MM: Yeah‚ so you're developing as you go along. In terms of songwriting‚ what do find is inspiring you at this point in time?
Tim: That's interesting... we're inspired by everything we hear. I still listen to a good amount of Zappa. We're (Red Hot) Chili Pepper fans‚ so their new album is having an effect on us with simpler songwriting‚ but at the same time I've been listening to a lot of early Phish and how complicated that is... I've been dreaming of writing something like that. It depends on what kind of tune it is and what we want to go for in it. I certainly don't want to lose any of our roots‚ which I don't think we really can at this stage in the game. We're trying a little of everything‚ I'm sure our next studio album is going to be a little more radio format. You know‚ something a little more friendly‚ yet at the same time keeping our rebellious nature in there too (laughs).
MM: There's a fine line there between putting something out that's bullshit or something that features good‚ concise songs on a studio album that has integrity.
Tim: Yeah‚ I think if we approach the tunes in more of a studio manner I think it's possible. We always have gone into the studio playing the tunes like we do live. Our next studio album‚ I think our approach is to take these songs and make them grow in the studio. You know‚ to make the sound and the idea we want to convey that much better. It's one of those things you know? We haven't been in the studio that much‚ and it's one of those things that you need to do to get better‚ like anything. You've got to practice to get better‚ and we're so out of touch with the studio‚ we're definitely looking forward to getting back to the studio one of these days.
MM: Well what are some of your thoughts on the guys you play with? Primarily you play with the other three guys in Psychedelic Breakfast‚ so what are some of the feelings on them and what they bring out of you musically?
Tim: Well‚ we kind of have an unspoken thing. We've known each other for a long time‚ and we don't really think about it too much. We kind of do just because we know it's right. It's weird. I really like all the players. Adrian‚ our drummer‚ he's such a great drummer that it's always inspiring me to play faster and cleaner. To see how many notes I can actually play and match with him.
MM: (laughing) Yeah‚ he's sick! It really blows me away every time I see you guys play. The last time I saw you guys play he took a solo‚ well‚ the thing that stuck out in my head was that I guess in the world of rock music the drum solo is overused... but if they all sounded like Adrian‚ we can bring them back (laughs).
Tim: Yeah‚ like John Bonham.
MM: Yeah‚ I mean he plays so aggressively‚ but he also can hang back in the pocket and play with finesse.
Tim: Yeah‚ that he does‚ he's a natural player. We're all self-taught players‚ so I guess that's a good thing - (laughing) we didn't have too many rules to stick by. We started by breaking them all. Whatever we heard in our heads we started playing eventually‚ without anyone telling us‚ you know? You have to do it this way.
MM: Yeah‚ right on. You're just kind of doing it your own way‚ and that's where all this beautiful music comes out‚ and I think that's why it sounds so fresh.
Tim: Well... we try. (laughs)
MM: Yeah‚ so what about the other guys?
Tim: Well‚ Ronnie is constantly getting better as a bass player. It inspires me to write lines that he can just rock out on the bass. Jordan (keys) is such a natural player‚ he's such a great musician. He can play with anyone and just make it happen without even practicing. He's got a really good sense of what sounds he wants to use‚ and he can control chaos very well (laughs). You know‚ that Dead element‚ he can play space for an hour and keep it interesting. It's always a pleasure to play with these guys. The more we play we're just going to gel more and more. We're only four years old‚ so we're still babies in the scope of it all.
MM: Well in that four years together - well‚ you guys are up there improvising and letting things go. Is there a time that sticks out in your head where you walked off stage and were just like "holy shit‚ we just did something unbelievable‚" or even a moment playing on stage that you consider to be spiritual?
Tim: We've definitely had plenty of those moments. I've had enough that I can't even remember them all.
MM: That's kind of why you're doing it‚ right?
Tim: Yeah exactly. One that sticks out is Camp Creek 2001. For whatever reason... the planets were aligned and we got up on stage and absolutely rocked for two hours. The crowd was unbelievable‚ and the amount of energy they gave us. We just walked off stage in amazement like "what the hell just happened?" but we knew it was awesome at the same time.
We've played a bunch of Northampton (Mass.) shows‚ and every time we play there‚ it's pretty magical for the most part. Usually we have really magical moments when there's not a lot of people there. For some reason we play outside of ourselves‚ and it just works out really good that way. I don't know why‚ we're just like "there's not a lot of people here‚ let's fuck around" and in the process all this beautiful music comes out and you can tell we're really listening.