|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Archived: Shmat's Features
The Shmat has decided to discontinue the Features section for Shmat Records. That is to say, there will be no NEW interviews or features. If you are a band that was featured here earlier, rest assured that your feature will be archived here for eternity (or somewhere near that).
Like Shmat's Reviews, any future Interviews and Features will appear on the Palebear site.
Please note that the Shmat and his Peoples take no responsibility for typos, inaccuracies or misinterpretations contained within these articles.
|
February 3, 2004 :
They came, they saw, they conquered. Or, at least they made some damn interesting music. The quirky tunes of Tulsa's Elliott The Letter Ostrich could perhaps be placed into a genre sometimes known as "arcade pop". Mixing Weezer-like chords and melodies with the blips and beeps of old school arcade games, they sing about "nintemper", "tanooki" and "nebulous bees" among many other things. Their latest album, the fantastic Motocross Be Thy Name, came out recently on Asaurus Records. Recently, the Shmat spoke to them about video game systems, the state of music today, heartbreaks, and ... Britney Spears???
- interview by
 If it's a closely guarded secret, I understand... but, where did you get the name Elliott The Letter Ostrich?
Jhohn: I wanted to use the name "Van Halen" but as it turns out, someone beat
me to the punch. So I used the closest name possible.
Uh, I see. Anyhow, you guys are from Tulsa. I gotta admit I've been sheltered... I know absolutely nothing about Oklahoma. What's the area where you live like, is there an indie music scene there?
Airon: Tulsa is pretty much a city in the middle of the country. The idea of
an "indie music scene" is a joke at best.
Jhohn: Tulsa has its chic moments and I will always recognize it as my home
but its music scene is crippled. The only bands worth mentioning are
Aqueduct and Ester Drang.
Airon: Believe it or not, Tulsa has more of a taste for hardcore music.
Really? So, are there a lot of places for bands to play?
 Airon: Nope. Anytime any hint of a scene appears it's quickly extinguished. A small club will open, have some cool bands play, and shut down a few
months later. That's the formula.
Jhohn: Sometimes it's like we're living in that town in "Footloose" where
dancing is banned.
Did you both grow up in Tulsa?
Jhohn: Born and bred.
Airon: Since 4th grade I've lived in Coweta, a suburb of Tulsa... so yes.
Oh, so that's the Coweta in your earlier "Coweta Android" EP...
Airon: Yeah, that's where all of the first EP was recorded.
Jhohn: And some B-sides here and there. It's a beautiful, magical place. They
have guard donkeys.
Airon: And Mountain Dew Man.
I like that EP a lot, but what's with the David Hasselhoff reference?
Jhohn: I dont know. Just a random thought.
Airon: Have you ever seen that episode of Knight Rider where he has to fight
his "evil twin" and the only difference is the twin has a mustache? Good
Stuff.
 Let's talk about how the ETLO songs are created. Do you do the combo write 'n record method, or have the songs already been written out before you start recording?
Airon: Jhohn pretty much does "the work". Chord structures and the like. I'm
the button pusher. I add the seasoning to the already delicious dish.
Cowbell, reverb, a chord here and there. Jhohn gives me the skeleton
with some organs and I add the skin.
Jhohn: Awwww, thats nice. I really don't know how to explain it.
That's cool. Do you ever think up song material while driving in the car or walking around, and then you forget it later? I hate that. I used to have to carry a tape recorder in the car...
Jhohn: I'm always coming up with ideas. And by the end of the day, I lose
them. I should start carrying a tape recorder.
I really like the singing on your records. It's unusual, sort of twee like Tullycraft, but I think it's paced a little better. It's also pretty high... I wanted to ask this for awhile, do you treat the vocals with any effects?
Jhohn: Other than some reverb, chorus and such, it's all me. Maybe it's a
birth defect.
Airon: We don't speed up the tape or anything...
Whatever it is, it sounds great. So, do you record all the stuff onto computer or on a 4-track?
Jhohn: Analog.
Airon: Tascam 4-track. I'm too dumb to work a computer. And too poor.
I read that you use thrift store keyboards once in awhile in the songs. What kind of stuff do you have, is it the standard older Casio stuff?
Jhohn: I have a Yamaha Keytar that I'm quite fond of.
Airon: Basically if we can find a keyboard with some good tones, preferably
under $20, we'll use it. Model names are secondary to good sounds.
