Smile Politely

Maintaining a steady speed

Way back in November 2008, William Gillespie interviewed Alex Smith of Bloomington’s Constant Velocity for this august publication. At the time, Smith was lamenting his band’s lack of gigs in Champaign-Urbana. But, lo, not six months later, Constant Velocity is set to make an incursion into the C-U scene with a show at Bentley’s on Saturday night.

And not just any show, mind you: this bill also includes My Werewolf Diary (featuring members of New Ruins) and Common Loon, both heavyweights in their own right. And while some have lamented the cover charge of a certain downtown show this weekend, the Bentley’s bill is keeping things accessible with a low, low admission price of three dollars. The show begins at 10 p.m.

I caught up with Mr. Smith on Wednesday afternoon, and we talked about SUV’s, raver girls, writing songs that are more lush than the Minutemen’s, and writing lyrics that make more sense than Pavement’s. Here’s the entire interview, in easily-digestible audio format:

Interview with Constant Velocity’s Alex Smith

 

Here’s a video from their website documenting CV’s most recent tour of the midwest, to give you a sense of their musical style and sense of humor:

 

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