TVHH Q&A pt.7

the very hush hush

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bringing people in. But, the reality is that the scene in the Boulder area wants to hear that recycled din. And the crowd reflects directly back to the environment in this case. It is apparent that the scene is a byproduct of the attitude and the underlying foundation that stabilzies the social fabric of Denver and Boulder's identity. Boulder is a quagmire of hippie dropouts, rich DMB worshippers, and affluent Trustafarians, while Denver is mostly a conservative town heavily steeped in white culture. Of course, this is a gross simplification, but I find some truth in it. Without a good base of cultural diversity, you can expect the music produced in that area to be closed off and secular. And sameness usually breeds future homogenous cultures, and/or apathy. Of course, when the scales tip too far to one side, then a revolution of sorts often manifests itself. But Denver hangs pretty much in the balance between anything outstanding, and the suburban doldrums.

This boredom is apparent to anyone who has played out in Denver before. In fact, the reason a lot of bands don't like playing Denver is because the crowds are so zombie-like towards anything brand new, or anything out-of-bounds. That doesn't mean people won't come out to see something. I remember full draws for bands like Les Savy Fav and Sweep the Leg Johnny. But these influxes of counter-culture only pass through and seem hardly able to stick to anyone in the local music-making scene of Denver.

At the same time, it seems like people are only too happy to cop or play other people's music. First off, it is easy. Second, the audience feels secure listening to something already assimilated- so large crowds are virtually guaranteed when you play something already tried and true. The cookie-cutter mentality is all too prevalent in the Denver scene. The world has the Blood Brothers, and Aurora has Fear Before the March of Flames. The critics enjoy Joy Division and Interpol, and Boulder sends off Bright Channel. Do you like Adult? Well how about a watered down version of that called,Baby?

The list goes on and on- some bands with much closer compatriots in the musical chain of doppelgangers, and some, albeit rare, Denver bands who dare to try something different.

Like I said earlier- the scene behind the 'scene' is quite supportive of local artists. Outside of all the empty posturing and seemingly endless trail of post-punk acts are some smart, honest people pushing for change. It would be a crime for me not to mention the positive effects of people like Kim at Kaffeine Buzz, and the wonderful staff and volunteers at Radio 1190. There are great promoters and owners working at venues like the Larimer Lounge and the Hi-Dive and some sincere and creative people pulling the strings behind NIPP. Certainly not everything is doom and gloom for me in the Denver scene. But still, there appears to be a lot of elements in the metro area that seem to inadvertently push talent out of the state, and onto the coasts.

The more I listen, the more I appreciate the split in Mourir C'est Facile between "Long Live The New Flesh" and "Lighting will guide you." What strikes me the most in your instrumentation is the use of drums--many bands pursuing similar musical aesthetics have done away with such a raw, live drum track (take The Outskirts, or Eyes Become Rooms). It seems to me that there could be a fear that such an aggressive and organic sound could potentially throw the digitized orchestration out of balance, either weighting it too far to the maudlin (like Mogwai, on occasion) or making it sound too temporal, consumable, and dated--have you ever noticed how you can often tell which era music comes from just by listening to the drum tracks? In any case, how do you see the balance between the electronic and over-dubbed aspect of your music, and the live-studio elements that seem to place your music in a more visceral (and dare I say American) atmosphere?

PETER:

This split in the album refers back to something we talked about earlier. I believe it is very Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde in a way. The first section is a new cultivation of the raw sounds we harnessed through playing more live shows. And the latter section deals with a more contemplative side that is easier to explain through subtlety. Throughout we have tried to keep very 'live' sounding drums. This is a unifying element that counters the ebb and flow of the atmospherics. We knew we didn't want the Mogwai sound, which can be a little too overdramatic at times, but we also didn't want to detach ourselves too much from anything organic at all. So that's where the raw sounding drums come from. Maybe this dates the recording back to the late 80's/early 90's recordings of Steve Albini, but I am still in love with the sound of raw drum tracks. Suffice to say, our new album (title tk) is leaning a lot more towards complete synthesis, but in a much more dirty way than you may be used to.

When did you guys start playing together (date?) and do you have any amusing stories from your history of playing together?

GRANT:

We began playing together in the summer of 1998, though the incarnation of TVHH did not occur until fall of 2002. I was recently at my mother's house and found a bunch of old tapes of our earliest material. Just drums and guitar at first, though synthesizer and drums eventually became our medium. Even then, we'd stop in the middle of writing a song and decide that it didn't sound honest, too much of a replication of some established act. Just as we were discovering our own collective and individual sounds and voices, we left for college, and a three-year pause ensued.

As far as an amusing story...I'm not sure if this qualifies, but it was certainly formative. We were opening up for TV on the Radio at Club 156, and as we were finishing setting up, our drummer, Lucas, slipped on a pair of sticks and fell off of the stage. Many people, myself included, laughed, though I felt terrible immediately after. He had done something very bad to his knee, it was all swollen and gross and he couldn't walk on it. His girlfriend took him to the emergency room, and we were encouraged by the promoter to play the show. I doubt that Peter and I have ever been more nervous, playing an unrehearsed acoustic set before one of our favorite bands took the stage. The audience ended up being one of the more responsive and attentive ones to date. We only played five or six songs, and I was totally relieved to be done. We took off for the hospital and visited Lucas. He lived, but needed a brace, and for our next couple of shows, his high-hat leg stuck out awkwardly like a giant beacon, but he played anyway and I will always admire him for that, even though he is no longer our drummer.

FIN.