This artist spotlight is part of a special ZapTown series in correlation with the 2009 Broad Ripple Music Fest: http://www.broadripplemusicfest.com/

Other BRMF interviews:
Heavy Hometown
Daniel Fahrner
Thunderhawk
Matt Mitchell Project
Deep Cricket Night
DJ Deanne

WHO: Stationary Odyssey
WHERE: Local’s Only, 1 p.m.; presented by Transpanther, Standard Recording, and Joyful Noise.
LINKS: http://www.stationaryodyssey.com/

SAMPLE MP3:

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With a new release on the horizon  — Sons Of Boy (Joyful Noise) is due out November 10 — Stationary Odyssey returns with their glitched out intergalactic rock and roll. Indianapolis should not be shy to the band as their new effort is one of several releases in their career. Whether it’s angular math rock or power blasts of sonic intensity, this band always keeps things fresh and moving.

Stationary Odyssey is revving up their rocket ships and heading out on the road later this fall. For now, we can smell the jet fumes at the BRMF. Aaron Tanner and Brett Siler ride in the cockpit.

It’s been three years since “Head!” What took so long in between releases?

Aaron: Good question! I guess time does really start to get away from you the older you get. I mean, we all had a lot of personal stuff going on… played some shows here and there. I bought a house and fixed it up. Brett built a recording studio. Plus, once we decided to get moving on the album, it was literally one thing after another. Like it says in the press release, a lot of bad stuff happened to the both us. We’d go to record, something terrible would happen, we’d get discouraged and then take a few weeks (or more) off to refocus and then repeat the cycle.

Brett: Well, we put out a split EP with Child Bite in ’07, and “Sons of Boy” was supposed to be done in ’08. We had a lot of crazy stuff happen to us; some good and some bad. Aaron got a house, I built a studio, my house flooded, one of us got drugged and jumped, jailed twice, relatives in the hospital, women trouble. The list goes on. So, it didn’t get done until 2009.

What has changed for the band in that timeframe and what is the focus with “Sons Of Boy?”

Aaron: With “Sons of Boy,” we tried to make it sound more like our live show. In the past, we could really only pull off about half of the material from each album as a 3-piece. But now, I think there’s only one track off of the new album that isn’t doable. We’ve always referred to this one as the “rock album.”

Brett: Basically, I started writing more music we could play live. A lot of it was written with a 3-piece rock band in mind.

You have a pretty impressive tour lined up. What are you doing to gear up for that and what do you have planned this time around? According to the website, why two CD release shows (one in Indianapolis and one in Evansville)?

Aaron: We haven’t done a proper tour in a while and really felt that we should push this record hard. We’re doing one week in the Midwest, breaking for Thanksgiving, a week and a half on the East Coast, breaking for xmas and then touring the West Coast and parts of the South. The reason we opted for two CD release shows is because we felt that we should do one in our hometown and then another where Joyful Noise is based. Completely different cities and crowds, but we’re strongly tied to each.

Brett: To get ready for the tour, I’m just practicing a lot and trying to save up or sell things so I have money. Also trying to shrink my stomach so I will be used to going on little food.

The band has utilized a varied amount of talent within the recordings, as “Sons Of Boy” is no different? What is the philosophy behind that and how does that transform to how the band currently plays live?

Aaron: Stationary Odyssey started out as just a recording project with little desire to play live… much less tour. I just wanted to record songs with friends and then burn CD-Rs to give away. But then Shawn Knight from Boyarm asked to put out our first EP, Komondor. And ever since, I’ve taken it more seriously. The process went something like this: record/write the album with a number of people, find musicians willing to learn the material and then tour with it. It wasn’t until Brett Siler was added as a permanent recording and performing band member that the group has seemed more “band-like.”‘

Brett: On the new album, it was written to where it could be performed by a 3 piece… but there are some songs that friends added little bit of instrumentation to spice the song up a bit. However, what they added wasn’t enough to totally change the song. It would just be a keyboard part in section of a song or slide guitar or something. The main meat of the songs, though, are me, Aaron and our drummer (who is currently my brother, Scott Siler). Generally, in the past, we looked at the album and live as two different ways of approaching our songs. It’s still kinda like that, but the new songs translate a little easier.

How many times have you played the BRMF? What are your views for a festival like this and how it benefits a band like yours? What this means to the culture of the city as well as music community?

Aaron: This is the first time we’ve played the Broad Ripple Music Fest so we don’t really know what to expect. Regardless, I do think community-based festivals are extremely important to both the music goer and to the bands they’re seeing. Anything with a sense of community is… record labels, festivals, whatever.  Pairing yourself with likeminded individuals only strengthens your cause. Whatever that cause may be.

Brett: I only like the Fall Festival in Evansville, IN. You can get a meal called a chunky diaper.