We were very pleased to be able to put some questions to the guys in Tall Firs, Dave Mies and Aaron Mullan
Congratulations on a great new album, how the devil are you today?
AM: Thank you. Doing swell, it's a pleasant day in NYC
Where does that gentle sound come from and is this new record a change of direction for you both?
AM: We are gentle people. We don't play any conventional instruments on this record. We simply recorded the sound of us brushing the hair from babies' foreheads, feeding squirrels peeled grapes, and caressing the cool burble of mountain streams. To us this record sounds a lot like the first one, more of a return to form than a departure. But what do we know?
DM: Yeah, it is a lot like the first album. Besides the hushed atmosphere it has in common, we're also feeling that same excitement we had back then: that buzz that comes with bearing it all for the first time (or if not the first time, than at least with somebody new).
I know it's kind of a sit down affair, but the intensity on stage is greater than it's ever been.
How did you come about calling yourselves Tall Firs?
DM: I wanted to be the "sextets", an homage to an all girl Doo-wop group my mother sang in by that name. I still can't believe Granny let her sing on local TV in the fifties with that as their moniker.
AM: We were thinking about a number of different seafood dive joints in our native
How much interest do you take in how your music is marketed, CDs, Downloads, Vinyl and where your music is, or could be used, advertisements for example?
AM: We pretty much listen to music on LP or on our iPods. The LP is the real deal. That's how we grew up. To our personal listening habits the CD interlude was a segue to nowhere, not that we never bought them. As to how people listen to our music, format doesn't matter at all. I'll personally dub you a cassette for $15. If you wanna listen on CD or wire recorder or reel-to-reel, please enjoy! If anyone ever offers us money to use our music in an advertisement, I guess we'll burn that bridge when we come to it.
DM: The more time passes, the less I give a shit about format. If I had my druthers I'd listen to an LP at home, but I've had just as radical musical experiences listening to an old favourite over the loudspeaker at the grocery store. Like anything else, you take it how and when you can get it; sometimes the "how" and the "when" matter a great deal, and sometimes they don't. As far as the add business goes, I guess it depends on what they're selling and how much they're paying. So far, we're not too sought after in that regard. I'm not sure what product we'd be suited to sell really, maybe tranquilizers.
If you met a music industry boss today, what would you ask him?
DM: Again, I'm not sure we'd have a lot to talk about, at least not with the old fashioned, big money types I think you mean. We don't exactly deal what they crave. That said, I'm always a little careful not to shit on those types too much, since they're probably responsible for more of my taste development than I'm willing to admit.
AM: I'd ask him where his time machine was stashed and how he was planning to get back to 1985. Or where his underground lair is and how he'd amassed a 30-year supply of cocaine so that he hadn't needed to see the light of day for that long. I'd break the bad news that the music industry had flushed itself down the toilet like the cops were outside. Then I'd tell him about cell phones and Wikipedia and that the
What five CDs would you take with you on a long trip if, leaving tomorrow?
AM: Velvet Underground - The Quine Tapes
DM: Townes Van Zandt - (self titled, 1969)
AM: Kinks - Arthur
AM and DM in unison: Soft Location - Diamonds and Gems
DM: Bruce Springsteen -
You are playing ATP’s spring festival with Jeff Mangum and then the, I’ll be Your Mirror festival in
AM: I just looked at the line-ups, there is actually nobody on either bill I DON'T want to see. Particularly psyched for Scratch Acid, Half Japanese, and Ultramagnetic MC's.
DM: Agreed, killer line-ups on both festivals. I'm particularly lookin' forward to the Magnetic Fields in March.
What is your favourite venue for music in
AM: That's like trying to name your favourite food. There's just too many good choices. I have a particular taste for the semi-legal
DM: Again, agreed. The kids can actually come out to those joints, and as such they're great places to perform as well as listen.
Any musical suggestions or advice for the kids now thinking of forming a band?
DM: Buy as many of our records and come to as many of our shows as you can. Steal money from your parents if you have to.
AM: If you have any other ambition, start following that now.
For fellow musicians are there any guitars or instruments or studio effects, that you just can’t be without and would recommend to anyone?
AM: Any tube Fender amplifier with at least 25 Watts of power and Reverb is pretty good.
DM: We usually just plug into the same one (I'm actually being serious, as anybody who saw us on tour with Thurston in December will attest to). Firstly, it has a real unifying effect on guitar lines that weave in and out of each other the way ours do. Secondly, Aaron can't turn up louder than me even if he thinks it sounds "better like that".
