![](\"\/images\/sightingslive.jpg\")
<\/p>\nOf all the great noise \/ noise-influenced groups to come out of the early ’00s, how many
\n are not only still kicking, but still getting better? The best (and probably only) group
\nto fit that bill is Sightings, a gifted guitar\/bass\/drums trio that has dismantled the
\nconnotations of rock music and re-purposed its pieces into something else entirely. The
\nonly thing that appears to be off-limits in Sightings’ world is predictability – starting
\noff with garage-crusted Harry Pussy-style rock assaults, Sightings have proven to be masters
\nof eerie tension, ambient soundscapes, proto-techno repetition and neo-industrial clank,
\n through the course of nine albums and a handful of singles. Their tenth, Terribly Well<\/i>, is slated
\n for release on Dais Records next month, and if you’re not getting excited about it, go buy
\nsome Green Day opera tickets or something. Sightings is what it’s all about.<\/p>\n
Sightings have been a group for over a decade now. What has kept you from breaking up?<\/b>
\nJon<\/i> (drums): I think there’s been a sort of mission to the group and a lot of common interests
\nmusically, and then I think we’ve all been pretty happy with the music we make, so the
\nmusical element probably drives the desire to keep playing together.
\nMark<\/i> (guitar, vocals): Yeah, we still like the music, so I guess that sort of helps with the
\nlongevity. And while on occasion we might get on each other’s nerves like any other band
\n(or family), we generally still get along well after slogging it out in the rock wars for all this time.
\nRichard<\/i> (bass): Short answer, beer. Longer answer is I think some of the music we have put together
\nin the last couple years is among our best. If we were doing mediocre shit we’d definitely stop. <\/p>\n
What would you say the group\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0153mission\u00e2\u20ac\u009d is, that Jon references?<\/b>
\nRichard<\/i>: Beer. More serious, we all hated post-rock and emo. Really serious… from the start, I
\nwanted to have a ‘heavy’ band that wasn’t just rehashing hardcore and metal. Early
\nindustrial was in the mix. But we definitely wanted to play instruments and not just
\ntweak knobs. I think the defining thing at a certain point was we were all interested
\nin exploring our instruments and really making them our own. Being players, while kicking
\nass. Maybe Jon had another mission in mind?
\nJon<\/i>: When I mentioned some mission, it wasn’t all that specific, but I was thinking of when we
\nstarted out and we’d be listening to records and wanting to capture maybe a feeling of
\ntension or some musical idea and play it as a band with the instruments (and playing
\nability) we had, and over time we developed our own vocabulary. And we could write songs.
\nAnd like Richard mentioned, we can still put together some good tunes, so we keep doing it.<\/p>\n
You often get tagged as “experimental”… do you see Sightings that way? Do you feel any pressure
\nto keep pushing forward, to never do the same record twice?<\/b>
\nJon<\/i>: In the sense that the conventional approach to guitar, bass and drums is replaced with
\na more open architecture in the way we play songs and the sounds we use, it could be
\n called “experimental”. But it’s rock music in the end.
\nMark<\/i>: It’s a fairly loaded term, and I tend to avoid using it unless the subject of the band
\ncomes up at a family Thanksgiving dinner or a job meeting. I definitely put pressure
\n on myself to keep on changing and developing my playing and don’t want to feel like
\nI’m repeating myself. That being said, it’s often a counterproductive mindset, and
\n sometimes the best shit just comes out of relaxed “let’s see what the hell happens”
\nsituations in practice.
\nRichard<\/i>: I think very little music counts as experimental these days. Within Sightings, we all
\nhave pretty pronounced playing styles, so there’s only so far from a certain core
\nsound we are going to get. I don’t think our latest record – and there’s a second
\nrecord we recorded at the same time – is really Earth-shatteringly different from
\nthe last couple records, but it might be an improvement in overall quality, and
\ndefinitely closer to the sound we want from a record right now.<\/p>\n
Are there any records or tracks in particular for older records where you can listen
\nback to it now and be like \u00e2\u20ac\u0153we absolutely nailed<\/i> that\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? For me, one of my personal favorite
\nSightings memories is the first time I heard your debut LP. The opening track \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Two
\nThoughts\u00e2\u20ac\u009d just kinda shocked me, that a band could allow such a song to happen after
\nsuch a casual \u00e2\u20ac\u0153one two three four\u00e2\u20ac\u009d. It felt really triumphant.<\/b>
\nRichard<\/i>: The song “Michigan Haters” was a one-off jam that sounded like perfect music to me.
