The Only Boy at the Party: An Interview with Pikachunes

We first got word of New Zealand native Miles McDougall’s Pikachunes project with “Nervous,” the addictive Pet Shop Boys-esque lead single off his first full-length release. In the last year or so, he’s also released two music videos from the new LP (check out “Shout It Out” below). McDougall is now slowly growing a following back home in New Zealand and more recently in the U.S., playing East Coast shows with Lil’ Chief Records labelmate Princess Chelsea. I recently got a chance to catch up with Pikachunes concerning the birth of his solo project, musical inspirations, gear of choice, and a recent visit to New York City.

Fishpork: How did you get started as Pikachunes? Where did the name come from?

Miles McDougall: Pikachunes started about 2 years ago after I had a pretty horrific skateboarding accident resulting in a lot of plates and pins being put in my arm. I was studying a Bachelor of Music, majoring in Jazz Performance on drums at the time. With the recovery time and rehab I needed on my arm, I turned to digital composition and production. The name came to me whilst I was in hospital under heavy amounts of morphine for pain. As cliche as it sounds I woke up with the name in my head and it stuck.

FP: You released your first full-length last month via Lil’ Chief Records. What was the songwriting process like for that record?

MM: The song writing for the album happened over the span of 6 months. Being a drummer I started off with all the beats and the songs really built themselves around that. I’m a firm believer in the stronger the rhythm section of a song, the stronger the song will be. So all the songs a bass and drums driven.

FP: What’s your favorite software to write music with? Favorite synth?

MM: I enjoy writing beats on reason. Then building the rest of the songs on Logic. My favorite synth is the Roland JX-305. Its the keyboard equivalent of the MC-505 groove box.

FP: Who are your musical influences?

MM: I like most releases from DFA records and Kitsune. I also grew up listening to a lot of the Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics, B52′s and Matt Bianco, who are all groups I still adore and would definitely class as huge influences on my music.

FP: I really dug the videos for “Shout It Out” and “Just a Boy.” How did you come up with the concepts? Did you ever encounter a sleepy hotel desk clerk while in Japan?

MM: The Japan video was the concept of director Damien Shatford. It was part of his final submission for film school. The Just a Boy concept was my own. It was based around an experience I had as young boy where I was the only person that turned up to this boy from my schools 6th birthday. They awkwardness of that scenario has been something I never forgot and it seemed very suitable to portray a similar situation for that song. Japanese people are extremely welcoming and take their work very seriously. If anyone was sleeping I would say they’d be out of a job pretty fast.

FP: How was your recent trip to New York? What was the reception like? Any plans to return?

MM: I fell in love with New York hours into landing here. The shows have been a great learning experience and reception has only been positive. I want to eventually move here. It’s so easy to get overwhelmed coming from such a small country to New York but I feel personally like this is already my new home.

FP: I noticed the live show consists of you, your Mac, and mic. Any plans to expand the scope of the show with keyboards, live drums, etc.?

MM: I also use an Akai MPK 25 in my live set now, so I am playing keys live and triggering my drums live also. I am planning on putting together a band for my next album. The difficulty is finding good musicians that are able to take fairly strict direction, but I am already in the process of pulling a band together.

FP: What are you listening to at the moment? Do you have a favorite album so far in 2011?

MM: Best Album of this year so far for me is John Maus – We Must Become the Pitiless Censors of Ourselves. Can’t get enough of it. I’ve also been listening to James Blake, Wu Lyf and re listening to the M83 back catalog.

Pikachunes – “Nervous” by fanaticpro

Building a Radio Mast on the Frosted Tundra: An Interview with 65daysofstatic

British electronic outfit 65daysofstatic are preparing the North American release of their latest album, We Were Exploding Anyway, on October 25 via Monotreme Records. The album features guest vocals by Cure frontman Robert Smith on standout track “Come to Me.” The band is selling a deluxe 2-CD edition that includes the bonus 7-track Heavy Sky CD EP. Vinyl edition is heavyweight 180 gm vinyl (dark blue and white versions) and includes a free copy of the album CD, a poster and a digital download coupon for the Heavy Sky EP. We had a chance to catch up with the band a few days ago concerning the origin of the band name, their collaboration with Robert Smith, and the possibility of a North American tour. Check out the transcript below:

Fishpork: The origin of the band’s name has remained somewhat mysterious. I’ve read an account that it was based on an unreleased John Carpenter film and another concerning the CIA’s attempt to overthrown the Guatemalan government. Is there any truth to either, or does the band prefer to remain quiet about such speculation?

65daysofstatic: They are both incredible stories. The ideas that have been created around our name are better than any explanation we could possibly give as to the true nature of where the name came from. I have read a book called Bitter Fruit about the CIA’s coup in Guatemala. It’s all out in the public domain and verifiably true. That’s the world we really live in. Insane… Anyway – there’s another story out there, about a Russian ship between trapped in winter ice during a particularly bleak winter in the early 20th century. They built a radio mast on the frosted tundra. There’s a clue to the truth buried in that story, we will say that much…

Fishpork: The band has featured a change in lineup over the years. How many members are in the band today and who’s going on tour?

65daysofstatic: This is the curse of Wikipedia. Whilst technically this is true, and whilst the very earliest days were no doubt crucial to setting us down this road, the four members that are 65daysofstatic now have been the four members of 65daysofstatic since before our first album was even released eight (or nine?) long years ago. We are 65 every day. We spend an unhealthy amount of time together and a psychologist could write at least two theses on how we’ve managed to brainwash ourselves into believing that this is the most righteous thing we could possibly be doing with our lives.

Fishpork: The band recently supported The Cure on tour, and Robert Smith lends his vocals on a track off the new album. How did that come about? What was that experience like for the band?

65daysofstatic: The experience of touring with The Cure is a highlight for us, no doubt, and over those months The Cure cemented themselves in our heads as one of the finest bands of all time, as well as fearsome drinking partners. Robert sings on ‘Come To Me’ on the record. That song had been finished and recorded without vocals, and in the studio we knew that something was missing. Eventually we realised that it was vocals (we have never explicitly be against having vocals – it’s just our songs rarely seem to have space for them). So we thought about the vocalists we knew, realised we knew Robert, so asked him if he’d do it. He said yes and then did. Pretty cool.

Fishpork: Obviously, it’s a challenge to sell music in today’s climate. The advent of Internet technologies that allow for file sharing and an explosion of social networking sites have placed a burden on many bands. What is the band’s stance on the current issues facing traditional distribution methods of the music industry? Is the offering of deluxe packaging, bonus discs, posters, etc. a reaction by the band to current industry trends?

65daysofstatic: I don’t think it’s an industry trend this time. It’s an industry in full scale collapse. About once a week now we get an email from some new company that offers bands a way to integrate their music across all the social networking sites and sell stuff direct to fans. It’s the only way way the big companies can monetize this now – by licensing the tools for bands to do their own thing. It’s a sorry state of affairs in a lot of ways – everybody is yelling louder than everything else. A band is told that they need to do something BIG every month so they have an excuse to send a new mailout, tweet, update, whatever. We’re told that we need to give songs away in exchange for email addresses because spamming people with information is the new Top of the Pops [insert relevant outdated US-centric entertainment medium here]. It’s a shame. We started being in a band because we wanted to make music and play shows to people who liked our music. Now the world demands we also learn basic html, online-marketing techniques and know how to run a webshop. It’s a shame, and probably doesn’t help us in our quest to write the best music we can possibly write, but if it means that we still get to be in a band once we’ve got the dull stuff out of the way then we don’t spend too much time thinking about it. The industry will do whatever it does and we’ll just keep being a band.

