Philadelphia Venues and Worldwide Artists Connect
Email Interview with The Absinthe Drinkers
Good day. I'm Justin, aka thepaintedman, I run a website about music, culture, and other stuff... but I also do interviews for phillyvenues.org, which is why I'm writing you today. Let's start with introductions, who are we chatting with and what do you do in the band?
Thujone: I am Monsieur Thujone, provider of services voxial, ocular, and avertorial. I do something akin to what, is termed in other musical combos, singing/front-man.
Maxim: I am Thomas Maxim Guerin, late of the Hesse-Dahrmstadt Navy. I specialize in the production of cthonic vibrations designed to produce a Herzia sense of wonder and awe. Among the vulgar this is referred to as playing the bass guitar.
P.V.: Let's cut right into it. You guys are called the Absinthe Drinkers and upon my first listen, I can hear why... you are really weird! Tell the readers a little bit about who you are as a band and what you sound like.
Thujone: The Absinthe Drinkers were founded as the result of a bar-bet with Max: who can come up with a dumber idea for a band. I lost. The losing entry: poetry based sixties surf rock with a twist of goth/metal/blues/funk thrown in for good measure.
P.V.: Great. Who are some of your biggest musical influences, both personally and as a band?
Thujone: Weird noises from absinthe-soaked dreams, the clinkity-clank of industrial machinery, hobo songs, the wails of underfed street urchins. We also seem to like Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, Stone Temple Pilots, Judas Priest, and cute Japanese girl bands.
P.V.: Thanks, so let's talk about your album for a minute. What are listeners in store for when the pick up a copy or download "Curiosities of the Future Gilded Age"?
Maxim: Twelve songs performed in a variety of styles, unified only in their tuneful catchiness. The lyrics are drawn from poems ranging from ancient China to 2009 Philadelphia, thus providing the listener with a painless lesson in literary history. Listening to our disk is like getting a boob job for your mind: it may not actually make you smarter, but it will make it easier to get other people to buy you drinks.
P.V.: How about your live show? I'd assume it has to be wild.
Thujone: Indeed. Banned in several US states and at least four foreign countries. Depending on the setlist/hallucinogens I'm taking, you might see some of the following items things from my wunderkammer: dead babies in jars, dancing ladies, creepy marionettes, unicellular organisms, a mad preacher thumping a bible, Gamera, or even a cake-baking how-to film from the 50's.
P.V.: So, being a band who plays out in Philly often, do you have any favorite local venues to play at?
Maxim: The Absinthe Lounge at Time, of course. Tritone, where I have left more brain cells rubbed into the carpet than is probably wise. We all have fond memories of playing the Tiberino Museum in West Philadelphia and AxD gallery on 10th & Locust. We have yet to find an ideal venue to play at, however, because the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prevent us from really cutting loose with the sort of stage show we'd love to do. This may be all for the best, really, as the sort of show we'd like to do is best understood if you watch the animated classic "Heavy Metal" on a movie screen superimposed with the first twenty or so minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" but in our version everybody is wearing googles & corsets.
P.V: How about other local acts? Like to you, what Philly bands are the bee's knees?
Maxim: The Absinthe Drinkers generally try to support anybody who does all the unseen grunt work necessary for that 40 minute burst of fun on stage. That being said, we've gotten the chance to share stages with Baffle the Cat, Gemini Wolf, Sisters 3, This Way to the Egress, Oubliette Medieval Ensemble, Kiss Kiss Kill and the lovely ladies of the Revival Burlesque Ensemble. Check them all out, 'cause they are all worth your time! The Revival Burlesque in particular has a long and glorious history of cooperation with the Absinthe Drinkers. The statuesque chorines of Revival are only too glad to reveal their ankles to further the cause of art!
P.V.: When I think of theatrical Philly bands, two often come to mind for me, The Young Werewolves and, my personal favorite, Mercury Radio Theater. Have you ever played with either of these bands or had the chance to catch them?
