Volume II: Foremost Sentinel
As Kubrick-ian or Asimov-ian as it sounds, this maxim applies to the Surveillance and Response Group of the RAAF. Quartered into Wings, this division of the Australian Defence Force serves as the early warning and response capability for the formerly punitive province. This relatively small force element group is responsible for not only maritime warfare, but also surveillance, aerospace, and battle space management. Purely by chance, the motto also serves as the title of How I Became the Bomb's second digital release.
The Foremost Sentinel is the enormity of life, an organized chaos.
Q: Where did you guys come up with the idea for this method of releasing your music? What made you guys decide to forgo the standard LP?
A: I think our collective musical dissociative disorder prohibits us from making the album that people who buy albums want. The cohesive twelve song LP doesn't interest us. We're singles guys, song guys, mixtape guys. So why not release our stuff in smaller intervals and in smaller quantities? This allows us to work more efficiently and keep our music coming regularly to fans' hands and ears. I don't know if the advent of the digital age has killed the album, but it certainly has made it easier for us to work around it. In the best-case scenario, we've installed a new format for release that people enjoy and others may follow. In the worst case scenario, those clamoring for an album can just wait for the end of the year, when we'll release what we're calling an "Annual," which will collect the year's work, along with whatever videos we've produced. By titling each release as a "Volume," and each compendium as an "Annual," we're hoping to achieve the feeling we used to get when a new comic book arrived. We hope it sort of serializes our work and makes it more fun for our fans.
You did it at Lake Fever, correct? Who did you work with as far as production goes?
This was our second time around at Lake Fever. On Let's Go! we worked with Jason Bullock, who did a phenomenal job capturing our live sound. For this record, we wanted to see if we could get the sounds in our head on record. Enter John Baldwin, who mastered the mini-album and basically shares a brain with me. A year and a half later and we have nearly twenty songs ready for permeation and, somehow, I'm now best man in his wedding. Oh, the tangled web we weave.
What are the first 3 songs? Tell me a little bit about each one...
“Salvage Mission” - Metaphors akimbo on this little ditty about a fellow searching for his sweetheart on the outer edges of space.
“A Formal Occasion” - A dance-y little number, with plenty of low end and terrifically absurd lyrics.
“Tomorrow's Date” - In a roundabout way, I think we're doing our best Queen impression on this one.
“Salvage Mission” will be the first of many videos. What's the concept?
Taking inspiration from all of our favorite outer space epics, we've put together a little cockpit drama, in which all of the events play out on the faceplate of our space voyager. Viewers will look into the eyes of our wayward wanderer as he searches for his ol' lady in the outer reaches of space.
I understand Robert Paynter is the director. He's fairly accomplished, correct? He's worked with Nike and such. How did you guys come to work with him?
Rob Paynter is creating the images and he, along with Jonny Kingsbury, also set up and shot the video. You may have seen his work with various big name athletic apparel groups and the like. He does great work and even has found his work up on the digital billboards on Times Square.
What was the experience like?
Allow me to explain the perils of donning a cosmonaut helmet for nearly six hours:
A. The damned thing was actually sealed, meaning I had to breath through a small tube. Also, I couldn't drink anything. Furthermore, by my reckoning, I probably inhaled close to a billion dead cosmonaut skin cells. Needless to say, I became fairly ill shortly after shooting.
B. Unfortunately for us, we didn't happen to have a Geiger counter handy, so we never had the chance to check the helmet for radiation. This thing did leave this atmosphere on Christmas Day, 1987, after all. Who knows what cancerous gamma rays I ingested during the shoot.
You're also going to release a 2nd video this month for “A Formal Occasion.” What can we expect from that? Who's directing?
Johnny Kingsbury, a prominent photographer around town, is directing. Our bassist and resident horror expert, Ricky Bizness, is the idea man behind this one, so expect bloodshed.
Back to the music, what did you want to capture both sonically and thematically with the new work? What were your influences and inspirations, both musically and lyrically?
We've always admired artists who were able to sustain the life of their music by making it so dense and intricate that it would hold up after hundreds of listens. Hopefully, we've achieved some semblance of what Spector, ELO, ABBA, and others did so frequently with their music. Lyrically, we probably owe more to Zelazny, Asimov, and Wilde than any lyricist I can think of off the top of my head. We certainly put far more into the notes than the words. The lyrics, for us, are just to put the finishing touches on the little story we're telling.
Give us a teaser as to what we can expect from all of this. What exiting things do you have on the horizon as far as pairing songs with videos, specific concepts or directors?
