27 april 2006 -

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Antlerand
Chuck Norton, deadjournalist.com

an audio-visual experience beyond what a typical band brings to a performance - that's antlerand. this portland-based reaches outside the safety-net of one-dimensional pop music to create a more complete sensory experience.

antlerand released their debut full-length cd, branches, in feburary 2006. formally known as invisible, the band is comprised of vocalist and video artist chris larson, musician zach okun and percussionist delaney kelly.

if you are near a radio or a computer on may 8th, you can check out antlerand at 3pm pacific when they will be playing live on seattle's kexp (www.kexp.org).

i had a chance to catch up with zach okun recently for a wide-ranging and entertaining interview. and check out their web site www.antlerand.com to watch video clips of their singles "not it's a year" and "far too clean".

how long has antlerand been together?

zach: we've been together for about 3 years. chris and i have known each other for ten actually. he lived with some of my high school friends in santa cruz. and when i'd visit them, we would all play music together.

i remember using my first recording device (a digital 8-track) to record a song that would come to be on the invisible ep years later.

he met and recruited delaney shortly after we recorded the ep, and the three of us played together for the first time just days after i moved to portland in an improv ensemble called the land camera micro orchestra, opening up for menomena's cd release.

you guys are a rare example of a long-distance relationship that worked. tell the truth, how did you really meet chris? it through e-harmony.com, wasn't it?

zach: it was jdate, actually. i wanted someone who could make a mean gefilte fish, and i ended up with someone who could make a meaner matzah-ball soup.

why didn't we think of starting that web site? we could have made millions!

zach: speak for yourself. i'm on the board at match.com.

all the great ideas are already taken! anyway, you were saying ...

zach: right, chris and i stayed in touch and became friends in our own right. after college (in our favorite city of the south), i moved to seattle.

since chris was in portland (a short jaunt away) we kept in touch and visited each other a couple times. then when i went to audio recording school in tempe, az for 8 months, he came down, we recorded some songs, decided to make it an official ep, and made plans to give it a go.

we were also both determined to incorporate the visual aspect of our live show. we were both vaguely annoyed by visuals at rock shows that seemingly had nothing to do with the music, and often served as a distraction. we decided to have the two be interconnected in a way that improved upon the music. but we were also determined that the music should stand on its own. that way, the visuals were an added bonus for the live show.

i know the band changed their name from invisible to antlerand when signing with sound family records in seattle. what led to the name change and why antlerand?

zach: there are two reasons. one is that there is a hip-hop producer/musician who already had the name. also, there are so many bands/album titles that use the word invisible that when we re-released the album with sound family we thought it would be a good idea to reinvent ourselves.

one day, the three of us were walking in a park somewhere in south dakota while we were on tour as invisible, and night fell quickly. it was an eerie night and we lost track of where we had parked the van. hours went by without seeing any signs of civilization. we came across what appeared to be a field of antlers. delaney appeared to be glowing green and chris suddenly didn't need his glasses to see perfectly. there we were, meandering in the middle of nowhere seeing only antler and antler and antler ...

by the way, i'm not saying i'm pathological, but perhaps sometimes i am what i'll term truth-challenged.

antlerand has been getting lots of airplay on several well-respected radio stations like kexp in seattle, woxy in ohio and wras in atlanta. have you gotten more fan feedback from the airplay or the national tour anterland went on last summer?

zach: we definitely have. but it's not the same as someone who's seen us play. the live show is a different beast altogether, and inspires a different reaction. but it's been lovely to have people from far and wide respond to the music and let us know that they enjoy it. nothing better than getting a cd order from overseas.

one person in malaysia wanted to know when we'd come play out there. and we have a fan in russia who wrote us the most charming and inspiring email ever.

speaking of the touring - is anything coming up on a national level?

zach: we just went out for a couple weeks down the left coast and around the west. we plan to head out again for a national tour in september. if all goes as planned we'll be seeing you before the first leaf falls.

route 66 in a van or bus?

zach: we bought ourselves a van--the ice horse we call it. i just realized recently that someone can mis-hear its name and think we said 'the eye sores', but old icy is far too pretty for anyone to believe that nonsense.

just how many felonies have been committed inside the ice horse?

zach: several. but if we ever get pulled over, we are a christian rock band on our way to reverend gilmore's service.

what do you think, will it work?

it worked for scott stapp. and hey, i know a couple of good tv lawyers if you need one.

zach: ooh, like who?

gilbert, motlick, nugent and a few others - but they probably aren't too cheap. speaking of paying the bills, your album branches came out a couple of months ago. how is the response to the album?

zach: the response has been pretty good. we'll see in the next few months if it continues, but so far it's only gotten better.

i think the album is sort of slow to catch on to people. it's not the kind of pop music that immediately infects you. and it's not easy to categorize, but it seems that a lot of people hear it at first and are interested enough to listen a bit more and then it starts to unfold for them. which i think is a good thing.

any songs of which you are especially proud?

zach: i'm pretty proud of all of it. the relationship one has with one's music/art/etc. is a complex thing, often involving love, hate and everything in between.

you caught me at a time when i have a pretty good distance from it, and i'm happy with it.

you and your long distance relationships ... i know it's early, but is the band working on a new album?

zach: we're working on writing the material. we'll probably begin to record it sometime this summer, but most likely won't finish it until the end of the year.

i know you are involved in various other projects. do you find that success in one band makes it easier to be creative in other outlets or does it make it difficult to remained focused?

zach: it can be difficult in terms of time commitments, but it's also very fulfilling to get to work with other projects.

i play bass in a band called the kingdom, and recorded our first full-length album, and it's really nice to get to play music that's different from antlerand's. i wish i could be in dozens of bands, all with different stuff, but we can't all be rob crowe.

in fact, i have no idea how that guy does it.

i also got to work with a band called the minders here in portland, who i am a huge fan of. playing bass and helping with the production on that was really fun and another welcome creative outlet.

also, in my atlanta days, i was in a band called the fairline parkway. we released one album (some of my first recordings) but never really played live, because it was really just two of us. but raj and i have always planned on continuing with it, and in the last year or so we have made some trips across to country to see each other and work on new music.

we also enlisted the help of some friends on both coasts (including some new band members) and have nearly completed our second album. it needs to be mastered but i'm really proud of it and i'm happy about that.

is there an comparison between the atlanta music scene and portland's scene?

zach: i have to say, i was never really entrenched in the atlanta music scene. maybe i just wasn't old enough or around enough to get to know the scenesters.

the portland music scene is overflowing. it's incredible really how many bands and musicians there are here. alternately inspiring and sickening.

i hope i don't sound like a curmudgeon.

so, curmudgeon, what are you favorite 2am dives in both places?

zach: oh wow. in atlanta, i really liked a bar in decatur near the all-girls' college that i'm forgetting the name of, called trackside. it's not a dive, but i also really like the earl in east atlanta.

in portland, the dive bars are plentiful. one of my favorites until recently (we had a tiff) was 'my father's place'. i tend to go to whatever bars are in my quadrant (portlanders will understand).

probably not the best places to keep you in the running to be america's next top model? tell the truth. you watch the show, don't you?

zach: my roommates don't allow me to watch t.v., but truth be told i spend a lot of time at my girlfriend's house and you might not believe me, but that show is on right now. i haven't yet seen it, but as soon as i finish this sentence i'm gonna have to check it out now.

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