Altsounds: Hullo there, to whom do I have the pleasure of chatting with?

Dave Clifford - drummer.
Greg Burns - bass and pedal steel guitar.


Altsounds: Last month (Feb 2010) was the fifth anniversary of your first full length album "At the Soundless Dawn", how well do you think the record has aged and how accurately does it reflect the abilities and inspirations of the band today?

Dave Clifford: I think how well the album stands up over time is simply a matter of each listener's personal opinion. I think it's still a great record. Considering that the line-up on the first album was quite different from what it is today, it doesn't necessarily reflect the band very accurately even past late 2004. Andy and I joined the band just after that album was recorded and the line-up has been pretty much consistent since then. We've maintained an aesthetic throughout that time which guides the overall feel of the songs no matter how our ideas develop and change with each new song.

Greg Burns: I agree with Dave, in that it's been an important goal of ours to maintain a certain aesthetic, while pushing those boundaries at the same time. Our inspirations have obviously changed over the years, with the line-up changes as well as our own personal growth. As far as our abilities? I certainly feel like we've all grown quite a bit as musicians. It's become important to us to have a more focused, concise approach to song writing which I think is a result of having played together for quite some time now. We don't need to drone on the same part for twelve minutes anymore.

Altsounds: Do you look back on your first album (as opposed to how you view your new album) with any sort of remorse? Have the songs continued to develop through playing them live over the years?

Dave Clifford: The songs have definitely developed over the years playing them live. I still greatly enjoy playing songs from the previous records, though we're having to weed many of them out now in order to focus on playing material from the new album.

Greg Burns: Remorse? No, I think that's a bit strong. I'm proud of the work we've done, although of course not all of it lives up to my (our) hopes at the time. I think that's just part of making music. And, yes, songs continue to develop over time, although usually in fairly subtle ways. I think the thing that's developed most is our relationships as musicians and our ability to play off of each other, which is something I enjoy immensely.

Altsounds: The new album "The Fear Is Excruciating, But Therein Lies the Answer" is quite upbeat (and even jubilant in places), was it a conscious decision to make a fluidly joyful record or is the mood of each of your releases influenced by the personal circumstances of the band members that surrounds them at the time of each record’s creation?

Dave Clifford: We definitely made a point of aiming for a broader range of moods on the new album, rather than just taking a formulaic approach of going back and forth between heavy and quiet. I wouldn't consider the album particularly "joyful", though there are moments that we were aiming for sweeping, anthemic melodies to contrast the heavier, more dour moods elsewhere. One thing that I've felt very strongly about is avoiding the sense of the music or concepts being "apocalyptic." Let's leave the apocalypse to millennial cults.

Greg Burns: Yeah, I'm struggling with joyful. I'd hope that anyone who listens to the entire album will be able to see the range of emotions that we try and put out there. But sure, I think it's a more positive record overall than our previous full lengths. As I remember, our only goal was to try and express a larger emotional scope. I feel like our older records are a bit more limited in that regard and it was a lot of fun to not rely on old gimmicks and reach for something new and more expressive.


Altsounds: You appear to be a part of the current instrumental intelligentsia musical movement; do you see yourselves as a part of any special scene or genre?

Dave Clifford: Yes and no. There is indeed a certain peer group of bands that we consider as friends and musical compatriots: Isis, Russian Circles, Pelican, etc. And, the Sargent House team and roster is definitely an extended family. But, at the same time, we don't aim to fit in to a specific scene or genre. That doesn't seem very healthy or creative.

Altsounds: Do you think the musical ideals evident in a band through their releases and evangelisised through live shows are still an important part of a band’s perceived personality, or do you believe it’s the case that (with mp3 culture as a catalyst) the band’s personality can only be expressed through their musical output? If so is this a relief or a frustration to you?

Dave Clifford: We always write songs with the intent of playing them live. And, therefore, there aren't superfluous layers on the recordings or parts that we couldn't pull off live. Of course, there are little extra elements that we add to the recordings from time to time, but the goal is always that the music can be enjoyed both live and on recordings without them seeming disparate.

