Battles
Interview with Dave Konopka
Words: MacKenzie Pause
Photos:  Courtesy of Biz 3 Publicity

Appearing:
June 16, 2007
Common Grounds, Gainesville

June 17, 2007
The Social, Orlando

June 18, 2007
Studio A, Miami

June 19, 2007
Crowbar, Ybor City

June 20, 2007
The Beta Bar, Tallahassee

The last thing Battles wants to be known as is a “super group,” although it’s hard to ignore their influential musical backgrounds. Stemming from bands like Helmet, Don Caballero, Tomahawk and Lynx, the four piece from New York creates innovative experimental rock without trailing on the genres of their past. Their latest tour is in support of their first full length release with Warp Records, Mirrored, and proves to be the culmination of their continued growth over the years and the impressive live performances they’ve become known for. 

REAX:  With so many varying backgrounds, how did you guys come together and form Battles?
Dave Konopka:  After Ian Williams left Don Caballero, Tyondai Braxton and Ian got together and played a few shows. They were asked to do a show at the Knitting Factory and asked me to play with them. After that we all thought it was cool enough that we thought it could be a decent band and Ian suggested that we ask that dude from Helmet John Stanier if he wanted to play because they used to play shows together back on a Helmet and Don Caballero tour.  John came and practiced with us and we had the structure of some songs done, but after he came into the picture everything gelled. It wasn’t like, “Oh my god, this band is amazing,” but we knew that given some time it would work out. We are in a state of perpetual growth. It took a little while and a lot of touring until we got to the point where it really worked. 
 
REAX:  “Mirrored” is set for release May 22. After putting out EPs for years, what took you so long to release your first full-length album?
DK:  We wanted to do a “soft release” into the public consciousness. There was always a tag of a “super group,” because Ian was in Don Caballero, John was in Helmet, and Tyondai’s father was a legendary Jazz musician. We wanted to avoid that tag because there are always expectations. People thought that if the dude from Helmet and Don Caballero were playing together then it must sound like those two bands combined. We really managed to successfully avoid both genres and blaze our own trail. I think it was really important to go in the direction of our own aesthetic and enhance it from there. We didn’t want to put out a full-length right away and be like, “this is our full-length album,” like some Audioslave shit. With the EP we really wanted to just get some music out there so we could tour.  We released them through Warp Records and that added a year and a half to the wind in the sails of our EPs.  It was good because we toured so much on those to get our name out there, develop our sound, and lay the foundation of what would become our full-length.  It was a long time and we put a lot of work into it.  I think it’s paying off. I think people have a better idea of what Battles is and will be more willing to pick up our full-length now and not expect it to sound like Helmet and Don Caballero.

REAX:  You have such a dynamic live show, was it hard for you to convey that in the studio?
DK:  The first time around it was. We had no money and no label backing. It took us a while to find an appropriate label to belong to. We were broke and had to sneak into a studio, blitzkrieg style, at midnight and would record until 8 a.m. and we were still developing as a band and learning the nuances of the songs. I can say that the EPs were almost pre-maturely recorded in the sense that because we had so much time to tour, we understood the details so much that we could play with the tangibility of each song. This time around we were more comfortable and more conscious with what we were doing.  In some ways it’s great that people say that you’re an amazing live band, but that can also mean that your albums suck. We knew that we were able to challenge ourselves to be so much better on the full-length than what we recorded beforehand. We were really making a conscious effort to convey that feeling of us playing live on the album. It also helped that we had an amazing studio to record at and super patient engineers. We were extremely picky. We were in there for three months straight chipping away at the stone.

REAX:  Can you tell me a little bit about the recording experience with Keith Souza at Machines with Magnets?
DK:  He just opened up his new studio right around the time that we were recording the Atlas single.  He’s an old friend of mine and I used to record in his parents’ basement about 10 years ago. We shut ourselves off from the world for three months and were really deep in the recording process during that time.  Keith had really upped his game since I recorded with him in his mom’s basement.
 
REAX:  How has Warp Records played a role in the course of the band's future? What do they have planned next for you guys?
DK:  They have been extremely instrumental in our progressive development.  They opened a lot of doors for us. We were interested in signing with a label that was very experimental with their releases because we didn’t want to pigeonhole ourselves.  Warp was a really good fit for us, and they gave us the freedom to experiment. Also, they have such a loyal fan base, so people go to see us play just because we’re signed to them.
 
REAX:  In Central Florida, I’ve noticed a huge change in the attendance at your shows over the years. Do you have any positive Florida show experiences to share?
DK:  One particular show at Will’s Pub was off the hook. The audience had an amazing response to us and that show in Orlando was indicative of how that tour went.

REAX:  I'm sure the band in general has a list of influential musicians, but who are some of the main musical influences in your life and how did those influences bring you to Battles?
DK:  I really liked New Order when I was growing up.  I appreciate bands for more than what they do with their music. One of the coolest things was when Led Zeppelin broke up after John Bonham died. You can’t fuck with them. They’re one of the best bands of all time. I’m a sucker for the mystery behind a band, when they are more influential than the music that they make.

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