Saturday’s “twitterview” with Eleven & the Falcons and MXArts

At noon this afternoon, A&E reporter Alli Marshall (using the @MXArts twitter handle) interviewed (“twitterviewed”) Mayor Prankster, Ali Maladi and Christian B. Church from Eleven & the Falcons (Twitter handle @ElevenFalcons. Ami Worthen from The Mad Tea Party also joined the discussion (Twitter handle @UkuleleRockstar).

Learn more about Eleven & the Falcons here and here and download their latest album, The Death Vine, here; the band plays Bobo Gallery next Sunday.

Thanks to all who participated; watch for future twitterviews on @MXArts.

MXArts: Getting ready for our twinterview with @ElevenFalcons in about 10 more minutes. #avlent

ElevenFalcons: Less than 10 minutes until our Twitterview with @MXArts starts. Follow us both for the full thing!

MXArts: While you’re waiting on the twinterview to start, check out this review of “Catching A Tiger” by Lissie: http://bit.ly/aeQ5Vg #avlent

MXNews: And now, it’s over to our own @alli_marshall (@mxarts) who will be interviewing@ElevenFalcons live on twitter. Alli?

MXArts: We’re about to go live with @ElevenFalcons. You can play their music here: http://mysp.ac/9LJe8f #avlent

MXArts: Twitterview, twinterview… argh, the choices. Here’s another link to @ElevenFalcons: http://bit.ly/b8dZZO #avlent

MXArts: Thanks, @MXNews. Yep, we’re on with @ElevenFalcons. Eleven & the Falcons, you there?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts don’t forget this one: http://bit.ly/9nNPqO (free music!) #avlent

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts hey, we’re all here. thanks for having us.

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons Sweet, let’s start by introducing you to our followers. Name & instrument?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts C: I’m Christian, I play guitar, drums, sing, and computer
A: I’m Ali, I play drums, keys, sing, computer, and vibraslap.
M: Mayor Prankster, I play bass, sing, shaker shells

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons Nice to talk to you all. Ali, what is vibraslap? Sounds dangerous.

ElevenFalcons: have questions for us? tweet them now to get a live answer!

ElevenFalcolns: @mxarts Vibraslap: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibraslap
@mxarts a vibraslap is that twangy rattling percussion instrument you hear in old westerns

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons How did your show @FirestormCafe go last night?
@ElevenFalcons: @mxarts we had a good turnout. @dep was amazing. we’re gonna play with him again.

MXArts: Listen to @dep: http://bit.ly/c4nPfQ @ElevenFalcons: @mxarts we had a good turnout. @dep was amazing.
@ElevenFalcons How do you all describe your sound to folks who haven’t hear it?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts first we say we don’t know. then we just say experimental pop so they’ll leave us alone. Haha
@mxarts trouble is our recorded sound is very different from our live sound. exp pop works for the records but the live stuff is more punk

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons So almost like having 2 bands! Is it nice to have both outlets or does it feel schitzophrenic?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts a little. our goal is to merge them more eventually. we just lack the $ to buy the gear we need
@mxarts we do like the idea of having two different sounds so it’s more exciting to hear us live or listen to our albums.

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons So the necessary gear would make your live perf. more like your recorded? Or vice versa?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts we’re working on adding more pedals and synths to our live show so it replicates what we do production-wise on the albums

MXNews: On now live @mxarts…an interview with indie-punk experimental pop twangy rattling percussion group @ElevenFalcons

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts A: I bought an Ensoniq ESQ synth but it’s in need of repair. So expect that to enter our live set soon
@mxarts C: I think we started as more of a recording project. that’s what we really love. so the albums are really experimental
@mxarts Mayor joined our duo a few years back in NYC and that’s what led the shift to more live material

Ukulelerockstar: @ElevenFalcons What would be your fantasy live show?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts M: I agree with that. That’s why our next album will be in front of a live studio audience!
@mxarts C: we definitely like the energy of the live shows. that’s why our sound is a little more straight forward and punk

MXArts: We have a question! RT @ukulelerockstar: @ElevenFalcons What would be your fantasy live show?
@Michaelfmuller: @ukulelerockstar It would involve slings, leather, some masks and baseball bats. Oh…I’m sorry, that wasn’t directed to me.

