Newspaper Page Text
he planet Earth revolves around the
sun at 107,000 kilometers each hour,
but on Thursday, Dylan Carlson will
play no more than 20 notes on his
guitar in that time. Since 1990, his Seattle-
based band Earth (named for Black Sabbath's
original name, rather than our lovely ter
restrial home), has been soothing the under
ground rock masses with its droning, ethereal
sound usually structured around one or two
gargantuan riffs, decontextualizing the com
mon notions of songs and rock all the while.
There have been two phases of Earth, of
which Carlson is the only original member.
From 1990 to 1996, Carlson and friends
recorded a heavy metal-influenced brand of
lumbering riffs, if you can imagine bands like
Motorhead or Black Sabbath played at 16 RPM.
Recording for the Seattle indie label Sub Pop
brought an underground celebrity for Carlson,
if not massive record sales. He spent 1997
through 2002 living quietly in Los Angeles,
sorting through personal and legal matters. He
became fond of the American Old West and the
rootsy country music it begat. Returning with
a new lineup in 2003, he started recording
a new take on the now popular drone-metal
genre, injecting that twangy, clean Americana
into the same massive, circuitous riffs. Now
recording for the niche metal label Southern
Lord, Carlson is happiest for the time being
with his current lineup.
"It feels like more of a band at this point
than previous incarnations," he says by phone
from his Seattle home.
Forty years old now and painfully soft-
spoken, Carlson has a knack for recording
with the best and brightest. An early lineup
featured heavy metal bass journeyman Joe
Preston (last seen in Athens playing with
Harvey Milk), and some early recordings fea
ture Carlson's close friend Kurt Cobain. On
this year's The Bees Made Honey in the Lion's
Skull, legendary jazz guitarist Bill Frisell con
tributed to three tracks. "(Frisell] is one of
those people that is so good, everything they
do is hyper-musical. He plays so effortlessly;
it's an honor to watch him." The collaboration
came about when sometime organist Steve
Moore gave Frisell's friends a copy of the 2005
album Hex; Or Printing in the Infernal Method.
Carlson deems recording and playing live the
two rewards of being in a band, but, he says
with a laugh, "I don't know how much longer
albums will be a method of distribution."
Moving from one of the largest indepen
dent labels in existence (Sub Pop) to a label
that sells many records, but is still very much
a niche label (Southern Lord), hasn't been
too difficult for Carlson. He cites Southern
Lord's good distribution and generosity for his
happiness, and can't think of any complaints
about the label run by Earth devotees, drone
band Sunn 0))). Still, there are a lot of things
the band does itself, like print t-shirts for
tours. "There's a level of self-efficiency a band
has to have now," Carlson says. Finally, he
says it; Southern Lord is better to Earth than
Sub Pop ever was.
The fact that Earth is not only playing in
Athens but is also playing 12 consecutive
nights in cities as small as Birmingham and
Asheville has fans ecstatic, but also scratching
their heads. This is the band known for fly
ing across the country to play for two nights
in New York City and not playing again until
the next year. "We're on the road more now
than we ever were back in the day," he says.
"Sometimes we'll go play jn Europe for awhile
just to offset costs of touring the U.S." The
band even has a West Coast tour scheduled
for June that will reach small cities just in
Washington, places unknown to many of us
Georgians like Ellensburg and Tacoma.
Being deeply influenced musically and per
sonally by the 1985 Cormac McCarthy Western
novel, Blood Meridian: Or the Evening Redness
in the West, when I mention the upcoming
Hollywood adaptation, Carlson says without
pause, "It's going to suck. Ridley Scott is not
the director to do it. Besides," he continues,
"there's no way anyone could do it without •
horribly offending a lot of people," citing the
extreme animal cruelty and depiction of Native
Americans.
Carlson, a lover of the outdoors, is looking
forward to playing the South. Though in the
past the band generally played what ended
up on the studio albums, he promises there
will be some improvisation as the band has
been working on incorporating that into sets.
Having only played as far south as Lexington,
KY, Carlson claims this tour will be a new
experience for him. Given the band's storied
history and the excitement brewing for its
debut performance in Athens, one can really
only say "same for us."
This show is likely to sell out, so head to
www.ticketalternative.com to get advance
tickets.
Scott Reid
WHO: Fur Elise, Madeline, Earth
WHERE: Caledonia Lounge
WHEN: Thursday, May 1
HOW MUCH: $8 (21+), $9(18+)
V )
JOT ‘EM DOWN
STORE 8, BBQ
GROCERIES • 88Q.
HOT BOILED PEANUTS
Thursday, May 1
KIP JONES &
NATHAN SHEPPARD
6 POOL TABLES • UVE MUSIC • 2 DART BOARDS
10TVs • 4 YtDEO GAMES • PGA & GOLDEN TEE
240 N. Lumpkin St / 706-546*4742
Every Monday Night
$2 Ail Regular
Domestic Bottles
Every Tuesday
$1 Off All Draft Pitchers
Every Day
$2. 5 ° 24oz. Cans
lAmerican Classic
TATTOO
AND PIERCING
706-543-7628 • 1035 Baxter St.
www.americanclassictattoo.net
‘fCcrmemade 5Pastas, TbugHs Sri Sauces
275 £E. Clayton Street
706-549-2228
Sandwiches,
French Press
Coffee
& More!
Monday-Wednesday 7am-4prn
Thursday-Saturday 7am-10pm
Sunday- 8am-4pm
675 Pulaski Street...
at the Tracks!
The Leathers Bldg.
706-543-6011
UPSCALE
CUTS
ABOVE THE ORDINARY
COME IXPKKKft k fRESH HEN I00K
MOTHER'S' 20% OFF
SPECIAL
color, perms, relaxcrs,
highlights, extensions & updos
' 5 17/08
m LEXINGTON RDl, Nil-MAIT SHOPPING CENTER • 706-5A9-2750
SERVING MIN, WOMEN t CHILDREN • MON.-INIRt. 10AM-8PM
EDI. & SAT. lOlM-JPM « SIN. IT APPOINTMENT ONIT
NEWS & FEATURES I CALENDAR I MOVIES I A&E I MUSIC I COMICS & ADVICE I CLASSIFIEDS
APRIL 30,2008 FLAGPOLE.COM 31