Berbati's
It's hard to believe, but ubiquitous Portland progsters The Planet The are finally putting out a proper CD. After playing together for years, suffering several lineup changes, and a brief yet unfortunate name change (The Plan The, anyone?), the disgustingly badass Physical Angel is released this week by Michigan label 54*40' or Fight! It's full of everything we've come to love about the freaky trio--buzzing keytars, vocoded vocals, mad rhythmic skills, proggy melodies that are brainiacal yet sort of non-alienating.
Why'd it take so long to release this record?
Charlie Salas-Humaras (vox, guitar): Cause we're lazy. The tapes burnt in a fire.
Dave Huebner (keytar, synths): Charlie sunk into a depression. It only took like two days to make; it's just been sitting around. For a year and a half.
You recorded it a year and a half ago?
Dave: Yeah, at the Horse Ranch. We recorded it on horseback. I had to take breaks between recording to take care of the horses.
Chip: Yeah, Dave would take care of the horses, and we would go look for fresh eggs.
What do you think your music sounds like?
Charlie: Glen Ellyn, Illinois [where we all grew up]. Our music is like a big Glen Ellyn inside joke.
What's Glen Ellyn like?
Charlie: It's depressing; it's like a little village for rich people--like Lake Oswego, but with more white people. We were so bored there. We got in trouble with the police all the time. I was in jail every weekend, for drinking, stealing flags, breaking windows. We set this dude's car on fire once.
Chip: I think we had the most police in any town per capita, so you figure it out. All the parents do there is drink.
Do you think about how your music will change?
Charlie: Yes, we think about it all the time. Too much, actually. We were thinking we wanted more dancey stuff for awhile, but playing dancepunk is too easy; it seems like it'd be a step down from the last thing. I want to do something crazier; I want to reach for the stars.
Dave: I want to sound like Jeff Lorbler--spicy elevator jazz.
Charlie: We really like riding the line of uncomfortablity. I used to wanna just sing creepy lyrics about my dad. We're just going to be the most uncomfortable band to watch, ever.
