I hate writing these interview intros. If you're familiar with the band just skip this part. If you've never heard of these guys, you're in for a treat. Svetlana wrote a great little post on them a while back, read that too. They're a Montreal 3-piece that make this wonderful freak folky/post classic rocky/indie music that for some reason always has people unfairly comparing them to jam bands (while still praising them). Probably cause they have song titles like Faerie Dance and some of their tunes surpass the 3 min mark. Whatever, just listen:
Sure, hippies would love this shit, but who wouldn't? They're debut full length Parc Avenue is definitely one of BYT's favorite records of the year. I had a little email chat with singer/guitarist Warren Spicer to jazz you up for their show with (the also great) Born Ruffians this Friday night at The Rock and Roll Hotel.
Brightest Young Things: Animal, vegetable, or mineral?
Warren Spicer: Extraterrestrial.
BYT: What are you doing right now besides answering these questions (be specific)?
WS: Sitting in our disgusting astro tour van drinking cheap beer in metal cans with the doors open listening to bootleg bob Dylan waiting to sound check for our show tonight at Emo’s in Austin.
BYT: Do you guys live in the woods?
WS: Yes. We have all wallpapered our apartments with woodland scene wallpaper... so in that way we live in the woods.
BYT: How did you team up with Sarah Neufeld (of Arcade Fire, who plays on their record)?
WS: She went to school with us. We were in classes and stuff like that.
BYT: Are you (woodland) neighbors?
WS: I don’t know if she has the same wallpaper we do, but she lives in the same neighborhood
BYT: Looks like you've been touring non-stop for a month now, how's it going? Are you getting burnt out?
WS: No. We’ve never toured the southern US, so at the best times were still looking around like little kids and getting excited about eating burritos 3 times a day... at the worst we all hate each other and complain about dude stuff.
BYT: Do you smell like Phish?
WS: Nope... Teen Spirit... Nick does anyways
BYT: Any sordid tales of backstage shenanigans with Born Ruffians?
WS: We bum rushed the stage in Vancouver and Woody played drums with a broomstick, and then Steve their drummer barfed on Woody then Nick stole Mitch's Mexican wrestling mask and did a flying elbow drop on Luke, he got knocked out and I, Warren, was the only one sober enough to drive him to the hospital... but as everyone knows I can't drive so we never got there, but Luke's alright and were all friends again.
BYT: How do you handle some of the additional instruments and choral arrangements in a live setting?
WS: We don’t.
BYT: Yeah, fuck em. Do you guys care about Sarah Palin up there?
WS: Care might not be the right word, but yeah were aware of her.
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BYT: Best psychedelic experience of your life?
WS: It is hard to describe but there was some elephants playing tennis, an owl that broke Woody’s leg, and a kid who I thought he was a magician who did that trick were you make a handkerchief disappear but all I could see was his huge fake thumb that he was stuffing the handkerchief into. None of it made any sense. |
BYT: Jeez, I'm afraid to hear about your bad trips. 2008 end of year lists are coming up, let's make some:
Top 3 Band Members (in order of weird)
1. Steve
2. Luke
3. Mitch (all from the Born Ruffians)
Top 3 best (non String Cheese Incident) albums you've heard this year
1. Bonnie Prince Billy - Lay Down in the Light
2. Black Mountain - In the Future
3. Yeasayer - I forget the name of the album (All Hour Cymbals! -ed)
Top 3 worst meals you've had on the road
1. Sushi from a breakfast diner in Vancouver
2. Food from a place called Sharis
3. Putrefied shark in Iceland
Top 3 things you'd rather be doing than making top 3 lists
1. Fishing
2. Having sex
3. Anything
BYT: Fishing before sex, always. Or both at the same time. Finally, we do this thing where we get interviewees to pick one song for my mom to review. She's old and goes to church a lot and doesn't like movies with too many bad words and listens to top 40 country music and has knee problems, so choose one from the new album that you think she'll like.
WS: New Kind of Love... good luck.
Mom: I'm in the hospital, it's a little hard for me to listen to music, plus my knee is hooked up to the CPM machine and it hurts really bad, sorry.
BYT: Thanx mom, get well soon! Love you!
God loves a cheerful giver.
I love Cale's Mom too - get well soon!!!! (Although I miss her hard-hitting analysis and wish she could have gritted through the pain to toss in some "smells like this party your father and I went to once" references.)
These guys totally kept pace with your interview style which was fun but less controversial. Kinda like Cale in a blazer.
i saw them open for wolf parade last year, and they were amazing. great interview.
"Top 3 best (non String Cheese Incident) albums you’ve heard this year"
IF IT AIN'T STRING CHEESE INCIDENT, IT DON'T MATTA'.