Archers of Loaf

The fictional airport described on the new Archers of Loaf album, All the Nation's Airports (Alias), is a very disturbing place. Invalids collide with terrorist scum, radios are down and the pilot is drunk. Over the past year, they've spent more than their share of time on tour sitting in waiting areas on layovers and watching plane crash coverage on TV.

Mass air transit may have marred the bandmembers' psyches, but it hasn't hurt their songwriting abilities. All the Nation's Airports is chock full of catchy tunes with confounding arrangements. Guitarists Eric Bachman and Eric Johnson create squalling riffs that ping and grind. Bachman's screaking vocals are supercharged and raspy without being adenoidal. Often lumped in with bands like Pavement and Polvo, Archers of Loaf proves with this release that they can write tunes that are just as memorable as either of those combos' best work.

Bassist Matt Gentling is phoning from the screened-in porch he calls home. For a little under $200 a month, he rents the front part of a converted stable in Chapel Hill, NC. The band is usually on the road over 250 days out of the year. Gentling likes to travel even when the band isn't touring. It's one of his great passions, along with bowling, beer, and Tetris. The Archers of Loaf, he contends, never set out to write so many songs about transportation, but it has definitely been a recurring theme as of late.

Would you recommend living on a porch?

Absolutely. But, the farther north you go, the less recommendable it becomes. Here it's pretty delightful. It's nice the way the breeze kind of blows through. I have an electric blanket for the wintertime. It's also cool when a snowstorm comes through because the fine crystals settle on your comforter and face. That feels kind of good. The rain does that too. You have to be prepared to get mold on everything you own, though. I had a guitar strap that got fuzzier than the cat.

There was a car on the cover of your last album and a plane theme to this one. Are you guys in love with transportation?

We're not car freaks. I used to build airplane models as a kid and my whole room was filled with them, but that interest is waning. We do love our van and the U.S. interstate system. If you've ever travelled in any other country, you realize how well put together our road system is. It's one of the few things about which I'm particularly patriotic.

How do Europe's rest stops measure up?

They're pretty comparable, but fewer and farther between. You can easily screw up and run out of gas there. But, you can probably get better chocolate bars at the ones in Europe.

Did the air travel theme come about as a result of being in airports while touring?

That might have something to do with it. Although you also see a lot more plane wrecks being brought up in the media these days. In general, there's something interesting and intriguing about mass air travel.

Do you think the sound of the band on All the Nation's Airports has changed from your last album,Vee Vee?

I really do. Vee Vee seemed a little more mellow, even though songs on All the Nation's Airports generally run at a slower tempo. The music is a little more hard-edged on All the Nation's Airports. Vee Vee was a little looser and had a more laid-back feel.

It also might have to do with the different mindsets that went into recording each of those albums. Vee Vee was sort of a hurried thing and we didn't have a lot of the songs fully written. Some we wrote in the studio; we were kind of rushed for time. With All the Nation's Airports we were ready and concentrating a lot on tones and textures and we had more time.

How does the band come up with its off-kilter arrangements?

Each person will often come up with a part based solely on the memory of hearing someone else's part. We may be sitting at home alone and translate the part incorrectly and so you get this dissonance coming out from four different interpretations of a song. But there'll always be debates afterwards to make things meld a little better.

Were any Weezer fans rude to you when you were on tour with them last year?

In Detroit there was some kid right up front with a Weezer T-shirt on yelling "play 'My Name is Jonas!'" I kept saying, "We're not Weezer. Are you joking with us or do you really think we're Weezer?" And he wouldn't reply. Then after a couple of songs he'd yell "play 'The Sweater Song!'" Finally I reasoned, "Look if you still think we're Weezer, just stick around after we're done and you'll be in for a nice surprise."

You tend to fling yourself around a lot onstage when you're playing. Have you ever hurt yourself?

I've actually sprained my ankle a couple of times, fallen off stage a few times and bonked my head on things. The rambunctiousness just sort of happens, I don't really plan on it.

Do any of the other guys give you shit about your wild stage presence?

Yeah, everyone gives me shit about it. I'd defend myself except that it's well deserved. I can't really stop myself.

Archers of Loaf play Sat., Oct. 19 at the Trocadero, 10th and Arch. Skeleton Key opens. 923-ROCK.