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| ::Interviews:: |
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| review & interview content, as well as web site graphics & design, copywrite 2003-2004 Euphonia Online. use of materials granted only with reasonable purposes. |
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| interviewed by robby sumner |
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| Interview with Tom June 9th, 2004 |
Mike Hunter - Vocals, Guitar Tom Ackerman - Guitar, Vocals Ben Larson - Bass Mark Powell - Drums |
| E: Tom, The Kite-Eating Tree delivers a sound that is packed full of emotion. How do you think it is that a musician can take a strong feeling--anger, sadness, or the traditional love--and somehow shape it into a song? Tom: Well, I have a sort of odd philosophy--one that I first articulated while being extremely high on mushrooms--that the musician is just a conduit, and what kind of person you are depends on what kind of conduit you are. Mike is the primary songwriter, and he's an intelligent and sensitive person, so he's just channeling the way he knows best. I believe that creativity is a musician's version of spirituality--like God, or whatever you believe in at work. Mind you, I was high when I developed this philosophy. E: Do you think that the musicians who make up The Kite-Eating Tree are of a different sort than those from other bands? Tom: I'm not sure how to answer that. I mean, I've met a lot of people in bands over the years. Some wanted to be popular or cool, some wanted to f*ck a lot of girls; we are not superior to that mentality. We have indulged, but the fact that we play relatively idiosyncratic material, and have done it for so long, is proof that we do it not because we want to, but because we have to. We'd go crazy if we weren't being creative. E: How important do you feel that a tradition of recorded albums is to a band's existence? Tom: They are great snapshots, and can usually travel farther than the band can in the van, and you can play a record when the band is not in town... so I guess it's still pretty crucial. E: Should fans expect a TKET show to be a different experience from witnessing the live shows of other bands? Tom: I guess that depends. There will be no smoke or glitter, no shirtlessness. We're like the Pete Rose of indie rock... Charlie Hustle--not always pretty, but effective. E: Does the band consume as much of your lives as it did when you were first starting out with it? Tom: It consumes a lot of mine because I do all the handshaking, tour booking, etc. E: So you and Mike are also tagged to the label Cowboy Versus Sailor... how does this go along with your career in the band? Tom: Well, you can't play in a band forever, and we've always been the kind of guys to help our the other bands we play with or are friends with. E: How much of your time is taken up by things related to the label? Tom: At this point, there are only two bands: Kane Hodder and us. The Valley Arena is another band we're looking to work with early next year, but it's been pretty mellow so far. We let Suburban Home handle a lot of the work. E: Have experiences that you've all had while involved in other bands affected your decisions and direction in the band? Tom: Naturally. We have plenty of mistakes to learn from. We are approaching this band with a lot of humility because we know how hard it is to get shows, and how amazing it is to have people appreciate your sense of aesthetic. So we take nothing for granted, and we'll play anywhere. E: How vague should a band risk making a song? Should its topic matter be in-your-face or should its themes be inferred as they will? Tom: Well, that, I think, comes down to your skill as a writer. I believe the theme and topic should have direction and not be aimless, but the expression should be metaphorical. First instance, to quote an old Heatmiser song: you don't say "I hate everyone at this party and wish they would die"... he says, "I'd turn this room into a car and drive it off a f*cking cliff." Both say the same thing, but a good image resonates. That's what makes someone like Conor Oberst, or Ben Gibbard, or even Mac from Superchunk such great lyricists. They show you, they don't tell you. E: How deeply should fans read into your name? Tom: As deeply as they want. It's a Charlie Brown reference. But we also like the role of defacto villain. E: How often does the band work on new music? Tom: We've been dealing with a lot of member turnover in the last six months--two drummers and two bass players. But right now we're back to writing. E: Where do you hope to take the band's sound on future songs? Tom: Not sure we want to aim it. Just let it go. E: Well, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Tom: Thank you very much. |