Way back when we went to see It’s Elephant’s play at Lenny’s we sort of got caught up fraternizing with all of our friends. One thing lead to another and the next thing I knew there we were, ankle deep in what we thought was going to be the next shit sucking band of the night. These dudes walk up on stage wearing cowboy hats and I think the only reason I didn’t leave was to see how gimmicky it was going to be. All I’m going to say is that I ate my words that night. Or my thoughts at least.

The Broken Spokes turned out to be one of most enjoyable bands that I’ve ever accidentally stayed to watch; these guys were more surfer-country-hank-williams-esque than I don’t know what. All I know is that I like them.

Join me now in learning a little more from John and Peff, the band’s drummer and lead singer, respectively.

From where do you draw your influence? Being an Alt-country-surf thing isn’t too common around here.

John: I think we draw a lot of influence from the musical styles that were around in the early days of rock n’ roll. Back then country had a lot more in common with rock music than it does now. I like to think that the Broken Spokes are what you would get if you took early rock, country, and surf, and played it much much faster. Nearly every time we talk about music the phrase “this band would be so good if they
just played their songs faster” invariably comes up.

For specific influences, I’d say Buck Owens, Johnny Cash, and a band out of chapel hill called the Two Dollar Pistols on the country side and Los Straightjacks, Dick Dale, and Link Wray on the surf side. Add in some Elvis and maybe even a little bit of the Ramones. It’s worth noting that Southern Culture on the Skids also plays a combination of Surf and Country.

What do you think about the Atlanta music scene?

Peff: I think there aren’t enough surf and country bands.

So, what’s with the cowboy hats?

Peff: We’re all the descendants of cowboys who were shipwrecked on a Polynesian island…

Hmm, that would probably take too long to tell.

Perhaps the correct response is “Three words: cowboy-loving sluts. “

Where are some of your favorite places to go in the city? (You know, coffee shops, places to buy records, etc. )

John: Well, obviously a lot of the typical music venues: Lenny’s, the Star Bar, the Earl. We have a semi-regular gig at the Java Monkey in Decatur. I’m a big fan of the Independent for pool and the Starlight Drive-in is clearly awesome, as it is a drive in … it is not uncommon to find members of the band among the drive invaders (a group that
goes to the drive in once a week in the summer).

Peff: Record stores are stupid. I buy everything from bands when they come to town or directly from independent labels. And I like the places John mentioned.

Do you guys have any upcoming shows?

John: We’re playing a few parties coming up, and we have a gig at the Java Monkey March 15 … that gig is always good if you want to hear more of our songs, as we’ll typically play most of our repertoire there.

Give me some advice, please.

Peff: Buy a cowboy hat and walk around town for a day. You will feel like a new man.

Years ago I found myself at SXSW with this band that we were in at the time. Everyone wanted to go see Dillinger Escape Plan but by this time that whole scene had grown a bit tiresome to me. Jonah Bayer suggested to that I check out this band called Apollo Sunshine who was scheduled to play thirty minutes after Dillinger Escape Plan started. I waited around and killed time while everyone else abandoned me for light show trickery and inaudible vocals. Thirty minutes—and thirty dollars—later I was resting assured that I had made the right decision. What I experienced has since become legend among my surroundings.

Now-a-days we ride around and sing along to their records enough that we thought it would be fitting to see what they are up to, prsesently. Here are some answers to some questions that we asked.

Once I heard that the lot of you live together in the Massachusetts country side, was this and is it still true?

It was and is true, in that once something happens, it happens forever…we no longer live together except for in our hearts….we call the cities Boston, New York City and San Francisco our homes…

What affords you opportunities to be on tour so often and continue to play spontaneous sets of album track after album track or extended jam sessions?

We really can’t afford it… we always seem to face the current month by asking ourselves, “how are we going to pay rent?” but.. we were chosen to be Apollo Sunshine… so we gotta just go with it… rock out, etc…

Do you guys pick who learns instruments/plays parts or was it something that was pre-established before the band’s career started.

Jeremy on Drums, Sam on Guitar and Jesse on Bass and Keyboards is the lineup that seems to work best… there have been times where it’s all been different.. but who knows why… not I….

What did Phyliss do to your house, as it turns out?