To paraphrase Jules Verne: "Anything one can imagine, one can make real." We aim to keep trying to get bigger and better. Fans can expect at least three songs and a video every three to four months.
| 1. | Blood Will Tell | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
I did my best to carry on
We wear our veils fairly well
And I can't go on
I was among the shouldering
And I can't go on
And if you were to cry
And I won't go on |
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| 2. | Mothership | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Let me down
Pawns galore
detail you
Born again
Oh oh no
Lead them right
Go
Pawns galore
Let me go
Feed them right
Let me go
Come now sir |
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| 3. | Stella, Dear | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
When Stella came back from the city
'Fore Stella turned her back on her mother
So we turned our backs and rolled our eyes
Then Stella turned her back on her sister
We know that tomorrow
But we didn't cry
We didn't cry
We just turned our backs and rolled our eyes
Yea, Stella turned her back on her sister
For Stella turned her back on her old man
We knew that to follow
We didn't cry
We didn't cry
We didn't cry
We didn't cry |
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Volume I: Who Dares Wins
Although it is employed by elite special forces units from nations as disparate as Rhodesia, Cyprus, Israel, and Belgium, this military motto is best associated with the British Special Air Service. Usually spoken of in hushed tones, the SAS has long stood as the summit to which other special units aspire; a cold and harsh serac, stabbing skyward above all other military mobs. Oddly enough, the motto also serves as the title of How I Became the Bomb's first digital release.
Q: Where did you guys come up with the idea for this method of releasing your music? What made you guys decide to forgo the standard LP?
A: I think our collective musical dissociative disorder prohibits us from making the album that people who buy albums want. The cohesive twelve song LP doesn't interest us. We're singles guys, song guys, mixtape guys. So why not release our stuff in smaller intervals and in smaller quantities? This allows us to work more efficiently and keep our music coming regularly to fans' hands and ears. I don't know if the advent of the digital age has killed the album, but it certainly has made it easier for us to work around it. In the best-case scenario, we've installed a new format for release that people enjoy and others may follow. In the worst case scenario, those clamoring for an album can just wait for the end of the year, when we'll release what we're calling an "Annual," which will collect the year's work, along with whatever videos we've produced. By titling each release as a "Volume," and each compendium as an "Annual," we're hoping to achieve the feeling we used to get when a new comic book arrived. We hope it sort of serializes our work and makes it more fun for our fans.
You did it at Lake Fever, correct? Who did you work with as far as production goes?
This was our second time around at Lake Fever. On Let's Go! we worked with Jason Bullock, who did a phenomenal job capturing our live sound. For this record, we wanted to see if we could get the sounds in our head on record. Enter John Baldwin, who mastered the mini-album and basically shares a brain with me. A year and a half later and we have nearly twenty songs ready for permeation and, somehow, I'm now best man in his wedding. Oh, the tangled web we weave.
What are the first 3 songs? Tell me a little bit about each one...
“Salvage Mission” - Metaphors akimbo on this little ditty about a fellow searching for his sweetheart on the outer edges of space.
“A Formal Occasion” - A dance-y little number, with plenty of low end and terrifically absurd lyrics.
“Tomorrow's Date” - In a roundabout way, I think we're doing our best Queen impression on this one.
“Salvage Mission” will be the first of many videos. What's the concept?
Taking inspiration from all of our favorite outer space epics, we've put together a little cockpit drama, in which all of the events play out on the faceplate of our space voyager. Viewers will look into the eyes of our wayward wanderer as he searches for his ol' lady in the outer reaches of space.
I understand Robert Paynter is the director. He's fairly accomplished, correct? He's worked with Nike and such. How did you guys come to work with him?
Rob Paynter is creating the images and he, along with Jonny Kingsbury, also set up and shot the video. You may have seen his work with various big name athletic apparel groups and the like. He does great work and even has found his work up on the digital billboards on Times Square.
What was the experience like?
Allow me to explain the perils of donning a cosmonaut helmet for nearly six hours:
A. The damned thing was actually sealed, meaning I had to breath through a small tube. Also, I couldn't drink anything. Furthermore, by my reckoning, I probably inhaled close to a billion dead cosmonaut skin cells. Needless to say, I became fairly ill shortly after shooting.
B. Unfortunately for us, we didn't happen to have a Geiger counter handy, so we never had the chance to check the helmet for radiation. This thing did leave this atmosphere on Christmas Day, 1987, after all. Who knows what cancerous gamma rays I ingested during the shoot.
