Through the Sparks Interview: SXSW 2010

The current line up of Birmingham, Alabama based band Through the Sparks was formed in 2002, but the band actually goes back to when the original members were still in high school. Though the years have brought on roster changes and numerous band name variations, since 2002 the band has had a regular line up, released two EPs, two full lengths, and are now working on material for yet another album. With a rotating line of guest musicians, Through the Sparks have honed their sound to a somewhat trippy, down home aesthetic that is reminiscent of late '60s pop rock. With two SXSW festivals under their belt already, they are looking forward to their third appearance in Austin, Texas in 2010.


Describe your sound in your own words.

Wow, that's tough. I always say "basement, baroque, mid-fi." I don't know man, it's just rock music I guess, you know? There's a pretty big spectrum in some of this stuff. The three songs that we have up right now are all three, kind of moody-ish stuff, but the fact is, we're from Alabama so you couldn't take the twang out of it if you tried. It's a pretty wide spectrum you know, I mean there are five of us and we all contribute a little bit. It all ends up having some sort of a common thread and it ends up sounding like us, but I don't know what you would call it.

How did your band form?

Well we've been together a really, really long time I guess in some form or another. Really, since we were in high school, and I'm thirty now and I'm the youngest one of us. We kind of formed as we were getting out of college. James, the other keyboard player, and I came back here and formed the band. Then we put out 'Lazarus Beach' which came out in 2007. After that we had two members leave that had been with us from the start, and so that left three of us. We got three other people that had been playing with us on and off to fill in the spots of the people that left. So then there were six of us, and sometimes only five. Then we had Chad Fisher, who is a local Birmingham god and has gotten to be pretty much a world class trombone player, come in and help us on horn arrangements and play horn parts and sometimes bring his own guys in. So sometimes we may have nine people on stage, sometimes it's just me and sometimes there are five, which is the normal show.


What are you musical influences?

I really love '60s pop stuff like the Kinks. But I also like the Flaming Lips, Frankie Valley and the Four Seasons and Tommy James. As far as contemporary stuff, there is just so much it's hard to say and hard to tell where anybody's coming from. You know, I can listen to Radiohead and Frankie Valley in the same sitting, along with some Neil Young, you know, that kind of stuff. You could probably hospitalize my iPod if you wanted to. I have to mention the Band. It would be crazy for me not to mention them. It's pretty obvious most of the time that we're all a bunch Band nuts.

How did you come up with your band name?

Wow, umm, man! I wish I knew who came up with it. For a while there, I was trying to take credit for it. Then I was like, "Maybe the name is not that cool so I'll blame it on somebody else." I don't know, one of the first songs we had was called 'Gap in the Spark,' but then again we had the band name by then. I think it had something to do with telegraphs or something. I don't know, it's been a long time. That name came up about seven or eight years ago.

What is your biggest vice?

Oh crap! I'm sure if you asked my wife or somebody else they would tell you different, but really it depends on what day it is. Music, that's pretty much it. I kind of have it in the back of my mind all the time. That and the kind of moderate drinking too much every now and then, but that's not an actual vice.

What's your musical guilty pleasure?

It's hard for me to take shame in any of it, because I've done so much of it. You know what? The one thing I will turn down really fast if someone catches me listening to it is Through the Sparks. If we get in the car, leaving somewhere and the first thing that cranks is my stuff I'm like, "Oh s---" and I have to turn it off.

Beatles or Stones?

Kinks! [laughs] What's funny is I would normally say the Beatles, but almost all of the studio equipment I have was bought with money from playing in a Rolling Stones cover band. It kind of started out as a joke because my old guitar player Nicholas could do this great Mick Jagger impersonation. So we were like, let's play some songs on Halloween, and it just killed, and we were like, "Wow, that's some money." You could say the Stones because I think I owe them a little bit more than I owe the Beatles. Except for songwriting. I probably rip the Beatles off more than anybody.

What's the craziest thing you've seen or experienced while on tour?

Really, I've seen more crazy stuff in Birmingham, Alabama than I've seen anywhere else. I can't think of anything off hand that wasn't crazy. To me, I can think of nothing crazier than getting in a van with five people that you grew up with when you're in your thirties. Doing that on its own is crazy to begin with.


Tom Walsh is a contributor from Seed.com. Learn how you can contribute here.