articles
Of Montreal: Interview with Bryan Poole
from volume 01 issue 11 // Steven Hobbs
Of Montreal
Interview with Bryan Poole
Words: Steven Hobbs
Photos: Rennie Solis
Four years ago Kevin Barnes was ready to quit. He had spent six years slaving over his project, of Montreal, recording and performing under the radar. Fans were devoted, but small in number.
Despite being in the center of the influential Elephant 6 collective—see Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control—in Athens, most critics and listeners were not interested. The band released the beautiful, Kinks-influenced Cherry Peel and The Gay Parade, gaining a small cult following. Shows during that period were unique, as Barnes began to develop his penchant for eccentric theatrics and fashion. But few were there to notice.
At the start of the Satanic Panic in the Attic tour, Barnes mentioned to longtime friend and of Montreal guitarist, Bryan Poole, that it might be his last jaunt with the band. Barnes was recently married and began to feel—as all musicians in their late twenties feel—that it was time to move on, get a real job, and start a family.
However, two weeks into the tour, something happened. The small clubs began filling to capacity with kids excited about the new songs and ready to dance. Satanic Panic, more rhythmic and glossy, appealed to a wider audience, causing an initial groundswell of momentum.
This momentum continued building with The Sunlandic Twins, clearly marking Barnes’ departure from his low-fi, 60’s pop influence. Tours were moved to bigger venues, giving Barnes a larger stage to evolve from whimsical singer/songwriter to glamed-out performer/entertainer.
2007 finds the band capitalizing on their recent success, releasing their most lauded record, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, coupling dark, personal lyrics with glittery synth-bombast. The venues for this tour are larger still, prompting Barnes to be even more adventurous—see the Kevin Barnes’s Male Review show in Vegas—with his stage antics.
If you want of Montreal to perform songs from the Gay Parade days about nuns and novels, don’t hold your breath—or go see the Decemberists. Barnes has moved on, traveling further out with his eccentric vision for the band, with no intention of turning around. And I don’t want him to. The band has found its voice, continuing to grow stronger and more confident with each performance. This could be the most entertaining tour of the year.
Before a show in Chapel Hill, Bryan Poole, brains behind The Late B.P. Helium outfit, sat down to offer insight into of Montreal’s ten years together and wardrobe options when playing in Vegas.
REAX: Even back with “Cherry Peel” and “The Gay Parade”, of Montreal has always provided a theatrical stage performance at every one of their shows, even when you were playing the smaller venues. Do you ever feel a tension between just wanting to play your music or living up to what your audience expects an of Montreal show to be like?
Bryan Poole: It’s always going to be that way. If you’re in the band then you better get used to it. It goes hand and hand with Of Montreal. Maybe it’s more stressful than being in other bands because we have to try a little harder than just getting up on stage and just playing songs. We’re putting on a show, not a recital. We want it to be slightly surreal and hopefully turn people’s heads.
REAX: Have you received any backlash from older fans that now see you as a big successful band?
BP: On the first tour we did for Satanic Panic in the Attic… about two weeks into the tour, we started seeing an explosion of people coming to the shows. Before that started happening, Kevin told me that he thought it was going to be his last tour. He was married and he thought it might have been time for him to get a “real job.” As great as it is having forty fans show up to a concert, it still doesn’t pay the bills. You’re still working jobs when you’re not on tour and it becomes a grind. Word of mouth helped us a lot and we were no longer a cult band. The backlash has now passed over, but during the tour for the last record we definitely upset some older fans. We felt bad for them, but we’ve progressed from that period. We were their band that nobody knew about. Do you want the band to starve for you? You have to put it into perspective to those people who just want us to play the old stuff and revert to that band we were years ago. I’m sorry they missed it; we played those songs for many, many years. We’ve been around for ten years, so hopefully we’ve progressed. For an artist to stay in one spot and do the same thing over and over again it’s not very good.
REAX: With the current lineup being together for a few tours now, does the band have more freedom to experiment with improvisation in a live setting?
BP: We tried learning more songs for this tour because it was kind of regimented as far as what we going to play night after night. We’ve practiced really hard for this tour by learning close to fifty songs. It took us a while to relearn some of the old songs. We’re not a supercomputer; we can only store so many songs in our heads.
REAX: Before Kevin Barnes’ infamous nude performance a few weeks back in Las Vegas, did he let you know it was going to happen or was it completely spontaneous?
BP: He told us beforehand. It was a little dive in Vegas, extremely seedy and small. It was 21 and we asked the staff before it happened. He hasn’t gotten scantly clad in a while and he needed an Iggy Pop moment. It’s funny that it got so much attention. There are probably over 18,000 punk rock bands that are getting nude every night, but that never makes the news. I don’t think it will happen again, unless it’s a 21 show. Then, watch out!
REAX: What do you have in the works for the rest of the year as far as Of Montreal and any solo projects you’ve been working on?
BP: We’re a touring juggernaut. We’ve come to smash the land and rape the candy. Tons of insane things have already happened this year. We’re playing the Coachella Festival, which is going to be really awesome. Also, we’re going to be on Conan O’Brien in April, which no one really knows yet. We’re going to Europe for a big tour, festivals, etc. Then we’re going to have a month off in June, so I’m going to have some time to work on my record with other local, Athens artists.
