As Austinist's music staff were preparing for Fun Fun Fun Fest coverage, we realized that many of the festival's headliners had kindly spoken to us for interviews over the last year or two. For any of you who may have missed the original pieces, or for those who have recently discovered these fine acts, a recap and links are presented below.

Explosions In The Sky - Saturday, 8:40pm, Stage One: Austin's Explosions In The Sky play powerful instrumental indie-rock that has been compared to Mogwai and Sigur Ros and are widely lauded by critics. They have spent most of this fall on tour opening for Smashing Pumpkins. In February 2007, we spoke with guitarist Mark Smith of Explosions In The Sky about the new record, remixes, the grind of a world tour, and the joys of the NBA.

How do you feel about the TV version of Friday Night Lights and its frequent use of your catalog? I've watched the first four episodes, and I feel fine--I think it's a quality show, and I like the way they use our music, and the subject and setting are still close to our hearts, just like the movie was. It's funny how much weight you can give to your past and your hometown--for example, if the book had not been about Midland/Odessa, would it have been as appealing to us? Probably not. But it was.
[For more, click here.]

[Explosions In The Sky MySpace]

Of Montreal - Saturday, 6:30pm, Stage One: Of Montreal, unlike what seems to be the case with most great bands recently, is not a group from Montreal. They're from Athens, Georgia, home of the now legendary Elephant Six collective. Along with that distinction comes the obligatory psychedelic noodling and Beatles-in-the-wood-chopper homages, yet they have remained a singular and most impressive voice in the realm of Indie-dom. We had a chat with frontman Kevin Barnes in Spring 2006 where we discussed the band's recent successes, their upcoming records, and what, exactly, those Sunlandic Twins are all about.

You’ve probably been asked about your musical influences more times than you can remember, and I suspect this might be an equally relevant question for you: what films influenced you growing up? Well, as far as my sense of humor, I think the biggest one would be "A History of the World, Part I," by Mel Brooks. And "The Jerk" -- that one does it for me, too. He was definitely a big [influence] when I was younger.
[For more, click here.]

[Of Montreal MySpace]

Girl Talk - Saturday, 8:40pm, Stage Three: Girl Talk’s performances during SXSW 2007 made for some exhilarating dance parties, whether he was furnishing Emo’s with mad beats during the Pitchfork day party, or bringing in the a.m. hours with ridiculous mash-ups at Saengerrunde Hall at the Diesel-U-Music gala. In February 2007, we had a chance to hear from Gillis himself on his life in the Pittsburgh medical research community, his last experience in Austin, and his thoughts on the mash-up.

How do your parents describe your music? They would say something like, "He just takes all of these songs and puts them together. It's like even stuff from our days. It's got a good beat." They've seen a bunch of shows and push my CD's on their co-workers. My mom listens to Night Ripper while jogging, and my dad jams it on his iPod while mowing the lawn. [For more, click here.]

[Girl Talk MySpace]

[Fun Fun Fun Festival - Official Site]
[Fun Fun Fun Festival - Tickets]

Of Montreal interview written by Allen Chen. Girl Talk interview written by Paige Maguire. Images via the Of Montreal, Explosions In The Sky, and Girl Talk MySpace pages.