Fishpork: The new album trailers were magnificent! Can you share some of the gear you’re using when performing live shows for the tech geeks who follow us? Are there any favorite new pedals/samplers/gadgets?

65daysofstatic: The electronic side of things spent about 8 years being in a state of flux between hardware, software, back to hardware, and now a fragile combination of both. Ableton live, a ton of midi cables tangled all around the stage and a few synthesisers. We used to use an Akai MPC5000 but that’s sitting in our rehearsal room right now. As for pedals, I can’t be exact, but I think Joe has about 4,000,000 going at any one time. Simon (bass man) has recently starting building his own, which is an incredibly exciting development in 65world. We have all demanded various midi sequencers/slicers/bit crunchers/guitar manglers off him. Hopefully by next year our pedal boards will just be forests of wires and components.

Fishpork: Please tell us you’ll be bringing the live show to the U.S. If so, is there anything in the works?

65daysofstatic: We would absolutely love to come back to the U.S. And Canada. And Central/South America too for that matter. The only problem is, what with the financial collapse and everything, we’re pretty broke. Touring the UK and Europe last year was harder than it’s ever been. We know there’s a lot of really patient 65 fans over there, and we are determined to make it one day. Monotreme Records getting We Were Exploding Anyway out there is an important first step. Let’s hope we can make the second one before too long.

Check out a new track from the forthcoming We Were Exploding Anyway below:

65daysofstatic ‘Crash Tactics’ by Monotreme Records

From Freakout to Articulation: An Interview with Fool’s Gold

Fool’s Gold started as a ten-piece musical project between friends and family and has since narrowed its focus and size. Developing as musicians, as well as human beings, along with extensive touring, has helped the band hone their sound. The now five-piece band put out its second full length release this week, released a new video, and will tour in support of their latest music. Fishpork had a chance to talk with Luke Top, bass player, vocalist, and co-songwriter about the band’s new-found focus, the decision to sing in English, and the affects of social networking on their music.

Fishpork: When Fool’s Gold first started out, there was a rotating cast of members. You now have a more steady collective. Does that make the production of music easier? What about the songwriting process?

Luke Top: Yes, everything you say is absolutely true. We started out with kind of an open door, if you will. We put it out there that any friends, friend’s friends, or relatives of friends, friends of relatives can come on in and kind of join in this little group. Really it was more of an experimental project for a while. And as we started touring, the lineup got slimmer and slimmer. At one point, we were a 10-piece, and that was insane. I think once we put our first record out and really started touring a lot … we went from 10 to 7 to 6 … and after two years of traveling we were down to 5. And we decided at that point that this is the band … this is the core group that’s gonna stick through the next album. It really was a totally natural process of becoming the band. For the first time, I think it feels like a proper band. No one’s replaceable, and everyone plays an integral part.

As far as the songwriting process and recording goes, it really helped us hone in a little more. Whereas the first time around it was just kinda like a freakout. This time, everything was a little more articulated. When Lewis and I, my songwriting partner, wrote the songs, we wrote it with these players in mind. It was a lot different, but a lot of these guys have been in the band from the very beginning, so we were already familiar with each other.

FP: Is there a new direction the band is going in with this new record?

LT: I had this photograph that a friend of mine took. It was a picture of this beach in Rio De Janeiro at night. That image was definitely something we internalized as we were envisioning where we wanted to go with our music. This whole idea of articulating and sculpting out our sound a little bit or using a finer brush to paint with instead of these broad, simple gestures. It is a little more detailed. I think having a smaller lineup, having the experience of touring and playing live, and really just developing as human beings, led to this newer kind of sound, which Lewis and I have been yearning for this entire time.

FP: On the debut album, most of the record was in Hebrew. The new record is in English. What’s the reason behind the change?

LT: This whole idea of honing in our sound, from my perspective, led me to chase English a little bit more. The singing in Hebrew was a stepping stone for me to kind of let go and learn how to sing and write melodies in different ways. It was the first step in the evolution of the band. This time around, I was looking to use that knowledge and experience and apply it to my first language. And that seemed challenging to me. I thought that if it was a challenge, I definitely should do it. It really seemed like an organic step for us. This whole idea of articulation … I’m really able to hone in on ideas and emotion with much finer detail than I can with Hebrew. If that’s the goal, it makes sense to push yourself in that way. It’s pretty awesome to see people singing along in English when they don’t know the language. That’s a pretty powerful feeling. But we have those songs, too, and I might go back to it. I might try another language. I don’t know. But for these songs and for this record, it made total sense to use English.

FP: Did you guys record all or most of the new record in analog?

LT: Yeah, most of it. The studio we worked at allowed us to synch digitally to Pro Tools with new technology that I have, and we were able to maintain the integrity of the sound but edit digitally. We kind of mixed the two.

FP: What’s that recording process like?

LT: Lewis and I have lots of ideas stacking up after touring, lots of little sketches. We decided to go to a house near Joshua Tree, near a rural desert called Wonder Valley. We tried connecting and throwing out a bunch of ideas. Then, we came home. From writing to mastering, the entire process only took about four months total, which is something we’ve never before. It was really exciting. We’ve been building up ideas for so long, that the writing process came really easy. We’ve been talking about music and listening to music and thinking about music for so long that It just kind of happened in that week. Then, we spent about a month rehearsing a bunch with the five-piece. We went into the studio and recorded it all in five days … maybe less. I think we did three songs a day. It felt really rushed to be honest. That brought a certain type of intensity to the process. I did the vocals in about a week after that. Mixing one to two weeks after that. And that was it. We really learned how to play the songs, rearranged them, and we’ve done one tour so far since the album’s been recorded. We did a European festival tour about a month ago. So we’ve been able to play the songs out a little bit.

FP: I know you guys are doing a tour with Red Hot Chili Peppers in the UK. What other plans for touring are there?

LT: Yeah. We’re doing a US tour next month. And then in October we’re going out and doing our own tour for about 3-4 weeks in Europe, but an additional 10 days or so are supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers in the UK, which should be pretty cool.

FP: Who are you are touring with during the US leg of the tour?

LT: I think it’s mostly our own headlining tour, and I’m not really sure who’s supporting. I know we’re doing a couple festivals … Austin City Limits Festival. Another festival in Chicago. Mostly, headlining dates … a rather short one … about three weeks or so. We are doing a few shows with Cold War Kids … maybe 4-5 shows with Cold War Kids.

FP: I saw you open for Tinariwen at the Highline Ballroom in New York. How’d you guys get involved with a band like them?

LT: It’s a situation where we get to play Europe, and we got an incredible opportunity somewhat because we are tapped into music that’s kind of rare and not really being played out in the world. It’s by way of us referencing that kind of music a lot in interviews and musically. It was real natural for us to go out and play with that band. When we started the band, it was the impossible. We never imagined that would happen when we started out. It was wonderful. The next night we did Bell House in Brooklyn. That was something else. That Highline Show was kind of like that first time we met them, and we felt kind of intimidated. It was a little cold at first, and we didn’t connect quite yet. The new show at the Bell House was really, really amazing because we finally clicked. The singer joined us on stage for soundcheck. All the barriers broke down, and we were sharing a room backstage, and it ended up being this incredible collaboration. We’ve stayed in touch with them since. One of my favorite shows I ever played was that next night at the Bell House. Within one night I ended up getting to play bass with Tinariwen, which is shell-shocking. One of those moments … so that was really special. That night really affected everyone in the band. We try to do that kind of stuff as much as we can since then.

