Fun Fun Fun Fest Interview: Red Sparowes' Dave Clifford and Greg Burns

How would you describe the evolution of Red Sparowes from collaboration to full-time band? And how do the split EP releases, such as those with Gregor Samsa and Grails, factor in?

Greg:There's been a common misconception that Red Sparowes was a collaboration or side project. We've always been a full-time band. I can see why people would think otherwise; we have to contend with other tour schedules, etc., but we've never considered ourselves anything but a full-time band.

T.S. Eliot’s Preludes is cited as the inspiration for the name Red Sparowes; in the poem, sparrows signify mankind’s willful destruction of nature. Your 2006 album Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun, is thematically centered around Mao Zedong’s “Great Leap Forward” campaign of mass slaughter of the sparrows who fed off Chinese crops. [This led to widespread famine after the locust population exploded without its primary predator.] How important do you think the listener’s understanding of cultural and historical references is to their appreciation of your music?

Greg: I don't think it's important at all actually. It's always been our goal for our music to stand alone so that people can relate to it in whatever way is natural to them. The album concepts have been there to give people an additional layer of depth that obviously isn't provided by lyrics, if the listener is interested in a context for the music. I hear all the time from people at the shows that they can relate our music to their own experiences, and I love that.

The titles of Red Sparowes tracks are notoriously long ("And by Our Own Hand Did Every Last Bird Lie Silent in Their Puddles, the Air Barren of Song as the Clouds Drifted Away. For Killing Their Greatest Enemy, the Locusts Noisily Thanked Us and Turned Their Jaws Toward Our Crops, Swallowing Our Greed Whole," for example), and form comprehensive paragraphs when read sequentially. Is this a way to add a narrative dimension to your lyrics-free albums, or something else altogether?

Greg: Yeah, it's definitely there to create a narrative element to the album. It's our way of saying to people who are interested; this is how we relate to our own music, and the mood that we feel it conveys. The absence of lyrics allows us not to force that on our audience, but it's there if they want the further understanding.

How did the band change after [guitarist] Josh Graham left last year?

Greg: Josh had already been living in New York for over a year and was concentrating on his new band. Part of why we've done so little in the past couple of years is because we were slowed down by geographical challenges and the baggage that comes with that. So, to start with, we've been a lot more prolific, the results of which will be evident starting early 2010.

We were also frustrated by a sense of limitation in terms of the music we were creating, both technically and aesthetically. With our current line-up there's not that sense at all; it feels like the sky is the limit. No one's afraid to take chances and the music is, as a result, much' more dynamic. It's still heavy, but there's a greater range and there's much more going on in terms of being very intentional about song structures, melodic movements and interesting dynamics.

Your latest release, the 3-song EP Aphorisms, explores the concept of these generalized observations as widely accepted truths. Now, we’ve heard that “absolute power corrupts absolutely,” but the opening track of your EP is titled “We Left the Apes to Rot, But Find the Fang Grows Within.” Is this a more regional aphorism? Chinese maybe? Seriously, though, tell us a little more about aphorisms as inspiration and how you express them musically.

Dave: The idea of Aphorisms is an extension of a larger concept we're planning for the next full album. When seen in full context, I think it will make better sense. But I don't want to elaborate too much on that just yet. Specifically, the theme and titles of the EP are intended both as an example of the more direct statement of the songs on this recording.

Aphoristic statements have historically attempted to embody general truths in simple statements, but as in human history and the developments of science and culture, we continue to follow a trajectory of ever-evolving modes of thought, and what is believed true at one time can be completely irrelevant later.

Do you have a favorite aphorism to share with us?

Dave: I have many favorites, but I think a particularly applicable one is included in the EP artwork: "Man is the measure of all things." -- Protagoras.

Why do you think there is so much backlash nowadays against the use of the term post-rock? Do you think that tag applies to Red Sparowes?

Greg: I don't know...it seems like there's a tendency towards genre titles like that going out of style, even though the music style exists, most likely under a different name. I'd imagine it has to do with bands wanting to be part of something new, and the association could easy pigeonhole a band that wants to be listened to and not categorized.

Sure, I think the tag applies, especially when thinking about the bands that were on the forefront of post-rock, like Slint and Tortoise. They were huge influences on my personal playing, although I can't speak for the entire band. But I'd hate to be put in a box. We've always called ourselves instrumental rock and generally I think we all feel a closer association with bands like Sonic Youth and early prog bands like Pink Floyd and Hawkwind.

What can we expect from your third full length album, due out early next year?

Greg: Not so much a continuation, but an expansion, of our previous sound. We take more chances and experiment with a greater range musically than we ever have before. It's definitely a much more mature album and we all feel really proud of it.

Dave: There are many different elements to the next album that I think seem a very interesting culmination of melodic tendencies of the first album and the more experimental bent of the latter two. It features our newly-solidified lineup and I think there's a big reflection of the ways this band has continued to evolve over time.

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Hear Red Sparowes at Fun Fun Fun Fest Saturday at 4:20 on the Orange Stage
Red Sparowes [Myspace][Official]