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Ithough the deep roots of Athens band
Casper & the Cookies extend back to the
early-'90s, four-track home experiments
of founder Jason NeSmith, the reality
is that the Cookies have always been a live
band. Indeed, although having undergone a
few lineup changes over the years, the group
has functioned as a live unit since 1998, only
taking hiatus once, in 2004, while NeSmith
briefly joined fellow Athenians Of Montreal.
The band (composed of core members
Nesmith, Kay Stanton and Jim Hix), released
its latest album, a gem titled Modem Silence,
this month on Athens label Happy Happy
Birthday to Me. Although the album is chock-
full of the quick-witted, harmonic pop heard
on its previous releases (2004's Oh! and 2006's
The Optimist's Club), this record reveals a band
more comfortable with allowing its experi
mental side to show. Even so, the psychedelic
flourish of "You Love Me" and the ballad
"Song Across tne Sea" fit comfortably within
the normal Cookies paradigm. The brass ring of
the album arrives at its end via a three-song
suite titled "Post Modern Silence" with the
tracks "I Am Happy," "Your Eyes of Gold" and
"I Am Gone."
"I'm very proud of the whole record, but
'Post Modern Silence' is probably the record
ing I'm most excited about. I was thinking
about [composer] Alvin Lucier's process-
piece 1 Am Sitting in a Room,' about how he
removed himself from his own piece [note:
Lucier accomplished this by recording and
re-recording his own voice such that eventu
ally the only thing discernible was a room's
resonance], and how an idea like that could
be used in a pop context," says NeSmith.
The underlying piece is an unfinished song
by long-time friend, Shut-Up's leader Don
Condescending. NeSmith solicited contribu
tions from friends and received 35 responses
which were melded into the track, along with
a version of a 2005 vocal take of Stanton
singing The Carpenters' "Close to You," an
inclusion for which NeSmith was required to
get permission from the song's publisher.
The above could be taken as evidence that
NeSmith, as founder of the band and owner of
Bel-Air Studio where the Cookies record, is the
sole go-to guy. NeSmith dismisses this, say
ing, "This band is historically song-oriented.
The rule is that the composer has the final
say. We each come in with songs more or less
written. Everyone pitches in his or her best
ideas.to help the writer achieve his vision."
The band divides tasks equitably with
booking and graphic layout being handled
by Stanton, recording and associated duties
handled by NeSmith and some special online
promotion handled by Hix. Reaching into
the community, the band enlisted Athens
artist Matt Blanks to do the album's artwork,
another long-time friend Bill Doss (Sunshine
Fix, Olivia Tremor Control) to assist with
recording and even took under advisement
the never understated opinions of local music
enthusiast, and occasional record financier,
Pierre Gerard-Marchant.
While the band has occasionally struggled
to connect with audiences, its general trajec
tory has been upward, albeit perhaps at a
slower pace than anticipated. The band cites
its tours opening for Apples in Stereo as a
particular high point. "I think we all felt some
deep satisfaction [on those tours], especially
playing places like The Paradise in Boston... I
was backstage thinking, OCTC sat on this bench
in 1980!'" says NeSmith. Hix mentions the
band's performances at the Athens PopFests
as particularly memorable as well. (Disclosure:
this writer was an organizer of the festival in
2008.) He says, "I know last year having Keith
John Adams film our intro from the Beijing
Olympics is something that comes to mind
immediately. Our best PopFest set had to be
two years ago when we got to back up [leg
endary Austin, TX artist] Daniel Johnston."
Thematically, Modern Silence loosely hinges
on aspects of sound, identity and commu
nication, or lack thereof. NeSmith says, "I
like records that wrap a bunch of pop songs
around a theme. I searched for a unifying
theme and failed. Instead this record has a
couple of recurring themes. I didn't know what
they were until Don Condescending told me."
The Cookies will undertake an already-
planned weeks-long tour in the near future
and seem to particularly enjoy this aspect of
being a group. Stanton says, "We really love
touring, even as exhausting and wallet-drain
ing as it can be. I think we'd do it a whole lot
more if we could. I know I would."
Reflecting again on the musical turn the
band takes on Modern Silence, Stanton clari
fies, "In the past, we've kept our experimental
tendencies a little more under cover, releasing
the weird stuff on tour-only CDRs and the like.
For this record, we just decided to do what
came from our hearts."
Opening act Marshmallow Coast is also
celebrating its CD release Saturday night. See
Record Reviews for more on that album.
Gordon Lamb
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MAY 27, 2009 • FLAGPOLE.COM 17