FP: We’re going to feature the new video on the site, and I’m curious about how the video came about.

LT: This time, it emanated from me, and we had a set of resources. We just went for it using what we had. It’s kind of a struggle finding someone to make a video for us. I don’t know why that is. We really wanted to make a video. And we wanted it to be thoughtful. And we wanted it to be full of images and match the song. We had this art space in L.A. We had some projectors, we had the willingness to make a video. Me, Lewis, and Lewis’ girlfriend came together and came up with a bunch of images and ideas. I got my friend to shoot it, edit it. Again, it was a really quick process. We just kind of found a bunch of stuff, figured out how to do it, and shot it. And there you have the result. Very much DIY. I wouldn’t say it’s the perfect video, but I think it touches upon what we were looking for when we got the idea for it. It’s a DIY affair for sure.

FP: How do you feel about all the social networking services that are surfacing at the moment with applications iike Spotify, Turntable, and so on?

LT: Absolutely nothing affects our writing of music, which is something special we have with this project. When we write music, it only involves music and music only, which is an amazing benefit of being in this particular band. It’s very much cathartic, it comes from a really, really truthful place. I kind of feel overwhelmed … I don’t know how it affects sales. I really don’t know what sales are all about. I’m not involved in that … thankfully. It’s kind of alarming. I’m kind of in charge of all of our digital presences, Facebook, Myspace, Topspin, etc. It’s very much not related to the making of music. I will says it’s pretty cool to have a relationship with our fans. I really love getting to write back and forth with people. A lot of people do write us. They write letters, they send emails. I really like that aspect of it. Some shy away from having direct contact. It’s a part of our band’s live show, and we really try to break the wall between band and audience. And I don’t mind being able to connect with fans 1-on-1. It’s pretty cool.

Something Seriously Fucked: An Interview With Tobacco

Tom Fec (aka Tobacco), the mastermind behind experimental psychedelics Black Moth Super Rainbow, just finished touring in support of 2010′s Maniac Meat. In a 2008 interview with Kotori Magazine, Tobacco initially explained his vision for the solo project: “There’s something seriously fucked about workout tapes from the mid 80s, and just about everything obscure on beta tape. They make me feel awful, but really good and curious at the same time. With this Tobacco stuff, I’m trying to translate that feeling.” We were lucky enough to catch an intense performance at the First Unitarian Church in Philadelphia earlier this year. The ever-elusive Tobacco, who is known to wear disguises on stage and rarely does interviews, took some time to talk with Fishpork about his latest solo effort, the upcoming L.A. U.T.I. EP, and the recent theft of the notorious basketball head.

Fishpork: How do you approach your solo work differently than the music you make with Black Moth Super Rainbow?

Tobacco: It’s weird to answer that, because it’s all been solo work. I just wanted to do something different that wasn’t … that I didn’t have to think about bringing to a band to learn … that I could perform on my own … instead of relying on other people

FP: How would you describe the differences between the records that came from BSMR and now Tobacco?

Tobacco: I guess the main difference is that Black Moth was me worrying more about what people thought. And maybe not embracing some of the weirder shit that I really wanted to do … but was kind of worried about that. And so this Tobacco stuff was exactly what I always wanted to do. But I was worried that people might not understand it or like it at all.

FP: You have the L.A. U.T.I. EP coming out soon. What can you share about that release?

Tobacco: I made it while I was making Maniac Meat. It’s kind of … Maniac Meat was gonna be kinda of weird. I was gonna have a bunch of rap songs on there. And at the end of the day it just didn’t fit. So I kind of broke out all the rap stuff my friends were doing for me, and I’m making that into something. Half of it are like beats that are from Maniac Meat, and the other half are songs that just didn’t make it onto the record.

FP: Your live shows are pretty intense. We were at the Philly show. Did you have a favorite stop on your tour?

Tobacco: Maybe Ann Arbor. That one was fun. Everyone was pretty crazy. Kalamazoo was really good, too. I guess some people were fucking in the front of the crowd in Boston. That always makes for a good show. Yeah, those were my favorites. Philly was good too though. Philly was OK.

FP: Is there any new music that you’ve been listening to lately?

Tobacco: Oh man, I don’t think I’ve listened to a single thing since I’ve been preparing for the tour. Hmmm … let me look, I have a CD case in my car …

FP: A lot of fans have been following the disappearance of the basketball head. What’s the latest?

Tobacco: We left the stage for a couple minutes, and some little fucking dickhead came up and took it. We know who it was, and apparently it’s on its way back. It really bothers me, because it’s like this kid felt like he was entitled to this. It’s not even … people are like … let’s raise money to buy a new basketball head. I can buy a new basketball head. I can buy 20 new basketball heads. It doesn’t matter. What matters to me is that some fucking asshole thought they were entitled to just go up there and take it. And they thought, that as a fan, that was OK. But it’s coming back, so it is what it is.

FP: Do you have any plans after this tour? I read something about you playing guitar?

Tobacco: Everyone’s been asking me about that [laughs]. Every once in a while I say something … drop something stupid on Facebook, and a lot of times people take it seriously. That’s just something I said.

FP: So is there anything happening after this tour?

Tobacco: I’ll just be touring more. A couple more this year, and then next year we’ll do more. Touring is kind of … maybe a little more fun right now.

FP: Do you have any motivation to collaborate with any other artists. I really enjoyed your work with Aesop Rock. Would you consider doing something along those lines again?

Tobacco: Maybe, but I’m not certain. It’s weird. I’m in a weird limbo right now. I kind of don’t know what I want to do with my future. I don’t have any plans, but anything can change at any minute.

Check out Tobacco’s remix of Fishpork’s favorite track of 2009, “Die Slow” by HEALTH. If you like what you hear, please check out Tobacco’s Maniac Meat and support one of our favorite artists!

Die Slow – Tobacco Remix by bbasbarraf

The Taking Under: An Interview With Elf Power

The last time Elephant 6 veterans Elf Power hit the road, it was a co-headlining gig with Athens, Georgia legend Vic Chestnutt. The band also collaborated with Chestnutt on the critically-acclaimed Dark Developments in 2009. This Fall, the band will tour with the long-awaited Elephant 6 film, Major Organ and the Adding Machine, in which lead singer Andrew Rieger plays one of the principal characters. The film is the visual counterpart to the 2001 album by the same name and is set for release along with Elf Power’s tenth and self-titled release on September 14. We got a chance to speak with lead singer and songwriter Andrew Rieger about their latest record, the influence of Vic Chestnutt, and the bonus material on the Major Organ DVD.

Fishpork: I read the notes you guys wrote about Vic Chestnutt on your web site. It wasn’t hard to tell that you guys really embraced your time him. What was it like working with Vic in the studio and on tour?

FP: What influence has your relationship with Vic had on the band moving forward?

FP: Are there any unreleased tracks from the Dark Developments sessions that may ever see the light of day?

FP: I’m such a big fan of your last album, In A Cave. We’ve only just received the review copy of your new self-titled record. Did you guys take a similar approach for the new record?

FP: Did you guys work with a producer or did you self-produce the record?

FP: Are there any guest collaborations on the record beyond the usual suspects in and around Athens?

FP: The Major Organ and the Adding Machine DVD finally gets a proper release on the same day your new album comes out. What were your contributions to the album and film?