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts our recorded stuff sends to be more layered and nuanced because it’s meant to be heard on headphones. we want people 2 pay attention
@mxarts @ukulelerockstar A: I would like to play with an animal audience, like in Bambi

Ukulelerockstar: @michaelfmuller Sounds lovely.

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar M: opening for Bruce Springsteen in 1980 at Nassau Coliseum

Ukulelrockstar: @ElevenFalcons My puppy loves music! Can he come?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerckstar M: I’m gonna be banished from the hip-squad now

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons How do you think your music would go over with Bruce’s crowd>

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar C: I’d like to play at Mayor’s banishing party at the Hip-Squad Headquarters

Ukulelerockstar: That would be a blessing! RT @ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerckstar M: I’m gonna be banished from the hip-squad now

ElevenFalcons: @ukulelerockstar of course he can. we’ll give him a backstage pass

MXArts: Interetsting! Ever played for animals? RT @ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar A: I would like to play with an animal audience

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar M: I think it would go over well with Bruce, but maybe not his crowd
@mxarts @ukulelerockstar M: it’d be like Prince opening for the Stones again

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons What bands’ crowds do you think your music would resonate with?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar C: I agree with that. Maybe we could cover a Suicide song with Brucey

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons “The Boss” has such a varied fanbase, and its still growing. Plus, even Steve Earle has gotten into electronics on stage…

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar ideally, Animal Collective, @Yip_Yip, Silver Apples, Wire, Velvet Underground, Vaselines
@mxarts @ukulelerockstar ideally, Animal Collective, @Yip_Yip, Silver Apples, Wire, Velvet Underground, Vaselines
@mxarts we play for our cat Voidoid a lot. also, our fans are all animals!
@mxarts M: but enough about Tony Danza

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts: yeah, I think those crowds are more supportive of innovation than one might think.

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons When is your next local show?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts A: I think most eclectic artists are always open to different genres.

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons Which brings me to my next question… electronica seems uncharted but in fact has been performed for decades (con’t)

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons Also, what is the last song you wrote about?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts C: for a guy who is the poster-child for heartland music, Bruce is actually a big fan of 70s electro-punks Suicide
@mxarts C: he even made a Suicide-esque song, “State Trooper” off of Nebraska

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons Why does electronica in music still seem experimental to us 30/40 years in, but we all embrace cell phones, etc. so fast?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar we play Root Bar tomorrow and BoBo Gallery next Sunday. check http://bit.ly/c49ezJ for all our dates!
@mxarts that’s a tough one to answer on Twitter. the elec sounds are infinite, and there’s always new things to be done

MXArts: RT @ElevenFalcons: we play Root Bar tomorrow and BoBo Gallery next Sunday. check http://bit.ly/c49ezJ for all our dates! #avlent

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts traditional instruments tend to fall into patterns and the musicians fall into ruts, elec music has a much larger range

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts i think even with cell phones it’s still basic concepts being utilized. I think elec music can still be so strange to people
@mxarts and most humans hate change and things different from what they’re used to. that’s why gay marriage is illegal

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons 140 characters is limiting…

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons I disagree! It’s about the artist, not the instrument!
RE: RT @ElevenFalcons: @mxarts trad instruments tend to fall into patterns & the musicians fall into ruts, elec music has a larger range

ElevenFalcons: @ukulelerockstar our last song we wrote was about dancing and drugs. two themes we love to explore
@ukulelerockstar C: i agree. obviously non-elec music can be radical, but as far as people not liking elec music, i think it’s…
@mxarts @ukulelerockstar i think elec music from an early age was forced into the novelty realm and it’s been hard to escape that stigma
@mxarts yes, we could go on for hours about this.

