Oxford Collapse plays tonight at the Bluebird, with Love as Laughter. Mike Appelstein spoke with OC's singer/guitarist, Mike Pace, in this week's paper; here are a few outtakes and bonus MP3s, posted courtesy of the band Spiral Jetty.
(Oxford Collapse, by David Needleman)
Mike Appelstein: You were one of the few bands under the age of 35 that could count Spiral Jetty as an influence. How did you discover them? Mike Pace: We somehow got in touch with them. We first found out about them through Jon Solomon (WPRB DJ and owner of the Comedy Minus One label). He actually is releasing an EP with us in June. We got very interested in the Feelies and the stuff coming out of Hoboken, like the Bongos, and Jon told us we needed to check out Spiral Jetty. Our drummer bought one of their records, Tour of Homes, somewhere; I can’t remember there. And their drummer wound up burning everything they ever did onto CD for us. So we own the entire Spiral Jetty discography at this point.
And Art in The Dark, too? You had a link on your site to them. Again, Dan had some communication with the guy from Art In the Dark. I’m in a van with them right now, so I can ask. He doesn’t remember. Somehow it was kismet. He may have gotten in touch with us, actually.
MP3: Spiral Jetty, "Big Downhill Racing"And all the stuff you’re talking about can still be found in the dollar bin. It hasn’t gone the way of 99 or early Rough Trade yet. That’s the beauty of it. There are still treasures to be found in the dollar bin for those who are ready and willing to look.
When you go on tour, do you check the local used bins? We haven’t done it as much recently. The first couple of tours, we were really excited to go to the local record stores. One of the things we would do is check the used compilations and try to find the local comp. Once in a while you’ll find a real gem. Like the Boston Modern Method comps (A Wicked Good Time, This Is Boston Not L.A.). Not so much recently; our interests have now veered from record stores to going to find the best regional cuisine. But we definitely still keep our ear to the ground.
MP3: Spiral Jetty, "Lucinda" MP3: Oxford Collapse, "Lady Lawyers"What’s the best regional cuisine you’ve found this tour? It changes on a weekly basis. Last week the highlight was boudin, a spicy sausage stuffed with rice, green onions, and pork liver found in southern Louisiana, notably at Boudin King in Jennings, Louisiana.
What are the best regional comps you've found in the used bins? (Or best example of awful-comp-with-one-great-song? I've found LPs from Rochester, Yale/New Haven, and Lawrence, KS that fit this bill.) There's an awful comp from Minneapolis called Big Hits Of Mid-America Volume Four, featuring one good song by the Magnolias. Then there's Declaration of Independents that has some good songs by Pylon and Luxury, plus those Modern Method comps are good for a bunch of tracks.
MP3: Spiral Jetty, "Queen of Her House"
