VHS or BETA interview!

This is a big year for Louisville’s VHS or BETA. After nearly a year and a half off the stage, they are returning on tour with a brand new album under their belts. “Bring on the Comets,” due out on Astralwerks this August, offers a massive, lush soundscape of swirling guitars and soaring melodies. The sound is a slight departure from their dance roots, with acoustic drums outweighing electronic for first perhaps the first time in their 12-year career.

This release, and the tour dates to come, also mark the band’s first without former guitarist Zeke. It’s always nerve-wracking to present a new lineup and a new record to old fans, but bassist Mark Palgy sounded upbeat and optimistic when we talked with him on the road. It’s clear how proud the band is of “Bring on the Comets” and they are both anxious and eager to get the record out!

TALive: Hey Mark, how are you? I know you are on the road now, where to next?
Mark Palgy: Nashville, we are almost there.

TALive: Great, how’s it been going so far? Have you been touring much yet, I know you have quite a few dates scheduled for this fall.
MP: Well, we actually just did our first show last night—first show in about a year and a half.
TALive: Wow!
MP: Yeah, in Murfreesboro. It was a lot of fun.

TALive: Have you played already with the revised lineup, since Zeke’s left?
MP: No! Last night was the first night of our new formation.

TALive: Was there a lot that needed to be changed in order to perform some of the older tracks?
MP: You know, we had to rehearse a whole bunch. There was a lot of singing that he had to learn and guitar stuff. It just took a lot of rehearsing, as I guess any band has to do. Judging by the crowd’s response I think they really dug it. I was really pleased with out how it went last night.

TALive: Well, I got an advance copy of “Bring on the Comets” this week which I am really excited about. It sounds huge; really love it. What is it like for you as a band to have this record, be excited about it, but you have this lag time before everybody gets the record in their hands.
MP: Yeah, it kind of sucks! I mean, it just takes so long for a record to get out and we have to sort of wait it out. We’re really anxious for everyone to hear the new material! We’re out on the road just sort of practicing it every night. Yeah, we’re playing a lot of stuff people haven’t heard yet and they are responding to it pretty nicely.

TALive: Is there still some anxiety there about what the reaction will be? I know you’ve gone in a new direction as a band…
MP: Yeah, you know there’s always a little bit of anxiety about that, but we are just so pleased with how everything came out. I think once people actually have the record in their possession for a while and then come see us it will really be a lot better.

TALive: The initial reactions I’ve seen suggest that it’s more rock than dance than the older material. Was that a conscientious effort? I mean, it seems like you guys have always been a little ahead of your time and now the market is saturated with bands that sound like you did two records ago. Was there a conscious effort to move away from that sound now, or was it more of a natural progression?
MP: Um, it wasn’t really conscious. We just felt like Le Funk came out a little too early and Night On Fire came out a little too late. And this time around it was just “let’s just make good song,” that’s the bottom line. People can sing along with them, still have a good time, it still sounds like us even if it’s more rock.

TALive: What was your connection with My Morning Jacket? I know they helped out a good bit with this record.
MP: They’re just really good buddies of ours. They’re from Louisville and we’re from Louisville so I mean… we’ve been seeing those guys out and about for years and years and years. And over the years, we’ve become a lot closer to them just as buddies, you know? Having a band that we can sort of relate to as far as being gone for long stretches of time, playing shows, and all that stuff…they just know what’s going on. And in all honesty, we don’t really even talk about music that much with them they’re just more buddies than anything. When we were in North Carolina, we wanted to get Bo [Koster] in to do some piano work, because he is just so, so, so, so great. And Jim [James] happened to be in the area so we got both of them!

TALive: And Jim lends vocals to the record, right?
MP: Yeah, he did some backing, some oohs and ahhs.

TALive: Did you meet producer Brandon Mason through them, is that right?
MP: No! We did a tour with the Secret Machine, and we got their album “Ten Silver Drops” and we’re like “Wow! This record sounds really good, who did it?” and Brandon Mason did it. So, we got in touch with him and Brandon expressed so much interest and passion in wanting to work with us, and we were just flattered by him. He’s a spectacular person. We had a really, really, really great time with him!

TALive: Do you think that his input made this album more distinctive?
MP: Umm, to an extent. I mean, he just knows what he’s doing. He’s a wizard in the studio. He wants to talk about a sound you want to make. Ultimately he leaves it up to the band to say how we want to sound, and he achieves it. He puts the ball in the band’s court, you know? He’s not trying to put his stamp on anything, really. He’s a really hard worker, and he’s really gifted at what he does.

TALive: How long have you been with Astralwerks? I was excited when I heard about that—seems like such a perfect match, they’ve got Radio 4..
MP: Yeah! I think we signed with them in ’03, so it’s been a few years.

TALive: And they’ve helped you quite a bit. I’ve seen some amazing tour slots from Reading Festival to opening for Duran Duran. What have been some of the highlights for you on tour?
MP: One time we played Bogotá, Columbia and it was spectacular. It was a three day festival they have in the park, and the government puts it on so its free. There was a curtain on stage, and it opens up and we are playing in front of like 80,000 people in Columbia. It was really awesome, we felt like Queen or something.

TALive: Wow, who were the headlining acts for that festival?
MP: A bunch of people you haven’t heard of. A bunch of South American acts. I hadn’t really heard of a many groups that were playing, but they were huge down there.

TALive: And they responded well to your music?
MP: Yeah! It was really overwhelming. We still get e-mails from Columbian fans like, “when are you coming back?!”

TALive: I have noticed that South American fans tend to be extremely enthusiastic about any band they are fans of.
MP: Yeah. I mean it’s getting better for them, but I think in the States we have bands coming in and out of every city every night of the week. There, I don’t think it’s as common. So when they get to see a band come in from London, or New York, or…Kentucky.. they get pretty excited about it!

TALive: Do you know who is going to be joining you on tour this fall?
MP: Yeah, we are taking a band called Walter Meego. I think they’re from Chicago, I’m not exactly sure. It’s kind of a poppy electronic thing, they’re cool.

TALive: I also read about a 12inch you are going to be releasing with a few remixes from the record? I guess later this year?
MP: Yeah, we’re gonna do a teaser, like a white label 12 inch of “Burn It All Down” with some remixes by some folks. And that is going to be like a teaser single, and shortly after we are going to release “Can’t Believe a Word” as a proper single…like, the main single.

TALive: Do you know who is going to be on board to do those remixes or is that a surprise?
MP: Yeah, for “Burn it All Down “ we got this Surkin from France. And we got the Midnight Juggernauts from Australia who are really cool. And we got a guy named Fred Faulk whose French also.

TALive: Very nice, is that harking back to your earlier days of French house music?
MP: Yeah, definitely. We still love that stuff. I think “Burn it all Down” is a single that fans who enjoyed “Night on Fire” can still dig it. Even if the record is going in a little bit of a different direction, they can still know we aren’t totally abandoning anybody.

TALive: Great, well we are definitely looking forward to having you back in Atlanta.
MP: Yeah! We can’t wait! We love The EARL, it’s going to be fun!

Featured shows:

Rock and Roll Hotel

Washington, D.C.
Sat September 1, 2007
Find Tickets!

The EARL
Atlanta, GA
Mon September 24, 2007
Find tickets!

MP3: VHS or Beta - "Heaven"