Take a little travel across the country from the evergreen-clad, rainy Northwest to the Southeastern United States. You may have seen these guys atop our Top 50 Albums of 2009, or caught one of the many features or reviews we’ve passed their way over the past year and a half. Today FensePost phoned up Venice Is Sinking for a rare interview; rare for us. We were pretty excited about it as, after all, we don’t do many of these. But questions were easy to conjure up for last year’s favorite.

Fense: Along with AZAR being my #1 album of 2009, one of my favorite videos was that for “OKAY”. I thought the concept was brilliant. Was this an idea concocted by director Jason Miller and assistant director Ethan Payne, or did you have an idea about what you wanted to create for the song? Does this follow the path you’ve traveled on other Venice is Sinking videos, like “Ryan’s Song”?

Thanks for that #1 album, Andy! It really meant a lot to us. We worked so hard on that album, and it was nice to see it validated. As for the “Okay” video, I’m not sure who came up with the concept, but I’m pretty sure it was Jason, with input from us and Ethan. Wait…let me backtrack. The first step in our video-making process is to see what Yo La Tengo did a decade ago and then rip it off. I’m kidding here, but I realized after we made both videos we did for AZAR were somewhat similar (mostly in theme or tone) to some past YLT works. The “Ryan’s Song” video bears a slight resemblance to Hal Hartley’s “From A Motel 6″ video, and “Okay” is in the same wheelhouse as Yo La Tengo’s rock school, Mr. Show-created “Sugarcube” video (which might be my favorite video of all time, truth be told). But, seriously, we weren’t really ripping them off. We do that with our music. Haha!

Anyway, we had another concept for the “Okay” video, one that was going to be a lot dreamier and perhaps a little more dour. We were gonna take on of those Flip HD cameras and float it around the greater Athens, GA area on balloons, something that one of Jason’s pals had done over Central Park. We spent a day roasting in the sun working on this video, trying to get this camera to float with a bazillion balloons, even getting it very, very stuck on the top of the State Botanical Gardens. And we ended up with maybe 15 seconds of footage. It was a crushing blow, and Jason and Ethan were really excited about it and worked really hard on it. When the idea came to do a montage about montages we didn’t want to get too Wet Hot American Summer with it, so we hit upon the idea that we would have some sort of “life coach” following us around. Jason (Miller) showed us a picture of Jason (Martin), and we were floored. He was perfect. And he was waaaaay into it. When he showed up in costume at the gun range we knew we were onto something special. I really wish you could hear the audio of what he was saying because it was hard not to crack up the entire time. His favorite phrase was “Accelerate your dreams,” and I have no idea why it’s so hilarious to me, but it is. He spent half the shoot touching James in a…special manner and making comments that could mildly be called homoerotic. Not much of this ended up in the video, though you do get to see them silhouetted by a sunset, sharing a pelvic thrust together. That was a fun but challenging shoot for us, given that we were in those infernal (literally) sauna suits in 90 degree weather for much of it. I sweated out ten pounds, which all told wasn’t a bad thing. And the Ryan’s Song video was no slouch, either. Karolyn was in a box–taped up–for, like, two hours or something!

The “Ryan’s Song” video concept? Actually, I can’t remember who came up with that one. I’m going to go ahead and say it was me.

Fense: I have to say, Jason Martin was outstanding as the band coach. So now you have a new album out on One Percent Press. Any plans to create videos for any songs on Sand & Lines?

That’s a tricky proposition because the songs were recorded live onstage at the Georgia Theatre. Doing a video for something that has a bit of a “live feel” seems rather odd because almost immediately any video idea you might have goes to recreating the creation of the album. And because the Georgia Theatre burned down, we also have to worry about veering into bathos and sentimentality. I’d love to do something that references the Theatre and Athens, but I wouldn’t want it to be mawkish. I guess time will tell. Also, making videos means having money, and, in case you haven’t heard, it DOESN’T grow on trees. I know, right?

