Brightest Young Things

Q-Tips are so passe. If you really want to say good riddance to that unwanted gunk in your ears…dude, I’m telling you: A Place to Bury Strangers.

Better yet, this Brooklyn-based noise-pop trio will actually replace the aforementioned unpleasantness with the most dastardly and delightful of cyanide-laced ear candy, the kind of tunes you desperately want buzzing around your temporal lobe when you’re in the mood for something dark and nasty.

Now, I don’t know any of the band’s peak decibel levels offhand, but as someone who has experienced their live show multiple times (and survived!), I can confirm that the “New York’s loudest band” tag is more than empty hype. A Place to Bury Strangers’ self-titled debut album, which gives more than a passing wink to the Jesus and Mary Chain “Psychocandy”/My Bloody Valentine “Isn’t Anything” sonic template, left fans’ and critics’ tongues wagging giddily upon its release last year, catapulting the band into the national spotlight.

Of course, countless bands have drawn from the well of mid-to-late 80s/early 90s noise, echo and drone; what separates APTBS from most boils down to four crucial things: a ferociously powerful and intense re-interpretation of those influences; the inclusion of some rather cold and steely sounding beats one might associate with the industrial-tinged Wax Tax label, a harrowing degree of conviction; and some damn fine tunes.

The band have parlayed the critical hoopla and increased media attention into some memorable tours, opening for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club in 2007 and even Nine Inch Nails (!) this year. The band has even had the seemingly once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play on the same stage as their heroes, The Jesus and Mary Chain.

With a well deserved reputation for their killer live shows,A Place to Bury Strangers brings its destructive pop sound to the 9:30 Club this evening, along with fellow shoegazers Ceremony and Sian Alice Group. Oliver Ackermann, the band’s vocalist and guitarist, was kind enough to talk with BYT about his remarkable band, his sadly defunct former band Skywave (whose remaining members went on to form Ceremony) and those crazy effects pedals he makes then sells to people like The Edge and Kevin Shields.

BYT: There’s obviously a lot of quality music being made by current artists today but so much of what I hear, even in the indie music scene, seems based on a sort of pre-market tested, slick production aesthetic designed for mass appeal. And then A Place to Bury Strangers comes along with this rough and tumble debut album, complete with probably the most explosive and nasty guitar sounds I’ve ever heard. I can’t help but feel like I’m living in some type of Rod Serling-devised alternate reality when I see how popular your band has gotten. What’s your take on the band’s success so far, particularly in light of today’s musical climate?

Oliver: Well, I mean, I don’t know. I think there’s different types of bands that attract different sorts of people. I guess we’ve kind of been fortunate enough to where we’ve been playing a lot of shows and I guess more and more people hear about us through that. I think there’s bands that…there’s always going to be people with money who are like forcing things down people’s throats and then there’s always going to be people who, you know, actually like the bands…

Also, you see a lot of bands and their live show isn’t that impressive. I think a lot of these bands are studio bands. We try to really go for it with the live show and everything. And hopefully we can get more fans that way…

BYT: The most recent Times New Viking album is another example of an album that really surprised me. I couldn’t believe Sub Pop released something that was so rowdy and lo-fi. Do you think it’s possible we may be on the verge of seeing some type of counter-insurgence against the whole big glossy production aesthetic?

Oliver: Well, I think that you can’t help but let your taste be a really important factor. I think those guys in Times New Viking are doing something really cool. And even if the production’s really lo-fi, you can’t deny that those are cool songs with some interesting textures. I think you’re always going to have people that are going to go along with the grain and then there’s those people who aren’t. And I think Sub Pop recognizes that. Maybe it’s not going to be the big moneymaker for the year but everybody wants to do things for what they believe in their heart.

It’s a tough time for music with the internet and everything. I think a lot of record labels are closing down and so maybe they have to become a little more picky. Maybe a few years ago labels could have bands that didn’t have a certain sound, but now they have to be really concerned with whether they’re going to make enough money to keep their employees and everything.

BYT: Speaking of record labels, what is the label status of A Place to Bury Strangers at the moment?

