THE DODOS ///
INTERVIEW WITH MERIC LONG ///
WORDS: Marisa Brickman ///

It’s refreshing to hear some progressive and interesting indie rock. Music that is pleasant on the ears.

On surface level, this band seemed a bit too quirky and indie for my liking - their original name was Dodobird (when it was just Meric Long) and now it’s The Dodos (with Morgan Kroeber). Yet another band from the Pacific Northwest (however, these guys are SF). The last record was called Here Come the Maniacs and this one is misspelled, Visiter. However, I trust the taste of our friends at Frenchkiss and Wichita Records, so I knew I needed to give it a chance…

I’ve been buried in dance music and loud, noisy rock these lately, so slipping on the Dodos record was like breath of rock ‘n’ roll fresh air. Lots of harmonies, catchy songs, off-beat instrumentation and some wicked percussion. I wasn’t surprised to find out that Meric studied music at art school Cal Arts in California - only like one of the coolest and most progressive art schools in the USA! These are not just straight up pop tunes, but layered well-orchestrated songs. Something new is revealed upon each listen, with hidden sprinkles of goodness all over the place. Ahhh… Sigh…

Is Northern California is a particularly fertile hotbed for psychadelic music? If so, why?
Northern California has always had an outside association with hippies, weed, psychadelic drugs, etc. I feel like whatever was started here has moved to other areas in the US. Though we do have really good weed here still.

Do you think people even really understand what psychedelic means? Seems to be a very broad term these days to suck people in...
Hmmm... I'm not even sure I know what it means.

What's up with Africa? It’s getting a lot of hype! What do you think that's all about?
It's the motherland, and where the origins of popular music started. Without it we'd be lost.

Tell us about your experience with African drumming.
I studied with a professor at Cal Arts in Valencia, California. West African music just opened up my ears to the space that occurs between rhythms, beats… There's a way in which its various parts manage to stay simple when played by themselves but become mindbogglingly complicated when matched with another part. I try to incorporate this into my playing by keeping parts simple but filling in space that somehow might change the downbeat or at least make it more interesting.

What are your favorite kind of drums?
Taiko drums.

Being from the area you're from - there's a ton of good doom rock and metal - are you into it and who are some of your faves (I personally am super into Earth - and although they are not from Cali, the new Boris record is amazing).
Earth's awesome. I like Harvey Milk too.

Is there a special technique or a trick to making good harmonies?
The Line 6 delay modular! I find it easier to harmonize with myself than other people, and having one of those things is like doubling yourself. It's kind of cheating though.

The Dodos! Where did that name come from?
We used to be called dodobird, but then we started to multiply.

Why did you spell the album title incorrectly? That's like the movie Happyness with Will Smith.
Yes, it's exactly like that. We played for these special ed kids in South Central Los Angeles, and afterwards they did a bunch of drawings for us. One of them became the cover of the record, misspelling and all.

Have you ever been to the UK? Any expectations?
Nope, bangers and mashers

Top 5 Fave things about SF...
Frenet, walking everywhere, Chinese markets, weather and poker.