FP: The release notes for the DVD say there is some rare unreleased Elf Power videos on the DVD. Is there anything you can share about those?

FP: We’re happy to see a supporting tour scheduled this Fall to support the new album. Are you bringing anyone on the road with you?

FP: We were lucky enough to see Jeff perform at the Chris Knox Benefit show in May. What was your reaction to his performance?

Elf Power have dedicated the new album to Vic Chestnutt, who committed suicide last Christmas. You can download their first single off the new record, “Stranger In the Window,” here or stream it below:

Above The Influence: An Interview With Count From Inu

With the release of their Monster EP, Inu is a band to watch in 2010. The group consists of producer/drummer/vocalist Count, guitarist Tim Hingston, and cellist Zoe Keating. Fishpork got a chance to talk with Count about the band’s upcoming full album release, the lack of influences on the songwriting process, and some potential live shows for 2010.

How did you hook up with the other band members to form Inu?

When you guys write songs, what’s that process like?

I wrote a raving review of your Monster EP a few weeks ago. I called it “one of the best of the year so far.” What can we expect on this new album?

What kind of music are you guys listening to right now?

Did you have a favorite album of 2009?

What can we expect from your live shows?

What’s in store for the band in 2010?

http://www.myspace.com/inuband

All In The Family: An Interview With Zechs Marquise

Named after a popular Japanese anime character, Zechs Marquise are comprised of familiar names. Brothers of The Mars Volta mastermind Omar, Marfred and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez have formed their own prog-rock groove outfit along with childhood friends Matthew Wilkson and Marcos Smith. Following a long and complicated road toward completing their debut album, Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare is finally getting a proper release via Rodriguez-Lopez Productions. The band has also scored an opening slot on a tour with RX Bandits and Dredg. Fishpork got a chance to talk with bassist Marfred about recording the album on their own equipment, the excitement of playing in New York and Philly for the first time, and planning everything around The Mars Volta.

Fishpork: Who in the band also plays with The Mars Volta? Are you finding it tough to plan around both of the bands’ schedules?

Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez: Well, Marcel [Rodriguez-Lopez] plays percussion and secondary keys in The Mars Volta. Yeah, it does become hard because we like to tour a lot more than we can.  And with their touring schedule we have to plan around it, but we do what we can.

FP: How is the release of Our Delicate Stranded Nightmare on Rodriguez-Lopez Productions different from when you guys released it last year?

MR: Not much. It’s mostly just [] differences and stuff. And now we’ll actually have somewhat of a backing with the record, because before last year . . . all of last year we pushed it ourselves. We sold it out of our web site and our MySpace and going out on tour with it and selling it that way. So it’s good to have that kind of backing.

FP: I heard you guys recorded the album on your own last year. How did that process work?

MR: We tried to go in and record at an old rehearsal place. We used to live next door to a gentleman that had a recording studio. Well, he works for one. We went in there to go work with it, and then he had a dispute with the actual owners of the studio. And within that time, we kinda put everything on hold. And in between then . . . I guess it was something like three or four months . . . we learned that the engineer wasn’t going to be working there anymore. And the studio went ahead, and they actually wiped out all the material we had on their drives there. When we went back to get it, it was already all gone. So with all of the gear that we had acquired over the last few years and stuff, we just kinda figured might as well do it ourselves and avoid the hassle of making a schedule or, even for that matter, paying for recording time. This way, what money we would have invested in, actually going to the studio and spending time in there, we could actually put it into our own recording equipment and record whenever we want to, not having to pay for hourly fees or for an engineer or any of that stuff.

FP: When you guys write songs, what’s that process like?

MR: Basically, we’ll just get together for a rehearsal or something, and we’ll just play whatever. And if we like it, we’ll take from there and kind of build upon it. Or sometimes each guy comes in with like a guitar riff, or I’ll come in with a bass line, or Marcel comes in with drums or whatever, and we just kind of add someone else’s idea.

FP: What kind of music are you guys listening to right now?

MR: Really anything, but particularly right now we’ve just been listening to a lot of funk and soul and hip hop, believe it or not. We’re listening to a lot of James Brown, some Delfonics stuff. And like I said just old hip hop . . . a lot of J Dilla. We do listen to a lot of different music, but lately that’s what we’ve been listening to a lot.

FP: What’s your favorite album of 2009 so far?

MR: That Crack the Skye by Mastodon.

FP: I saw that the band was making their way to New York and Philly. Will these shows be your first time playing gigs on the East Coast?

MR: Yeah, actually. We haven’t gone as far as . . . the furthest east that we’ve been, I believe is North Carolina. So it should actually be kinda fun. Everyone is looking forward to the Philly and New York shows in particular. Actually, one of the guys in the band has never even been up to the Northeast part of the country or the Midwest, so it’s going to be a good experience for him.

FP: How did you guys get hooked up with RX Bandits and Dredg?

MR: Apparently, Cathy over at Sargent House had turned RX onto Zechs. I guess played them a couple of tracks or gave them a CD or something, and they turned out to like it a lot. And they had this tour coming up for their new record and asked us to join them.

FP: What can we expect from your live shows?

MR: A lot of high energy, very aggressive music playing (laughs).

FP: What’s in store for the band for the rest of 2009?

Yeah, actually. We started working on our next record late last year and for the most part of this year. We’ve been working in between tours and Mars Volta scheduling. Hopefully, with any luck, we’ll get it out before the end of the year. If not, right at the beginning of next year. Looking forward to that one. It sounds completely different than what we did with Our Delicate (Stranded Nightmare).

www.myspace.com/zechsmarquise
www.rodriguezlopezproductions.com

Chasing the Dreaming California: An Interview With Friday Nights

The Ken Andrews and Matt Mahaffey (Self) influences are obvious on the debut record from Los Angeles-based Friday Nights. With sonic guitar work and infectious pop hooks, Friday Nights put their own spin on the alt/pop formula perfected by their contemporaries. The result is a collaboration between two veteran musicians, Mike Castillo and Shon Kornfeld, about to burst onto the scene with their latest musical incarnation. Fishpork got a chance to talk to Mike about the band’s musical tastes, having Ken Andrews mix their record, and what else can be expected this year.

Fishpork: How did you guys meet up and form Friday Nights?

Mike Castillo: Shon and I met ten years ago at a little hole in the wall called Cafe Tara. I was 17 and played bass in a band called “Burning Owen”. Shon played guitar in an awesome melodic hardcore band called “Helen 55″. I fell in love with his band…I even roadied for ‘em for a while. We kept in touch over the years. We both were doing solo stuff and in ’05 Shon offered to record my “best song” for free at his home studio, Moai Sounds, which he had just put together. We recorded  demos for the four songs that I had written. Shon also had a bunch of cool songs that he was working on. We both really dug each other’s material so we decided to combine it and form “Friday Nights”.

FP: What was the song writing process like on the album?

MC: The main bulk of the material had already been written before Shon and I started working together. For the most part, Shon’s stuff had didn’t have lyrics or melodies written yet and my stuff needed to be “produced” and arranged. For my songs, I’d basically show Shon how to play the basic song on acoustic and then let him run with it…a few days later he’d send me something back with full guitars, harmonies, bass and a basic drum machine track and I’d be like, “Fuck Yes!”. For Shon’s songs, he’d give me the demos to write lyrics and melodies to. Most of the time they had no vox but if he had an idea where he wanted to go with something, he’d lay down a scat track or a keyboard playing the melody.