Oliver: Um…we’re just trying a bunch of different record labels kind of all over the place. Like this record label Rocket Girl in the U.K., which is really cool, Killer Pimp, which is out of Boston, that’s the guy who put out the initial cd, and then there’s Important Records, which put out the vinyl version of that. And then there’s been a handful of other smaller labels we’ve done stuff with like Vacancy Records, who did some 7 inches for us.

BYT: I think I had read that Killer Pimp had pressed only 500 copies of your debut album.

Oliver: That was initially what happened. At the time, I wanted to limit it to 500 because I wasn’t sure if the album was that good. I didn’t even think it could be a real album. But since then, it’s gotten re-pressed and re-pressed again.

BYT: So will the next album be on that label?

Oliver: Uh…I don’t think so. Nothing wrong with Killer Pimp, it’s an awesome label and the guy who runs it is doing it for all the right reasons but I think we’re going to try something else.

BYT: I heard a story about that guy that reminded me of a scene from The Blues Brothers. He was at one of your shows and then came up to you afterwards and wanted to sign you right there on the spot. He wrote up a deal on a napkin, right?

Oliver: Yeah (laugh). The napkin with the deal. He wanted us to sign it. We were still reluctant then. It was a good few months before we decided to go for it. I still have that napkin.

BYT: And obviously since that album came out, the band’s popularity has skyrocketed. You had the great coverage from Pitchfork and other places and played with your heroes The Jesus and Mary Chain, did a tour with Black Rebel Motorcycle Club and then Nine Inch Nails this year---is your head spinning yet?

Oliver: It’s ridiculous. All those bands. At every one of those shows, I just couldn’t believe it was going on. And these Nine Inch Nails shows…we’re in these huge arenas. We’re like, ‘What the hell are we doing here?’ That stuff has all been amazing. You know, even…I really like playing small shows too, that’s almost even more fun but…that (playing with Nine Inch Nails) was ridiculous, being in places where there’s like a huge crew and so much going on. It’s totally bizarre.

BYT: Did you have much interaction with Trent Reznor himself?

Oliver: I talked to him a few times. He’s like a really nice, super cool guy, very laidback. I think they’re past some of their really crazy party days. All those guys are really nice. They treated us really well.

BYT: But he made it clear to you that he’s a fan of what A Place to Bury Strangers is doing?

Oliver: Yeah, definitely.

BYT: That’s awesome.

Oliver: He seems really excited that we’re on the bill. We couldn’t believe it.

BYT: A friend of mine saw one of those shows and told me A Place to Bury Strangers were a little quieter than usual…

Oliver: Well, they actually put a limit on how loud we could be. It’s all based on when you’re playing something that huge. We were cranked up on stage but that’s not going to make a huge difference compared to the huge sound systems they have at these places. I think we had to be quieter than Nine Inch Nails.

In fact, on the first day of the tour, our sound guy got yelled at by their sound guy for bringing the volume up too loud. It wasn’t anything bad. I mean, I can understand, it’s Nine Inch Nails’ show. They’re the ones who are spending the money to travel around everywhere. Those guys brought their own stage and sound equipment with them. We didn’t want to take anything away from that. And their show is just amazing.

BYT: What kind of reaction did you guys get from Nine Inch Nails fans?

Oliver: We got really positive responses at all the shows. There were tons of people cheering and tons of people saying hello and hanging out with us. I thought it went over really well. I didn’t think it was going to but it did. It was really good.

BYT: I wanted to ask you about your roots in the Fredericksburg, Va-scene. Do you have fond memories of the Skywave days?

Oliver: Definitely. I loved that band. It’s a shame it’s not going on today. That was definitely where I fell in love with music. Paul (Baker) and John (Fedowitz) are really awesome songwriters. To be able to write songs with two other really talented songwriters was just amazing.

BYT: And at that time there was quite a cool scene happening that Skywave was a part of. I know you played a lot with Alcian Blue, the D.C.-based band Jake and Kim Reid were in prior to Screen Vinyl Image. I know there were some other bands too…

Oliver: Yeah, The Emerald Down and Highspire. It was kind of…at that time it was almost like the start of the internet and these underground bands could connect through places like mp3.com and chatrooms. You could find out about music in a whole different way. So there was really an opportunity to find out about these bands that were maybe kind of smaller. That’s something you would do just to book shows and what not. There was a lot of good music going on like there is now where there are bands that are never really going to get recognition but are doing really awesome stuff. Now it’s gotten to the point where it’s kind of overwhelming just how many really good bands there are everywhere.

