Andre:
We didn't. We couldn't think of a name, so we asked some friends for
suggestions. One friend called me up and said, "I've got it. I know
what your name is. So I placed it on the highest plateau point in Central Park in NYC, go find it!" And so I did. I walked up to a place called Summit Peak, reached into the middle of a couple's picnic, and picked up a rock that said, "ism" on it. And that was that.
Dianna:
You have described your music as, "Music for the party at the end of
the world." Does the whole band share his views towards your music?
Andre:
Yes. We want to make music that has a certain dark, apocalyptic
feeling to it, but that you can still dance to. The world may be
ending, but that's no reason not to enjoy it!
Dianna:
I've read all of the information on your band and it seems that you
don't believe in people right now. Do you consider [ism] a misanthropic
band?
Andre: Absolutely
not. Almost every person I've ever met has the ability to make profound
changes in themselves and the world around them. People, however, is a
bit more tricky. As a group, there is so much pressure to conform, to
fit, that it becomes difficult to see past it, to understand where we
might have room to make the changes in the first place. Whenever we
feel that we are just a part of a shapeless mass, we feel powerless.
And the less we understand ourselves, the more we are just a part of
the mass. We want to inspire people to take the time and effort to
explore themselves, to understand themselves. And sometimes to do this
requires a serious examination of everything you think you value.
Dianna: What was it like working with producer Joe Blaney on Urgency?
Andre:
A great experience. He was able to understand what the songs were
really trying to say and bring that out. To me, the best thing a
producer can do is to help a song tell its own story. And he never
lost this focus and was able to bring that out better than I ever would
have expected, and sometimes when we didn't even understand beforehand.
Dianna: Who designed the album art for Urgency and what is the concept behind it?
Andre:
The cover was designed by Clea Conner. She took the photo to scout the
location for a photo shoot for us, and I looked at it and said
regardless of the photo shoot, that has to be the cover. Everyone
thought I was kidding. I think there was one helicopter and I asked
her to add the other two. I just saw that image and knew that it said
everything. It's supposed to evoke a post-apocalyptic feeling, New York after the fall of New York.
Dianna: Are there any plans for an [ism] tour to begin soon?
Andre:
Yes, we will are planning a couple of tours for the upcoming months.
We are finishing up the plans for about a month tour of the mid-west
and east coast in late Jan with Trust Company, and then a subsequent
tour in the end of Feb or the beginning of March. The best way to find
out exactly where is to go to http://www.myspace.com/ism where there is an updated tour schedule.
Dianna: What was it like making the music video for Sacred Cows?
Andre:
An exciting but draining experience. We fit an awful lot of work into
two days of shooting. And getting water-boarded for it was not the
most fun experience I've ever had in my life. You can find my blog
from our Myspace page to hear about it in more depth.
Dianna: Do you have a specific venue that you all love to play?
Andre: There are a number of venues we've really enjoyed. But our last three shows in NYC in the Bowery Ballroom, Irving Plaza, and the Blender Theater were all among our absolute favorites.
Dianna: Have you guys always wanted to play punk or was there some other genre in mind?
Andre:
I've never heard anyone describe our music before as punk. And while
we all like punk, I don't think any of us particularly think of our
music as punk or ourselves as punk musicians. You're mistaken? Or
maybe we have different ideas as to what punk is?
Dianna: Off of your sophomore album, what is your favorite song?
Andre: Can't pick one. Give it Back makes people dance. Fly soars. And Postlude is structured chaos.
Dianna: What should fans expect to get out of your shows?
Andre:
A tremendous, soaring experience. A reviewer recently compared our
live show to Muse and Radiohead, a direction we definitely aim for, not
just in terms of music but in terms of a similar type of mass cathartic
experience. And in our last show, we had a string section, live
dancers, and I wore my patented gas mask-headdress for part of the set.
Dianna: How would you compare Urgency to your first album?
Andre:
Urgency is both edgier and more dance-y than our last album. And
lyrically, the focus for this album is the deeper motivations we have.
Not the ones we're aware of, but the ones behind those. For example,
in my opinion, a fundamentalist Christian and a fundamentalist Muslim
have more in common than a fundamentalist Christian and a more regular
Christian. The dominant issue here is not what someone believes, but
how intensely they believe it, and how important this belief is to
their lives. Everyone values their own mix of ideas, but understanding
why we value the ones we do, and why some of those are more important
than others is the only way to truly understand yourself.
Dianna: Thank you for taking the time out to talk to us! Do you have anything left to say to all of your fans?
Andre: Take time to find yourself. No one else will.