FP: What bands did you guys grow up on? Who served as inspiration for Friday Nights?

MC: Everything from pop to obscure indie rock. Hum, Failure, Swervedriver, My Bloody Valentine, Autolux, Self, Fountains of Wayne, The Police. We like the spacey rock a lot but we’re also suckers for a good pop hook. We’re huge fans of Steely Dan. They served as a big influence for how we do business as a band. 2 guys writing everything…any other musicians are hired or invited as needed. Fewer egos to deal with and it’s nice to have options. Sometimes one drummer sounds better on one track and another sounds better on a different track, ya know? My favorite band as a kid was Soundgarden and I’m pretty sure Shon’s was Jane’s Addiction.

FP: In an age when digital distribution is king and CD packaging is usually minimalistic, your new album’s packaging looks great. What made you guys go with that presentation?

MC: We’re still stuck in the 90s, I guess….hahahaha! We found a picture that a guy named John Watson took of the 91 freeway and we really liked it. Shon met a guy named Brad Chancellor who does killer design stuff and it just kinda came together. It was originally going to be a simpler thee panel layout but we couldn’t fit all of the lyrics and credits. The weird thing is we’ve sold about five times as many CDs as we have of the digital version. It’s had us kinda scratching our heads. We released the digital copy first and we kept getting responses from people saying “Cool! I’m waitin’ for the CD, though!”

FP: Getting recognition for a new band can also be a struggle in a saturated market. What are you guys doing to promote yourselves?

MC: Since we’re really just two guys and we have to pay other musicians to play live, we’ve had to go about things a little bit differently. We’re just now about to start to play shows. Originally the band was going to be more of a recording project than anything. We mainly use sites like MySpace, Last.FM and thesixtyone.com to find our audience. We look for people who we think might be feeling the material and just send them a message asking them to take a listen

FP: How do you think MySpace, Facebook, Twitter and other social networking tools play a role in promotion these days?

MC: Well for one, free music hosting! When MySpace first came out, I remember being STOKED that you could put your music up for free! They also help you find your audience, which is important.

FP: One of our all-time favorite artists, Ken Andrews, mixed your debut record. How did you guys meet up with Ken and what was that process like?

MC: We just kind of sent his management the songs and asked if he’d be into it and crossed our fingers. We were pretty thrilled when he said yes. We never actually met up with Ken in person, even though he lives really close. He’s a really busy guy, so we’d just send the songs over with kind of an idea of what we wanted and he nailed it for the most part. Anything that he didn’t nail he’d revise for us.

FP: Were you guys fans of Ken’s former bands (Failure, On, Year of the Rabbit)?

MC: Oh yea, definitely. We’re bigger Failure fans, though.

FP: What can we expect to see in the live incarnation of these songs? When do you guys plan to tour?

MC: We’re playing our first 2 shows in June. We’ve got a great lineup of musicians, right now. We don’t have any solid plans to tour, yet. If there’s enough of a demand, we will. Otherwise, we’re just havin’ fun.

FP: What bands are you guys currently listening to? Favorite album of 2009 so far?

MC: We’re listening to a lot of And You Will Know Us by the Trail of Dead. Their newest album Century of Self is disgustingly good. We’re also in love with the new The Life and Time record Tragic Boogie.

FP: What can we expect from Friday Nights for the rest of 2009?

MC: MORE MUSIC! We’re already starting the demo process for our next EP Saturday Mournings. All of the material’s done. We’re really stoked on that. After that, we’ll probably go right into the next LP.

http://fridaynightsmusic.com

http://myspace.com/fridaynightsmusic

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White Lies: Everything’s Got To Be Love Or Death

White Lies may be one of the most hyped British bands in recent memory, and their highly anticipated debut, To Lose My Life, has reached #1 on the U.K. charts. The band is just now making their way to the U.S. for a full proper tour, featuring a collection of emotionally-charged songs that are best served live. Other bands have taken notice, and the White Lies have become a target of countless remixes. Most recently, Crystal Castles put their electro-spazz touch on the album’s opening track, “Death.” We recently caught one of their shows in Philly and became instantly enamored with front man Harry McVeigh. Filter Magazine was able to hook us up with an opportunity to speak to Harry (just hours before his Seattle gig) about his band’s penetration into the American market, the passion in his performances, and some of his favorite bands at the moment.

Fishpork: We were at your Philly show and were really blown away. How do you think the fans over here are responding to White Lies?

Harry McVeigh: It’s been very good, actually. It’s actually been a lot better than we expected it to be. A lot of these shows have started to sell out now, especially towards the end of the tour as interest starts to build. We’ve been playing some good shows, and people have been responding to it really well. Much better than expected I think, and we’ve been really pleased with it.

Fishpork: How is your voice feeling since that show?

HM: It’s much better now. Thanks very much for asking. Yeah, I was out for about five, six days, but I had to do all the shows, and I got through it. It was a struggle. It was definitely a struggle.

Fishpork: Do you find the U.S tour to be more of a challenge since most of your success has been in the U.K.?

HM: No, we had the same challenge in the U.K. about six months ago when we first started touring with the band properly. You know, it’s the same in any country. When you’re starting out, it’s gonna be a little bit harder, because no one’s heard your music, and no one’s had the chance to come see you play live yet. And that’s how interest is generated, and that’s how bands start out. It is a challenge, and it’s really good fun for us, and I’m really enjoying being on this tour. It takes us back to the time when we started. And I know it’s only six months ago. That’s the time we started in the U.K., our own headline tour or whatever. It’s really good fun to play these size venues, to play to people who haven’t really heard your music before and to try to win them over. It’s great fun. I’ve really enjoyed. I suppose the only challenging thing about touring in the U.S. is the distance between each show. And that’s obviously the big difference between the U.S. and England. Every night, we’re probably driving for eight/nine hours to get to places. And, in fact, I decided to fly, because I have my girlfriend out here in Seattle. I drove from Minneapolis to Seattle, which is a very, very long drive. Yeah, it’s cool. It’s really fun.

And it never gets boring playing live, ever. We love it, and we learn new things about the songs and, in fact, learn new songs every few months. And it’s great. The live show’s constantly stepping up in quality, and the performance is becoming better and better, I think.

Fishpork: Some of the songs on your album have been out for a while. Do you get tired of playing the same songs every night? How do you keep your live shows fresh?

HM: No, you’d have to be playing the songs for a long, long time for them to get boring. There’s always the excitement and the nerves when you’re playing live, that it might just go wrong at any moment. And you have to always be concentrating really hard and be really focused when you’re on stage to deliver the best performance. And it never gets boring playing live, ever. We love it, and we learn new things about the songs and, in fact, learn new songs every few months. And it’s great. The live show’s constantly stepping up in quality, and the performance is becoming better and better, I think. If anyone’s seen us this time around on the tour . . . the next time we tour the U.S., hopefully, it’ll be even better. So, it never gets boring. It’s always fun to expand on songs and to get the most out of them in every show.

Fishpork: You seem to put so much energy and emotion into your performances. How are you able to keep your sanity from night to night?

HM: You know, it’s exactly that. During the performance we’re obviously very focused, and we want to deliver the power and emotion of the song. And it’s actually hard not to deliver that power and emotion. They’re very emotionally charged songs and lyrics. It sounds like a cheesy thing to say, but it’s quite therapeutic to sing about things like that and to get that emotion off your chest. For the rest of the time, we’re pretty grounded, normal people. We enjoy the same things that everyone else does. And we enjoy them in the same way. For the show, we’re definitely very focused, but we try to leave that emotion in the show and during the show. Otherwise, we would go insane.