Phyliss is a wonderful pet bunny that used our old allston apartment as one giant bathroom…

Every time I have seen you guys play, you’ve had records spinning the entire time you’re on stage. Is there anyway you can give me three of these titles?

“The Versatile Henry Mancini”"Ananda Shankar and His Music”and a 45 of “Duck Calls”

At this point in your career, do you still consider yourselves as a three-piece?

We have been lucky enough to have been joined on stage by some of the finest and amazing musicians we have ever known… They are all Apollo Sunshine… and we wouldn’t be without them… but the tri-fecta is a very powerful force.. and we enjoy stripping down to that core of frequencies quite frequently…

Listening to “I was on the moon” twice a week is still cool but when are we going to get the chance to hear a new record?

Well… great art is never finished…. it’s abandoned… someone needs to come take this record away from us soon, before our brains melt and our beards get too long….

Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old?

We’re all old …we’re all young…and as long as beautiful women walk the earth… we’ll never be bored…

In early December, one of my top favorite Athens bands, Hope for agoldensummer, released their sophomore album, Ariadne Thread. If you like pretty girls’ voices, Southern acoustic-y goodness, bittersweet lyrics, and eclectic instrumentation, with a strong dose of good old-fashioned DIY spirit thrown in for immeasurable fun, you’ve gotta check these ladies out. Comprised of sisters Claire and Page Campbell, along with Deb Davis, Hope for agoldensummer create music that practically demands a backdrop of a hazy summer night and a Mason jar full of ice-cold sweet tea.

Don’t let me mislead you, though- HFAGS is a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll. Ariadne Thread is on perma-repeat for me right now, and it’s just as much for the laid-back hippie feel as it is for searingly witty lyrics. The line “I’m a math metal song/ All I do is change” has had me smiling for days now. Ariadne Thread is beautifully written, played, sung, and packaged, with original artwork, hand-sewn binding, and a mythological tale penned by the Campbells’ cousin. In other words, you get a lot more than we, the music-buying public, are used to in the day and age of In Rainbows.

Claire Campbell was kind enough to answer a few of my questions to pass on to you, the enthralled reader. And how could I be surprised? This is the same lady who sometimes passes out homemade cookies to show-goers.

First of all… 2 1/2 years in the making—wow. What took so long? [Not that it wasn't completely worth the wait.]

Well, we were almost done with the album when two members of the band turned into blue puffs of steam. Right there in the studio, mid-take. We were recording a song live, all five of us the room together, and, boy, what a song. We were just kicking out this jam, all frenzied and perfect… And suddenly two of us just changed from musicians into wisps on the air. I saw it and heard it, even amidst the din of 18 strings. As the last crash of the cymbal rang out, well you know those two boys sounded just like the whine of a boiling kettle. Which is just what should happen when a being that is mostly water gets too hot.

Anyhow, three nights later we found that these cries of steam had taken to haunting all the songs we’d recorded. Were they in the tape machine or actually on the tape? We’ll never know. We scrapped it all, moved to another studio, bought a new tape reel, and took our time. Thank you for your patience.

Are you planning to hit the road anytime soon in support of the album?

Why yes. We’ve performed several Southeastern release shows and are laying low until the weather is more predictable. We travel in all directions come Spring. Up to NYC, over to California, and all that is in between. As we are deeply in debt to VISA, we plan to spend the next two months seeking a label to sponsor said tours.

This album is an all-encompassing work of art—music, writing, storytelling, illustration, design… How did these elements all come into the picture? Did you start out with an idea of everything involved? Or did it start out like any other album, but ended up gathering the proverbial moss as it rolled along?

