COMETS ON FIRE ///
INTERVIEW MATT WEIR ///
ABBEY PUB, CHICAGO ///
PHOTOGRAPHY JEHAN CHU ///

The music of Comets on Fire conjures a very specific image to me: a giant sock with an evil jack-o-lantern face attacking a similarly faced exploding volcano of equal size-and the volcano has hands, with tiny claws. One night, fueled by a mixture of mixes and the blaring of the Comets' hopelessly tumbling "Pussy Foot the Duke," I drew out said image on computer paper with a Sharpie and colored pencils. Before an interview in Chicago's Abbey Pub on June 17, I showed Comets' Ethan Miller, lead singer and guitarist, and Noel Harmonson, echoplex wrangler, my childish sketch. In the hiding light of a single light bulb in that basement, Miller jokingly interpreted the picture as a political statement. "Is the sock Arnold Schwarzenegger running for president against Bush in 2008?"

Harmonson read it as a critique of the band's new piano-direction in juxtaposition to the band's noisier roots on Field Recordings From the Sun and the self-titled debut. "Oh, the sock is like the piano tinkles," Harmonson said, pointing at the picture. "And he's going against the rock noise I imagine this volcano stands for."

Noel explained their music pretty easily there, but I have a harder time. It's difficult for me-right now, in fact-to explain why Comets on Fire, to me, are the most important American rock band of the new millennium. But that doesn't stop me from blurting it out at parties all the time. "Comets on Fire are the most important American rock band right now," I'll say during a conversation about how important someone else's high school English teacher was. And then their following question of "why?"-a fair question-is one I can't answer. It just makes me want to shake until my arms turn into giant robotic crab claws that tear a mountain piece by piece, dip the rock chunks in an ocean of nacho cheese and then feed the scraps to the five-headed dog that lives inside God's volcano. And then I'd shit a smashed planet.

Because why use words when Comets on Fire rely on the most primal feeling of rock? Their cat-killing squall relies on epic guitar violence, Echoplex-conjured space noises and rude classic rock riffage. 2004's effort, Blue Cathedral, appeared to be the first Sub Pop release containing all soloing instruments. And that's even when they sound pretty, like on the instrumental interlude "Organs."

The feeling I get when I listen to Comets on Fire is a feeling deep within my blood. A real blood feeling. My blood screams "THIS IS REAL" until the carnage and malice and sheer slabs of chaos stops. How can I suppress the howls of my insides? Comets on Fire seem as chaotic and driven and impulsive and brash as the instinct to call them the best American rock band. Of course, maybe Noel's right. I just have to let my tinkles of rationality fight the brutality of this passion. Or maybe Ethan's right, and Schwarzenegger and Bush will go head-to-head in three years.

The name itself is a very active name. Comets on Fire. How did you guys come up with it?
Ethan: I was just running around, doing an old job when I was in college when I came up with it. I was doing devious things, pizza delivery. I was in the back of the car performing minute crimes against my brain cells when I just came up with the name. I just wrote it down. It was before the band. I was like, "Oh, that's a cool name. Names always suck and they're hard to remember." So I just-fuck it-wrote it down. So when the band came together I just whipped out the book and-thank god-that horrible process of naming the band was taken care of.

You guys have played with a wide variety of people. Comets on Fire seem to be a convergence point between noise bands and rock bands. How do you see your position between the two genres?
Noel: We bridge gaps a lot on bills. It's awesome. It gets the rock fans exposed to some more out there stuff and gets the noise dudes exposed to some cool rock bands. At least that's the idea. We listen to and enjoy a wide range of stuff so it makes sense to us. Last night in Columbus, for instance, no one else had a drum kit. It was all these droney, noisy kind of things. The crowd was kind of lulled into suspended animation and then we came out and did our thing. It was weird, but it was totally incredible and fun.

What is the relationship between alcohol and Comets on Fire?
Ethan: I guess there's a relationship with alcohol on a personal level. And it seems like it's impossible to cope with tour without alcohol, as sad as that is to say. It's so painful when you go really quickly and you go on too long of drives and your body starts getting beat. Alcohol is one of the least harmful things to take to get your body to that painless point. But anyway, "Whiskey River" is about a river that floods a mountain town. And "Wild Whiskey" is a reprise of that song. So that was more of a general nod to a love of whiskey. So that's not about booze anyways.

How has the Comets on Fire live show changed over the years?
Noel: This is the first time we've brought the piano along. And it's working out pretty well. Ethan: Yeah, man. It's working great. Noel: But it's just one more thing to lug around in our tiny little van. Ethan: We've always just had the concept of attack and just rock songs attack. Once we got those piano songs on the record [Blue Cathedral] and stuff, at first we didn't really find a way to bring them into the live fold. But then we were like, 'Well, we should really try to do that.' And as we're writing for our fourth record, we're putting more piano stuff into too on a songwriting basis and we thought it was time to start incorporating that live. So for the first time we have a spot in the set where there is a different aesthetic than trying to get nailed in the face with a bunch of loud, bombastic music. Noel: It's a different aesthetic, but somehow it's still all the same. Even when it comes down.

You guys are recording a new record? What's the time table on it?
Ethan:: We have a rough timetable. It will probably be recorded around November or December. And then I hope it would come out in March or April----probably April. Next year--not 2008.

Oh, if you wait for 2008 it might come out with Chinese Democracy.
Ethan: Well, yeah, that's what we're doing. We're waiting to be the support band for the Chinese Democracy tour.Noel: Yeah, so you can go to the store and buy the two for one Comets on Fire and Guns N Roses CDs.

Awesome. Could you describe how the Echoplex became part of the band? How a non-instrument became so important to the Comets on Fire sound?
Noel: These guys started before I was in the band. There's your cue.

[To Ethan:] ???????
Ethan: Oh, oh, yeah! I kind of wanted to bring people who didn't have anything to do with each other musically around me in Santa Cruz. Flashman and I actually-we've been old friends for 20 years-so we started Comets on Fire. And I said I wanted to put together the rest of this with dudes who would never be playing music together, and dudes who probably wouldn't be playing music with us either, even by chance. We recorded some wild stuff and I gave it to Noel: because I thought he'd like it. So we were just talking about stuff-vocals-and maybe I'd done vocals for something with a digital delay pedal before, and Noel: said, 'Look, if you want to lay some vocals on this Comets on Fire recording and shit, you don't want to use that pussy-ass digital delay. I got the real shit. I've got the Echoplex, where we can really get freaky and fuck it up and work with it.' That was another interesting idea. I used to be way more controlling back then, and it was a nice idea artistically to have things forced out of my control. It's hard when you have your own shit when you're in a band and the one thing you can control is what you're playing. And to give half of that to someone else is just fucking crazy. Then you just become a weird sort of machine for them.

How did getting signed to Sub Pop change the band and influence Blue Cathedral?
Ethan: Well, the budget changed. The record before Blue Cathedral was recorded on a college loan I took out. It was done on the faith that we'd be able to dump the record off on a label and they'd be able to reimburse us for that or... something. I don't know. Whatever. I didn't really think it through. I just knew we had to make a second record. And we just didn't have the money. So we had a little more time and money for Blue Cathedral.

Ethan, I read this-and I wasn't sure if it was still true. Do you deliver flowers for a living?
Ethan: Yeah. I work at a floral design company in San Francisco. I drive the van, work in the warehouse. It's kind of blue collar work-I'm not using my intellect-but I am using my adrenaline because we set up weddings and big events. It gets really stressful sometimes, which I really like. I like working long hours and getting all amped out and drinked out. ///