Tera Melos Interview

1. What’s in a name? Why Tera Melos?
i remember coming up with the name and really liking that visually and audibly the words didn’t really conjure up specific images. it was up to the viewer/listener to decide what it could possibly mean, and from there what the music could possibly sound like. it starts one’s musical relationship with us on a completely clean slate. the words themselves actually mean something, but to give it away would take the magic out of it. we’re an interactive band by nature, so an unusual/unfamiliar/sometimes unpronounceable name is keeping with the spirit of that.
2. Your upcoming album (“Patagonian Rats”) is your first full-length for Sargent House label.
Working with SH – was it any different from working other/previous labels?
working with sargent house is great on many levels, more than just the obvious- good people, good distribution, family environment. of course those are all important, but there are many deeper layers to the label. they’re extremely smart and forward thinking folks that function more like another band member. the owner has a very unique history of how she got to be where she is. she’s “from the ground up” in the truest sense of the words. to call them a label/management company is a big understatement. as far as compared to our experience with other labels, i’m not sure. before sargent house there were no labels that showed a drop of interest in us.
3. “Patagonian Rats” seems to be based around a concept of some kind.
Would you describe it as a “concept album”?
yes and no. lyrically and musically it is not an intentional concept record. we really liked the aesthetic that “Patagonian Rats” embodied. it’s similar to how/why we named the band, but in this instance, instead of non-images, our brains paired lots of awesome visuals and ideas to that title. slowly the music started to become Patagonian Rats, (or at least what our brains deemed “patagonian rats”), through the completion of the record. so the concept is the content, in other words, patagonian rats is patagonian rats.
4. What are some of the musical influences to your work?
personally, i feel like my brain is a musical sponge- consciously and unconsciously collecting sounds all day, everyday. every time i’m at disneyland i feel very musically inspired. as far as bands go, we are collectively influenced by the flaming lips, sonic youth, black flag, nirvana, king crimson, pixies plus lots more. currently my brain is being freaked out by oingo boingo and devo.
5. What about non-musical influences – any movies, drawings, animation that made a particular impact on your work/music?
i can’t think of specific non-musical influences. i mean, the honest answer to that is everything that happens in the universe is an influence- being broke, people that believe in the devil, a good meal, going off a rope swing, etc. and by that i’m referring to an unconscious influence. i don’t mean to imply that i don’t have any money, so that influences me to write a good song, or that i disagree with christianity therefore it fuels my creativity to write music (although that’s probably true! haha.) it just means that for every action there is a reaction, and that when you add up all the actions that surround us it creates our lives and how we live them.
6. If rock and roll is truly dead – who killed it? Was Tera Melos responsible for it in any way?
i don’t know who killed it. i hope it wasn’t us. there’s no way it was us. i’d like to sever the head of rock and roll v2010. gosh, the musical landscape is in such a sad, dilapidated state right now. i believe there is hope for it though. people have to recognize what they are being fed. it’s like our political system- republican or democrat. how about fucking neither. of course we are a long way from that. the coolest thing is that whether or not things change, musically speaking, you can make a record and it will be around forever. perhaps someone will find Patagonian Rats in a record store 20 years from now, even 50 years, and be really excited and engergized. there’s nothing more exciting than finding music that existed before you were born and being freaked out and inspired.
Thank You: Dave Clifford (US/THEM Group)
Sources that link to an interview:
Sargent House Blog | AbsolutePunk | Terroreyes.tv