October 2003
Rarely a new band is exciting and enticing enough to incite an interest and a desire to ask the musicians some questions. Yet, TriPod’s music does raise questions, and the release of the New York’s trio debut album gives a good opportunity to tickle bassist Clint Bahr, reedsman Keith Gurland and percussonist Steve Romano a bit…
– Do you consider TriPod’s work experimental or everything’s planned and accounted for?
Clint: TriPod’s music is a little bit of both elements. We like to keep as many doors open to creativity as possible.
Keith: There is room in all of our songs for improvisation. That is the spirit in which we like to play, to allow for surprise.
Steve: We experiment all the time when we rehearse. As for in the studio, we go in with structured, well-planned songs. We also leave some room for total improvisational jams. Most times the outcome is surprising.
– Where would you place the band on the “rock – fusion” scale?
Keith: Somewhere around the flatted fifth. We’re a rock band.
Clint: TriPod is a rock band that has the capability of going in any direction it chooses.
Steve: We lean toward the rock side!
Clint: We plan a few surprises for future recordings.
– Why does your music sound so nervous?
Clint: Nervous?!
Steve: Nervous! Don’t you mean psychotic?!
Keith: Some people say we’ve got a lot of nerve.
– Was the combination of saxes and heavy riffs inspired by KING CRIMSON?
Keith: Not a huge influence for me.
Clint: No. TriPod’s music is not inspired by CRIMSON, but I must say I have always loved the band in all its incarnations. They’ve always had great players.
Steve: Our inspiration comes from all our collective backgrounds. CRIMSON is just one of a million bands, musicians, poets, writers, artists, etcetera, that influence us.
– Clint, who was your inspiration as a bassist?
Keith: Paul Chambers. [Miles Davis’ and John Coltrane’s bass player. – DME]
Clint: There are so many that there’s not enough room to name them all… For me, anyone of substance.
– Are vocals important to the music you do? They seem quite auxiliary, supporting the melody…
Steve: Vocals are very important… They enhance the music and at times are the driving melody.
Clint: Yes, vocals are very important to our music, it’s the human connection. They are not “auxillary” in any sense.
Keith: We like to weave voices into the music, so that they share a more or less equal footing with everything else that’s going on – as opposed to having the other instruments take a backseat.
– Is it hard to reproduce your sound live without losing any intensity?
Keith: On the contrary, it’s hard to capture the intensity of our live sound in the studio.
Steve: No, not at all. In fact, the sound is much grander and you can only feel the true intensity of the band at out live shows.
Clint: TriPod is a LIVE band that functions at it’s best on stage.
– Aknowledgments list of the “TriPod” album includes the name of Jonathan Mover. What was the contribution of this renowned drummer?
Steve: Jon is a friend and we choose his studio to record our album.
Keith: He lent us a drum set at one point… Oh, and he provided us with a world-class studio in which to record.
Clint: He co-owns Skyline Studios with our producer/engineer Ron Allaire.
Discuss the interview
