume.

The band is usually backed by a pulsating screen of projected images, visible only intermittently between intense strobe lighting.

The music usually starts like this: a steady barrage of percussion punctuating the dizzying lights care of JSpace; heavy, pounding bass by Jono Mofo; and finally, a single strum across Oliver Ackermann's electric guitar. This is the point when hairs stand on end, socks are rocked off and minds are generally blown. The sounds that come out of this man's guitar are almost shocking. It's just one guitar, and yet there is reverb for miles, tingling echo and vicious distortion all at the same time. Did he just play every single Jesus and Mary Chain song at once? Close. A big part of the secret lies within the masterfully crafted custom pedals.

About seven years ago, Ackermann dreamed up the idea for an effects pedal that had never been created before. He also had dreams of visiting England, so he figured he could try to sell the idea and get enough cash to head across the pond. As a musician with no electrical or engineering background, he had only a sound in his head and a whole lot of trial and error to guide him.

"It took a couple years of tinkering and breaking a lot of stuff that I had," recalls Ackermann, "and sort of trying to build something and failing miserably - constantly. And then reading lots and lots of books and learning how to solder…"

Even though it started as a one-off project, once other musicians got ahold of his pedals the demand warranted a greater investment. Soon, Ackermann launched his pedal company Death by Audio. He believes that not having a technical background actually gave him an edge when starting his company. Instead of being constrained to technical procedures, he was directed by the art of the craft. It's the same unique perspective, he says, that a self-taught musician might have when picking up a guitar, or a self-taught artist might have learning how to paint without instruction. The results will always land just outside the box.

Whatever Ackermann's inspiration, the pedals have received a fair amount of accolades and recognition. Just recently, Ackermann shipped his custom pedals off to the likes of Trent Reznor, U2, Godspeed You Black Emperor!, and Wilco, among other high-profile artists. Still, it takes more than circuitry to make a band, and while Ackermann recognizes the role the pedals play in shaping his songs, his focus lies in creating a full experience for the listener.

"I think [the pedals] definitely define our sound to some degree, but it's also just creating a certain aesthetic. Having the knowledge to build my own effects pedals and modify effects definitely gives me an easier way to be able to control sound and make whatever sound I want. In the same way, you could take some crappy keyboard, and I don’t know, a cardboard box and make some sort of similar sound. It's all about using your aesthetic to make something that you like."

Part of that aesthetic for A Place to Bury Strangers is also the visual elements that accompany the music. "We're playing really loud, there's lots of noise, and I think [the lighting] serves to overwhelm you and take control, so you kind of lose your mind for a little bit… It also really makes it more exciting for us as well - when you can feel the music. When the lights go off it even gets us in the mood more to kind of forget where you are and just get completely immersed in the sounds and the place between the amplifier and your guitar."

The appeal of overwhelming audiences with intensity was inspired at a young age by bands like Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr. Ackermann feels like his band is sort of a realization of this vision, but at the same time being on stage himself can take a little of the magic away.

"It was a lot more mysterious to me then than it is now. When you start to play music, it starts to kills some of those mysteries. But those bands were definitely a really big influence, and it pushes you to take things even further and over the top."

You can get a taste of the intensity on A Place to Bury Strangers' self-titled release which is out now. There is also a series of releases planned in a variety of shapes and sizes, including several seven-inch records from Vacancy Records, a 10-inch out in England on Mealdeal Records, and a live album coming from Important Records. Ackermann also promises a more cohesive full-length out later this year. Of course, it's not easy to craft such a big sound without the neighbors complaining. Ackermann has had to take that into consideration when finding a practice space in Brooklyn.

"Any place that I ever live, I try to make sure you can make as much noise as you want, like, all the time," he says. "We live in a warehouse in Brooklyn. We took the whole second floor in a warehouse and built a studio, so that's where we practice. There's other people that live there - sculptors and stuff - but they are constantly creating stuff all the time." As of press time, no sculptures have been shattered by the blistering guitar. On a similar note, Ackermann insists that his hearing is doing just fine, despite the volume of the music.

"We usually don’t play shows that are longer than about half an hour or something, so you can handle volumes that loud for a little bit."

See if you can handle the loudest show in Athens as A Place to Bury Strangers is joined by locals Twin Tigers, Everybody Everybody and Atlanta's loudest band, All the Saints.

Michelle Gilzenrat

WHO: A Place to Bury Strangers, Twin Tigers, All the Saints
WHERE: Caledonia Lounge
WHEN: Monday, April 14
HOW MUCH: $7 (advance), $8-$9 (door)