The notion of "recorded product" being the penultimate version of an artist's work is quickly losing its significance - much like sheet music did around the middle of the last century. It seems that we're headed toward a new medium for people to enjoy music (whatever that will be remains to be seen, though obviously digital culture is the catalyst) as well a return to live performance as the primary form of musical expression. Our live shows are a huge part of the band's personality. It's certainly meant to be heard loud, and the visuals help to create the sense of immersion in a "total environment" for the audience.

Greg Burns: I do feel a sense of frustration that some people may never see the other work that goes into our releases. Buy the album and you can see the work we put into the art and the concept. Come to a show and you'll see our visuals and how their our own interpretation of the music. I feel like people who only listen to an mp3s are definitely missing the entire picture. In a perfect world everyone would buy the vinyl to really be able to appreciate the artwork and liner notes (concept), and would come to the show to see our take on the whole thing.

Altsounds: By their third album a lot of bands reach a certain creative zenith, how forward looking are you as a band, do you see the new album as a sum of all your historical parts or does it hint at a direction you may find yourself heading for in the future?

Dave Clifford: I'm not sure I agree… creative zeniths are different for many bands. I think that we did merge elements of the first two albums on the new record, building on the melodicism of the first and the experimental elements of the second. I know we certainly haven't even begun to explore the many ideas that we all have. I am constantly awed at the range of musicianship of the others in this band and it's a huge privilege for me to play with them. I think that as long as a band's members have that respect for one another they will create innovative and interesting music.

Greg Burns: I think we're very forward thinking. We definitely try to avoid making the same record over and over and there's never any shortage of new ideas. As Dave said though, we definitely try and keep things in the context of the aesthetic of the band. So as of now there are no electro funk records in the making.

Altsounds: Was there anything you had to leave off the new record that you wish you could have included?

Dave Clifford: There are always limitations in recording which leave us wishing we could've had more time, or played something better, or whatever. We went into this album with a surplus of material with the intent to pick the best songs from the lot for the album. This was a first for us. There were some parts of songs that I now wished I'd played differently, and typically songs will evolve more over time playing them live. I now play some parts from the previous album pretty differently from the recording as well. But, overall, I think we managed to achieve the ideas we set out to accomplish with this album, and some that were left off are already being put to use in new songs for the next record.

Altsounds: How does the studio process work for your band? Do you find the opportunity to immerse yourself in the studio siege mentality aids or stifles the creative process?

Dave Clifford: We demo songs rather meticulously before recording them, so most of the time we hit the studio with a pretty focused sense of how we want things to sound. Since there are so many instruments in our music - typically three guitars, bass and drums - we have to have parts pretty well thought out before recording in order for them to work together. So, while we do get to be creative with the sounds and methods of recording, much of the song writing is finished well before we get to the studio. Luckily on this album we had the budget and time to get creative with the production.

Greg Burns: I do day dream of a time we can do some writing in the studio though. Having access to gear and different instruments that aren't in our practice space can often lead to some great moments.

Altsounds: How democratic is the Red Sparowes recording process? Are any of you seen within the group as the band leader, someone whose say is final?

Dave Clifford: It's very democratic. Everyone weighs in on ideas and, often even if one person doesn't like an idea that the others do, we will not use it. We want everyone in the band to feel satisfied with the music we're writing together.

Altsounds: Given the choice, what would be theme of the legacy that Red Sparowes leaves the world be?

Dave Clifford: I would ultimately like to see the band having a longevity that encompasses many changes and a significant sense of growth from album to album. We've all got plenty of new ideas and with the line-up changes that we've had over the years, the band has continued to grow. I think a frustrating part of being in any band is when fans expect you to stay the same. Red Sparowes from the very beginning has encompassed many sonic elements and influences. So, some songs may not be "metal" enough for one person, and another may be too psychedelic for someone else. I would hope that people would have the patience to allow bands to expand their ideas, especially when the band works hard to avoid excesses and self-indulgence along the way.

Greg Burns: I look at bands like Pink Floyd, who started doing something that was considered very specific and went on to break those molds and create records that are now just considered...great records. That's what I want. I don't want to be part of a 15 year movement called post-rock. I want for people to listen to our records as unique entities, love them or hate them, but at least listen to them outside of our own seemingly increasingly limited attention spans. If given the choice I'd want to be part of something that reinvigorated peoples love for long living and passionately made music, and not just 15 minute digital peaks in popularity.