I definitely have my friends in Common Loon to thank for turning me onto Shipwreck’s brilliant record Rabbit In The Kitchen With A New Dress On. While John is off touring with Headlights (catch them at the High Noon Saloon on April 2nd), Harmon of Shipwreck was kind enough to participate in our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

Could you lend some information on the recording process of Rabbit In The Kitchen With A New Dress On? Where and how was it recorded, and were there any lessons learned that you’ll apply towards future recording sessions?

Five of the songs were recorded by Adam Schmitt in his basement in Urbana, IL and the other five were recorded by our buddy, Jordan Schultz at Matt Talbott’s Great Western Record Recorders in Tolono, IL (Matt was the vocalist/guitarist of Hum). We initially had the following intention – four EPs of four songs every four months. (The thought was to educate ourselves on the process: different studios, approaches, producers, etc.). This was abandoned after the second installment. We quickly realized that it’s some expensive shit, so why not pool resources and record a full album. We used five of the best tracks from the two EPs and gathered what we considered to be the best material that we were developing and put it together. Silver Sonya Mastering did a fantastic job melting the two different types of sessions together.

We’re very happy with the results, but know that there is room for improvement. We’ve got some material in the hopper that will blow the old out of the water. Our songwriting has matured a bit and now with a decent amount of studio time under our belts, we can be more efficient. I personally would like to record an album that is a wash of pleasant and chilling sounds, droning and spaced out. John likes the dancier beats. It’s probably be a more developed collaboration of the two approaches.

The Champaign music scene seems to be thriving right now, with a lot of solid groups calling the city home. What’s your perspective on the scene and the direction it’s going?

Champaign is a small enough community that all musicians in the area are very supportive of one another. We booze and carry-on like cousins. There is a pretty diverse layout of bands; no one stepping on each other’s toes. The Living Blue, The Headlights, The Beauty Shop, Krukid, Elsinore, New Ruins, Coco Coca, Reds, Common Loon, etc… There’s plenty to choose from and hard to pinpoint a Champaign sound… I don’t know what the future has to offer, but I would like to hear more psycholucid sounds, a mix of digital and organic wild fishbowl sounds, whatever the fuck that means. Some boys in these parts are getting better at it. Plenty of time to kill with no hills to climb or water to swim in.

What are some of your current favorite albums and recent concerts you’ve attended as a fan?

Favorite Albums at present:
Bobby Charles (self-titled)
After Dark (Italians Do It Better comp.)
Box of Dub 1 and 2 (Dubstep comps.)
The Mirwood Soul Story
Wire – Chairs Missing
Gene Clark – No Other
Dennis Wilson – Pacific Ocean Blue (I’m gonna get drunk to this album right after the interview.)

Concerts
Man Man (craziest feeling I’ve ever had from a show)
Richard Buckner (I saw him play outside with a loop station before a thunder storm, fantastic)
Leo Kottke (always great)
Tony McManus (Scottish guitarist, incredible spirit)

The internet has dramatically altered the way artists 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?

The internet is obviously fantastic for exposure. It’s great for exhibiting the plethora of people’s musical talents. Having said that, there is a bit of bad to complement the good. Maybe at times too much to choose from (scatterbrain syndrome). Money generated. I think the money problem will iron itself out; if it doesn’t, then I suppose you just have to get good at making yourself known. Find out who your crowd is. Hunt them down if they don’t come to you. Is it even good to have too much money as a musician? Does it water you down? Who knows?

I absolutely love the amount of music that is at my fingertips. Emusic is dope. I’m a big fan of many mp3 blogs that continually strive to dig up some old gems and expose new ones. I have more music that I can possible make time for. Fantastic.

If your band was to don a musical costume for an evening what artist’s material would you choose to play and/or enjoy playing the most?

Funny you should ask that. Champaign has a yearly event called The Great Cover-Up, it was just a few weeks ago. We have participated for three years so far. We’ve covered Billy Idol, INXS, and The Cars. For some reason we’ve kept to the catchy 80s.

Myspace: Shipwreck
MP3: Shipwreck – “Black Moon”
MP3: Shipwreck – “House Of Cards”
MP3: Shipwreck – “Walk In The Woods”
MP3: Shipwreck – “Frost”

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