i was lucky enough to interview noel heroux, vox and guitarist for hooray for earth, and talk about the past, present and future of the band.
slam: After the release of the Cellphone EP and the re-release of your self-titled, what's next? What kind of direction are you going in?
nh: ok. well, we released that first LP (which is actually from 2005/6) so it would officially just be done and out there - and Cellphone was a collection of random songs that happened shortly after that period. Until this year it had been a long time since I'd truly concentrated on Hooray For Earth music - the record we're putting together now is intentive, instead of a mishmash of ideas puzzle-pieced into a recording. Our good friend Josh Ascalon is co-producing and we're recording almost everything in his studio in Brooklyn. With Connecticut between us it's difficult, but (bassist) Chris and (guitarist) Gary venture down from Boston to throw down tracks, and (drummer) Joe and I grab the bus up there every couple of weeks to get together and play.
I guess the musical direction is just the typical "next step" situation. We haven't recorded anything for almost a couple years, and my outlook has changed dramatically - so I guess the sound will reflect that. I sort of "bubbled" myself for the first three years of the band's existence (during our first record and EP). And all along the band has been extremely supportive in letting me go ahead with a new musical direction.
slam: I always have a hard time explaining HFE's sound; what to compare it to and what kind of genre it fits into. I frequently find myself describing it as: "electronica, anthem, rock" and "effin awesome." I don't know any other artist's that I can use all those terms to describe them. How would you describe the unique sound and where do you find your influences?
nh: Hard to say, I think anyone who cares about their own work will have a hard time not sounding massively pretentious when asked to describe it. Influences are also tough - I could never honestly say "we sound like ___" because it would be wrong. Some of my randomly favorite music is Broadcast, Tricky, The Divine Comedy, Arab Strap, Aphex Twin...make what you will of it. Also once in a while someone says "oohh you must love Nirvana", and I'm like "fuck off of course I do". Then I spend more time casually listening to classical music than anything else. What comes out as Hooray For Earth is beyond me.
slam: I saw that there's a remix of Videostore. What are your thoughts on the remix and reworking culture? Do you have any future plans to do some of that work yourself? I'd love to hear a studio version of your JT cover.
nh: I'm very much into particular electronic/dance music. I've worked closely with DJ Die Young, Baltimoroder and several other DJ's/electronic artists around nyc and Boston, and it's definitely something that will continue. I do lots of various production work myself, but most has been focused around making this album so I haven't had too much free time. I did contribute a fair amount to Zambri's not-yet-released EP Bang For Changes (myspace)- actually Die Young and Baltimoroder have both remixed tracks for them in the past couple months. We are a functional family.
slam: Do you have a name and estimated release date for the new LP? Anything you're psyched about that you can reveal?
nh: No name yet, and definitely no date - all up in the air. I'm definitely excited for the record. We have new video collaborations and art ventures going on with Johnny Woods and our old friend Drew Innis. We'll definitely plan a massive party around the release, one in Boston and one in NYC. We'll keep the internet updated of course.
slam: Is the work in multimedia you're doing with Johnny Woods and Drew Innis going to be a part of HFE shows in the future?
nh: Johnny is working on a live visual setup, we'll have to see how things go but we plan something for the future yes.
slam: I was recently reading about how you used to bring in guitars through an old PC and you kept doing it because you liked the sound. Are you still doing stuff like that?
nh: The PC guitar thing only happens a couple times. All the recording has been through ancient outboard gear, computers only recording the audio, there's barely any processing happening. Mixing is analog too. I'm still using the homemade guitars though. We also tracked some window smashing and vodka induced screaming in the bathroom (for background texture).
slam: What's your favorite BBQ?
nh: I don't usually like animals in my mouth, so "barbecue sauce."
slam: Correction: Anything you like BBQ'd (any grilled veggie action)?
nh: squash
Hooray For Earth - Video Store
off of their Cellphone EP. BUY IT ON ITUNES IMMEDIATELY!
Hooray For Earth - Simple Plan (via the Boston Phoenix)
off of their self-titled. BUY IT ON ITUNES IMMEDIATELY!
HOORAY FOR EARTH IS PLAYING SOME SHOWS IN BROOKLYN.
8/12 at The Bell House 7pm / $10
8/20 at Glasslands Gallery 9pm/ TBA
seth (ex-live HFE drummer) and noel's other band dpony is playing next thursday, 8/13, at the enormous room in cambridge. they will be doing a set with dj die young. sounds awesome. go to it!
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