Fishpork: What’s been your favorite stop on the U.S. tour?

HM: I’ve enjoyed a lot of places to be honest. I’ve just spent a couple of days here in Seattle, and I really loved the city, first time here. Everywhere is different. New York and Chicago, the big cities, are great to visit. They’re really amazing places to see. And we always have a good time in the big cities. But there’s some wonderful small places we’ve visited as well. Ann Arbor, the show we did just before Chicago, which is obviously a very small university town. It was great fun, and it was a good show and a really beautiful city as well.

You don’t get a sound check or anything. You usually just set up the equipment and walk on stage. And, personally, I love that. It’s great that it’s so spontaneous. And it actually kind of separates the really good performers and musicians from the no so good performers. And, hopefully, we fall into the first bracket.

Fishpork: We’ve noticed a lot of festival stops on your tour. How do you compare the festival experience to more intimate shows?

HM: Of course, we’re playing Coachella in a couple weeks. Amazing, we’re really looking forward to that. The festival experience is totally different, not only for the people playing but also for the people watching it. A festival performance is a very immediate thing. You don’t get a sound check or anything. You usually just set up the equipment and walk on stage. And, personally, I love that. It’s great that it’s so spontaneous. And it actually kind of separates the really good performers and musicians from the no so good performers. And, hopefully, we fall into the first bracket. And we work very hard, as I mentioned before, on our live show. It’s going to be interesting. And we might have a few shows that are not quite so good, and we might have a few amazing shows at festivals. And that’s the genius of it. You never quite know what’s going to happen, and I love that. At the smaller clubs shows you get a long sound check, and you get to make sure everything’s working. And that’s still really good fun and really great. And, also, you get to use your light show and whatever. It’s not quite as immediate and spontaneous as the festival shows.

Fishpork: What is the songwriting process like for you guys?

HM: It’s almost entirely a democracy in the band. Usually it’ll start with . . . maybe Charles will maybe write some lyrics. And me and Charles will probably sit in my house with the keyboard in my living room, and we’ll start to work out the basics of a song, like the the basic chord structures and melody lines. And then we’ll go into the rehearsal studio, and we’ll work with Jack. It’s only usually a couple of days where we’re working on the very basics of a song, me and Charles. For the rest of the time, me, Jack and Charles will be in the rehearsal studio working long hours to get the song into shape, and it’s the same right way until we finish recording it, and then we have to relearn how to play it live. It’s very much a democracy between the whole band.

Fishpork: Who are some of your American music influences?

HM: Most of our musical influence comes from America actually. It’s very strange. We don’t listen to a huge amount of British music. And I don’t know what the reason for that is. We love the Secret Machines’ first record, I think is our favorite record as a band. That would be in all of our top three records of all-time. We love a band called School of Seven Bells, which is obviously the Secret Machines’ guitarist. They’re amazing. They’re actually coming out to play with us in the U.K. actually in May. And also a band from New York called Violence, a very new band that we’ve fallen in love with. They’re amazing. It’s strange, especially in modern music. We certainly listen to a lot more American bands than U.K. bands.

Fishpork: The visual component to White Lies is quite cinematic. Where does that interest in the visual come from? How do you guys come up with the music video concepts?

HM: The main visionary behind those videos is actually the director, Andreas Nilsson. And the reason we started working with him was because he did the treatment for our first music video, which was “Death.” And it was amazing. It fit so well with the band’s ethos, and what the band is about and, also, what the song is about. And so we chose his treatment and made a video with him. It was so good that we decided to make two more videos with him. He’s just a fantastic director and great visionary. We have a lot of trust in him to make really amazing videos. So that’s why we did a trilogy of videos with him. I’m not sure if you guys have seen the most recent one. It’s on our MySpace. It’s for the single that’s coming out in the U.K., “Farewell to the Fairground.” We shot it in Russia, which was amazing.

I absolutely love that remix. I love the way they’ve taken it completely out of context and changed the song but still made it their own a bit in a very unique and original way. I love their remix. I think it’s amazing.

Fishpork: Crystal Castles is one of our favorite bands. How did you like their remix of Death?

HM: I love it. I love Crystal Castles as well. I think they’re album is incredible. And I’m so, so excited about their second record. We were sort of introduced to Crystal Castles when we were touring with them in 2008 on a tour called NME New Noise Tour in the U.K. And they obviously heard us playing Death on pretty much every night of the tour, and they fell in love with the song. And so they decided to do a remix of it. I absolutely love that remix. I love the way they’ve taken it completely out of context and changed the song but still made it their own a bit in a very unique and original way. I love their remix. I think it’s amazing. Since then, they’ve actually started working with the same management as us, and we get along with them very well as people. They’re really lovely people. We often see them on the festival circuit, and often around London, and also we were in Toronto recently, we saw them out there. We get along with Crystal Castles very well. They’re great people.

Fishpork: What other bands are you guys listening to right now?

HM: Let me think. There’s a band called M83 who just did a remix of one of our songs called “Nothing To Give.” Also, I’ve just bought their album, and I’ve fallen in love with it.  I think it’s fantastic. Really great record.

Fishpork: What’s coming up in 2009 for White Lies?

HM: Pretty much touring. We’re touring around the whole world and around the U.K.  and Europe a lot. And we’re playing festivals all over the world for the rest of the summer. And it’s going to be great. We’re really, really excited about it. And we hope to see as many people as possible at all the festivals around the world. It’s going to be great.

White Lies has also been hard at work with music video extraordinaire, Andreas Nilsson, who is best known for his work with the Swedish electronic duo, The Knife. So far, Nilsson has worked with White Lies on a trilogy of music videos that capture the visual aesthetic of To Lose Your Life. Embedded below are his videos for “Death,” To Lose My Life,” and “Farewell To The Fairground.”

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Controlled Chaos: An Interview with Girl Talk

Greg Gillis (aka Girl Talk) has evolved from mash-up novelty to Pitchfork stud, performing over 100 shows a year to sold-out crowds. The 27-year old released Feed the Animals, his fourth album, earlier this year and has just finished up an intense leg of his current international tour. The album appeared on countless end-of-the-year lists, including #11 on The Fishpork 20. We called up Gillis earlier this week to find out what’s next. The former biomedical engineer who takes fair use and copyright to its limits talked about the dark process of creating Feed the Animals, the controlled chaos at his shows, and his yearning to try something different for his next release.

Fishpork: First of all, congrats on making all of those end-of-year lists.

GG: Thank you, man. I appreciate it.

Fishpork: When I talk to people or read about reactions to your music, specifically with Feed the Animals, it seems that they either love it or hate it. Comments on music bogs are usually something like, “I’m glad Girl Talk is finally getting respect on this list,” or “Girl Talk is on the top ten, that’s a joke.” Do you pay attention to music bloggers?

“I try to be able to take a step back, and I would rather be a polarizing figure and kind of push people one way or the other, rather as something that slips by as just another musician.”

GG: I try not to, but occasionally I’ll be sitting in a hotel after a show — I’ll be a few drinks deep — and I’ll just get real dark. I’ll look up negative press of myself. I think, on the whole, it’s better to ignore. I mean, I’m pretty hard on myself in terms of what I want to get out of projects, so reading stuff from bitter assholes spewing off negative stuff is valuable. It’s also probably in my best interest not to pay attention to it. So I try to ignore it, but I sometimes get into it. I try to be able to take a step back, and I would rather be a polarizing figure and kind of push people one way or the other, rather as something that slips by as just another musician.

