Brightest Young Things

Bishop Allen is back in DC tonight. I love Bishop Allen in that unabashed, want-to-pinch-all-your-cheeks-and-hug-you-to-death kind of way so last time they were in town we sent Matt Siblo to interview Justin Rice. Sadly, it was right before Halloween, so when we ran it, everyone was too frightened of those scary clown thumbs on the site to actually read it. And so, we're rerunning it.
Just like that.-Svetlana

In the world of independent music and film, few have it as seemingly charmed as Justin Rice. As co-founder of a prolific band (Bishop Allen) and roles in some of the best independent films of the past few years (Mutual Appreciation, Funny Ha Ha), Rice has everything going for him. We spoke to him briefly via email a couple days before Bishop Allen kicked off its forthcoming tour, which hits the Black Cat this Saturday. When not mildly offending his punk rock Ivy league sensibilities (full disclosure: I went to grad school at Columbia- lighten up!), we were able to find out about his undying loyalty to the Fung Wah bus, his (non) acting techniques, and the ongoing frustration of never knowing what’s going on in New York.

You have a song, "Chinatown Bus," that describes the harrowing adventures of traveling on a Fung Wah bus. Have you tried any of the new lines servicing the northeast such as Bolt, Megabus, etc?

Not yet. I'm a Fung Wah devotee. I've been riding it since they were running little shuttle buses up and down the parkways. It's absurd. And thrilling.

"Chinatown Bus" was originally released on the May EP but then re-released/re-recorded for The Broken String. Considering how quickly people absorb and dispose of music these days, what was the thinking behind compiling 10 songs from the month EP project and putting them in a different context?

I've been trying to absorb a lot of music forever. The Kinks catalogue, for instance. I'm still working on absorbing that. Are you saying that these days, people can listen to the Beatles once and absorb the music? Or they can absorb Otis Redding by listening to half a song? When we were recording an EP a month for a year, we were running through songs so quickly that we didn't have a chance to reflect on them at all. At the end of the year, we wanted to take a few and give them more time and attention. Did we think about whether or not people listen to music faster? Not really. We just wanted to give the songs their due.

Your musical career started off in a hardcore punk band called the Pissed Officers while you were at Harvard. Please explain how those two things are not diametrically opposed. Also, what was the last great punk record you heard?

This question feels a little combative. It's a real stretch to say Harvard and punk rock are diametrically opposed. One is a school, the other a kind of music. It's like saying abstract expressionism and the YMCA are diametrically opposed. The only way I can imagine making that argument is by reducing each to an insanely simple idea, and by choosing ideas that are themselves already opposed. Which means working backwards from the conclusion you hoped to reach. We were deejays at the Record Hospital, the punk rock radio station at Harvard. We collected and listened to a lot of obscure records, and put on shows in cramped basements. When we weren't at the radio station, Christian worked on math problems, and I read Kafka in German.

The last great punk record I heard? I just found out that Kill Rock Stars reissued all the Delta 5 singles from 1979-1981. There's a lot on there that's new to me. It's amazing.

After self-releasing a number of Bishop Allen releases independently, the band signed to Dead Oceans. Considering the current state of things, what prompted the choice of going with a label or Dead Oceans specifically?

I'm not sure that I, or anyone else, has a handle on the current state of things. Though giant labels with high overheads seem doomed, that doesn't mean there aren't labels that will find a way to adapt to the changing landscape. They guys from Dead Oceans (and Secretly Canadian and Jagjaguwar) are smart, and they have helped us reach more people more efficiently. Now that we don't have to wait in endless lines at the Brooklyn post office, we can spend more time playing music.

In "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist," it seems like director Peter Sollett tried earnestly to capture something authentic about a certain type of nightlife in New York City. What do you think is the most challenging aspect of New York to capture on film?

New York is a pretty chaotic place. There's always so much going on -- shows, movies, parties, art exhibitions -- that you have to give up on the idea of catching it all. At any given moment, something amazing is happening somewhere nearby, and you have no idea. There's no way to really be in the know. And that produces a special kind of anxiety.

"Nick" is the second time Bishop Allen (technically not in Mutual Appreciation, but you get the picture) was in a movie which for bands, is a pretty rare experience. Do you have any favorite cinematic scenes that feature live performances?

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds in Wings of Desire. The Dylan/Donovan standoff in Don't Look Back. The Who blowing everybody off the stage in Rock'n'Roll Circus.

Your work in "Mutual Appreciation" was widely seen as a "breakthrough" performance. How has your experiences/successes in acting influenced (or not) your work in Bishop Allen? Are there any current/future plans for another Bujalski collaboration?

I don't really know much about acting. It's not something I've ever studied. I've learned something useful by doing it, but it's hard to articulate. When you're acting, you have to believe that it makes sense that you are saying and doing whatever your character is scripted saying and doing. That works well for singing, too: I try to picture myself as the narrator of a song, to stand where he's standing and see what he's seeing, and to sing in a way that gets that across.

Andrew is finishing another movie as we speak, but we're not involved. I acted in a few movies earlier this year. The Mountain, the River, and the Road, directed by Mike Harring, Harmony and Me, directed by Bob Byington, and Alexander the Last, directed by Joe Swanberg. They're all in the final stages of post-production, and should be playing festivals soon.

You'll be playing here in DC just a few days before the election. Any wisdom/predictions about the outcome?

I remember the agony of the last two elections. I don't want to jinx this one. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, the world will be a little better come Wednesday. Hopefully, we won't have to wait a week to see an election circumvented.

To conclude, what are three things you need in order to write the perfect pop song.

A pen, a piano, and some time to kill.

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http://www.myspace.com/bishopallen