Count Five: Flaming Lips' Kliph Scurlock's Bands to Watch at All Tomorrow's Parties

Posted on Sep 9th 2009 3:00PM by Jason Cohen
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When it came time for the Flaming Lips to curate All Tomorrow's Parties in the Catskills, drummer Kliph Scurlock played a very active role. After all, when he is not wearing a costume, Scurlock shows his love for other bands quite publicly. Over the years, he has probably worn a Super Furry Animals tee as often as Wayne Coyne wears his white suit. In preparation for this weekend's festival, Scurlock tells Spinner about the five bands he helped recruit, beginning with the Furries. Check it out below.

1. Super Furry Animals: My favorite band for many, many years. 'Rings Around the World' is still ahead of its time. One never knows what you'll get with a Super Furry Animals concert. Will they have the yeti costumes? Will it be in 5.1 surround sound? Will it include a 25-minute techno freakout version of 'The Man Don't Give a F---"? Since they've already done all of those things, I'm willing to bet on something new.

2. Deerhoof: My other favorite band. I think these guys were on all of our wish lists. We toured with them a bunch in 2006 and they always played amazingly, which inspired us to try to do better. Greg Saunier and John Dietrich are two of the best musicians I've ever seen and heard, and were total sweethearts to boot. 'Friend Opportunity' is the greatest album thus far released in the 21st century.

3. Boris: I've been a fan since 'Pink,' but enamored with them since 'Smile.' We had a one-day break in our tour schedule last summer and I drove home to Lawrence, Kansas to see them, hopped right back in the car and drove back to Oklahoma City immediately afterward. It was completely worth it. I would drive 10 hours round-trip to see Boris any day of the week.

4. Oneida: I love these guys because they're always doing something different yet it sounds completely natural. You could put on three different albums for people and they would think they were different bands. I chose Oneida because I know these brahs always bring their a-game, which will be proven at ATP when, instead of merely playing a show -- which would have been great in and of itself -- they are bringing their entire recording studio and hosting an all-day recording session, which they will then mix down, edit and release.

5. Birds Of Avalon: A relatively new band that I hope will get the attention they deserve. Paul [Siler] and Cheetie [Kumar] are two of my best friends and I've known them ever since my old band [Panel Donor] played with their old band [Cherry Valence] in Greensboro, North Carolina in 1998. They are currently looking for a label to put out a new record (Editor's note: the follow-up to June's 'Uncanny Valley') that I think is a contender for best album of 2009.