All this week we’re bringing you coverage from our recent time in the Pacific Northwest. The focus of our trip was attending the first installation of Anacortes Unknown Music Series, organized by Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie. You can read the epic article about the one-of-a-kind festival here. Today we bring you a short interview with Elverum incisively centered on the upcoming tour, his band, and Ocean Roar. The interview contains some previously unreported insights on the forthcoming album. Full tour dates are listed below the interview.
Pop Press Intl: Was the band assembled during recording? Was it assumed who would play in the touring band?
Phil Elverum: No, nothing was assumed. I didn’t have a plan to do a touring band, and I just was focused on recording. But those are kinda the only people that live here. (laughs)
PPI: Who play music?
PE: Yeah. That’s an exaggeration, but those are my peers, and those are people who share the studio here. Carson doesn’t live here. Carson lives in Olympia, but I just like him so much. He was kind of a crucial social component to the band. I usually put my touring bands together more based on personal social chemistry and like van morale more than musical skills or anything like that, just because music’s important, but music is a small percentage of touring.
PPI: Will the lineup be the exact lineup we saw last night?
PE: Yeah. Same lineup. There’s a bigger tour. I haven’t put it on my website yet. Some September, some October.
PPI: There has been on small sample from Ocean Roar, and you have said the record will be more experimental, but the songs you played last night seemed straightforward. Can you tell us a little bit more about what we haven’t heard yet from Ocean Roar?
PE: There’s some instrumental songs that are weird. The other songs that we didn’t play, or can’t play are heavier. They’re more black metal-y. Just more huge. Which maybe we could pull off live, but there are also very few words, and I feel like playing instrumental songs live is boring. For me at least, when I watch a show I like to have something I can cognitively latch onto and have some content. So, I’m kind of skipping the instrumental songs for now even though I think they’re important on the album. Doesn’t quite translate to the live version. Live music is a social experience, and I haven’t quite figured out how to make instrumental…we did skip one that we usually play. It’s just called “(instrumental)” and it’s just like eight minutes of Carson and I doing black metal riffs. (laughs) And um, it usually feels like a “fuck you” to the audience and I didn’t want to end on that note last night.
PPI: In this space?
PE: It was just such an amazing evening. It just felt right to end on the pop song.
PPI: Is that how you would describe the songs you did play from Ocean Roar, pop songs?
PE: Yeah. We played the song “Ocean Roar” and “Pale Lights.” Not pop exactly…well “Ocean Roar” is yeah—it’s like two minutes, it’s tight, it’s got like melodic chord changes, it’s got a bouncy rhythm. I was trying to do basically a Cocteau Twins rip-off. So, yeah, pop… dream pop, maybe? Something like that.
PPI: Very cool; thank you for your time.
Full Tour dates for Mount Eerie:
July 13, 14, 15, 2012- Anacortes, Wash.– 1st Anacortes Unknown Music Series
Sat. Aug. 25th- Rochester, Wash.– Helsing Junction Sleepover
Sun. Aug. 26th- Astoria, Ore.– Kala Hipfish Space, 1017 Marine Drive, 8:30, $7
Mon. Aug. 27th- Portland, Ore.– Mississippi Studios, 3939 N. Mississippi Ave., $10/$12, doors at 8pm 21+ TICKETS HERE
Sun. Sept. 2nd- Olympia, Wash.– Northern
Mon. Sept. 3rd- Missoula, MT– Zoo City
Weds. Sept. 5th- Minneapolis, MN– CO Exhibitions
Thurs. Sept. 6th- Madison, WI– University of Wisconsin, Music Hall, 925 Bascom Mall
Fri. Sept. 7th- Oberlin, OH– Oberlin College, the Sco
Sat. Sept. 8th- Albany, NY– Rest Fest, at St. Joseph’s Church, 38 Ten Broek St., 7:30
Sun. Sept. 9th- Buffalo, NY– 9th Ward at Babeville, 341 Delaware Ave., TICKETS HERE
Mon. Sept. 10th- Toronto, ON– the Great Hall, 1087 Queen St. W., (with Wyrd Visions)
Tues. Sept. 11th- Syracuse, NY– Badlands, 1007 E Fayette St., (with Jason Anderson), $8
Weds. Sept. 12th- Montreal, QC– La Sala Rossa (with Wyrd Visions)
Thurs. Sept. 13th- Burlington, VT– Studio A at North End Studios, 294 N. Winooski Ave. (with Jason Anderson)
Fri. Sept. 14th- Boston, MA– tba
Sat. Sept. 15th- Brooklyn, NY– 285 Kent
Sun. Sept. 16th- Manhattan, NY– (le) Poisson Rouge (with Loren MazzaCane Connors)TICKETS HERE
Mon. Sept. 17th- Philadelphia, PA– First Unitarian Church
Tues. Sept. 18th- Washington, DC– tba
Weds. Sept. 19th- Durham, NC– Duke University
Thurs. Sept. 20th- Asheville, NC– Grey Eagle
Fri. Sept. 21st- Louisville, KY– Quill’s Coffee, 930 Baxter Ave.
Sat. Sept. 22nd- Chicago, IL– tba
Sun. Sept. 23rd- Ames, IA– Maximum Ames Festival
Mon. Sept. 24th- Omaha, NE– DP Muller Studio, 6066 Maple St., $8 (w/ UUVVWWZ) TICKETSHERE
Tues. Sept. 25th- Lawrence, KS– tba
Weds. Sept. 26th- Norman, OK– Opolis
Thurs. Sept. 27th- Austin, TX– the Parish
Fri. Sept. 28th- tba
Sat. Sept. 29th- Marfa, TX– tba
Sun. Sept. 30th- Tucson, AZ– Topaz, 657 W. St. Mary’s Rd., Unit C1A, 8pm, $8
