The first time I met Lou Rogai of Lewis & Clarke I was in Philadelphia and happened to find his band opening for Mi & L’au at World Cafe Live. However, that wasn’t my first exposure to the beautiful acoustic melodies Lou and his band have given to the world. In fact, Lewis and Clarke was one of the first bands we ever championed here at MoB, right around the first time we heard Bare Bones & Branches for the first time, which we eventually named as one of our favorite albums of 2005.

This year, Lewis & Clarke released Blasts of Holy Birth, a natural and equally beautiful follow up to its predecessor. When I got word that Lou would be heading to the Mid-West for the first time supporting another MoB favorite Bat For Lashes, I took a few minutes of his time to take part in our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

Lewis & Clarke join Bat For Lashes at the Empty Bottle in Chicago on Tuesday, October 2nd.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of Blasts of Holy Birth? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

The album was recorded in a geodesic dome in Eastern Pennsylvania by Dan McKinney (of Original Sins). He is a wizard. We traded many hours of work on his property in exchange for his expertise. His dogs are really great, too…if you listen closely, they are on the record along with other little guests. Dan makes a good bar of soap, usually around the holiday season. He also makes homemade yogurt that he hand feed us on occasion with a really large spoon, no joke. Dan worked well under strict instruction to capture sounds as “wooden”, “more purple” and “organic”. We did as much live tracking as possible, then built from there. I have a feeling for the next record we will use similar technique, but with a twist, and will require less patience. So far the material is less of a lullaby and more of a dervish.

You’ll be touring with Bat For Lashes at the end of this month and into the beginning of October. What incarnation of Lewis & Clarke will we see, will you be bringing a band along?

Eve and I will be rendering the tunes as a duo for this tour, missing our beloved Russell (on the road with Man Man). We are looking forward to spending more time with Bat For Lashes, Natasha and the whole crew are amazing performers and nice people.

What was the last show you went to see, as a fan? Also, who’s at the top of your list as far as concerts you’d want to see?

Cat Stevens…Well, Yusuf Islam. It was a small show held to welcome Yusuf back to the public, his first concert performance in 30 years. It was a pretty intimate show, powerful and moving to see a man who walked away from the music industry in pursuit of greener pastures. There are not all that many concerts that I can get to these day, but I am especially excited to experience Tempesta Di Mare again this October, It is The Philadelphia Baroque Orchestra in which Eve is cellist. It blew my mind last year.

The internet has dramatically altered the way bands can reach an audience. With things like blogs/myspace/etc, what are your thoughts on the power of the internet in terms of helping (or hurting) your music?

Its pretty cool that anyone could put their creations online and let it find its own audience. The amount of options can be a bit overwhelming, but its just another tool for music to find ears, and vice-versa. Just so long as you don’t abuse your tool. Loads of people are downloading for free, but would they ever in a million years find your music otherwise? Who’s to say? The internet, like other tools, is what you make of it. It is a weird place, too.

Your label, La Société Expéditionnaire has assembled an impressive list of artists who will be performing together for a CMJ Showcase. Are there any other artists who’ll be joining the label in the near future?

Absolutely, there always seems to be something new brewing around here.

Myspace: Lewis & Clarke
MP3: Lewis & Clarke – Bare Bones & Branches