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'
THE
INTERESTING MAN
WORM)
MAKING AN EXIT
PEOPLE SHOULD
V HAPPIER/ YOU
\RRIYE THAN THE\
You go:
A rt school, at least for those of us who
haven't enrolled ourselves, is known
\for two things: drug experimentation
and producing some really great bands. Case
in point: Orenda Fink and Maria Taylor of
Azure Ray. Although they weren't taking music
classes at the time, the songwriting pair first
met at the Alabama School of Fine Arts.
"Maria was a dance student, and I was
the thespian," says Fink. "But when she and
I met, we decided that we wanted to play
music, even before we could really play instru
ments. It quickly went from being just a hobby
to something we took very seriously, and right
after high school we pretty much devoted our
lives to music."
The first chapter in their musical lives was
devoted to their alternative Birmingham-
based outfit, Little Red Rocket. They could've
stayed there and carved out a cozy little niche
for themselves, but they're notoriously rest
less. "I was dating someone in Athens at the
time, and when we'd go to visit, we thought
it was such a great little music town, and that
was the major reason we moved there." Four
years later, it was time to move again. "We
had just been signed to Saddle Creek Records,
so it just made sense to relocate [to Omaha],"
says Fink.
It was in Omaha that the duo honed its
distinctive "dream pop" sound and began to
gain some notoriety—having songs featured
in everything from the indie film Shortbus
to an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."
They could have easily fallen prey to the big
labels hovering over Omaha who were eager to
snatch up any act with that "Omaha Sound."
"Major labels did swoop down on Omaha,"
says Fink, "and everyone for the most part
said 'no.' But who knows in hindsight if that
was the correct decision? I mean, some bands
go on to do great things with the majors, like
the Flaming Lips, or it could just ruin their
creativity and stunt their growth."
Even after signing and settling in Omaha,
the ladies kept reinventing themselves and
exploring myriad musical interests. In 2004
they decided to take a break from Azure Ray in
order to work on solo records and various side
projects, including Andy LeMaster's band. Now
It's Overhead.
But in 2008, the songwriting pair reunited
in Los Angeles for a few gigs, and at that
moment thqy realized that their time apart
had allowed them to grow, giving them the
maturity to set aside any prior creative dif
ferences and pick up right where they left
off. The fruits of that reunion are manifested
in Drawing Down the Moon, Azure Ray's first
albjm in seven years.
"We weren't trying to make this record
different; it was just our next record. Since
we've been apart for so long, we just wanted
to revisit what we felt was best about our col
laboration from the beginning," says Fink.
While the title conjures images of Druid
fairies and pagan lore, Fink says its signifi
cance is really much more fundamental than
that. "We like the phrase; it's a beautiful
phrase, but outside of the pagan ritual, it's
more- about drawing energy from a higher
source and what you decide to do with it."
And there is a lot of renewed energy
between this synergistic pair. Azur* Ray's
upcoming tour will take them across the
States, across the pond and finally all the way
to Japan. But even now, reunited at last, the
duo has plans for more side projects. Taylor
will soon be finishing her second collabora
tion with LeMaster (Athens got to enjoy their
performance as a duo back in July with a show
at Caledonia Lounge), while Fink and Cedric
Lemoyne (Remy Zero) will be gearing up for
another 0+S release. But in the meantime,
the focus is on Azure Ray, and as the pair
traverses the globe together, Fink says all this
touring feels a lot like "going home."
NOVEMBER 17,2010 • FlAGP0LE.C0M 17