Tapes 'n Tapes: An Austinist Inter/Review

You made quite an impression during SXSW with nine shows in four days. How did that help you as a band?

Yeah, we played quite a hectic schedule. We had applied before the record came out just to be a part of it down there. We were super excited when we got in and then as the blog reviews [posted], I think the Pitchfork review came out a couple weeks before then, it was a lot more hype and anticipation for us playing down there. We were somewhat oblivious, [which was] for the better, because we were just so busy that it was kind of like gig-gig-gig-gig, move from one to the next and not really stop too much. It ended up being a lot of fun, we thought we’d get really burned out on it or have some [sort of] collapse, but pretty everyone had good spirits… we just didn’t get to see as many bands as we would’ve liked.

You’ve been doing tons of touring SXSW and you just wrapped up your first UK tour. How was that?

The UK shows went really well also. It was mostly smaller club show, 2-300 size venues. We had great turnout for most of the shows, most of them were sold-out. We did a whole bunch interviews and press things as lead-up for the record coming out there in July. Overall it ended up being a lot busier than we had expected, but, again, it was fun. People were really friendly and receptive, you can’t ask for more than that.

Congrats on signing with XL. Plans are to re-release The Loon, any special additions?

It’s going to be pretty much exactly the same. It’ll have the “Under License to XL,” but the artwork, the tracks… there’s no re-mastering or anything [else] being done. The one thing we’re really excited about though is that it’s going to come out on vinyl on the release date [July 24th]. That’s always been an aspiration of ours…we listened to the pre[-release] version the other day. It’s just kind of exciting to hear your music on a turntable. Otherwise it’ll be pretty much the same, but then it’ll be out all over, it’s been kind of hard to find otherwise, [now] it’s getting a worldwide release.

You mentioned you didn’t get to see any bands during SXSW. Who are your favorite contemporary bands that are performing and knocking your socks off?

There’s a wide variety of tastes in the band so I could just speak for myself, but I think the new, well it’s not really that new, Animal Collective album is really exciting. We’re also going to be… touring with the Futureheads this summer, in July. I think we’re all really excited about that. They’re a great pop...indie rock band, so that should be awesome. The one band we did get to see at SXSW was Field Music and they were great. I just heard their song on the radio yesterday that I thought was really interesting and cool. We’ve just been really busy so it’s not like I’ve been scouring too many record stores for new stuff. Of course we played with The Wrens in Chicago a few weeks ago and they don’t have anything new out, but they’re definitely one of our idols in terms of bands. They’re amazing.

You’re gearing up for another massive US tour. What are some of the indispensable items you need and what are some of the things you need to take care of before you embark on a tour like this?

We’re just loading the van right now as I talk. I was frantic. I updated my iPod last night just to get a few more things on before we take off again. Even if you have 3,000 songs on there you get tired [of them] or you think there’s nothing on there… that’s pretty indispensable, the iPod. A few of us have them and that’s kind of fun to run a shuffle on that and see what’s on the other guys’ iPods. Otherwise we just tour in a regular, small 12-passenger van so it’s all about the art of packing small, less is more. We have a few upgrades this time, like a car DVD-player that you can hang on the back of the seats, but otherwise we keep it pretty simple and just try to make the most of each other’s company.

It’s kind of like a family vacation, sometimes like a grueling road trip with an all boy Partridge Family? Who would you say fills the role of “mom,” “dad,” “little brothers or sisters?”

Josh, our singer, he’s the dad. He and Carrie, our manager, are very close, so they have the book and everything nice and organized: maps; directions; everything like that. Then our drummer Jeremy, he’s quite a bit younger than the rest of us so… we look out for him, make sure he’s eating well, we talk to his mom and stuff. Me and Eric are probably like the brothers, we’re not irresponsible, but we’re just kind of like a little more along for the ride, a little more, maybe, on our own, not too much though. It’s a happy family.

The album’s getting a lot of good press and some big things are happening for you guys. It’s kind of obvious that you guys are blowing up, how’s that been in the past few months? Have you sensed tangible changes?

It is really flattering above all and we’re just kind of trying to make the most of it and not make dumb decisions I guess. Signing with XL is a smart thing for us and positions us to do more as a band and dedicate more of our time to music which is really what we want. Obviously we’re doing more interviews, but “blowing up,” I don’t know, we still live in our places and see our friends when we’re in town… the great part of it is that it’s still exciting for us as a live show because we’re going to different places and people are seeing us for the first time, it just keeps it fresh for us. We’re still pretty regular, pretty laid back.

You must keep it real. You’ve been touring so much, but do you have anything new in the works? Any big, exciting studio plans?

As far as upcoming studio plans, we’ve been so busy touring that there hasn’t been really time to get proper practice for working up new material… we have some time off in September, October. We have new things around, but not ready… to bring them out live. We’re just going to keep working on those in the fall and then we’ll have some time off too this winter and that’s when we’re probably going to hunker down in the basement and really try to write a record.

Tapes 'n Tapes
Stubb's
Tuesday, June 13, 2006

The Loon, major label release
XL Records Tuesday, July 24th, 2006