Fishpork: Any reaction’s good, right?

GG: Right. I think when people are truly and passionately hating it, that to me means I probably did something good there.

Fishpork: Your live shows are becoming legendary. We saw you at Irving Plaza in 2006 with Peeping Tom, and the stage crowd was small. A few weeks ago at the Starlight Ballroom in Philly, there were well over 100 on the stage. How are the venues reacting to your open-stage policy?

GG: We’ve probably gotten a bit more organized with it, and that Philly date was the first show on that tour. I play shows all year round, but that was the first show with that crew. I had some extras there helping me out. I think we fine-tuned it a little bit. Back in the day, based on how this project developed, I wanted to keep it as raw as possible. I like the chaos. I like to be insane to a degree, but I’m not down really with people being hurt at a show. At some of the shows we’ve gotten to decide where. It’s just like when you’re playing for 2000 people you really just can’t have an open stage. It’s just gonna be too much. I’m kinda battling with that for a little while, and I think this tour proved to me that it’s not the worst thing in the world to get security organized to help stop people. Now, when I talk to venues, I explain to them that the majority of the audience is probably familiar with the style of show and are gonna want to get on stage. But we just kinda try to make an effort to limit it to some degree, keep it loose. I don’t ever like it to be an exclusive crew that gets to be up there, any sort of VIP club. I like it to just be people who hang out in the front row, who somehow get up there. So we’ve been a bit more organized after a few issues with too many people on stage, and this and that. So right now, I think it’s in a good place, definitely walking that line where it’s chaotic and where it’s fun. And that’s where I want to be.

Fishpork: There must be a level of trust you have with your audience to get that close to you during a gig. How do you remain focused during all that chaos?

GG: Yeah, that’s been another interesting thing as the audiences get bigger. Back a few years when you’d let people on stage, it was like, “Oh, well he is giving us this trust, and we’re going to give it back to him and help him out.” But as the size of the shows have gotten bigger, audiences have gotten more diverse — younger, older, people who are familiar with this style of show and people who aren’t. But along with that you get people who don’t really understand that level of support that I need. They’re kinda maybe thinking about themselves a bit much when they’re up there — when they’re kind of running into me, knocking things over or something. I mean, I kinda get in my own zone. And usually I find that the circle of people around me, regardless of whether they’ve been to a show or not, (that) over the course of the show understand that I need the support. They’re up there, and it does get a little chaotic. At most of the shows, the inner circle around me kind of becomes like the fence, where they’re hanging out dancing but also doing their best to protect what’s going on because the show can easily be stopped at any point. But during the show — it’s something where the set — it’s all very live, but the actual sample triggering and progress of the set are things I’ve gone over a lot. Those are the things I’ve gone over a lot, things I’ve worked on for hours in my house — so most of the set is kind of memorized. Even if I couldn’t see the screen, I would have an idea of different cues on the screen as far as which sample they are. So I’ve played over 100 shows a year for the past two years — so it’s just something where it’s become accustomed. I’m use to — all I need is my right hand. If I’m able to get a glimpse of the screen I can keep everything together.

Fishpork: What was the creative process like during the creation of Feed the Animals and how has it changed since your earlier albums?

GG: I think it’s pretty similar to my last few. The first one was really raw. Secret Diary back in 2002 was something where it was just me experimenting in my free time. I was going to college at the time. Something like — where I never sat down for a ten hour day to work on music. Whereas (with) the new one, I’m always coming up with new ideas to incorporate into the live show. This one came out two years after the one prior to it, and the editing took me about 3-6 months. It was like a year and a half of playing live shows. By the time I actually sat down to edit the album and put it together, most of the core ideas were already thought out. I kind of knew where it was going — knew where a lot of things were going to be. And then it’s just a matter of fine-tuning it. I would have to say that this album — I’m really happy with it and happy to be done. And to me it’s my favorite album I’ve done. But assembling it was kind of a dark process for me. I really locked myself away, and it was the first album where there was actual pressure.

A lot of people didn’t realize that I had been doing that for six years, and it’s just something that’s part of my life. And people thought is was a project that would die off. So on the new one, I really wanted to prove that this is my life — this is what I do.

It’s my fourth album, but I knew people were going to treat it like a sophomore effort — because people weren’t as familiar with my earlier stuff. So going into this I felt like I just had something to prove almost — just in terms of when I knew when Night Ripper came out, a lot of people just kinda dismissed that as a novelty and this one time thing — and the shows with me and a laptop. A lot of people didn’t realize that I had been doing that for six years, and it’s just something that’s part of my life. And people thought is was a project that would die off. So on the new one, I really wanted to prove that this is my life — this is what I do. And I wanted to make an album that’s better than that. So, in sitting down to do it, I put a lot of pressure on myself, and basically stopped associating with anyone I know — just locked myself away. And my girlfriend got really annoyed, because it’s all I talk about — forced her to listen to all the time. So yeah, I was definitely a weird era. I remember staying up ’til 8 or 9AM everyday, then sleeping til the afternoon and just seeing very little daylight and literally just sitting in my bedroom/studio and just staring at that screen for hours and hours and hours.

Fishpork: It was definitely worth it, man. While your songs include a sprinkling of indie rock giants like Of Montreal and Yo La Tengo, rap and pop songs make up most of the album. Why do you think you are so well received in the indie rock scene?

GG: Um, I don’t know. Where it started was as more an electronic music thing. I was influenced by guys like Kid 606, Negativland, John Oswald, all those types. Those are my contemporaries, and that’s who I looked up to in the early days. I’ve played with a lot of rock bands, rap groups — whatever — but the scene that I was most attached to was the American underground electronic scene. I definitely think that Pitchfork (the web site) — when they review anything — all of a sudden, if they give anything a positive review, it gives them a new fanbase. If they give Lil’ Wayne a positive review, then, all of a sudden, there’s going to be a whole new crew of people who like Lil’ Wayne. I think that’s just kind of the nature of that thing. For me, I follow all sorts of music, and I sample what I listen to — so I’m mainly a fan of kind of Top 40 pop these days. But ultimately with the music, when Jay-Z samples the song from Annie, it’s like that song is huge in clubs and rap fans. It doesn’t mean that those people who like that song should necessarily like the soundtrack from Annie. If you’re truly making something transformative out of samples, then ideally it would exist in its own world. There is a lot of rap and pop elements to what I do — it’s the foundation. But I try to make it transformative, and I wanna make something new out of it. Even though it contains all of these elements of radio music, at the end of the day, I hope it’s not just a mix tape of pop songs. I hope that as a collage, it becomes something else. When people from the indie rock world kind of embrace it, for me, it’s a great thing. I feel that I have transcended the source material.

If you’re truly making something transformative out of samples, then ideally it would exist in its own world. There is a lot of rap and pop elements to what I do — it’s the foundation. But I try to make it transformative, and I wanna make something new out of it.

Fishpork: You’re frequently mentioned in discussions concerning the current state of the music industry. While more established bands like Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails have released their albums in groundbreaking fashion, do you feel an artist has to be established to release music in creative ways and be successful?