Maybe we should go the animated route? I have a great idea for a video about the star-crossed love between a vacuum cleaner and a chicken.

Fense: Now that’s something I would definitely watch, especially now that I am the proud owner of a vacuum cleaner and not one, but four chickens.

The recording process for Sand & Lines was a bit different. Tell me a bit more about how the album was put together and what makes it different from prior Venice is Sinking releases.

We’re definitely a studio band. I don’t think that we’re a crappy live band or anything like that, but we certainly aren’t renowned for barn-burning, bat-eating live shows. We spend a lot of time working out our live show and balancing between making it congruent with our album sound and having it be a compelling dynamic experience. I think we’re pretty good at that, but I’m sure it’s not for everybody because overall we’re fairly slow and dreamy and whatnot. So we’ve always worked pretty hard in the studio to make our music grow out of that environment. We are layering and overdubbing addicts. No track can be put to bed without first being embellished by a pan-African drum run through an octave pedal. Sand & Lines was completely different than this. It focused on us, as performers, in a live setting. We recorded with only two mics onstage at the Georgia Theatre. We recorded it totally analog (although it should be noted that we have recorded all of our albums on tape!), using only 1/4″ mixdown tape. Two track! Basically, when a take was done, it was done, besides some mastering at the end. It was Georgia Theatre owner Wilmot Greene’s idea, based loosely on the Cowboy Junkies’ Trinity Session stuff, but ours is a lot louder and more rocking than theirs…dare I say more dynamic? Take that, Cowboy Junkies! Beef!

But, yeah, the process was this strange mixture of live and studio, and you were really out there, really vulnerable, in this kind of setup. If one person really goofs, you had to rewind and start over. If someone was too loud, You had to move their amp and their instrument away from the mic. We mixed things by moving people around onstage. It was stressful, and we had to practice at the Theatre for a few months to get our chops up for it. It was very nearly the opposite of the AZAR recording process, wherein one musician went in isolated to work on stuff. This is the sound of Venice is Sinking as a unit playing together (with help from pals, of course).

Fense: Was the ideation and inspiration processes behind these songs different than that on your last two records?

I don’t want to call these songs orphans or suggest that they weren’t good, but a number of them had been lurking around for a few years. I’d like to think that we’ve made cohesive, thematically consistent albums thus far, and some of the songs–like “Sidelights” and “Lucky Lad”–had been in our live shows for years, but never really felt at home on either Sorry About the Flowers or AZAR. Same goes for the cover versions of “Jolene” and “Tugboat”. Other songs were very new, and we had to scramble to get them up to snuff for the recording process. Remember that we were just finishing AZAR. All of a sudden, we had to have a whole new record…and fast. It was fish or cut bait time for a lot of these, which had only existed as tiny puffs of ideas beforehand. Daniel, Karolyn, and I worked pretty hard to get the, and then the whole band arranged a lot of these on the Georgia Theatre stage in the rehearsals leading up to the record. It was perhaps the most collaborative and democratic record we’ve done, and that aspect of it really invested everybody in the record, I think. With the first album, Daniel brought in songs, we learned them, and then added our on individual spins on them where we could. With AZAR, things got a lot more collaborative, and Sand & Lines is even more so. AZAR had pretty specific song themes, like transportation and moving and human events played out against geography (I think…haha). Sand & Lines picks up a lot of these, for sure, and continues along these lines. I guess it’s just what we like writing about. There are songs on there about failures of urban planning and Augusta, Georgia, though I won’t tell you which ones!

Fense: On top of dire economic woes, Athens seemed to have a rough year in 2009 which I am sure affected each of you personally. Was it an immediate collective response to decide to donate all funds acquired from Sand & Lines to the Georgia Theater after the fire or was it more a gradual decision to do something to benefit your hometown?