You're also going to release a 2nd video this month for “A Formal Occasion.” What can we expect from that? Who's directing?
Johnny Kingsbury, a prominent photographer around town, is directing. Our bassist and resident horror expert, Ricky Bizness, is the idea man behind this one, so expect bloodshed.
Back to the music, what did you want to capture both sonically and thematically with the new work? What were your influences and inspirations, both musically and lyrically?
We've always admired artists who were able to sustain the life of their music by making it so dense and intricate that it would hold up after hundreds of listens. Hopefully, we've achieved some semblance of what Spector, ELO, ABBA, and others did so frequently with their music. Lyrically, we probably owe more to Zelazny, Asimov, and Wilde than any lyricist I can think of off the top of my head. We certainly put far more into the notes than the words. The lyrics, for us, are just to put the finishing touches on the little story we're telling.
Give us a teaser as to what we can expect from all of this. What exiting things do you have on the horizon as far as pairing songs with videos, specific concepts or directors?
To paraphrase Jules Verne: "Anything one can imagine, one can make real." We aim to keep trying to get bigger and better. Fans can expect at least three songs and a video every three to four months.
| 1. | Salvage Mission | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Floating in space
But there you were
Your ship was wrecked
Thank the stars
Now I've found you
Soaring through space
Thank the stars
Light years apart
I have returned
Now I've found you |
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| 2. | A Formal Occasion | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
'Twas a black tie affair
Oh, I'm so bored with this
Perchance that's a lie Call me
Paging Captain Midnite
Oh, I'm so bored with this Call me
No I don't have a stitch to wear
I'm begging you please
Oh I'm so bored with this
Oh you're there next to me Call me
No I don't have a stitch to wear
I'm begging you please
No I don't have a stitch to wear
I'm begging you please
No I don't have a stitch to wear |
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| 3. | Tomorrow's Date | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Waste my life
Why's my life
I'll get yours
I've got time
Give to me
if I live fast
I don't know tomorrow's date, but I
Alter your state
I've no shame
Give to me
I'm not sane
I don't know tomorrow's date, but I
I don't know tomorrow's date, but I
I don't have a thing to say, but I
Waste my life
Life's too hard
Give to me
Then you'll see
There's no time
I've no time
I don't know tomorrow's date, but I
I don't know tomorrow's date, but I |
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Secret Identity / Killing Machine 7"
"Clark is who I am. Superman is what I do."
"All war is deception."
| A. | Secret Identity | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Girl, I know that what you need from me
'cause my enemies
Girl, you know that I hate to lie
'cause secret identities
This secret identity
This secret identity
This secret identity
This secret identity |
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| B. | Killing Machine | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
The army
I know now
With everybody's notions
That I am
My right hand
The other hand
I could go out there
That I am Don't believe a word I've said It's all lies what I've said Don't believe a word I've said It's all lies what I've said
The army |
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Robo / Bar Song 7"
"The machine does not isolate man from the great problems of nature but plunges him more deeply into them."
"They talk of my drinking but never my thirst."
| A. | Robo | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Let's go
Let's go
You know
I know
Robo
Robo
I'm just a humble robot
You'll be my Kasparov
I'm just a humble robot
You'll be my Kasparov
Oh, no
And so
Robo
Robo
We could have coexisted
Look at this human boy
We could have coexisted
Look at this human boy
I know
Let's Go
Robo
Robo |
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| B. | Bar Song | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Let's go
Don't go
Let's go
I see
I know
I think
You think you're so much better than me
Better than me
You think you're so much better than me
Hey
Hey
Hey
You think you're so much better than me
So suddenly
Do you think
Oh, I get it
You think
So suddenly
Do you think
Oh, I get it
You think |
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Let's Go!
Be it a battle cry, a tersely-stated command, or the title of a Filipino television sitcom, the phrase "Let's Go!" conjures images of purpose, regardless of ethos or dogma. Hissed from William Holden's lips at the climax of Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch, this epigram turned epitaph signaled the end of an era in film and art. Issued by a redoubtable General or an overzealous cheerleader, the phrase becomes emblematic of frenzy and following. For How I Became the Bomb, the phrase sure fits easily into various rhyme schemes, facilitating its ubiquitous and staggering presence on the mini-album and, thusly, it's title.
Q: Where was Let's Go! recorded and whom all was involved? What was the experience like?
