ZERO mag '03

I AM SPOONBENDER exude a kind of svelte cool that only Gary Numan understood. The skeletons of their songs shift shapes that keep you guessing while the epidermal textures of these songs communicate to you both telepathically and lysergically... their website sheds light on the fact that you can’t pigeonhole the band into one sound: “a synthwave band with kaleidoscopic depth? A prog-punk group into hooks? Quantum physic mystics making music? Arty experimentalists into melody? Children of the mirror reflecting themselves? All this and more: I AM SPOONBENDER”

I recently met up with the band right before they embarked upon a tour to support their exquisite new ep entitled SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE. Halfway through the interview, I realized that none of us were actually moving our lips to speak. It wasn’t my first extrasensory experience with human-to-human communication, but it took me by surprise, because I thought that all the ESP stuff was just an image for their collective vision. Turns out that shit is for real, Jordache.

Should I Am Spoonbender have risen to the ranks in hard copy media by now?

Hmmm. Maybe. To us, it seems that it's time for the watered-down back alleys of what we do to get the mainstream’s attention- simply put: we're our own brand/genre. As such, our time is always now- and thankfully, still to come.

Although IAS has never really identified or pigeonholed their sound or vision with the electroclash set, it seems like you were doing it long before all those who are now riding shotgun on the bandwagon.

It seems to be fairly common knowledge that we were 'doing it (whatever 'it' is) before' others... actually, I see that in print quite a bit. And YOU just said it. But frankly, I'm glad that it isn't said more often, because that would mean that people think we're a failed 'electroclash' group- when in reality, I think most 'electroclash' is failed creativity. Who cares about making music JUST LIKE what's come before- even if people now aren't aware of the old stuff? To clarify: people lump us in with other groups because of certain instruments that we use... ridiculous. Before 'electroclash', people tried to connect us with 'post rock' and idm'. Look at the ideas and intentions first- stop worrying about "what do you call this kind of music?" I think we're actually more like SONIC YOUTH (or something) than lip-synching fashionistas. Our intention is TOTAL EXPRESSION.

you were making (and playing) your amalgam of synth-punk-post-pop-prog before the same man who invented RuPaul coined "electroclash."

True, we've been doing what we're doing before almost anyone, but I still don't think we're doing what is known as 'electroclash'. There are many more layers to what we're doing, and we’re more exploratory and musical. We're not a nightlife accesorry. We located and avoided the one-dimensional 'EC' clichés from the beginning. While we do share a similar aesthetic at times, I think we're less referential to our older brother’s record collection. Unless he was into DEVO, ENO, LAURIE ANDERSON, VOIVOD, and KLAUS SCHULZE.

It seems like you’ve gone further underground so as not to garner any comparisons to someone like Ladytron, when you're the band that directly or indirectly influenced many of these newer breeds.

Ladytron came after us, so us being compared to them is... wrong. Commercial success has nothing to do with influence or intentions. As for being influential- I think we have opened the doors for certain things. Sorry about that. Anyway, I’d like to think that the bands we influence have been inspired to sound like themselves, not us.

Was this an intentional decision made to not get lumped in with the aforementioned when you saw it coming, or did you choose to hibernate so as to hone your recorded craft or was it something else?

What other people do has little effect on our choices. We just try to make sure that IAS stays true to itself. Everyone else - do what you do!

Compared to many of these newer bands, your recorded material is just not… comparable! Every IAS release sounds like it was recorded in a laboratory while many of today's flavor-of-the-moment bands seem to focus more on posturing and less on delivering a sonic experience- it seems like what IAS is doing is light years ahead of what someone like Chicks On Speed is doing. Your live shows are extraordinary performances done with exquisite taste, and the music isn't sacrificed. But then you can go see a show like Fischerspooner and it seems like being on amphetamines is a prerequisite to not caring that you're watching people lip-synch.

Yes, we’re different from these bands- so why are we even talking about them?

You seem to be the only band doing something related to the electro set that comes off as real. When I see any other band doing this, it seems affected or put on. But I believe your band. From the packaging of your music to the recorded project to the live experience, yours seems to be the only band that comes off as honest.

Thank you very much. I think a lot of other groups are mostly interested in getting what they can RIGHT NOW, and more power to 'em- we just don't think that's a way to build something lasting. I guess that's called 'trends'. Those are fine too, but we want more. And we get what we need.

Do you consider yourselves underdogs in regards to not selling out--not compromising your vision, or are you completely divorced from any interest of the aforementioned bands? Because there also seems to be a big Krautrock influence in you that none of the aforementioned have any sort of grasp on.

Again, thank you. You're talking about this in the same way as we intend for it to be taken. As far as being ‘underdogs’... we don't feel that way. We actually feel the opposite: confident in our ability to continue making the music that we like after the trends fade. FREE. Trends come and go, but trendy people are a constant. We have a dedicated fan base. We get more than our share of major label offers, car commercials, etc… it's just that most of them don't realize that we have a vision for IAS, and that money isn't everything to us. It's very important of course, but I'd do something other than this to buy my house with, you know? Commercial and artistic success are separate things to us. Each is valued on its own terms. And also, building something new (as opposed to recreating) takes longer. There is no blueprint. Anyways, it seems that- once they talk to us- most major labels (and major indies, for that matter) are frightened by our autonomy. Big business needs a pawn to work.

As far as your stage performances go, you really can't compare it to anyone that I can reference.

Is there an inspiration/influence to your live performances?

Mostly, it's from a determination to get our ideas across as accurately as possible. We think the phrase ‘it should be just about the music’ is a cliché- being on stage is its own justification. Playing a cd at home is when it’s ‘just about the music’, but even then we think there can be more. We're also influenced by the steadily decreasing spiral of popular culture- each ring getting closer and closer, slowly suffocating itself. Noticing this happen (endlessly regurgitated mainstream and underground rock idioms, dance music, reliance on irony, etc) inspires us to un-expect the expected.

Could you talk about how the cult of extrasensory perception ties in with Spoonbender's vision?

There are many reasons. One is that ESP is a nice metaphor for looking beyond what's readily available/known/obvious. It also has an element of mystery and discovery, and that's important to put into things, we think.

Is it true that some record stores are making you cover the water phallus on the new ep (SHOWN ACTUAL SIZE)?

Yep. Strange isn't it? If you turn the cover slightly clockwise, it's revealed to be exactly what you were fooled into thinking it wasn't. Some people are afraid of THAT manipulation more than anything...

Why does it take your band longer to release music? Is it a hyper-perfectionist thing?

We do EVERYTHING ourselves: from recording, writing, performing, filmmaking, websites, mail, special merchandise, show lighting, media... all things IAS are fully controlled by us without major label money to buy help (don't get us wrong- we'd take the right deal in a second). Yes, it takes a lot longer AND we're perfectionists, But doing it all ourselves allows us to have a truly personal result, and allows us to craft subtlety- there are many many things 'in' IAS that are designed to reveal themselves over time/through repeat encounters.

Will your next musical release be in the form of a long player?

HIDDEN PERSUADERS will be a full-length DVD/album. Full visuals for every song. The penultimate IAS up 'til this point.

Will "The Metro" be the only cover recorded by I Am Spoonbender?

No. We actually released a cover of THE YOUNG MARBLE GIANTS’ 'SEARCHING FOR MR. RIGHT' on a Japanese single. Whereas most bands make 'original' music that sounds like covers, we attempt to make covers sound like originals.

What will be the next evolutionary realm for I Am Spoonbender?

Making every answer seem to fit.

-ERIC SHEA