Interview with Bryan Poole
Words: Steven Hobbs
Photos: Rennie Solis
Four years ago Kevin Barnes was ready to quit. He had spent six years slaving over his project, of Montreal, recording and performing under the radar. Fans were devoted, but small in number.
Despite being in the center of the influential Elephant 6 collective—see Neutral Milk Hotel, The Apples in Stereo, The Olivia Tremor Control—in Athens, most critics and listeners were not interested. The band released the beautiful, Kinks-influenced Cherry Peel and The Gay Parade, gaining a small cult following. Shows during that period were unique, as Barnes began to develop his penchant for eccentric theatrics and fashion. But few were there to notice.
At the start of the Satanic Panic in the Attic tour, Barnes mentioned to longtime friend and of Montreal guitarist, Bryan Poole, that it might be his last jaunt with the band. Barnes was recently married and began to feel—as all musicians in their late twenties feel—that it was time to move on, get a real job, and start a family.
However, two weeks into the tour, something happened. The small clubs began filling to capacity with kids excited about the new songs and ready to dance. Satanic Panic, more rhythmic and glossy, appealed to a wider audience, causing an initial groundswell of momentum.
This momentum continued building with The Sunlandic Twins, clearly marking Barnes’ departure from his low-fi, 60’s pop influence. Tours were moved to bigger venues, giving Barnes a larger stage to evolve from whimsical singer/songwriter to glamed-out performer/entertainer.
2007 finds the band capitalizing on their recent success, releasing their most lauded record, Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?, coupling dark, personal lyrics with glittery synth-bombast. The venues for this tour are larger still, prompting Barnes to be even more adventurous—see the Kevin Barnes’s Male Review show in Vegas—with his stage antics.
If you want of Montreal to perform songs from the Gay Parade days about nuns and novels, don’t hold your breath—or go see the Decemberists. Barnes has moved on, traveling further out with his eccentric vision for the band, with no intention of turning around. And I don’t want him to. The band has found its voice, continuing to grow stronger and more confident with each performance. This could be the most entertaining tour of the year.
Before a show in Chapel Hill, Bryan Poole, brains behind The Late B.P. Helium outfit, sat down to offer insight into of Montreal’s ten years together and wardrobe options when playing in Vegas.
REAX: Even back with “Cherry Peel” and “The Gay Parade”, of Montreal has always provided a theatrical stage performance at every one of their shows, even when you were playing the smaller venues. Do you ever feel a tension between just wanting to play your music or living up to what your audience expects an of Montreal show to be like?
Bryan Poole: It’s always going to be that way. If you’re in the band then you better get used to it. It goes hand and hand with Of Montreal. Maybe it’s more stressful than being in other bands because we have to try a little harder than just getting up on stage and just playing songs. We’re putting on a show, not a recital. We want it to be slightly surreal and hopefully turn people’s heads.
REAX: Have you received any backlash from older fans that now see you as a big successful band?
BP: On the first tour we did for Satanic Panic in the Attic… about two weeks into the tour, we started seeing an explosion of people coming to the shows. Before that started happening, Kevin told me that he thought it was going to be his last tour. He was married and he thought it might have been time for him to get a “real job.” As great as it is having forty fans show up to a concert, it still doesn’t pay the bills. You’re still working jobs when you’re not on tour and it becomes a grind. Word of mouth helped us a lot and we were no longer a cult band. The backlash has now passed over, but during the tour for the last record we definitely upset some older fans. We felt bad for them, but we’ve progressed from that period. We were their band that nobody knew about. Do you want the band to starve for you? You have to put it into perspective to those people who just want us to play the old stuff and revert to that band we were years ago. I’m sorry they missed it; we played those songs for many, many years. We’ve been around for ten years, so hopefully we’ve progressed. For an artist to stay in one spot and do the same thing over and over again it’s not very good.
REAX: With the current lineup being together for a few tours now, does the band have more freedom to experiment with improvisation in a live setting?
BP: We tried learning more songs for this tour because it was kind of regimented as far as what we going to play night after night. We’ve practiced really hard for this tour by learning close to fifty songs. It took us a while to relearn some of the old songs. We’re not a supercomputer; we can only store so many songs in our heads.
REAX: Before Kevin Barnes’ infamous nude performance a few weeks back in Las Vegas, did he let you know it was going to happen or was it completely spontaneous?
BP: He told us beforehand. It was a little dive in Vegas, extremely seedy and small. It was 21 and we asked the staff before it happened. He hasn’t gotten scantly clad in a while and he needed an Iggy Pop moment. It’s funny that it got so much attention. There are probably over 18,000 punk rock bands that are getting nude every night, but that never makes the news. I don’t think it will happen again, unless it’s a 21 show. Then, watch out!
REAX: What do you have in the works for the rest of the year as far as Of Montreal and any solo projects you’ve been working on?
BP: We’re a touring juggernaut. We’ve come to smash the land and rape the candy. Tons of insane things have already happened this year. We’re playing the Coachella Festival, which is going to be really awesome. Also, we’re going to be on Conan O’Brien in April, which no one really knows yet. We’re going to Europe for a big tour, festivals, etc. Then we’re going to have a month off in June, so I’m going to have some time to work on my record with other local, Athens artists.
Add a comment...
more from this issue