It did gather the proverbial moss. Before we began the album, all the songs had already been written. A few months into the recording process I began reading about Ariadne & Theseus. Ariadne helped Theseus escape from a labyrinth by giving him a ball of thread to follow out. I thought this was a beautiful metaphor for one person assisting another person out of confusion & darkness. I knew I wanted this album to somehow encompass that metaphor. And as I read more, I realized that the entire story of Ariadne, and not just the bit about the labyrinth, built on this theme, and also brought in new themes of sacrifice & concession & abandonment & rebirth. As the recording process deepened, and after the gaseous demise of our band members, we realized that we were currently embodying these themes, and that, in fact, most everyone does. Who among us has not compromised for love, only to be abandoned in the end? And who has not been lifted from misery by kind hands and given a new start? We organized our songs that they might lead the listener thru the story, form beginning to end. I have had writers block many, many months, and hearing of it, our dear cousin, Wallace Cochran, volunteered to pen the retelling of Ariadne’s story. He far surpassed all my expectations. Then, taking cues from imagery in the songs & in Wallace’s writing, Page & Deb did a series of drawings to be included. In this way, we ended up with a small book to accompany our album. We are very pleased with it.

Seems like you come from quite a musical background. Were you kids singing and playing instruments practically from birth?

We wrote Jiffy cornbread advertising jingles right out of the womb, but did not take well to any of the instruments forced upon us by the Atlanta Public School System. These included: the recorder (of course), saxaphone, viola, etc. My piano instructor looked like a castmember from a Twilight Zone episode. I took up guitar when I was 16. And Page a bit later. Page enjoyed a week of wild popularity in 4th grade after she composed and performed a song at the school talent show. It was a song about bubbles entitled “Bubbles.”

And finally—your liner notes mention use of a “cookie-tin banjo.” Now… is that exactly what it sounds like? I’m totally intrigued.

Deb’s mother bought a hot-pink tin of Asian cookies. Ate them, and sent the tin to a man in the desert who outfitted it with a wooden neck, an electric pick-up, and a shoestring strap. I do not know his name, but he earns his living by this craft. I am sure you could search him on the internerd. I think he charges around $75.

Personally, I have been listening to the music of Mclusky for quite a while. Since them fetus days. Remember when Sony made those tiny little MP3 players that had the blue alien as a mascot? Yeah, since then. Most of the people in my life that believe in good music also dug Mclusky equally as hard so you can imagine how excited we were when we heard that Andrew Falkous and Jack William Egglestone were in a new band called Future Of The Left with Kelson Mathias on bass.

We had a group orgy out of excitement, then we heard the record. It has not one dull moment and will probably be the best thing you hear all year (unless you heard it in 2007).

Andy Falkous was kind enough to answer some questions that we were pondering. What follows should be a spiritual revolution for all of us.

It seems that, as a listener, as records and time progress, the lyrics and instrumentation becomes more and more sinister. Is this something that is intentional or does it just happen?

There’s no real plan, only the natural desire as the years roll by to invest the music with a little more substance and trickery than was at first satisfactory. Times change, standard tunings become bored and boring and the way chords fit together feels too easy.

Lyrically, there are always new people to hex.

One of the things we have always admired about the content of your music is the rampant use of people’s first and last names as a focal point of your lyrics—from Danny Baker to Mark Foley. Are these real people? If not, where do these names come from? If they are real, how have the subjects in question reacted to their sudden popularity?

I believe in the maxim “write about what you know,” and in my case, what I know and do and specialise in, is/are petty (largely) insubstantial insults and cascades of language with occasional uses of proper nouns (ie – names) in order to ground the imagery. It’s useful and, to slip into jargon for a second, fun.

Oh yes, and they’re always real people. Danny Baker is a former NME editor (from the 70’s) and is now a big fat waste of space talk-show DJ/’comedy’ pundit who specialises in smug cod-affrontery. Mark Foley is the guy who co-runs our rehearsal studios—a swell all round Scouse guy with a huge beard and the heart of a lion.

On the new album, Curses, it seems like the bass follows the vocal melodies more than anything else, like on Manchasm. Do you write the guitar and bass lines or does Kelson Mathias write them to match your melodies?

The songs usually just happen upon us in rehearsal. I suppose I wrote about half the bass lines on Curses but that’s mainly because Kelson was finding his feet on the instrument at the time. Everything is a slave to the vocals, however. The greatest guitar part in the world is of no use to me if it sabotages the melody.

Lets just say that I am a genie. I just gave you three wishes and you can have anything that your heart pines for with two of the wishes but the third wish is to have your choice of any popular musician to drag into a crowded street, shove a shotgun in his mouth like a big black cock of death and blow his brains out in front of hundreds of on-lookers without any chance of criminal charges. Who would be your lucky contestant?