\nThat was the moment I knew we were really hitting it. “Guilty Of Wrecking” is off the
\n chain. “Anna May Wong” (that’s how it should have been spelled) on Absolutes<\/i> fulfilled some
\nother higher order, we’re-not-stuck-playing-rock-music desire. Those were all recorded
\n in the same late summer\/early fall, 2001. As far as the first album goes, still love
\n“Cuckoo”, but Mark hates it!
\nJon<\/i>: Every record has a few songs that I think are pretty amazing – good songs, well played, well
\nrecorded and mixed. “Two Thoughts” would be one of my picks from that first record. Michigan Haters<\/i>
\nand Absolutes<\/i> are pretty solid all the way through. “Carry On” from End Times<\/i> and “The Knotted House”
\nfrom Future Accidents<\/i> are favorites.<\/p>\n
How do you know when an album is \u00e2\u20ac\u0153done\u00e2\u20ac\u009d? Do you have a specific set of songs you go into
\nthe studio to record usually, or is there a lot of improvising\/jamming?<\/b>
\nRichard<\/i>: We love improvising in the studio and now seems like a good time to shill for Mr. Pat
\nMurano (ex?-No Neck, current Decimus) who has jammed with us on the last two studio
\n sessions. 3\/4 of the new record includes him on synth. Some pieces we have worked
\n on previously with him, and some are improvs. Otherwise, we always go in with a lot
\n of songs, usually a mix of stuff that’s been vetted pretty hard live and some new
\nstuff we can have some fun trying out. And then some straight improv. I think City of Straw<\/i> is
\nprobably the only record that doesn’t have a one-off jam on it since the first one.
\nJon<\/i>: City Of Straw<\/i> and Future Accidents<\/i> were recorded at the same session and the improv tune is on Future Accidents<\/i>.
\nAs far as a record being “done”, we run out of time or money.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
How much input do you guys have in each other’s performances? Like, will Jon ever recommend Mark
\ntry a different guitar sound, or does Mark ever give Richard advice on what riffs he
\nshould play along with you?<\/b>
\nJon<\/i>: Once we have a song idea we’ve been playing, there is some talk about how to refine the tune,
\nand occasionally there are suggestions, but generally I would say no.
\nMark<\/i>: I’m often not too keen on telling other people what to do, and even recommendations strike
\nme as fascist when I’m in a certain mood (was I born this way or did my family do this
\nto me?). But, advice\/input does happen, and the most heard refrain throughout the history
\nof band practices is, “Hey man, try to play less or keep it simpler”. Another fairly common
\n thing is someone will play something that he thinks is stupid, clich\u00c3\u00a9d or ,and another
\nmember of the band will say they like it.
\nRichard<\/i>: We have been doing it for so long, there’s not a lot we need to say to one another. Even
\nif I have a negative opinion about, say, how Mark is approaching playing on a given night,
\n it’s pretty common for him to express the same opinion afterwards without me saying anything.
\n We do try to encourage each other to work with certain ideas or sounds when so inspired.
\nPositivity is always helpful, because it’s easy to get caught up in an attitude that nothing
\nyou’re playing is new or different or good enough… maybe that also answers the last question.<\/p>\n
Is your favorite Sightings record always the last one you’ve released, or is there one that you’re
\njust particularly proud of?<\/b>
\nJon<\/i>: The Michigan Haters<\/i> \/ Absolutes<\/i> era (2002-3) was a good time for the band, so those two records
\nstand out. Those are 4-track records we recorded ourselves. As far as the studio records – Arrived In Gold<\/i>,
\nThrough The Panama<\/i>, City Of Straw<\/i>, Future Accidents<\/i> and the new one, Terribly Well<\/i> – yes, Terribly
\nWell<\/i> sounds the best to me right now.
\nMark<\/i>: I would echo the Michigan Haters<\/i> \/ Absolutes<\/i> sentiment. I’m pretty sure though that
\nTerribly Well<\/i> is the most consistent LP so far, but I’ll have to check back in a few years.