 Your new record, Motocross Be Thy Name (Asaurus Records), seems to have a huge amount of video game effects and influences. So what was the first game system you ever had?
Airon: The Nintendo Entertainment System, or NES as it is known. Amen.
Damn straight.
Jhohn: My older brother had an NES which he didn't always share. So later I
received an Atari twenty six hundi. Basically, I had the best of both
worlds. Bitches.
Quite a few indie bands have referenced the "nature vs. machine" idea in their songwriting and albums. Grandaddy, Quasi, and Radiohead are some of the bigger ones I can think of that have in the past. Is that a theme you guys take to heart?
Airon: Living in Tulsa, we see skyscrapers surrounded by trees, within
walking distance from ponds. I guess we're a product of our environment.
Jhohn: Yeah, that sums it all up.
 With all the crazy different sounds in your songs, is it difficult to reproduce that when you play live shows. Or do you do the songs differently live?
Airon: Well, the structure is there. But, we dont want it to sound exactly
like the album. If you want to hear the album, listen to the album.
Obviously, there are blips and beeps that can't be reproduced but that's
the difference between committing ideas to tape and sharing those ideas
with a group who hasn't been exposed.
Jhohn: When we record, we come across a lot of "happy accidents." I would
never want to recreate those live. They're very special to me.
Airon: God bless that "studio magic."
Do you play in any other bands besides ETLO?
Jhohn: Nope. Although I tried out for Bel Biv Devoe.
Airon: I have a side project called Thirty Pound Man Eats Own Face. I don't
really do much with it, shows here and there. And I have a Misfits
tribute band called The Pissfits. It's a "metal break" from Elliott.
What are some of the older bands that you listen to, or do you mostly listen to new stuff nowadays?
Jhohn: I really enjoy Taco, Slayer, Gary Numan, The Beach Boys, Kraftwerk, Devo, Buddy Holly, and Elvis Presley.
Airon: Some newer artists have an impact on me. Atom and His Package, Grandaddy, Supergrass. Then of course you have the standards: Beatles, The Who, The Clash, The Cars. I love 80's music. All of it. Especially Taco. But, especially Slayer.
Jhohn: I really like that part in Lost Boys when that guy is playing the
saxophone singing "I still believe." That shit cracks me up.
How about the current state of top 40 music today?
Jhohn: I dont even know where to begin. I'd rather not get involved...
Airon: Man, I fuckin love Bizkit. No, but really, what the fuck? The decline
of music is absurd. Who the fuck listens to Trapt? Limp Bizkit, all this crap. So much teen angst hidden under a backwards baseball hat. Oh, and punk is in now, have you heard? It's "cool" to be punk. They sell "punk" shirts at Wal-Mart. And have you been to that place Hot Topic? Fuck that place. Music is so stagnant, I can't even stand to take a tape out of my car stereo for the fear of momentarily hearing some asshole whine about
his daddy for the split second it takes me to change cassettes.
I hears ya. Uh, so does this mean that if Britney Spears wanted to marry you, you would say no right?
Jhohn: I dont think I'd marry Britney Spears. She has too many problems.
Airon: I hope Britney Spears gets hit by a train.
Time for a random question... do you believe in ghosts?
Jhohn: Yes, if we ever have more time we should exchange ghost stories.
Airon: I agree.
No one seems to like to answer this question even though I keep asking it in all our interviews. But I'll ask it anyway: Do you break hearts or do you find that hearts break you?
Airon: Man, girls hate me. I think it's something I do. We hang out, I try to
pick their nose, never call me again. What the fuck. I'm too much of a
nerd to break hearts. Pat Benatar wasn't talking about me.
Jhohn: Ummm...... I'm not really good with relationships.
Airon: Nintendo's the only loving I need.
Jhohn: Amen.
Any shmats, er, cats living at your place?
Airon: No, but my friend Nick has this cat named Thrilhouse. Cats are neat.
|
|
|
|
Archived Shmat Features
February 2005
Anamude
November 2004
American Analog Set
October 2004
Pants Yell!
July 2004
Snoozer
June 2004
Elk City
May 2004
Popgun Recordings
April 2004
East River Pipe
February 2004
Elliott The Letter Ostrich
January 2004
Damon of the Swirlies
December 2003
The Ladybug Transistor
November 2003
Bill Ricchini
October 2003
Shiny Around The Edges
September 2003
Dave Klotz of Fonda
|
|
|
|
|