Y’know, I get asked this question a lot and I can never really motivate myself to answer. Really, if you can ignore the fact that, say, the guy from Razorlight made more money today than we’ll make in our lifetimes then you’d have to admit that the world would be a lot duller without his ridiculous ego-smothered, non-rocking, pomp pop dick-slinging. Without these people to laugh at and contrast with our eternal souls, life would be but a shadow of itself.

Once I found myself preforming a show in Cardiff. I unknowingly asked the sound guy if he had ever heard of your previous band and he reacted as if I had just asked him if he knew what the sun was. Are people still as receptive and excited about The Future Of The Left as I am sure this man is, or is it like starting over?

The history of both Mclusky and Jarcrew meant we had a free pass to rung three of the obscurity ladder but, to be perfectly honest, I’m not aware of a significant amount of excitement about us.

On a personal note, “We take more drugs than a touring funk band.”? Bill Hicks?

Yes, although it’s a paraphrase rather than an exact quotation. A bit of Bill can get you through the darkest hours, although I must admit to finding his smoking and drug bits a little dumb.

Any plans to visit The United States and Atlanta, Georgia in particular?

We’re always with the hopes, plans and fervent dreams but reality has a way of scuppering such fancy. Hopefully we’ll be in the States sometime after March but I can’t say I’ll be hurrying back to Atlanta—I found the show there particularly unpleasant. Perhaps it was me, because at the time I was more concerned with getting through the day without murdering a former bandmate.

Lastly, we had some trouble getting a copy of your record around these parts, so we downloaded it. How do you feel about this and where can we buy a copy?

Well, it isn’t officially released in the US yet so that’s normal, I guess. I’ll tell you how I feel about people downloading my songs in ten years when I’m drowning on my own tears in a Camden bedsit, covered in sores from a diet of cheap lager and a lack of essential vitamins.

We have been listening to Wires on Fire for years because, in our opinion, they are the current answer to Nirvana. I know that is saying a lot but if you need a second opinion check out their music.

Also, Michael Shuman plays bass in Queens of the Stone Age and he and Evan are in a new band called Jubilee with ex-members of Icarus Line and current members of Nine Inch Nails. One time their merch guy gave Sean a button that said “fuck work, love life.” which I received later that year for Christmas. It turned out to be one of the most important gifts that I have ever been given.

Keep in mind that these questions were written under the heavy influence of marijuana and turns out to be a testament to my current sabbatical of the habit. Enjoy.

In my opinion, one of the most important vocalists in modern rock is Mark Lanegan. What chain of events lead up to him contributing his voice to your last album?

I can’t tell if this question is a joke or not, but…

I agree that Mark Lanegan is one of the most important vocalists in modern rock. However, Mark did not sing on our last album.

I think you are referring to the song “Dusty Bibles Lead to Dirty Lives,” which is sort of a sleazy lounge song. The voice you are hearing is none other than our very own Michael Shuman. We felt the song should have a Tom Waits / Mark Lanegan esque vocal approach. I think it’s safe to say that Mike nailed it. You are not the first person to think it was actually Mark singing that song.

We have read that Jubilee sounds like “The Replacements, The Stone Roses, Neil Young, Blur, Jane’s Addiction, Bob Dylan, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and The Verve, all sliced ‘n diced together quite nicely.” If that is the case that would mean that you guys are the answer to every pop musical prayer. Please, tell us if it’s that important.

All those groups definitely have influenced Jubilee’s sound, but it is no copy cat act. The band has a sound of its own. I actually just returned from the mastering session for the Jubilee “Rebel Hiss” single, it sounds great.

In the song “Dignity Points” who or what is the lyric “Bitches, drink the blood of teenage kings!” about?

The lyric is actually “Beaches” not “Bitches.” Again, you are not the first person to think that… Maybe I should work on my pronunciation, and you should probably read the lyric sheet! Haha.

Between Queens of the Stone Age being on tour all the time and Jubilee putting out a record, it leads one to wonder, “Where is Wires on Fire?”

Wires On Fire has been hard at work recording our second full length album. In fact, we have well over an album’s worth of material. In addition to the album, Wires will release a series of singles. The first will be out early 2008 on the new Psychedelic Judaism label. I can’t tell you how excited I am about the new Wires On Fire material.

