Lolla Sessions: Manchester Orchestra
Manchester Orchestra talks MGMT, the new album and more MGMT.
Manchester Orchestra played an early set on the Friday morning of Lollapalooza to one of the biggest crowds I have seen for such an early time. This should have been expected, as Man Orc is currently on the verge of blowing up. With a new album set to release in early 2009, Man Orc caught up with HEAVE to discuss a magnitude of things; but mostly how much they love MGMT.
HEAVE: How do you perform outside when it’s so hot?
Andy Hull: You just do it, and very poorly. Eventually it’s over, but it’s so miserable.
Jeremiah Edmond: You feel it every minute that you are doing it. You keep telling yourself, “One more song. C’mon, this is so awesome, so keep going.”
HEAVE: You guys formed in 2005, but how did you all meet?
Andy Hull: All of these guys pretty much played in the first band that I ever started with them, and then we sort picked up members here and there. Chris, Jay and I all played in our first band together.
HEAVE: And you were home schooled your senior year to do all of this?
Andy Hull: Yep, I had to do it. Chris moved to Ohio for a little bit and wasn’t in the band, and then joined the year after that.
HEAVE: Your first album was never officially released, citing that you were a different band then than when it would have came out. Care to elaborate on that?
Andy Hull: It sounded too much like Death Cab for Cutie and Jimmy Eat World. It was recorded at the beginning of 2006 and we realized we just…didn’t want to sound like that all too much.
HEAVE: You guys are working on your new CD with Dan Hannon. How is he going to affect your sound?
Jeremiah Edmond: Wait a second, this is my happy song.
Andy Hull: Oh gosh, what a great song.
(Editor’s Note: It should be said that we took a break from the interview for a couple minutes so they could listen to “Electric Feel” by MGMT. Complete with singing and dancing).
Andy Hull: Will you write that we didn’t answer questions for five minutes because I felt the need to dance to “Electric Feel”?
HEAVE: Yes.
Andy Hull: Okay good. It has to be noted. Ok, Dan Hannon and sound, right. Well, one of the songs has a ton of melody and is a little more of an epic sounding song. It is built on a lot of dynamics and has big drums and a piano. The other ones are just me wanting to make the loudest song we could, so it is just a lot of screaming on my part.
HEAVE: How does your songwriting process go?
Andy Hull: Well, I write the song and I bring it to the band and then they actually make the song good. We sort of wanted to do it how Wilco does it, but we decided against that.
HEAVE: Yeah, I read that in Chuck Klosterman’s book.
Andy Hull: Oh, me too. Looks like we are caught.
HEAVE: What are the pros and cons of playing a huge festival like this?
Jeremiah Edmond: Pros: Free Drinks.
Andy Hull: Seeing Friends.
Jeremiah Edmond: Seeing…lots of friends?
Andy Hull: Listening to “Electric Feel”.
Jeremiah Edmond: Seeing lots of great bands that I can’t afford to see, but that is also a con because I want more money.
Andy Hull: Cons – Nobody really sounds as good as they should.
Jeremiah Edmond: So many people.
HEAVE: Were you expecting that big of a turn out for your set?
Andy Hull: No!
Jeremiah Edmond: I took the stage and I couldn’t help but smile. There were so many people.
Andy Hull: I felt like we murdered the set. I felt great about it.
HEAVE: What is next for you guys?
Andy Hull: Well shit. Brand New is playing tonight and so is Lupe and Rage. We will hang out here for a while. Have a drink with you, listen to some music with friends. Holy cow, have you heard this song? (Editor’s Note: MGMT is playing “Time To Pretend”). Of course you have heard this song. It’s fucking huge. Damn you, MGMT. How did you get so huge? We are on the same label. Anyway, we are doing a new record starting September 1st, and it will be out at the beginning of 2009. Then I think we have plans for world domination. An EP comes out in October, and you can see us on “Gossip Girl” on the CW on September 14th. It’s a new song called “I Can Feel A Hot One”.
HEAVE: You guys are a pretty intense live show, how do you get up for it every night?
Jeremiah Edmond: You know, I never want to play. Any band that tells you that they love to tour is lying. You do it because you love to play music, but that has nothing to do with touring. Touring makes you fucking tired.
Andy Hull: When we practice and stuff, that is when I want to play. But there are moments where you really want to play and you are about to hit the stage and it is the right moment. That is what I get addicted to. It’s like golf. You can have a million shitty shots, but once you get a beautiful shot you get hooked to it.
HEAVE: Was Conan as funny as I hope he would be in person?
Andy Hull: Oh he is hilarious. The rehearsal of the show is funnier than the actual show. We were way more nervous for Letterman, though.
Posted by Wes Soltis on Aug 14, 2008 @ 12:00 am