GG: I don’t think so. It depends what you want out of it. When I was starting out, I would make a song and put it on Napster immediately and try to get on a message board and push it on people. And I think a lot of people do that. There’s a whole community of people pushing their own material on message boards — just giving their stuff away for free. So I think the pay-what-you-want model — if you want to make money off of that — it would obviously be helpful if you’re an established artist. But I also think that’s a great way just to get it out there. If your band is starting out, then the ultimate goal should be just to expose yourself to as wide of an audience as possible. And in doing that, if you do the pay-what-you-want thing, and if no one’s ever heard of you before, most people are going to take it for free. But that’s just the nature of music. I don’t think it should be viewed as a negative thing. That’s how bands get big in the Internet age. People get into it, and all of a sudden, people are gonna start going to your shows and buying your t-shirts, and that can ramp up into something where you can sell some records some day. Again, I think that all depends on what you want out of it. The pay-what-you-want model is a very specific version of people offering up their music just straight up for free, which is what I would guess at this point is almost the most popular way for musicians to do it in the underground world. So many people just put their stuff out there. You put up a YouTube video or do this or that. That’s what it’s about now. It’s just about exposing yourself.

Fishpork: What’s up with the “Scentless Apprentice” Nirvana cover? Is that ever going to be recorded?

GG: I have a recording of it. I maybe wanna do it. One of my best friends who does music I’m a big fan of is in a project called Hearts of Darknesses, a guy named Frank Musarra, who I do remixes with under the name Trey Told ‘Em. And his Hearts of Darknesses project I toured with recently. They did play that Philadelphia show. He’s a guy I played with a long time. He did a cover of Nirvana’s “Beeswax” sometimes, and we were talking about doing a split 7″, which I would like to do. I love the Nirvana cover. I haven’t broken it out in a long time. I feel like it needs to be documented. So I would love to do just a limited edition 7″ of that or something, just because it’s been such a big part of the live show — at least in the past. I’d love to get that out there in some form.

Fishpork: That’d be awesome, because at the Peeping Tom show in 2006, the set kind of blew me away, and, all of a sudden, it ended with that song it just brought everything to a higher level. It was really intense.

GG: Yeah, I really loved performing that, because the whole show I wanna go nuts, but at bigger venues it’s dependent on how the show’s going down. It’s like I kinda get stuck, and I literally have to be clicking a mouse non-stop. So that Nirvana cover was always a great way of — musically it was good — and performance-wise, this was my five minutes to really get in the crowd and get nuts. So I used to love doing that. The shows these days have evolved into a bit more of a party and less controversial in a way that I feel that Nirvana could be a potential bummer — like after the ending of where the sets are now — maybe not. So I haven’t done it in a while, but it’s something I really — I mean I love Nirvana, and I enjoy doing that cover. So I’d like to document it.

Fishpork: Give us one sample you have stuck in your head that you are dying to use in the future.

GG: A Capella wise, my favorite song right now it Beyonce’s “Single Ladies.” So I’ve been working with that a lot. And instrumentally, I’m trying to think about something I’ve been using. I’ve been actually trying to use Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused,” but it’s not a 4/4 time signature. It’s like a 3/4 time signature, which makes it a little complicated when you’re using a lot of rap based on 4/4 things. That’s something I’ve been working with a good bit. What else? Grateful Dead, I keep jamming that at the live set, so I’m sure it’s going to pop up on something.

Fishpork: Are you always writing, Greg? It seems like the songs get mixed up here and there and your changing stuff, but are you continuously listening to the radio, just listening to things that are in your head?

GG: Yeah, I mean it’s everyday. It’s like — the day I finished Feed the Animals, my live sets probably heavily based around that. And as soon as the next day goes by and the next week, it’s like I start sampling new things. And all of a sudden, new remixes come out, ya know, new interpretations of previous material. So I feel like the album documents a specific era of the live show, but it continually — it keeps going. There’s even elements in Night Ripper that I’ve continually remixed and liked the new version better than what’s on the album. There’s never really a finalized, correct version. The show’s just a big collage. Smaller elements are always changing. Yeah, so everyday of my life I’ll sample something. On a good day, I’ll sit down for like 10 hours and fiddle around, and that will influence the next week’s worth of shows.

Fishpork: What can we expect from Girl Talk in 2009?

GG: I don’t know. I mean, right now I’m still playing shows. The Philadelphia show kicked off the most exhausting tour I’ve ever done — just really long with shows every day. And during that time period I didn’t get chance to work on too much. So now I’m kind of getting back into weekend shows and heading over to Australia and Europe over the first couple months of 2009. Yeah, just working on small things. I would like to mix it up a little bit. I have some friends I want to collaborate with. I’m proud of the last two albums, but I feel like I don’t want to repeat that album necessarily — maybe, depending on what comes up. I would be interesting in working on individual songs with repetition in the structure and maybe doing an EP or something. I have a friend out in Pittsburgh who records under the name Skymall — who uses samples. In a way, it’s a lot different than me, but I played with him a bunch. And he played the last Pittsburgh show with me. I’m a huge fan. We’ve worked on stuff together, but I even wanna maybe do a split EP with him to kind of get his name out there. I think people would really take to it.

I’m proud of the last two albums, but I feel like I don’t want to repeat that album necessarily — maybe, depending on what comes up. I would be interesting in working on individual songs with repetition in the structure and maybe doing an EP or something.

Fishpork: Please tell us you will be at the ATP Festival that the Flaming Lips are curating in the Catskills in September. Any chance you’ll be there?

GG: I haven’t heard anything. I know Wayne Coyne is a fan to some degree. He nominated Night Ripper for Shortlist Music Prize, some contest he nominated it for. I got a chance to play back-to-back with the Flaming Lips at a festival outside of Chicago. I went on before him, and it was more of a jam band sort of crowd. I don’t think a lot of people knew me, and it just finished pouring down raining. It was freezing out, and I took the stage. And people were kind of loosening up a bit. When the Flaming Lips play, they have a big truck that pulls in for all their props. And it’s just like a big open truck just sitting there by the side of the stage. And you can go and grab whatever you want, and people are coming on stage. Wayne Coyne came out during my set. And came out and started bringing out props that were going to be used during the Flaming Lips show and sorta gave my show an extra boost. People came out in costumes, and he has these giant hands. It was cool, man. He didn’t need to do that at all. It wasn’t like I requested it or wasn’t like the show was completely failing or anything like that. But he just stepped up and took it over the edge when he hit the stage. A lot of people who were standing there were waiting for the Flaming Lips. And, of course, they lost their minds. It was really cool, and I gotta chance to talk to him after the set. And he’s a really nice dude. So, I haven’t heard anything about the All Tomorrow’s Parties, but, yeah, I definitely think it’s a potential thing.

Fishpork: Did you get a chance to talk to Mike Patton?

GG: I did, because we actually shared a dressing room. I can’t remember how that worked, but it was like me, Diplo and Patton all in the same room for a minute. He was cool, ya know. I just rapped with him for a few seconds, and he was there pretty early, so we had a chance to chat. And he’s always like — seems like a  really down-to-earth guy. Actually, when Feed the Animals came out, the Wall Street Journal entertainment section, which I didn’t even realize existed, did a story where they reached out to a bunch of artists I sampled, almost trying to be an expose sort of thing — like “are you gonna sue this guy or what?” And they went up to Patton, and they were like, “how do you feel about this?” And he said, “it’s a honor to collaborate with Busta Rhymes.” Everyone else they interviewed was like, “yeah, blah blah blah.” Patton was the one guy who was like, “ya know, it’s really cool.” So, yeah, that got me pumped.

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