Cymbals Eat Guitars are opening up for Cursive tonight at The Highdive. There are some similarities between the two:
They both: 1. write ALBUMS, 2. trade in bombast and drama, 3. love their guitars, 4. give us dense and heady lyrics wrapped in a gritty sound, and 5. really know how to shake ’em down (do you love me now that I can dance?).
For days I wracked my brain trying to figure out what the first track “Rifle Eyesight (Proper Name)” off the bands new record Lenses Alien reminded me of — then it hit me. “Wind Up” by Foo Fighters.
But down to business — Cymbals Eat Guitars may be the opening act for Cursive tonight, but they are most definitely worth talking to. Their bassist Matthew Whipple took some time out to talk to us about the tour, some of their experiences at South By Southwest, and some crazy fan interactions.
Smile Politely: What music have you been listening to on the road?
Cymbals Eat Guitars’ Matthew Whipple: We don’t currently have an iPod hookup in our van, and we’ve been mostly in Texas and the Midwest so far, so it’s been mostly modern country stations. I’m thinking about Twitter bombing Taylor Swift until she acknowledges us and we can talk about a collabo.
SP: Which band were you most impressed by at South By Southwest?
MW: We didn’t get to see much since our schedule was so tight, but Deerhoof played right after us at one show which was amazing.
SP: (Besides Cursive) Who’s the band/artist you’ve played with in the past year that you’ve most looked up to/been proudest of sharing the stage with?
MW: Hooray for Earth.
SP: Do you have any expectations of Champaign based on the last time you played here?
MW: Nope! Probably going to be the standard mix of fun and fail.
SP: What’s the most dangerous situation you’ve been in thus far?
MW: We were strip searched by Norwegian customs agents at 3 a.m. back in January. It was more awkward than dangerous — and slightly sexy.
SP: What’s the craziest fan interaction you’ve had?
MW: Our fans are generally pretty mellow, but a drunk fan gave me a haircut at the merch table once, which was weird since it was a dry all-ages show in Salt Lake City. It was only like 9 p.m. She must have had like 22 Mormon beers.
SP: How do the new tunes mix with the old? Whats the ratio? Do fans call out for older stuff, or are they just as stoked for Lenses Alien songs?
MW: The set skews a little bit in favor of the record we’re touring in support of, but we throw some of the more popular older tunes into the set. We think fans are generally stoked on the mix we’ve been using.
SP: What can fans expect from the live show vs the record(s)?
MW: Service with a smile.
SP: Who farts most in the van?
MW: Brian farts the most and his smell the worst, by a whole lot. Joe’s farts last the longest. I don’t fart, ever.
SP: Who does the best jagger?
MW: I do.
You can catch Cymbals Eat Guitars with Cursive and Conduits at The Highdive tonight (3/26), starting at 7:30 p.m.