Indie Rock on Indie Rock by Dan McCall Empty Set was formed in April of 2000 as a part-time recording project. Josh Kirby (bass, guitar), formerly of the Starlings, and Seamus Mulryan (guitar, vocals) had played
together in previous bands. Adding db Cooper guitarist Darin Fabrick, the Set started drawing upon their influences (Pinback and Thingy, The Shins, Built to Spill, Beatles) as
well as attempting to forge their own sound. Scott Eggimann (who plays in db Cooper
with Darin) was added on drums. Who is making important music in Portland? The Charmparticles really butter my bread these days. They're like a catchier version of My Bloody Valentine. Also love The Standard, Wow & Flutter, Bastinado, and Blue Skies for Black Hearts. What's your favorite performance experience? We recently had a cd release party at the Tonic Lounge with Captain Vs. Crew and The Before Picture, which was a lot of fun. Least favorite? I haven't had too many bad experiences in this band, but a few years ago in db cooper we played at the Hillsboro Airport. It was awful. They wanted to hear a bunch of Dave Matthews-type songs and they hated us. The manager asked us to quit after 5 songs and then refused to pay us. Favorite local venue. I love seeing shows at Berbati's and the Blackbird. Compare your sound to a Mexican dish. We're like a plate full of Mexican dancing beans, except instead of dancing the beans tend to just stare at their feet and mope. If you had the atomic bomb, what would you do to change the local scene? I'd make clubs start shows earlier so people would actually COME SEE SHOWS! It's amazing how many people I know don't see live music for the simple fact that bands go on so late in this town. What are your goals, as a musician? Just to keep writing and playing music with The Empty Set. We write as a group, which is a first for me. I'm used to writing by myself, but in this band 80% of the writing takes place at practice with everyone contributing. For instance, on the last song we wrote for the Under The Clouds EP, Little Bang, Lance wrote the main guitar parts, Seamus wrote the lyrics, Josh came up with the arrangements and dynamic changes, Scott mixed and produced, and I came up with the vocal melodies. Please recommend one of your favorite unknown artists, from any genre, and tell me why that artist is important to you and why other people should listen to him/her/it. Well, I'm not sure if they're really unknown but I've really been liking: Matt Pond PA - Very catchy pop with intricate guitar and cello arrangements. Imagine if Doug Marsch joined the Shins. (http://www.mattpondpa.com/mppa.htm) Liars - I think it's REALLY hard to make hard rock interesting, especially disco-fused punk rock, but these guys pull it off very well. (http://www.liarsliarsliars.com/) The Walkmen - Incredible lyrics and lovely, creepy piano arrangements. (http://www.marcata.net/walkmen/) The Starlight Mints - Just listening to these guys you can tell they're having a blast. I hear this record and I want to move to Oklahoma and join their band! (http://starlightmints.com/) The New Pornographers - OK, everyone should who this band is by now and I should probably be plugging a lesser known band, but damn... they're so good. In a perfect alternate universe, "Letter From an Occupant" has been #1 on the pop charts for the last six months.
shows scheduled: April 2nd Blackbird w/The Before Picture & The Make Out Scene April 3rd Tonic Lounge w/Two Guys & Polite Fiction |