Maxim: Yes, but we have signed to a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits us from discussing the events surrounding that fateful meeting. Actually, we have not had a chance to see either band, but thanks for the heads up. One of the problems with playing in Philadelphia is that its hard to get a sense sometimes of who else is out there. We work our own furrow and rarely get a chance to look up from what we are doing.
P.V.: Cool cool. Well, before we wrap up, I want to ask a quick question about faith and spirituality. I think that one's beliefs have a great deal to do with one's art. What's your take on God, faith, and religion and do you think it influences what you do as an artist?
Thujone: I call myself a Empericist-Mysticist mainly because the Empericist part doesn't do very well with the ladies, but they seem to be keen on mysticism. Given the wonders of the modern age and the discoveries made by our renowned natural philosophers, it is unquestionable that the scientific method has produced reliable results and predictions of phenomenon in the natural world, whilst the "faith-based" belief systems have often come up short in many areas. Now, I do realize that often that science offers little comfort when one is faced with certain existential crises, although there are some fine pharmacological products which can certainly help with those!
Now, we take a very scientific approach to our music. All of our songs are tested on a group of orphans who (for recompense of room and daily bowl of gruel) provide feedback on our musical efforts. Those who do not survive the tests are examined thorughly to determine which sonical elements "did them in."
P.V: Great, well thanks for indulging me. It's about time to wrap up, but I want to finish up by asking you where and when interested folks in the Philly area can catch one of your wicked live shows?
Maxim: Our next show is on August 20th at Roxy & Dukes in New Jersey, a bill we will share with those master of gypsy cabaret, This Way to the Egress. Then have Tritone (15th & South) on 9/2, Mojo 13 in Wilmington 9/10, and John and Peter's in New Hope 10/1. New Hope we'll have some lovely dancing girls performing with us. Some of these dates are unconfirmed, so the best thing to do is check our website http://www.theabsinthedrinkers.com. You can sign up for our mailing list, Facebook and our other inter-net info-holes!
P.V: Thanks, any final thoughts?
Maxim: I am Thomas Maxim Guerin, late of the Hesse-Dahrmstadt Navy. I specialize in the production of cthonic vibrations designed to produce a Herzia sense of wonder and awe. Among the vulgar this is referred to as playing the bass guitar.
P.V.: Let's cut right into it. You guys are called the Absinthe Drinkers and upon my first listen, I can hear why... you are really weird! Tell the readers a little bit about who you are as a band and what you sound like.
Thujone: The Absinthe Drinkers were founded as the result of a bar-bet with Max: who can come up with a dumber idea for a band. I lost. The losing entry: poetry based sixties surf rock with a twist of goth/metal/blues/funk thrown in for good measure.
P.V.: Great. Who are some of your biggest musical influences, both personally and as a band?
Thujone: Weird noises from absinthe-soaked dreams, the clinkity-clank of industrial machinery, hobo songs, the wails of underfed street urchins. We also seem to like Bowie, Talking Heads, Devo, Stone Temple Pilots, Judas Priest, and cute Japanese girl bands.
P.V.: Thanks, so let's talk about your album for a minute. What are listeners in store for when the pick up a copy or download "Curiosities of the Future Gilded Age"?
Maxim: Twelve songs performed in a variety of styles, unified only in their tuneful catchiness. The lyrics are drawn from poems ranging from ancient China to 2009 Philadelphia, thus providing the listener with a painless lesson in literary history. Listening to our disk is like getting a boob job for your mind: it may not actually make you smarter, but it will make it easier to get other people to buy you drinks.
P.V.: How about your live show? I'd assume it has to be wild.
Thujone: Indeed. Banned in several US states and at least four foreign countries. Depending on the setlist/hallucinogens I'm taking, you might see some of the following items things from my wunderkammer: dead babies in jars, dancing ladies, creepy marionettes, unicellular organisms, a mad preacher thumping a bible, Gamera, or even a cake-baking how-to film from the 50's.