BYT: And now Jake and Kim have their own label with Safranin Sound and are putting out some of that stuff, including Ceremony, the band made up of former Skywave members Paul and John. It’s really great to see that happening.

Oliver: Yeah, definitely. That album is amazing. That’s awesome that they’re doing that. They put out The Vandelles too and other albums. That’s what it’s all about. To help people out with making the music heard.

BYT: I also wanted to ask you about your effects pedal company Death By Audio. Did that exist when you lived in Fredricksburg?

Oliver: It did. That’s where I started it. It started as just sort of messing around with things and breaking a lot of things. I started the company in 2001 and then moved to New York in 2003 so…that kind of made a lot of things possible for me just to have that little extra source of income. Also having your own company gives you the freedom to do whatever you want. You’re not bound to a place or anything.

BYT: I’ve heard Death By Audio has some pretty big name clients, including The Edge from U2, Jeff Tweedy from Wilco, TV on the Radio, and even Kevin Shields himself.

Oliver: Yeah. I heard just the other day that there may be a song on the new U2 album called “Death By Audio.”

BYT: That’s pretty funny.

Oliver: I don’t know if that’s true or not.

BYT: When I heard that The Edge was one of your clients, I couldn’t help but imagine a scenario where he called you to ask about a pedal, and you were finding it awfully tempting to tell him something like, “Uh…dude, we don’t design guitar pedals for the shopping mall pop.”

Oliver: (laughs) But you know, who knows? Everybody likes to go a little guitar pedal crazy every now and then so…

BYT: Any thoughts on how Death By Audio came to have such big name clients and became so well-known and respected among musicians? Is it all word of mouth?

Oliver: I have no idea, it’s all just word-of-mouth. Right when I started, I sent a press release to Guitar World magazine but as far as promotion that’s been pretty much it. And that was in 2001. I don’t know. It’s just sort of escalated from there. I’ve been lucky.

BYT: And now Death by Audio is more than an effects pedal company; it’s a music venue and it’s also a recording studio---how did that evolution come about?

Oliver: Slowly. When I moved to New York, we had this warehouse with a bunch of kids. We built the whole place on the inside including the second floor and cement walls. And the people there wanted to call it Death by Audio. And then it becomes more people and we’re renting out more space. And then we started the venue. It just started to snowball from there. We’re even trying to start a record label.

BYT: I was watching a documentary on Phil Spector recently and it went into his recording process. He liked to record a lot of musicians together in a small room and reveled in the sounds all blending together. And I was wondering what your recording process is like, if you guys also prefer recording in small spaces or…

Oliver: We try just about everything we possibly can. We do have a really small room that we use but then we also use a really large living room area made of cement which can sound really cool. Sometimes things are overlapped and overdubbed…it really depends. We’re just trying to experiment as much as we can. We go into the digital world, we go into the analog world. Sometimes you can put a guitar amp on a roof somewhere. Sometimes you can take a microphone and attach it to a magnet to the back of a speaker…I like to try different approaches depending on what seems appropriate for a certain song.

BYT: How do you see the band’s sound evolving with the new material you’re working on?

Oliver: Um…I don’t know. I think a lot of the stuff that we’ve been recording has been more like our live show: crazy and intense. But you know, the record’s not done yet so we’ll wait and see. I think it’s going to be good. From what I can hear so far, it’s sounding more like a real album than the last one.

BYT: So are you excited about your 9:30 Club show?

Oliver: Definitely. I’m really excited. I love seeing the Ceremony guys---their music is amazing. The other band that’s playing, Sian Alice Group, we’ve been on tour with and they’re really awesome as well. I think it’s going to be a good show.

BYT: I’ve noticed that at some DC-area Ceremony shows, Jake Reid has been known to make an impromptu appearance on stage and play with them. I’m hoping to see that happen again.

Oliver: Cross your fingers. Let’s hope!

BYT: Thank you again for the interview Oliver. I really appreciate you taking the time.

Oliver: No problem Rick. Take it easy man.

want more
www.myspace.com/aplacetoburystrangers
read up Aaron and Ryan's recount of them last time they were here
and check them out tonight @ 930 club
http://killerpimp.com/