I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness Interview: SXSW 2010

Posted on Mar 16th 2010 12:21PM by Holly Quinn
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The five members of Austin's I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness (vocalist Chris

Goyer, drummer Tim White, bassist Eddie Robert and guitarists Ernest Salaz and Daniel Del Favero) have played their fair share of SXSW gigs. With a sound that is atmospheric, electronic, and hard to define, the band had made a mark both in Austin and abroad.

How would you describe your sound?

I guess I would call it indie rock.

What are your influences?

Well, my influences are probably a little different than [the rest of the band. I love Nick Cave. I love Love Iron Maiden. I really like Deer Hunter. I like this band Blind Old Freak, which is like modular synthesizer stuff that's really cool. Tim, our drummer, is a huge Fugazi fan.

How did the band form?

We'd all been in different bands in Austin. For example, Eddie was in a band in Austin called Paul Newman. Ernest was in other bands. I used to be in a band called Windsor for the Derby a long time ago. Tim played some drums with them once I quit that band, and that's how I met him. So, everyone was just playing in all different kinds of bands in Austin. Next thing you know, we're a band.

How did you come up with the name?

I didn't come up with it. It's a full sentence that I think speaks for itself.

You live in Austin. Have you done SXSW before?

I've done SXSW about a dozen times. We toured a lot with the last record, then we kind of vanished. We're mixing and finishing a new record now, so we're going to start touring again, but in between the only thing we've done in SXSW.

Where do you like to play? Do you have a favorite place to play on tour?

I would have to say Paris, because the shows there are really well-attended, and people are excited, and it's Paris, you know? It's a beautiful town. We've played some great clubs there. For some reason, people in Italy and France have been more responsive to our music than like the UK, where we have nothing going on. I don't know why that is. It could have to do with the fact that we don't have a record label in the UK like we do [in France]. It's not promoted [in the UK]. The guys who promote it in France are really into it and do a really good job.

So, the new album is finsihed?

It's done. It's being mixed. There's a few vocal tracks that need to be complete on a couple of songs, but it's pretty done. I'm really excited about the music on it, I think it's awesome. I don't know if it's different or not. To me, it's a little bit different. To me, it's a lot better than the last record.

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