Before the show: interviewing A Place To Bury Strangers

Coachella '09.

"You never know what kind of vibe you might be getting from a crowd. Sometimes, it feels like you're all alone up there playing your sad songs by yourself", that's what front man Oliver Ackermann of A Place To Bury Stranger said with a chuckle describing what it was sometimes like opening for such heavy hitters like Nine Inch Nails. Out stumping their first proper studio album, Exploding Head, they're the name draw this time around when they play The Independent Saturday night. The Cronenberg-esque title of their sophomore CD may indicate a darker feel, but tracks like 'Deadbeat' and 'Everything Always Goes Wrong' whose guitar riffs lend themselves to the hey-ho-let's-go-ness of The Ramones and Dead Kennedys suggest otherwise. "Life's getting more fun" explained Ackermann of the somewhat out of the ordinary tracks yet they just fit in seamlessly with the rest of songs. And shouldn't it be getting more fun? Their first single 'In Your Heart' recently became the #1 added record by radio. With a little help from their friend Graham of Holy F**k, it was written in one day in of all places, a barn. They were in Canada to their credit. "It was good to have him because it just happened to turn out good, if it didn't then it didn't," saidAckermann of their collaboration "you just never know, when you go into it, how it will turn out." But coming from a DIY -or-die attitude that has brought him much success, you're taken aback by how raw yet polished from start to finish Head is. Andy Smith, whose mixed music for just greats like Bowie and Paul Simon, is "a bit of a mad scientist,"Ackermann says "but you learn so much." His hand in this project defiantly gave the album more of a mathematical feel, like no track was placed anywhere on accident. As appose to their earlierEP's and even first full length that had all of their raw, live energy but none of the sheen.

Yet it is Oliver's DIY attitude that helped launch his Death By Audio company, a customized guitar pedal manufacturer that counts My Bloody Valentine and TV On The Radio has its supporters. It begs the question, what comes first, the chicken or the egg? I mean, you can literally create whatever crazy sound comes into your head . "Not sure, unless you have a specific idea of what you want to create," he says "you just want whatever sounds most unexpected. Like for live shows, we like a lot of feedback."Hmm , wonder if that's the fuzz wars or the total sonic annihilation pedal. Both favored by, My Bloody Valentine, a band they get compared most frequently. "It's nice that we get compared to them because they shaped my sound,"Ackermann says "but I just try not to think about it and write the songs that I want to hear." It must be hard to not listen to the hype that keeps buzzing around them, from critics loving their live shows to Trent Reznor hand picking them to open, "a lot of people say nice things" a bashful Ackerman begins "but it's different, it's cool to hear but a lot people say a lot of things." Who cares though when you're the one emitting face-melting pleasure for your show to back you up. Which, if my past experience of seeing them steal the show opening for Holy F**k is any clue for what to expect, bring your earplugs and enjoy.

Saturday, October 17th @ The Independent. Doors, 8:30. Show, 9.