WITH ELECTRIC GUEST

THITH: Who’s in the band, how long have you been together, where you from, what’s story?

Asa: Matthew and I are Electric Guest but we have three other friends that make up the live band. I’m from Berkeley, California.

Cornbread: I’m from Virginia.

THITH: We’ve heard a rumor about an EP you might be sitting on. Are the three songs on your Band Camp page from that? Is there more and when do we get to hear it?

Matthew: We have plans to put out an EP with White Iris. We’ve been a part of their camp for years now.

Asa: We have a finished album too but we’re not signed or anything so we’re not sure when it’ll be out. The songs on the EP will be different from the ones on the bandcamp.

THITH: Where did you make it and who?

Asa: I wrote most of the record in my room, in a big house in Los Angeles. There were a lot of kids who lived there over the three years I was there. One of the main guys had a studio in the basement and a lot of great instruments so I was able to use his stuff and also fill the house with my own gigantic organs, pianos and gear which I would have otherwise never gotten away with. That’s where I met Cornbread-That’s Matthew’s other name- in fact. He was a friend of someone who lived there. He ended up coming over a bunch and we hit it off pretty immediately. I remember I had made a pact with myself not become friends with anybody for at least a year and just focus on music. I did it for about a year and a half but then I met him and we’ve been friends ever since. He’s an amazing musician and plays a lot of instruments so the album is almost all me, him and Brian Burton.

Matthew: Yeah, Brian heard Asa’s songs and asked him to work on an album. I would come over all the time and play whatever he needed. We worked like that for years. Then, when Brian was free we all went into his studio together and recorded the album.

THITH: What things things about getting into a studio for the first time were most exciting?

Matthew: It felt like whenever i came in to play parts, there was a really good energy. It seemed like everybody was really excited about the music.

Asa: Me personally, I was kind of terrified. It was mostly an amazing experience but it was also pretty distressing at times. I actually got Shingles from all of the stress while we were recording and had to take like, a month off.

Matthew: Oh yeah, there was that. I forgot about that.

THITH: Were you playing shows before going into the studio or are you having to learn to be a live band now?

Asa: We never played before the album. Well, I had never even played live before. The rest of the guys have though.

Matthew: We worked for months playing the songs together before playing a live show. We really wanted to feel confidant about playing the songs live.

Asa: Yeah, the energy in our band is really good. I think we’re all kind of surprised at how well we get on and how fun it’s been to play live.

THITH: What’s the biggest difference between shows and recording for you?

Matthew: They feel like two totally different things. Some of the intimate moments in the studio have a new energy live that can be really exciting.

Asa: For me, the two are almost opposite. Writing is such an insular process that has nothing to do with the outside world, while preforming is all about putting yourself out there and sharing that energy.

THITH: We get a kind of Mutant–albeit somewhat cleaned and electronic–60′s garage thing in your songs. You ever listen to collections like Nuggets or bands like The Troggs, The Seeds or The Zombies. Is that a thing for you or where does that sound come from?

Matthew: I like the Zombies, of course. I think we ended up being influenced by a lot of different genres.

Asa: I have a sweet tooth for terrible music so I won’t even say what I’m influenced by. I wish it was some of those cool bands though.

THITH: What bands around you do feel are your allies. Who amongst your friend’s bands are you always anxious to share what you’ve done with and always want to hear more of?

Matthew: We are friends with Fool’s Gold and really support those guys. Also, we’re close to our friend’s in The Moor and our friend Matt Popieluck just finished an album under the name Big Search, which is great.

Asa: Yeah, I mostly listen to older music or our friends’ bands but I do like some new music. I went see my friend John’s band Salem who I’m really into and the opener was Light Asylum, who I loved! I also quite liked that new James Blake record. And about sharing music with people, I usually share my music with Brian, Matthew or my parents.

more here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, August 9th, 2011 at 08:12. It is filed under Zine Features. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.