We started raising money to put out Sand & Lines the week before the Theatre burned down, so we had to reconfigure the project and make it about raising money for the Theatre. It was something someone proposed to everybody else, and everyone said “yes” pretty quickly. Honestly, we probably won’t make enough money off this record to affect much change, but we felt like the Theatre had given us this record, so we needed to give back to its rebuilding. Athens had a terrible 2009, what with Randy Bewley, Jerry Fuchs, Jon Guthrie, and Vic Chesnutt dying, not to mention the tragic Zinkhan murders and the fire at the Georgia Theatre…just awful. It felt like a series of gut punches. Even if you didn’t know these people personally (I really only knew Randy), you knew someone who knew them very well, and we take our music scene in Athens very seriously. Music is the central beating cultural heart of this town, and the Georgia Theatre was right in the middle of it.

Fense: I’ll attest to Sand & Lines being a great album. That proceeds go toward rebuilding Georgia Theater merely solidifies the fact that the album should be added to any listener’s collection. Being all the way on the other side of the country, I’m curious to hear if there’s been much movement in the rebuilding of the theater?

You know, I’d have to refer you to Wil Greene on this one, but I know that there are some great plans drawn up and rebuilding should start by next year. And thanks for saying the album’s great! Glad you like it.

Fense: I’m always interested to hear what musicians do outside of their respective bands. The typical answers seem to lean toward teaching and working at record stores. What do you do outside of Venice is Sinking?

Honestly, it’s fun for me to update Twitter and Facebook and Tumblr, but it can be a bit of a challenge, keeping track of everything. And just when you think you’re really “with it,” along comes some new thing that you’ve gotta create a login for and a new password and add your bio information, etc. etc. etc. Sure, we’ve got a greater connection with out with our fans, but sometimes I feel like I’m preaching to a 1000 person choir and just annoying other potential fans with my constant haranguing. Christopher Weingarten said, in a recent speech, that bands now have to be digital hustlers these days, and that’s just so, so true. I feel like I’m a guy in a stereotypical Middle Eastern bazaar yelling about how great my product is while tons of other equally loud vendors are selling the same thing around me.

Fense: So I have to ask — what’s next on the horizon for Venice Is Sinking?

We’re jamming a lot, writing new songs, working to get back up to snuff on the Sand & Lines stuff (we had to tour behind AZAR, so we lost all of our “chops”), playing Black-Eyed Peas songs. You know, the usual. I really, really, really hope we can get on an album a year schedule. We’ve got a lot of ideas right now, and we’ve gotta sit down and make them happen. We really wanted to try to make a reggaeton-inspired album, without all of the homophobia stuff. That hasn’t gone as planned.

Fense: We’ll that would certainly be an interesting concept if it does come to fruition. Well, that’s all I got. Thanks for sitting down and taking the time to “chat” with the ‘Post.

For more things Venice Is Sinking, head over to One Percent Press or check out more coverage right here at FensePost.

Dark and dreamy, “Falls City” is the first track available from the new Venice Is Sinking album, Sand & Lines. The song is a testament to this band’s versatility and ability to create a diverse set of music. Recorded using only two microphones in Athens’ Georgia Theatre, which burned down a few months after it was recorded, the album is set for a June 2010 release — one year after a fire destroyed the building. All proceeds from the album will go to the theater.

“Falls City” is a beautiful, captivating song that, thanks to the minimal recording elements is taken over by the echoing sound of a large, open space. The music reverberates, washing over the listener with immense power. It’s not as clear or heavy as last year’s gem AZAR, which earned the top honor on my best of 2009 list. Still, it fits the music Venice Is Sinking creates; intricate but a singular, well-constructed unit. Brilliant are the subtle, soft harmony vocals. Excellent are the deep organ chords and epic electric guitar. I can’t wait to hear more!

Like AZAR, Sand & Lines will be released by One Percent Press.