\nRichard<\/i>: I would say definitely Michigan Haters<\/i> and maybe Absolutes<\/i> are the only records before this
\n new one that doesn’t have a glaring problem that makes me wince every time I think
\n of them. Mostly track choices. So much compromise of so many kinds goes into making
\n records, it’s hard to be satisfied. I laugh when people talk about records as if every
\n detail was intended by the artist… is it ever like that for any one? Sometimes the
\n accidents are happy ones. Sometimes the decisions are poor. Sometimes you run out of
\n time, sometimes money. Michigan Haters<\/i> was the moment when I first felt like we were making
\na real statement. It’s definitely my fave and the one I am most proud of. <\/p>\n
Since there really aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t many (any?) groups out there that sound like Sightings, you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re often put
\non bills with rock bands, or with improvised noise\u00e2\u20ac\u00a6 are there any particularly bands you
\nfeel a kinship with, either for touring together or playing shows with?<\/b>
\nJon<\/i>: We’ve often been labeled a “noise” group, which none of us would really agree with, but we
\nplayed the Minneapolis Noise Fest in 2010 and the audience was really frenetic. The group
\n before us was dragging metal around the room on concrete floors while we were setting up,
\n and when we played there was a lot of tension in the crowd, in a good way. People were
\n really engaged through the whole night of groups. One of the best nights of that tour for
\nme. My point being, the “rock” vs. “noise” thing doesn’t really matter to me, but that show
\nwas an example of when the noise tag can be good. We played with Sword Heaven a few times
\nand that was always fun. More recently, we’ve played with Fat Worm Of Error and Bill Nace’s
\ngroups, both out of Northampton, MA.<\/p>\n
How did collaborating with Tom Smith come about? Was there a friendship prior to Sightings, or something
\nthat came about afterward? Are future collaborations possible?<\/b>
\nMark<\/i>: I met Tom when we were both working at Mondo Kim\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s in \u00e2\u20ac\u212299. We had some mutual friends and I had
\ncertainly heard a lot about him through them. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll never forget reading his resume which
\nwent back to like, \u00e2\u20ac\u212276 or something, and it had pretty much any job<\/i> you could conceive
\n of on it, all of them only lasting for four-to-five months. At the very end of it, he wrote
\nsomething to the effect of \u00e2\u20ac\u0153As you see, I can do anything so you should hire me.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Hire him we
\ndid, and I think the first time I met him there he was wearing a fucking Mark Ecko sweatshirt,
\nand I thought that about it in two ways: 1) this guy is fucking insane (he was in his mid 40s
\nrocking that shit) or 2) perhaps trying too hard to offend the more stylish denizens of the
\nEast Village then. Or both. Either way, I was amused, and we hit it off real well and have
\nbeen friends ever since. He eventually met the other two guys; we did an aborted recording
\nsession in 2000 (I think), recorded the Gardens of War<\/i> album together, and have played a few shows
\ntogether here and there over the years.<\/p>\n
You’ve all lived in New York for as long as Sightings has existed, right? Do you see yourself as a New
\nYork band, or just a band? I’m wondering if you have any New York pride, or possibly see it
\nas a condition that has helped inspire Sightings.<\/b>
\nJon<\/i>: We all met in New York and have existed as a band here, but none of us are from here. I don’t
\npersonally have any sense that we’re a “New York” band.
\nRichard<\/i>: On one hand, I don’t feel like there’s anything particularly New York about Sightings. The
\nbands I most loved and idolized growing up weren’t NYC bands, and other than a couple years in
\nthe early ’00s, I haven’t felt much a part of any of the hundred or so NYC music scenes. On the
\n other hand, I think it’s disingenuous to say living in New York is not a part of who we are as
\n a band. We’re intense people, it’s an intense city, we’re an intense band. We choose the grind
\n of the city to make non-commercial music that can’t possibly get more popular. We have made this
\n choice for almost fifteen years. It’s all intertwined, but I can’t give you a pithy line about
\nthe relationship. <\/p>\n
Is there anything you still really want to do with Sightings that you haven’t done yet? Touring with a
\ncertain band, playing shows in a foreign place, a gatefold triple LP of cover songs… anything?<\/b>
\nMark<\/i>: I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d love to visit Australia or South America, go back to Japan or maybe play Tehran. As long
\nas we can continue to get on planes to play shows and not lose a ton of cash, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m happy.
\nJon<\/i>: I would agree with Mark. Australia and New Zealand would be cool.
\nRichard<\/i>: Still hoping for that album I am completely happy with… but maybe not being satisfied is
\na big part of the band.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Of all the great noise \/ noise-influenced groups to come out of the early ’00s, how many are not only still kicking, but still getting better? The best (and probably only) group to fit that bill is Sightings, a gifted guitar\/bass\/drums trio that has dismantled the connotations of rock music and re-purposed its pieces into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-interviews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6489"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6538,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6489\/revisions\/6538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yellowgreenred.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}