Muzzle of Bees proudly presents The Whigs tomorrow night at the Majestic Theatre in Madison. Hey, they recently destroyed LA! Tickets are only $10, plus you have the added bonus of catching Madison’s very own Blueheels open things up! If you missed them the last time through Madison, let this show be your redemption. I caught up with singer/guitarist Parker Gispert for our continuing 5 Questions with Muzzle of Bees feature.

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

We recorded demos of each Mission Control song while at home in Athens, Ga. We sent the demos to Rob Schnapf (producer) and talked about which songs we wanted to be on the album. All the songs except “Already Young” remained structurally the same as they were on the demos leaving our studio time in L.A to be spent capturing performances and going after tones. I learned some singing techniques which helped me stay on pitch better during the sessions. Those will definitely be applied when I’m singing live and in the studio next time.

The last time you guys played Madison your encore was a cover of The Rolling Stones “Get Off Of My Cloud.” If you were to cover and entire night of someone else’s material whose would you choose?

Stones

We’re always looking to uncover new favorite artists, are there any band(s)/record(s) that you could recommend to our readers?

Wax Fang’s “La La Land.” The first song on the album is called “Majestic.”

I’m going to be in Athens, GA for the first time later this month. Can you give me some places that are a can’t miss?

Indeed I can. You MUST eat at “The Grit,” “,” and “La Parillia.” Rip the dinner and movie special at “The National” which allows for you to see what’s playing at Cine. Check out a show at the 40 Watt, Caledonia, or Tasty World. Get beers at the Manhattan Cafe, buy records at Wuxtry and Schoolkids, clothing shop at Mynx, and junk shop at Agora. There’s also this new place called Taco Bell that is unique to Athens.

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?

I started a blog where people can read about things we do while touring. The fear of using internet tools to keep people connected is that you lose mystique and imagination from your audience as to what the band could be up to at any given moment. On the other hand you gain intimacy and develop a more personal relationship with your audience. Its been fun talking to people at shows who read the blog and are caught up to date with what we’ve been doing the previous weeks before a show. Most importantly the blog allows for bands to be exposed to audiences in their natural form. We don’t have to rely on a journalist who knows nothing about us to portray “the real Whigs” after spending 20 minutes interviewing the band. The blog format allows for a developing stream where one day you are partying and playing in front of 3,000 people and the next you are discouraged and playing to 12. Hopefully it enhances people’s experiences with our music to see where we are coming from artistically based on where we are coming from personally.

MoB Ticket Giveaway: We have two (2) pairs of tickets for The Whigs at the Majestic Theatre to give away to the MoB faithful.

To enter, please send an e-mail to muzzleofbees.com @ gmail.com with The Whigs as the subject of your e-mail. We will notify the winners by e-mail on Tuesday.

Myspace: The Whigs
MP3: The Whigs - “Right Hand On My Heart”

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