Our Interview with Alex Maas of the The Black Angels

Finally! I got a chance to sit down with Alex Maas from The Black Angels, who if you have been paying a lick of attention to our site over the past week or so, I have been sweating the Fuck out of. Dark, psychedelic, shockingly beautiful, and often maddening their music is the perfect soundtrack to a drug fueled cross state killing spree, at least that is how I described it in our review of their stellar album Phosphene Dreams.

Alex and I discussed a bevy of topics including Texas, Christians, candy filled with BBQ sauce, the dude with the fucking awesome hair on the show Ancient Aliens, and his unforgivable lack of knowledge about the greatest, and foxiest cartoon band ever - Josie and the pussycats.

Here’s what transpired.

SYFFAL: How do you think living in Texas has affected your music?

Alex: Texas has a hard political climate and is filled with conservative types, here in Austin we add weirdoes to that mix. It is a weird dichotomy that makes a really good equation for edgy art, especially music. Religious states spawn a creativity that has to be let out.

SYFFAL: I understand there is quite a psych-rock scene in Austin. During my time down there I drank a lot of Lone Star, ate bbq, hung out at Emo’s and watched candy colored cars. If your music was made of candy what kind would it be?

Alex: Psycho Candy….just kidding. We would be an Everlasting Gobstopper with a warhead in the middle stuffed with bbq sauce.

SYFFAL: I get a distinct Doors vibe when I listen to you guys, but not so much in the music but in the aura of the sound. This is good because there is nothing less cool than someone trying to do Jim Morrison unless of course they are faking their death and moving to Paris with their old lady. Any plans on faking your death and if so how do you plan on doing it?

Alex: I don’t plan to fake my own death; I would probably set up a UFO abduction scenario that nobody can disprove instead but I will need help for the X-Files people.

SYFFAL: Speaking of alien abduction, do you watch the show Ancient Aliens?

Alex: Yes.

SYFFAL: How great is that one dude with the orange spray tan’s hair?

Alex: It’s pretty awesome hair

SYFFAL: So I described your album as “the music I would listen to in heavy rotation if I ever went on a drug fueled cross country killing spree. Does that make you feel weird, or was that the goal?

Alex: There is a serious paranoid aspect to it, but for me killing spree music is Enya.

SYFFAL: Dude we recently got a note from some lawyers representing Enya. Apparently our nanny downloaded a fucking Enya song on our server, now I have the feds breathing down my neck.

Alex: Ha!

SYFFAL: Speaking of illegally sharing music, I read that you and Christian bonded over file sharing.

Alex: Christian and I have known each other since we were 11. We went our separate ways in college and when he moved back to Austin as an adult we bonded over all of the amazing music we downloaded off of Napster and torrent sites. There was so much music that we would have never heard of from all over the world. It is great for young bands and artists due to all file sharing and information being uploaded and shared it has helped broaden the scope of music. Tons of bad ass bands that all developed from this massive library. It has made for constant growth, people just absorb all of the influences and have all these secret weapons and influences.

SYFFAL: Where do you think the music fits into the business of music these days?

Alex: I guess it is shitty for sales. The dollar value of music has gone down. Therefore great bands make less. While economically it doesn’t makes sense but shouldn’t matter to music heads but I see there being a social change that people paying for music.

Also big business is using the music now so that is where the money comes from. Whenever I see or hear a band I know on a commercial it is great because they got some money and I know they are broke. If it wasn’t for that money they would be working as janitors instead of musicians. The question is huge, where does it fit in and how has file sharing effected music. It’s a Pandora’s Box. Maybe people will pay, maybe they never will again, but right now, it is flooded with great bands and music is not like gold where there isn’t a limited amount, so that effects the value.

SYFFAL: Who are some of the bands you are checking for?

Alex: Clinic, I am all about Clinic. The Black Lips are rad. There is just so much sick music I can’t even pronounce, like some Mongolian chant and music from Southeast Asia I can’t even pronounce it and its sick.

SYFFAL: Speaking of not being able to pronounce shit, you worked with Roky Erickson on some projects. Tell us about that and it weird that I want to call him Row-Key as opposed to Roky?

Alex: A lot of people make that mistake. It was great working with him. He is a bit of a delicate artist. He is super sweet and I hope he wants to and continue to play music for a long time. I love that he still likes to loves to play.

SYFFAL: Which member of Josie and the pussy cats do you most relate too and why?

Alex: I don’t know who that is. Does anyone wear a hat?

SYFFAL: Well there is an alien in the band who might wear a hat.

Alex: So I will be the alien, sorry I don’t know the show.

SYFFAL: No worries, it happens at least once an interview, I throw out some reference that is old as shit and nobody knows it and then I feel like an old dick. Ok, let’s change directions. I have seen you described as retro, psych, proto punk, hippie, etc by uncreative types. I know how I would classify you, but using only the title of a children’s book, a mixed drink, a fetish, all followed by either the term core, hop, or goth.

Alex: Hmmm, maybe like hot toddy deep throat drone core.

SYFFAL: Interesting but you forgot the children’s book. I would have gone with Horton Hears a Who lemon drop plushy hop.

Alex: That is great.

SYFFAL: Thanks. So what the Fuck is up with this Psych-fest I keep reading about and why the Fuck aren’t you headlining it?

Alex: We want to get bands bigger than ourselves to carry the festival into our fourth year. We want to expand but still keep this a festival for the fans. We may or may not play, wink.

SYFFAL: Intriguing. I guess that’s sound reasoning. Plus if you decide not to play you can just chill out and drink. What is the drink of choice for one Alex Maas? I have you pegged as a Budweiser and Jamison man.

Alex: I like whiskey winters and tequila summers

SYFFAL: Well I like Jonathan Winters and Suzanne Summers, we are sooooo much alike. Ok. Phosphene Dreams, what is that? I know Phosphene is the act of seeing light without light actually entering your eye, is a phosphene dream some Inception shit? If so what are the chances of getting this Leo DiCaprio/Christopher Nolan lawsuit off the ground? We could be set for life. Granted I have no formal legal training but I think you can see from this interview that I can hold my own with high powered attorneys.

Alex: Yes it is just like Inception but with prism polyurethanes creating blue flowers.

SYFFAL: Alright then, on that note I say we wrap this son of a bitch up. It has been a pleasure.