P.V.: So, being a band who plays out in Philly often, do you have any favorite local venues to play at?
Maxim: The Absinthe Lounge at Time, of course. Tritone, where I have left more brain cells rubbed into the carpet than is probably wise. We all have fond memories of playing the Tiberino Museum in West Philadelphia and AxD gallery on 10th & Locust. We have yet to find an ideal venue to play at, however, because the laws of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania prevent us from really cutting loose with the sort of stage show we'd love to do. This may be all for the best, really, as the sort of show we'd like to do is best understood if you watch the animated classic "Heavy Metal" on a movie screen superimposed with the first twenty or so minutes of "Saving Private Ryan" but in our version everybody is wearing googles & corsets.
P.V: How about other local acts? Like to you, what Philly bands are the bee's knees?
Maxim: The Absinthe Drinkers generally try to support anybody who does all the unseen grunt work necessary for that 40 minute burst of fun on stage. That being said, we've gotten the chance to share stages with Baffle the Cat, Gemini Wolf, Sisters 3, This Way to the Egress, Oubliette Medieval Ensemble, Kiss Kiss Kill and the lovely ladies of the Revival Burlesque Ensemble. Check them all out, 'cause they are all worth your time! The Revival Burlesque in particular has a long and glorious history of cooperation with the Absinthe Drinkers. The statuesque chorines of Revival are only too glad to reveal their ankles to further the cause of art!
P.V.: When I think of theatrical Philly bands, two often come to mind for me, The Young Werewolves and, my personal favorite, Mercury Radio Theater. Have you ever played with either of these bands or had the chance to catch them?
Maxim: Yes, but we have signed to a non-disclosure agreement that prohibits us from discussing the events surrounding that fateful meeting. Actually, we have not had a chance to see either band, but thanks for the heads up. One of the problems with playing in Philadelphia is that its hard to get a sense sometimes of who else is out there. We work our own furrow and rarely get a chance to look up from what we are doing.
P.V.: Cool cool. Well, before we wrap up, I want to ask a quick question about faith and spirituality. I think that one's beliefs have a great deal to do with one's art. What's your take on God, faith, and religion and do you think it influences what you do as an artist?
Thujone: I call myself a Empericist-Mysticist mainly because the Empericist part doesn't do very well with the ladies, but they seem to be keen on mysticism. Given the wonders of the modern age and the discoveries made by our renowned natural philosophers, it is unquestionable that the scientific method has produced reliable results and predictions of phenomenon in the natural world, whilst the "faith-based" belief systems have often come up short in many areas. Now, I do realize that often that science offers little comfort when one is faced with certain existential crises, although there are some fine pharmacological products which can certainly help with those!
Now, we take a very scientific approach to our music. All of our songs are tested on a group of orphans who (for recompense of room and daily bowl of gruel) provide feedback on our musical efforts. Those who do not survive the tests are examined thorughly to determine which sonical elements "did them in."
P.V: Great, well thanks for indulging me. It's about time to wrap up, but I want to finish up by asking you where and when interested folks in the Philly area can catch one of your wicked live shows?
Maxim: Our next show is on August 20th at Roxy & Dukes in New Jersey, a bill we will share with those master of gypsy cabaret, This Way to the Egress. Then have Tritone (15th & South) on 9/2, Mojo 13 in Wilmington 9/10, and John and Peter's in New Hope 10/1. New Hope we'll have some lovely dancing girls performing with us. Some of these dates are unconfirmed, so the best thing to do is check our website http://www.theabsinthedrinkers.com. You can sign up for our mailing list, Facebook and our other inter-net info-holes!
P.V: Thanks, any final thoughts?
Thujone: Thank you for taking the time to speak to us. We normally are only interviewed by police detectives and district attorneys. We appreciate not being handcuffed during an interview for a change!
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