Riding Shotgun With Alcian Blue
I'd like to welcome you, ladies and gents, to the world of Alcian Blue. It's a world filled with the sound of Brits past; a little dark yet very pleasant, and it almost feels like the early 90s never ended. These locals know how to meld fuzzy distortion and feedback with an overall brooding air, creating a sound that is pure dynamite. Fans of Alcian Blue are already familiar with the comparisons that get thrown their way (Joy Division, anyone?). Please enjoy the wisdom of Jake (Primal Scream!), Kim (valium!), and Sam (Penis Cave!).
Fill in the blanks:
Touring is:
J: Always a surprising venture.
K: Quite the adventure. Nothing can ever go smoothly.
Our first gig was:
J: Can’t remember that far back.
S: In a church.
K: My first show with Alcian Blue was at DC9.
Our favorite venue to play is:
J: Locally? Black Cat.
K: The Black Cat is always a good venue. Our last show at the Galaxy Hut was great as well. Both venues treat bands very well.
Hygiene on a tour is:
J: Important when available, f**k dirty rock.
S: Quite necessary.
K: Mandatory. Looking like an oil slick equals “not sexy.”
Our favorite thing about touring is:
J: Meeting cool people.
K: The pleasure of eating bad, greasy food with no guilt. Meeting new people is nice too. And free booze.
And the least favorite thing:
J: The drive home.
K: The long drive home.
City with the best audiences:
J: Brooklyn was very kind, though people buying us drinks helps too.
The band member most likely to disappear after a show is:
J: Me.
S: Jake.
K: Jake and/or Sam. I guess I think that's because I usually recall Matt and me packing stuff up.
The tour bus/van smells like:
J: $.99 air freshener and other stuff.
K: Beatle nuts and um…some special herbal scent.
Laundry is: a) washed regularly, b) washed irregularly, c) we go shopping a lot:
K: I think we all agree with “b) washed irregularly.” If we had the finances, I’m sure the answer would be “c.”
What's the most unusual item on your rider?
J: Goats for sacrifices.
S: If we had one I’d totally want an orgone accumulator.
K: Valium and a Ouija board. I guess that’s two. Just the valium.
Who controls the music in the touring vehicle? And what are you listening to at the moment?
J: We all bring stuff on the road; I’ve been listening to Ulrich Schnauss, The Zombies box set, The Radio Dept, and a collection of music from Myspace.
S: I’m digging old Autechre records and random electronic acts on Myspace.
K: Jake and I usually control the music in the touring vehicle, as we sit up front. Lately I’ve been listening to an eclectic mix CD Jake made for me with the Chemical Brothers, Frank Zappa, ? & the Mysterions, the Amboy Dukes, early Yardbirds, Oasis b-sides, and the Inspiral Carpets. Also a lot of Primal Scream.
Your new favorite watering hole after being on tour? And/or the best place to get greasy, hangover-curing food?
J: Ben’s, sometimes Five Guys, and I like to drink at the Black Cat, Marx Café, and Galaxy Hut.
S: Ben’s is pretty nice
Most amusing memory from your current or most recent tour?
J: Sam at Penn State asking college kids how to get to the “penis cave” (actually called Penns Cave, but the sign looks misleading).
S: I got piss drunk on cheap whiskey because it was a depressing ass venue. Apparently I did and said a bunch of things I don’t remember…
K: After a Brooklyn show we got stuck in this perpetual loop on an exit in New Jersey. It was like the freaking Twilight Zone.
Please name the city you wouldn't ever play in again? Or, if not a particular city, which venue makes your skin crawl?
J: I think it will forever be a bar in London Ontario.
K: I’ll give any place a chance or a second chance for that matter. I prefer not to name names.
What band/s have you most enjoyed touring with? And what band/s would you love to tour with in the future?
J: Skywave was always a blast to tour with. There are a ton of cool bands we’d love to tour with, too many to list, though a Labrador Records band coming over would be tops.
S: Skywave was the most awesome band to play shows with in the past. I’d love to tour with A Place to Bury Strangers, Ceremony, The Antiques, Ulrich Schnauss or Broadcast…
Best and worst things about gigs in D.C.?
J: There are a lot of really cool people in this city to meet. Sometimes gigs fall on nights when other gigs happen and we miss cool shows.
S: Best: you don’t have to go far. Worst: people getting scared and leaving.
K: Best: the kids just wanna have fun. Worst: the kids rarely do. I would also say the best is having our friends in the audience.
Most important thing (exposure, joy, etc;) about doing live shows?
J: We put a lot of time into our live shows from programming to visuals. We want the show to be an experience for people and not just another band on a stage.
S: Energy and spontaneous random stuff that makes shit better.
K: The best thing for me is to see that people enjoyed the show. As Jake states, we put a lot of time into our live performance and it is great to see the audience recognize and appreciate that effort.
Apart from the obvious cd, what's the merch item of yours you think people should shell out for?
J: We’re getting ready to screen some new shirts to promote the record, we think people will dig them.
S: The AB g-string
K: T-shirts lovingly hand-crafted in the Reid & Reid sweatshops of Arlington,VA.
What's the best show you've ever been to, and why?
S: Primal Scream on the Xtrmntr tour. It was loud as fuck and insane and a bear-like Kevin Shields stood in a corner and made fucked up sounds.
J: Primal Scream coming through a while back. Recently Ladytron came through and showed us Americans how to rock again. Oh and I toured once with Malory (Germany) and those guys were beyond tight and amazing to see.
Alcian Blue is used to test acidity. How acidic are you?
J: Hmm, one part 13th Floor Elevators and one part Spaceman 3 with some electronica for good measure.
S: Actually it’s not used to test acidity, it’s used to stain immunologic tissue…but we’re like pH 0.4
K: Somewhere between Ken Kesey and Hunter S. Thompson.
I see lots of places comparing the AB sound to Joy Division (among others, of course). Would you agree? And what bands do you love/hate being compared to?
J: We all grew up listening to them and New Order. It’s quite humbling to be compared to them. We get compared to early Cure, early Cocteau Twins, Slowdive, Depeche Mode… All in all quite flattering because that stuff was on my headphones non-stop growing up.
S: I wish more people would compare us to Merzbow but generally I’d rather they said what the f**k the music sounded like and how it made 'em feel.
Have you been to the top of the Washington Monument?
J: Once on a field trip.
S: Nope, fuck obelisks.
K: Who hasn't joined the 555 feet 5 1/8 inches-High Club?
What would you like people to be saying about the Alcian Blue in 50 years?
J: Hopefully we make people feel something when they listen in. If that transcends over time then that would be something.
S: It’s a relic of the pre-in vivo-nanobot-fluorescent-tagged-antibody immunostaining era.
K: They had a hot synth/guitar player.
Please recite a line of poetry:
J: “I get no noel
I’m still eyeing for a way out of hell
shocked and shelled”
S: “I dried myself in the air of crime. I played sly tricks on madness.”
K: "The distance from here to quiet is measured in milligrams - a length of a pill."
And finally, it's BigYawn's round. What's your poison?
J: Stella when available, Jack and Coke as well.
S: Jack’s and Bhang.
K: Black currant Vodka & Sprite.
To further your Alcian Blue knowledge, please see www.alcianblue.net, or www.myspace.com/alcianblue.
Thanks to Joshua Douglas
for the picture