PLAYING THE ANNEX IN MADISON @ 9pm FOR ONLY $8!

I’ve never seen Thunderbirds Are Now!, but I would love to spend a day on tour with these guys. If you read You Ain’t No Picasso yesterday, you are familiar with the bands juvinile antics and fun sound. In testament to this, the very first thing you see when you check out their website is a gigantic mustache which I guess is fitting seeing that their album is titled, “Justamustache.” I got the album about a month ago and was excited to see that Thunderbirds Are Now! (TAN!) would be making a Friday night performance at the Annex on September 2nd. If you don’t already have this album or have yet to see the band live, head over the Annex and take in the action with me. Before you go, I had a chance to sit down e-mail style with Ryan from TAN! and we did a question and answer. I didn’t know too much about the band, but Ryan was kind enough to answer all my questions and even put me in line when I stepped out and got my foot in my mouth.

Muzzle of Bees: Awhile back my friend decided to grow a mustache and a girl in a bar told him, “Never Just a Mustache.” Tell me about how you came up with the name, “Justamustache,” and if Thunderbirds Are Now! endorse the facial feature?

TAN!: The name comes from us, in a fit of making fun of our label head Syd for appearing in a magazine wearing a mustache painted on using chocolate, somebody said “yeah, but dude… it’s just a mustache.” the design concept was hatched as well as years of regret on our part for naming a record Justamustache.

Muzzle of Bees: Tell me what were some of the bands biggest influences?

TAN!: Floor hockey. Indoor football. Claymation.

Muzzle of Bees: Could you talk a little about the recording of Justamustache? Specifically where you recorded it, what that process was like, and what you would do different the next time around?

TAN!: Our record was recorded a short bike ride from where two of the members of the band live, making it much easier to go back home and take a poo if needed… the studio is called Tempermill. The process was pretty swift and easy, as we got to work with the great Dave Feeney, who plays in the band Blanche. It took us a month of on and off work to record, about 8 days in all. Next time around we plan to take more time developing ideas and working on layering different things… we’re thinking strings.

Muzzle of Bees: Justamustache is your first full length album. Previously you recorded three EP’s (correct me if I’m wrong on that) can fans expect to hear a variety off of your previous works as well at Upcoming shows, or will you be concentrating on the most recent release?

TAN!: Justamustache is actually our second full length… we have a record out on Action Driver called Doctor, Lawyer, Indian Chief. It sounds like two vacuum cleaners exploding in harmony. Our live shows consist mostly of rock music from the album Justamustache, tho we are performing three new hit songs for the kids to be bored by while waiting for us to not play any songs off our first album, except for one.

Muzzle of Bees: If Thunderbirds Are Now! were making a mixed CD, what artists and songs would I find on it?

TAN!: jay z, the zombies, the Beatles, broken social scene, the misfits, the notwist, broadcast, wire, the flaming lips, prefuse 73, nwa, arcade fire, Elvis Costello, amerie, nenah cherry, the rolling stones, new pornographers, oasis, les savy fav, kids incorporated.

Muzzle of Bees: I know that you’ll be back in Madison in October with the Constantines and The Hold Steady, but have you ever played in Madison or Wisconsin before? If so, was there anything memorable about the shows, venue, or state that you’d care to share?

TAN!: we have not played Madison, but have rock and rolled in Milwaukee numerous times. We have close friends there, some of whom play in the band Decibully, so Wisconsin shows are always filled with mass amounts of alcohol consumption, and at least one exposed set of genitals.

Muzzle of Bees: You seem to have a pretty full touring schedule. What keeps you sane on the road? Who would you say is the best and worst drivers of your group?

TAN!: The things that keep us sane on the road: peeing in Gatorade bottles, dr. dre on the ipod, madlibs, penis showings in the van, sleep, Rockstar or Full Throttle Energy drinks.

worst driver: ryan
best driver: mike

Muzzle of Bees: According to your website, “Thunderbirds Are Now! started as a less than stellar tribute to Tool in early 2002.” Is there any chance of hearing a Tool song at an upcoming show?

TAN!: this question will remain unanswered.

Muzzle of Bees: You’ve toured with some other pretty amazing artists (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Les Savy Fav, Q and Not U, Prefuse 73 and Deerhoof , etc). Do any of them stand out in any particular way? Do you get time to check out the other bands you are touring with, and further is there anyone else you would like to publicly ask on Muzzle of Bees to tour with?

TAN!: We haven’t toured with any of the bands you listed, but have played shows in Detroit with them (disclaimer: this is just us being nerdy and factual)… but we’ve toured with some amazing bands… we just got off the road with a band called Rahim, who are new to Frenchkiss, and contain three (four if you count the incomparable Micha – merch seller/tour biographer/photographer) of the best party dudes four other party dudes could ask for… plus, their music is stellar. We’ve also toured with Enon, who have been like a big brother to us, and the band Supersystem, who are polite and quite incredible live. We’re looking forward to our upcoming tours with Minus the Bear, These Arms are Snakes, Les Savy Fav, the Hold Steady and the Constantines… all fine excuses to drink and talk shit.

Muzzle of Bees: What are your thoughts on music blogs and the power of the internet in terms of helping your music reach more people?

TAN!: We are pro music blogs, but holy crap, can we give up on the whole “mash-up” thing already? We read stereogum.com quite frequently tho. That’s a good one. Totally pro.

The show at the Annex begins at 9 pm with Detholz!, The Dials, and Sleeping In The Aviary supporting. Tickets are only $8.

Thunderbirds Are Now! – Eat This City (from You Ain’t No Picasso)
Thunderbirds Are Now – Title from Thunderbirds are Now! EP via Suburban Sprawl