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons As a ukulele player, I understand being forced into the novelty realm.

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts we love all genres and explore more than just electronic music. i think it’s just more exciting to us because it’s been mined less
@ukulelerockstar haha. i think novelty can be artistic though, just like comedy, depends on execution.

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons re: novelty — thinking about Ray Lynch, how “Deep Breakfast” doesn’t seem to age. Was it novelty?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar we own a uke, have one on our album, and a uku band is opening for us next week at BoBo

UkuleleRockstar: @mxarts @ElevenFalcons The word novelty makes me crazy! It seems dismissive.

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts we’ve never heard that album! but i think Raymond Scott fits into that realm
@mxarts he made commercial music in the 50s, but it sounds so radical and experimental

UkuleleRockstar: Riding the ukulele love wave! RT @ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar we own a uke, have itour album, & a uku band is opening for us

ElevenFalcons: @ukulelerockstar yeah, i agree. sometimes your forced to rise above those notions when you use certain techniques and instruments

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons I think sometimes the experimentation frees music of a time frame (except for the 80s synth sound)

ElevenFalcons: @ukulelerockstar but i think audiences can tell the difference between quirkiness for arts sake and for reactions sake

UkuleleRockstar: Yes RT @ElevenFalcons: @ukulelerockstar but i think audiences can tell the difference between quirkiness for arts sake & for reactions sake

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts yeah, i think 70s/80s synth music boxed in electronic music as just goofy and campy, or bloated like a lot of prog
@mxarts you don’t need electronic instruments to be experimental. you just need to experiment. try new things.
@mxarts I think elec instr tend to lend themselves to exp music more because they’ve been explored less and seem more progressive

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons But some electronic musicians, like David Byrne, have moved even beyond electronica! Spirit of invention!

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts I mean, the Contortions, John Cale & the Velvets, they all made exp music with trad instruments
@mxarts yeah, and that’s why we love using drums, guitar, bass, etc cus we love exploring innovation with those instruments
@mxarts Post-rock like Tortoise, Godspeed, and others all use trad rock instruments to make completely non-rock music

MXArts: Hard to believe, but we’re reaching the end of our hour-long twitterview with @ElevenFalcons… any last questions?

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts woah, we really got lost in Bruce Springsteen and electronic vs. trad discussions. time has flown

UkuleleRockstar: @ElevenFalcons Help me remember your BoBo show – I want to try and catch it!

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons I know, time DID fly! We have to do this again!

ElevenFalcons: @ukulelerockstar we will. we’ll continue this discussion
@mxarts definitely. this has been a fun experiment!
@mxarts @ukulelerockstar by the way, we wee listening to Roy Orbison on vinyl while we had that discussion

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons I want to thank you again for joining us – I’ve been streaming “The Death Vine” while we chatted. Again, When do u play next?
Download @ElevenFalcon’s new album “The Death Vine” here: http://bit.ly/d1knB9 #avlent

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts thank you so much. We play tomorrow at Root Bar and Sunday 8/22 at Bobo Gallery. check http://bit.ly/c49ezJ for all our dates

MXArts: Love him. RT @ElevenFalcons: @mxarts @ukulelerockstar by the way, we wee listening to Roy Orbison on vinyl while we had that discussion
ElevenFalcons: @mxarts and here http://bit.ly/crtkm4 you can download all our music for free!

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts we’re listening to that Ray Lynch album now
Thanks again to @mxarts for the interview and @ukulelerockstar for the questions! we’re going to put the transcript up on our website

MXArts: @ElevenFalcons Thanks! We’ll recap our convo at Mountainx.com … look forward to talking with you all again!
Thanks to @ElevenFalcons and @UkuleleRockstar for joining us on our twitterview experiement. More to come! #avlent

ElevenFalcons: @mxarts ooh, even better. As do we. Have a great weekend!