ACL Interviews: Midlake

So our lovely weekend is over and it’s time for us to begin recapping what went down over the ACL Festival days.  To do that, we’ll begin with an interview conducted right before the weekend with Midlake guitar player Eric Pulido.  We’ve long been fans of the Midlake sound so we were excited to have some time with Eric.  Follow the jump for more.

ATH: So now that new album Courage of Others has been out for over 6 months, are you happy with the way it turned out?  Would you have done anything differently?

Eric: It’s a slippery slope when you start asking yourself if you would have done things differently, no matter what the topic of discussion. In this case, with recordings, we always second guess ourselves after an album is done and feel we could have done ‘better’. And that has nothing to do with sales figures or critical praise (or lack thereof). It’s our desire to create what feels right to us, and then once done, thinking ‘we could make that feel better!’. But it can be such a subjective thing, and we lose much objectivity during the process.  You have to do everything you can to feel good about it at the time, and then 6 months or 60 yrs later, let things just be what they are and try not to dwell on how you could have done it differently. It will rob you of enjoying all the good within it.

ATH: It’s been talked about at length that you had this large gap between Trials of Van Occupanter and Courage of Others.  Do you think that’s because of a perfectionist attitude towards songwriting?  How did you guys keep yourself going for so long creatively in the studio?

Eric: In some ways, yes. We felt like if we couldn’t create what we were going for, we’d just hang it up. And in the beginning of the recording process, we didn’t really know what we were even going for. We’d spend a month on a song and at the end of the month say ‘it’s not right’. I don’t know why, but it’s just not right’. You can understand the frustration and consumption of time this imposed on us. The plus side is that we got better and grew as a band which helped the creative juices continue to flow.

ATH: One major website (who remains nameless here… but I bet you can guess) had some pretty negative things to say about your new album.  Like “Smith, never the most expressive vocalist, sounds at times uninterested” and “Courage just feels so monochromatic, so flatlined, even the tiniest signs of life have no power to resuscitate.”  Are you a band that reads publicity about yourself?  If so, care to comment on the above quotes?  Do you even care?  Maybe wanna slap em in the face?

Eric: ‘Courage’ was the first album that we knew there were going to be expectations from critics and fans. It’s a double edged sword. It’s great to have anticipation for your records, but we knew that some would like it and some would not. You hope that everyone will like it, or at worst, ‘get’ where you’re coming, but that’s just not the way things work. I do read some reviews, and most of what I read was in strong support.  Others, ie. the one cited above (which was the most polar opposite), aren’t. You’d go crazy if you let it get to you or worse, try and create something that pleases everyone. You’d fail 100% of the time. I always have respect for writers that do their homework, know their music/music journalism history, and put effort and care into what they’re writing about, regardless of if its a good review or not. When that isn’t present, I don’t put much stock in to what they’re saying.

ATH: Speaking of online outlets… You guys seemed to blow up in the height of the online music/blogging era with Trials of Van Occupanther.  If you had to change something about the current state of the music biz, what would it be?

Eric: “Let me count the ways!” The music business has been a roller coaster of good times and bad times (you know I’ve had my share) and I’d say it’s at its lowest point now. I don’t necessarily know the magic answers to make it right, but I of course hope it recovers. I’d like to think though that the labels, bands, managers, agents, etc. that are doing things the right way and have a love and passion for what they do and who they’re working with will prevail.

ATH: So you guys have stated time and again that the music you are currently listening to shapes a lot of how your record turns out.  What are you jamming on the road?  Could we possibly see some of those things in new songs you’re working on?

Eric: Indeed! We’ve been listening to a lot of the music that influenced both ‘Van Occupanther’ and ‘Courage’ as well as finding a few newer things along the way. Due to that range of influence, I can see the next album being more dynamic in a sense, rather than more specific.

ATH: So how much longer do you guys plan to tour behind the new record?  I’m always curious how bands keep things fresh and interesting when touring the same songs for so long.  How do you guys do that?

Eric: Baking soda! Well that and switching songs around, reworking them, and hopefully adding new tunes in to the set. Our November tour in UK/Europe will be the last tour of the album cycle. We may do some things here and there after but we shall see.

ATH: Since we’re both from Texas, we’d love to ask a couple things about our state and whatnot.  Do you guys still reside in the Dallas area?  What’s your current take on the scene up there?

Eric: We all live in Denton, and we love it. Denton has a great music scene and community that supports and promotes the arts so it’s quite edifying to us as a band and people. I would highly suggest anyone to visit and feel the imminent desire to relocate!

Thanks again Eric for making some time for us.  We hope you guys will be returning to Austin real soon.