Experimental-rock band Deerhoof, the recent focus of an ALARM Q&A, is currently touring material from its most recent release, Deerhoof Vs. Evil. In a stop at Bottom Lounge in Chicago, vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki, bedecked in face paint and big red boots, jumped about the stage as the band tore through its avant-rock collection of controlled chaos. As photographer Elizabeth Gilmore‘s photos below show, it was just another off-the-wall, endlessly inventive performance.
Deerhoof: Deerhoof vs. Evil (Polyvinyl, 1/25/11)
Deerhoof: “The Merry Barracks”
[audio:https://alarm-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/03-The-Merry-Barracks.mp3|titles=Deerhoof: “The Merry Barracks”]If you’re familiar with the band, it takes less than 10 seconds to recognize a Deerhoof song. If bassist/vocalist Satomi Matsuzaki‘s beautiful, extraterrestrial voice and seemingly improvised lyrics don’t tip you off, surely the impetuous drumming of Greg Saunier, or the sharply jangled guitars of John Dieterich and Greg Rodriguez, will. Like a Galapagos of music, the quartet has evolved purely on its own, each member an island and each song a new creation found nowhere else on Earth.
The band’s dynamic approach to songwriting has led to a catalog stuffed to the brim with experimentation, and its tenth studio album, Deerhoof vs. Evil, is no exception. Here, Dieterich answers some questions from the road and kindly reveals his secret weapon in the ongoing battle against evil.
What happened in the past two years to influence the sound of the new record?
I guess the main thing that happened was that we all moved away from the San Francisco area and ended up in different cities. So we have had to figure out a new way of operating as a band and try to stay connected, even from far away.
What is the current dynamic in the band in terms of songwriting? How are the songs constructed?
Each song is different, but the basic method is the same, in that everyone writes on their own and brings in their ideas, whether it’s in the form of recorded ideas and demos, or a guitar or bass riff or a vocal line, or whatever. Then, as a band, we just try to get it to a place where everyone is happy with it and feels like it’s something we want to do. A lot of material gets thrown away, as well.