ACL Music Fest Interviews
By Raoul Hernandez, Fri., Sept. 15, 2006
Explosions in the Sky
Saturday, 7:45pm, Austin Ventures stage
At the top of EITS' lightning bolt sits drummer Chris Hrasky, charging Austin's instrumental phenomenon with enough ionization to make the quartet a global weather pattern. Given such risks, e-mail seemed the safest way to conduct an interview on the eve of the band's departure for the studio. Questions have been zapped.
"Things are going well as of late. Of course prerecording jitters are starting to kick in. We have a terrible fear of the studio. We're recording at a place called Pachyderm in Cannon Falls, Minnesota. The guy who's recording the album, John Congleton, has always spoken fondly of that particular studio, and it just seemed like a really nice place to play music. It's out in the woods, and we stay in a house next door. It feels like we're going to summer camp. Apparently, the place is also haunted.
"Our fear of the studio just comes from the simple fact that, while in the studio, you have to play the songs right. Our songs are long, and we try to record live, so once you're about seven minutes into a 10-minute song, you start to get nervous. Our live shows are fraught with missed notes and flubs, but it doesn't matter so much in that setting.
"We didn't know about the alleged haunting beforehand. I don't believe in ghosts, but I would really like to be proven wrong. Although if a ghost did present itself, the four of us would likely start sobbing in terror.
"We'll be there for 10 days, which is a lot of time for us. We recorded [The] Earth [Is Not a Cold Dead Place] in five days, so this time things should be a bit more leisurely. Hopefully we can spend some time out in the woods.
"We'll probably bring a few DVDs, but I'm not sure how many we'll get through. Seasons one and two of Deadwood, season one of The Boondocks, this Canadian show called Trailer Park Boys (which sounds horrible, but it's actually really funny and inspired), The Last Detail (a great Hal Ashby movie from the Seventies), and Bottle Rocket (a staple).
"Okay. I need to pack. Take care."