Venice Is Sinking: Falls City [mp3]

“Okay” by Venice Is Sinking is easily one of my favorite tracks of 2009 and the album on which it can be found, AZAR, will be a tough contender to beat for the best album of the year. In support of their new maxi-single for “Okay”, they’ve now given us a most excellent video to accompany its promotion. The video itself is a joyous montage dubbed “How to Achieve Musical Greatness.” It’s a testament to how great this band truly is; “Okay” as a song is absolutely brilliant, but combined with the video… well, I just can’t think of many things that can top this.

This video was put together by Eikon Productions.

Both AZAR and the OKAY maxi-single are out now on One Percent Press. I’ve included “Okay” below, along with a cover of the band Okay’s “Compass” as found on Okay. Seriously, buy their records… okay?

Venice Is Sinking: Okay [mp3]

Venice Is Sinking: Compass [mp3]

In Invitation Air, The Ginger Envelope‘s follow-up to Edible Orchids, the band displays an impressive progression in songwriting and instrumental capabilities. Cohesive is its nature; this album goes very well alongside their earlier work. But from the opening track, “Turn Into Tempests”, it’s readily apparent that a change has occurred, one that finds The Ginger Envelope giant leaps ahead in their ability to wow the listener.

Invitation Air has an impeccable flow. Each song has a sort of symmetry that crecendos and wanes throughout the album, thus producing a synergy oft difficult to attain. Breaks exist, as heard between “Stray” and the soft beginnings of “Half Awake (Roddy)”, but these points act as intermissions. As “Half Awake” continues, the cohesion returns. Similarities can be said of the transition from “Moon Rover” to the catchy “Down That Well”.

There are countless integral parts to what make The Ginger Envelope noteworthy; without them, these songs would simply be commonplace. Perhaps the most prominent three are, in this order, the smokey vocals of Patrick Carey, the precision pedal steel played by Matt Stoessel, and the quality lead guitar by Jason Trahan. Of course, prominence exists in the typically brushed percussion of Colin Carey, and the generally subtle key workings of Paul McHugh. And one can also not ignore the selective string accompaniment in songs like “All Pinned Down”, be it banjo or fiddle or whatever. And we cannot forget the backing vocalists who pop up throughout the album, both male and female. You see, it’s a slippery slope…

Invitation Air continues the incorporation of folk-pop that inundated Edible Orchids, and The Ginger Envelope maintains subtleties common in Elephant 6 artists. The songs have light doses of psychedelia injected into them, but fully maintain their pop and folk sensibilities. The collective result finds The Ginger Envelope giving us an honest and refreshing album.

Invitation Air hits next week via One Percent Press.

The Ginger Envelope: Invitation Air [mp3]

The Ginger Envelope: All Pinned Down [mp3]

One Percent Press [CD, 2009]

1. Turn Into Tempests
2. Stray
3. Half Awake (Roddy)
4. Spokes
5. All Pinned Down
6. Moon River
7. Down That Well
8. From The Rays
9. Swimming Song
10. Invitation Air

One can draw several conclusions from the cover of Edible Orchids. First, it gives the distinct impression of The Ginger Envelope being a post-Elephant 6 band. The green tint, personally, takes me back to Everything Is Green, an early release by The Essex Green on Elephant 6 and the newly resurgent Kindercore. The name of the band and album is the second hint—the names roll off the tongue like those off the lovable indie pop label. So, one shouldn’t be too surprised that The Ginger Envelope hail from Athens, an indie pop hot spot, and possesses the sound of Elephant 6.

“Failsafe” is an early gem; the twangy guitar and lazy vocals make it a rainy day favorite. While the lyrics and vocal melodies give it an early Wilco-esque sound, Edible Orchids as a whole finds itself between indie pop and a southwestern twang. The vocals are lightly raspy and sound like the lighter work of Matt Pryor [Get Up Kids], primarily via his solo work in The New Amsterdams. This can be heard in “Dirty Penny” and on lighter tracks such as “Drift”.