So, you’re on a plane traveling to your life’s most desired destination. Suddenly, the left engine explodes. “Left engine down!” At that exact moment you see…? Who would be the one person, to you, that the mere thought of them being in the exact same shitty, miserable, unfortunate situation that you are suffering through would almost make it enjoyable?

Neil Young or Woody Allen.

You ever heard of that band called It’s Elephant’s? Well, if you don’t know us, then you probably don’t know them. And that’s alright. In an attempt for you to get to know them just a little bit better, we’re bringing you the first documented interview with the band’s drummer, the indomitable Matt Compton. We caught up with him between songs at their practice space inside Thunderbox Studios and whoo-ee, those fuckers were in there killing it. So thank you to Matt, you are a scholar and a gentleman.

Where’s muh questions here? Muh questions. Alright, my questions:

So, Compton, huh? Am I supposed to think you’re some sort of tough guy from L.A. or what? Where are you from?

Hampton, Georgia. Capital of AMS, Atlanta Motor Speedway.

How do you feel about playing drums for a band like It’s Elephant’s?

It pays the bills and I’m in debt.

What do you have to say to people who think that your drumming is “elementary?”

Who the fuck is Phillip I-don’t-even-know-his-last-name?

We noticed that you’re recently in a relationship? So, who’s the lucky girl and what can you tell us about her?

Her name’s Suzanne. She and I both have Southern accents and we’re both Southern Belles … I guess. Some would say.

You once gave me a venison steak. Where did you get it and could you ask him how you’re supposed to cook it? Mine was good and all but I just burned it in the pan and I know that there must be a better way.

It was from my brother who killed it, I think, in our backyard. The best way to prepare it is not in a pan but over a grill with Dale’s seasoning.

I didn’t know you even had a brother.

Yeah, 2.

So, what songs are you guys working on in there? Do they have names?

No names. Uh, one is called Awesome and the other is called Double Merr.

When is the next It’s Elephant’s show?

I think you just witnessed it.

In there?

In the practice space.

So there is no planned show?

No planned show for a while.

That’s pretty much it. Do you have any last words? Advice? Shout-outs? Mantras?

To the guy who parks cars at Fritti, all I want to say is “Derp! Derp!”

We like good tunes and so should you. If you haven’t heard yet, this is The Long Shadows. They sound like the years when music meant something. Mick Jagger plays drums and Montanus really digs on The Features. And how.

To my knowledge Mick Jagger Hasn’t played the drums since he retired that whole David Bowie thing. How did you guys get him to play with you?

The three of us worked together at everybody’s pizza at Emory. Mick came out to see what was to be our last show ever. (our old drummer was moving to China) He dug the sound and offered to come out of retirement to play with us.

I dig on Pavement and Dinosaur JR. Maybe I’m an ass to assume that they do or have influenced you guys as a band?

When I wrote these songs I had never heard Pavement or Dinosaur Jr. Nonetheless, people have told us we sound like them before. I only wanted to sound like old Cure, The Clash, Squeeze, Coldplay, and The Strokes. Funny how that works.

When you guys write songs do you start with bass and melodies or does it differ from song to song?

The music is written on whatever instrument I’m holding in my hand when a “happy accident” occurs. Then I form that into a song. Generally, what ever I’m dealing with comes out as the words at that same moment—like being struck by lightening. I had this really poorly produced four track recording I made of the songs with me playing everything. Some songs were only a bass line with lyrics. I played those for Colin and he plays them better than I can. Mick Jager just does whatever he wants with a few exceptions.We are beginning to see this system change in recent time. Take a Gamble was a song I had only worked out the beginning to and didn’t have a solid idea of where to take it. Mick Jagger came in and wrote and arranged some very nice music parts including a bridge. He’s very talented.

Being that this town isn’t conventional to any of the boring music that you hear all over it, how has this fair city been treating you and your sound?

So far most people have been very cool. There have been some folks from other bands you can tell are just being polite. Our friends have been very supportive. They come out to see us over and over. I don’t think we’ll really know what people think until we do a release.

What affects your life more than your music?

People, and these damn feelings.

