ACL Interview: Logan Kroeber of the Dodos

The Dodos had been playing as a duo (Meric Long and Logan Kroeber) since 2005. In 2007, things kicked up a notch as the band signed to Frenchkiss and prepared to release Visiter, a sprawling psych-folk record full of misty sentiment and pop. That record hurled them into the broader indie spotlight, and they've stayed there quite comfortably ever since. This year, they completed the follow up, Time to Die with Phil Ek (Built to Spill, Modest Mouse) and will play at ACL on Sunday at 12:30 on the Livestrong stage. We had a chance to catch up with Logan Kroeber recently and got his thoughts on working with Ek, bringing a vibraphone into the fold, and finding new places to eat in Austin.

How'd you end up with Phil Ek? Any funny stories to share? Was it a much different process than usual with him on board?

Phil produced a Les Savy Fav record some years back and as you may know their bass player rules our label, Frenchkiss, with an iron fist. He set up a little demo date for Phil and us last year and luckily he was down to record us, the real sessions happened earlier this year. He definitely had a new approach for us in the studio, through which he turned the usually negative phrase "c'mon ya prick!" into one of unconditional, loving encouragement.

What do listeners need to know about the Dodos on Time to Die? Do you feel it is a great departure from Visiter or do you see it as an extension of that vibe?

I feel it's a departure in that we didn't try to include any half songs and snippets like we did on Visiter, all the songs on TTD are finished pieces. The new record might seem a little less manic for this reason, but the songs themselves certainly extend and build upon our past albums.

We have a feeling you're answering 'the vibraphone'. Did you choose the instrument and then find Keaton Snyder, or did he find you?

Just like you said we got the instrument first and then he fell into our laps. A minor miracle.

Were you successful making a 'rock record' this go 'round? As an acoustic act that's a tall order, but it sounds to us like you pulled it off.

It's funny, even though the material is really fast and hard to play at times and Phil beefed up the distortion considerably, there still is a prevailing sweetness throughout TTD that reminds me a lot of our first record. And it is not a rock record. I still sweat as much on stage though.

Do you look forward to festival performances? It seems like quite a challenge to bring an acoustic ensemble to a stage in a huge field (though we're sure you're up to it). Any other festival experiences under your belt that you feel have prepped you for ACL?

We'll have a leg up at ACL over some of our more difficult festival appearances in that we'll have our own trusty gear and sound girl. But yeah, it's hard sometimes to get our stuff to come across right in a muddy field with drum n' bass blaring from the neighboring tent.

What's your take on Austin? We know you didn't come down for SXSW and are not sure if you've been here before. Any thoughts? Need recommendations on a place to eat?

We skipped SXSW this year as we were working on the record, but we went the two previous years and have toured through numerous times and we had a lot of time to fall in love with your city. I'll always remember night swimming at the greenbelt floating on my back watching bats fly across the full moon. I still need to skate a proper Austin ditch though. As far as food goes, we have our favorites from years past but if there's any new joints that have sprung up in the past year or so please show us the way!

We will Logan. Thanks for talking to Austinist.com, we look forward to hearing your set in October.

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