DEERHOOF'S experimental pop is mired in a pure punk sense of adventure. For the past two decades theyâve mastered a seamless blend of bold creativity and practicality thatâs deeply rooted in a DIY ethos.
âOur tours are actually pretty uneventful now. Weâre really appreciative we have had these brushes with success. Weâre making a living off it,â says guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Ed Rodriguez, whoâs been with Deerhoof for eight years.
Rodriguez, who lives in Portland, followed longtime friend John Dieterich, who joined in 1999. Deerhoof was originally founded by drummer/vocalist Greg Saunier in 1994, but the band took new form with the arrival of Satomi Matsuzaki in 1995.
âThe crew she met when she landed in San Francisco is unbelievable,â says Rodriguez of Matsuzakiâs arrival in the Bay Area, where she met Saunier through experimental band Caroliner. A week later, she was on tour with Deerhoof.
âShe had never played music, never done anything. Now sheâs incredible. She can play the most intricate, mind-blowing bass line while spinning around and singing. Itâs unbelievable.â
The bandâs been championed by some of the greats, like Radiohead, the Roots, and the late David Bowie. They continue to tackle interesting projects: Last year as part of the Ex/Noise/CERN series they performed an improvised composition at the Large Hadron Collider, a massive particle accelerator in Switzerland. This spring they released Balter/Saunier, a collaborative album with Ensemble Dal Niente featuring composer Marcos Balter.
These days Deerhoof is bicoastal, with the tightknit crew spread out between Portland, Albuquerque, and Brooklyn. This has necessitated a sense of creativity in how they write albumsâtheyâre known for doing a large bulk of recording via email from opposite ends of the country during breaks between tours.
They write collaboratively, focusing on the needs of the songs and what will sound most interesting. âPart of the joy of being in a band is actually the fact that there are other people,â Rodriguez explains, âso it kind of feels like youâre being robbed a little bit when itâs you sitting in front of your computer.â
Deerhoofâs brand-new record, The Magic, was recorded in an abandoned office space in New Mexico. The album surfs between whimsical Dirty Projectors-sounding tracks like âCriminals of the Dreamâ and grittier punk anthems like âThat Ainât No Life to Me.â Itâs a glittering journey showcasing what pop can be when itâs driven by punk exploration.
âAs long people still want to see us and we want to keep getting out there, we can technically still keep doing it as a living,â says Rodriguez. âItâs really nice.â