A: We recorded Let's Go! over a weekend after we had only played four or five shows. Somehow, our demos got in Jason Bullock's hands over at Lake Fever Productions and we ended up recording over there. Due to my relative inexperience, it was fairly overwhelming, at first, but I started to get the hang of it, eventually, and learned a lot from Jason during the mixing process. We ended up mastering with John Baldwin at Georgetown Masters, and he is our producer now.
Given such a short time between starting your band and releasing this EP, a lot of things happened. You went from playing a few shows to releasing this record and big things started being thrown your way. Care to expound on that?
I feel that we are doing something really different and fun and people respond to it. We didn't start a band to land birds or become famous, it's just something that brings us joy and, thankfully, some really great opportunities.
When you guys started How I Became the Bomb and started hashing out songs, did you ever see yourself going to Europe and playing these massive festivals with the likes of Spoon and Arcade Fire, or touring with Editors for that matter?
Certainly not. Everyone had their desperate little career paths planned out. I think I thought I might give a go at being a sportswriter. Or a degenerate gambler. I hadn't decided yet.
At the time of making Let's Go! who and/or what were your influences? Do you still draw from the same types of material, or do you feel as though you've evolved or matured as musicians and songwriters?
I don't think our influences have changed so much as our parameters. We still cite ELO, ABBA, and Nobuo Uematsu with as much frequency and vigor, as ever. With Let's Go!, we were limited by our equipment and inexperience. Now we aren't as limited and feel that we can make whatever sounds we hear in our heads. We just simply go down to the studio and make it. Also, I would say that, since we've been writing together for so long, we influence each other more these days. I certainly hope we've matured, but I still stand behind the songs on that record.
I've heard a lot of great stories of your escapades, and read your blogs on Myspace in regards to touring Europe, but looking back now, on the success of Let's Go! and all of the experiences involved, which one jumps out the most as being your most favorite or memorable one?
There's a sanguinary tale involving a Waffle House in Jasper, TN that needs telling, but in an attempt to seem worldly, I'll leave you with this little caper-gone-wrong:
At one of our first Spanish festival shows - Summercase, I believe - we discovered that the decadent amounts of booze we'd jokingly requested on our rider would actually be delivered to us. Furthermore, after having consumed such lavish accoutrements, there would also be a free bar, in the artists' area, after our performance. Being good Americans, we saddled up and promptly drank ourselves out of the realm of sanity. As we were being dragged away by right-minded folk, we crossed paths with Jarvis Cocker, the Common Person himself. As I opened my mouth to express my admiration, our bassist intervened and barked in the poor man's face. He actually barked. Like a dog. With much shame and chagrin, we returned to our hotel, with hopes that we and Mssr. Cocker should never cross paths again. Of course, who shares our next day plane ride to England? One Jarvis Cocker. One seat away.
| 1. | Minute Romance | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
I was feeling alone Let's Go
And then I weave my world
We don't have to meet
And we can begin Let's Go
I wish you could be
There's no cliches
And it never ends
And we can begin And it never ends |
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| 2. | Killing Machine | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
The army
I know now
With everybody's notions
That I am
My right hand
The other hand
I could go out there
That I am Don't believe a word I've said It's all lies what I've said Don't believe a word I've said It's all lies what I've said
The army |
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| 3. | Fat Girls Talkin' 'Bout Cardio | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Fat girls
Fat girls
They don't
They don't
She's lookin' for a new relation
She's lookin' for a new relation
These girls
Fat girls |
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| 4. | Secret Identity | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Girl, I know that what you need from me
'cause my enemies
Girl, you know that I hate to lie
'cause secret identities
This secret identity
This secret identity
This secret identity
This secret identity |
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| 5. | Bar Song | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Let's go
Don't go
Let's go
I see
I know
I think
You think you're so much better than me
Better than me
You think you're so much better than me
Hey
Hey
Hey
You think you're so much better than me
So suddenly
Do you think
Oh, I get it
You think
So suddenly
Do you think
Oh, I get it
You think |
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| 6. | Robo | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
Let's go
Let's go
You know
I know
Robo
Robo
I'm just a humble robot
You'll be my Kasparov
I'm just a humble robot
You'll be my Kasparov
Oh, no
And so
Robo
Robo
We could have coexisted
Look at this human boy
We could have coexisted
Look at this human boy
I know
Let's Go
Robo
Robo |
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| 7. | Kneel Before Zod | Preview Stop | Lyrics |
|
We shall
Here we go
We're the emperors of destiny
Now's our time
We're the emperors of destiny
We're the emperors of destiny
We're the emperors of destiny |
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