Some of us met some of the men that comprise Thomas Function when they were living in a soon to be condemned house in Huntsville, Alabama (Where they remain) and playing as a band called Alabama Jihad. Upon that meeting I realized that these were some of the most intense people I have ever met.

If you wanted to reference The Kids original vinyl, they have it. If you wanted to eat dumpster-bread, you could find it laying on a couch in their kitchen that couldn’t have been much cleaner than the original receptacle, dig in. If you want to get drunk with people that can swig on cheap vodka like water without batting an eye, they are your guys. If you dig on sports bars with 32 oz. beers, they can take you there. Or if you want to listen to a band that is probably better than whatever it is you are listening to, they do it.

I asked Josh some questions that most of us already know, but you don’t and that is why we are here. If they sound interesting to you, they are. You can buy their music or at least listen to it, here.

Which one of you actually owned that Mummies bootleg that I witnessed become a legend in my life? Do you still have it?

Josh: Travis owns that video. It’s a public access thing from San Mateo, and yes he still has it.

Tell the story of how you sang to Alive, If you don’t mind of course.

Josh: Zach checked our myspace messages one day and there was a question being posed froma fella named Patrick. It went something like, “I love your profile songs, do you want to do a record?” It’s not an exact quote, but you get the idea.

I heard that you guys recorded some demo tracks, or your first EP, with someone who recorded Otis Redding. What?

Josh: No, but he works for the same guys that ran Muscle Shoals Sound. These fellas recorded and played for Percy Sledge, Aretha Franklin, Lynard Skynard, and Bob Dylan. He’s recorded a million bands, but I think his biggest project to date is the Devendra Banhart double lp release. “Rejoicing In Hands” and “Nina Rojo”

It seems like the spotlight is on the south when concerning new artist these days. Do you trust that to be a fact or just passing speculation?

Josh: I hope it’s focused on the south. With the exception of the midwest, every other region of the country is absolutely dead.

Do you guys play Relentless Machines live now?

Josh: Sometimes.

Did any of you ever really like the fucking Pink Spiders?

Josh: I liked drugs, and fun live shows. I love Bob and Jamie. I liked the Hot Pink demos. I hated every show I played with that band, and regret every minute I spent in such a fraud.

Concerning the Pink Spiders matter, Zach says: I don’t like the Pink Spiders, Travis Doesn’t, Fillup is undecided.

Do any of you have a mother complex?

We all have the hots for Phil’s mom because she makes the best breaded zuchinni(sic) lasagna and she walks around the house wearing only an apron and a smile. And she just got her hair cut. Sometimes, I call her and breathe hard and hang up because I’m so nervous to be talking to a former 4-h club member.

Would you say that any of you are “an aggressive person who gets what she wants?”

Yes, we all are. When I find myself craving for my uncle to beat me sensually with a spatula covered in johnson’s tear free shampoo, I go out and get it. When Michael wants to huff magnum sharpies, he says ‘fuck it’ and goes down to Walgreen’s and gets a bunch of those fuckers and gives himself a gluestick moustache and fucking crashes out at a Motel 6 for the weekend. Nothing can stop her.When Phil wants to give wet dreams to all the 6-year-old boys on our block, he doesn’t sit around at home and wait for it to happen. No. He does it within the hour and never looks back. We are all go-getters to “the max”.

Name 3 great bands, aside from yourself, that are also from Wisconsin?

Tanner Sweetley, The Cold Cut Combo, and A Paper Cup Band

We are reliving the 80’s in a bad way. You know, “Who’s the boss?”, “86 Pony”, all that shit. The problem with the second go around that we are suffering through is that the music industry is in as bad of shape as the political industry.

Do you feel that it is possible to do something that you love and are confident with and support yourself? If you are not supporting yourself, do you think it is possible to do so just from working hard?

No. Not with that asshole Scottie Pippen hanging around all the time.

What affords you so much time to make those sexy commercials?

Blatz and cheap shoes.

Where the fuck is our mix-tape? And what should we expect?

It’s on my bedside table marinating in hidden valley ranch dressing.

Who married you on the floor in Tennessee?

I finally figured out how to download cell phone porn on my cell phone!

Thanks, dudes.