Interview

Surfer Blood, a boisterous quintet from West Palm Beach, is in New York for the CMJ Marathon, which is good news for any young band. They're getting a lot of exposure–in true CMJ fashion playing every chance they can get, twelve shows over five days.  Their sound is an appealing, guitar-based power pop. Their new album, Astro Coast (Kanine Records), will be out in January. (PHOTO: DAVID COGGINS)

I spoke with John Paul Pitts, the lead singer, and Thomas Fekete, the guitarist, after their afternoon set at Piano's on Ludlow Street.


DAVID COGGINS: You're playing 12 shows in five days–is that possible?

JOHN PAUL PITTS: I didn't even bother to count them, it's so overwhelming to look at.

THOMAS FEKETE: It is twelve. And then the next day we're playing Death By Audio. All together it's thirteen shows in six days. It's amazing playing at CMJ, with a  turnout at every show. It keeps you in good spirits.

PITTS: Every show has a lot of different bands, with their friends coming to see them, and a lot of people who've heard them online.  

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Atlas Sound is the endearing solo project of Bradford Cox, the lead singer of Deerhunter.  The versatile Athens, Georgia native ranges from visceral ambient rock to wistful folk ballads.  Atlas Sound is currently touring with Broadcast in support of its new album, Logo.  We spoke before his set at the Poisson Rouge, part of the CMJ Marathon, and talked about his new record, devotional music, and the appeal of demo tapes. (PHOTO: DAVID COGGINS)

DAVID COGGINS: What do you want to say about Logos, your new record?

BRADFORD COX: I hope it gives everybody at least one thrill.  Somewhere on the record people can find at least something they like.  

COGGINS: I read that Deerhunter is on hiatus.

COX: That's not really a big deal, it's just a Christmas break.  It's like summer vacation.  

COGGINS: How is it when you make a solo record as opposed to one with a band, which is a more collaborative process?

COX: Well I collaborate a little bit with different aspects of my own mind.  I kick my own ass instead of kicking other people's asses.

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David Lowery isn't afraid to cause offense. When his band, Cracker, sparred with Virgin Records he sang that the label could "suck itself." Lowery has a well-established skill for provocation: "I Hate My Generation" the opening track from The Golden Age is a definitive anti-anthem. Lowery currently masterminds two bands: Camper Van Beethoven, eclectic stalwarts from California that date back to the early 1980s; and Cracker, the garage rock slackers with a sardonic worldview. Lowery is the constant in both acts, with his versatile songwriting and raspy voice, which is at once defiant and vulnerable. (LEFT: PHOTO BY JASON THRASHER)

Cracker's new album, Sunrise in the Land of Milk and Honey (429/Savoy Records), finds the band in renewed dynamic form. "We All Shine A Light" has visceral guitar hooks and an insistent beat, while "Friends" contains Lowery's trademark wry lyrics—"I'd like to apologize for my slightly wicked thoughts." I spoke with Lowery after Cracker's vigorous performance at the High Line Ballroom,which ended with a rousing version of "Low," complete with an accordion solo, of all things. We discussed the dangers of maturity and what it takes to survive 25 years on the road.    


DAVID COGGINS: Your tour bus broke down earlier. It's been a long day for you.

DAVID LOWERY: Touring is pretty complex.  Something goes wrong with your bus every six or eight weeks—just not usually before your New York show.  

DC: Is it easy to get motivated to tour?

DL: It's more difficult at times. You get hypersensitive, like when the sounds too loud. When it's your first year on tour you wouldn't notice that. After 25 years you get weirdly picky and that's what you have to overcome. It's not about getting bored with it. I enjoy the traveling part. We go all over the world and we will again with this record. I'm excited to go to Toronto even though I have to get up at 5 in the morning to do some television thing and we don't get done playing until 2 that night.  

DC: You joked during the concert that the new record, Sunrise In the Land of Milk and Honey, is your ‘acoustic folksy album.' Of course it's not like that at all.

DL: In general there's an arc, or gravitational pull, in rock music and as you get older the arc wants to bend towards being softer and introspective. Sometimes it's fun to play with that. Overall it's really my mission to resist that and remain immature on some level. Maturity is the enemy of the rock musician.

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Anna Ternheim is tall and blonde but the Swedish stereotypes end there. She's far harder to categorize that that: Some of her songs are unadorned and showcase her striking voice, others are more fully orchestrated; or have jaunty disco beats. Her album Leaving on a Mayday (Verve), due out August 11, was produced by Bjorn Yttling, the middle man of Peter, Bjorn, and John. The songs are marked by expressive melodies and bittersweet lyrics.  The irrepressible opening track, "What Have I Done," has a sweeping sound and a propulsive beat, "My Heart Still Beats For You" is spare and wistful. We met before her show at Joe's Pub, where she rearranged some of the new material, in some cases harmonizing with three women, or singing accompanied by nothing more than a man playing a saw. There we talked about the Swedish scene, writing lyrics in your second language, and why music makes cities smaller.


DAVID COGGINS: You've played at Joe's Pub before. I saw you perform this spring-but you weren't supported by a band then.
 
ANNA TERNHEIM: Right, I was playing alone with just an iPod.  It was a tour with El Perro Del Mar.

DC: Another Swedish musician. You're playing into the stereotype that all musicians from Sweden know each other.

AT: Well it is a small country. All cities seem small after a while.  I was hanging out at a rehearsal hall in Williamsburg and I don't know how many people I ran into just being there for a couple days. Music makes all cities smaller.

DC: The new record is produced by Bjorn from Peter, Bjorn, and John. And it's a new sound for you.

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