“Kites” is another gem and finds Edible Orchids speeding things up with a bouncy melody before hitting one of the slower songs on the album, “Morning Let Me In”. “Silver” features banjo and a sweet melody that brings the pop sensibilities back home. “Night Sweeping” has a country-ish slide guitar and a hooky vocal melody in the verses closing Edible Orchids with an album topper. As the heavy rain falls outside, its easy to get lost in Edible Orchids—the album is perfect for such days. Now I just wish I was home with a warm blanket and a cup of hot mint tea.

This review was originally published December 4, 2007 on the old version of FensePost. Rumor has it, The Ginger Envelope is currently working on a new record.

The Ginger Envelope: Caretaker [mp3]

One Percent Press [CD, 2008]

1. Caretaker
2. Failsafe
3. Encapsulate
4. Lady Barber
5. Dirty Penny
6. Drift
7. Kites
8. Morning Let Me In
9. Silver
10. Night Sweeping

It’s only the first of March and I can already tell that 2009 is going to be an amazing year in music. Let’s do a quick list. Top releases by artist this year so far: Animal Collective, Beirut, Camera Obscura, The Pains of Being Pure at Heart, Pree, and Venice Is Sinking (MySpace). And I know I’m missing quite a bit here already. The last on the list is slated to give us their sophomore release, AZAR, (reviewed by Fense here) on March 31.

Last week the group released a video of “Ryan’s Song”, embedded below courtesy Stereogum and I just couldn’t pass up the chance to once again relay just the greatness of AZAR. And yet again, they deliver with this video; easily one of the more interesting and entertaining of 2009 thus far. My favorite part is the end. Watch it. I think you’ll see why.

Venice Is Sinking: Ryan’s Song [mp3]

Athens, GA is a hotspot for new talent, and one of the most promising acts in quite some time is the sometimes experimental, sometimes shoegaze greatness that is Venice Is Sinking (MySpace). AZAR is the quintet’s second; it’s an album packed with connotations like sometimes and conceptual and maybe even dreamy.

AZAR is a lot of things. It flickers back and forth between them continually. The title tracks, “AZAR One” through “AZAR Four”, are perfect examples, acting as transitions throughout the album, though the songs, to begin with, flow flawlessly from one to the next. In that regard, they also act as intermissions, breaks between greatness – a greatness that includes virtually every song on AZAR.

Beautifully crafted orchestration gives AZAR its dreamy nature. “Wetlands Dancehall” concludes with a pleasant string breakdown that leads into a guitar/string duet in “Young Master Sunshine”, which later champions trumpet. In these softer moments, hints of bedroom pop can be heard; but Venice Is Sinking also includes heavier hitters, like the powerful favorite, “Okay”, and the first single, “Ryan’s Song”.

To say Venice Is Sinking is at their best in the louder songs or during the softer ones would be to disgrace what they’ve created. Yes, this album is at times conceptual and the songs transition from one to the next very well, but each song has unique elements not found in those it accompanies. Likewise, the songs that feature dual male/female vocals are just as good as those that feature just male or just female. And the melodic and mesmerizing songs, like “Iron Range” are just as amazing as the more epic and powerful.

It’s quite apparent that much thought and planning and knowledge went into this album. And it all comes together is the closing tune, “Charm City”, the perfect blend of dreaminess, experimentation, emotion, instrumentation, orchestration… the list goes on. The song grows during its epic seven-and-a-half minutes, slowing building in volume until its conclusion. It is AZAR‘s anthem.

This all leads to one thing: AZAR will be a great contender for many Best of 2009 lists.

Venice Is Sinking: Ryan’s Song [mp3]

One Percent Press [CD, 2009]

1. AZAR One
2. Ryan’s Song
3. Okay
4. AZAR Two
5. Wetlands Dancehall
6. Young Master Sunshine
7. AZAR Three
8. Sunbelt
9. Iron Range
10. AZAR Four
11. Charm City