Crystal Stilts Know How To Add Retro Feel to Contemporary Sound

Crystal Stilts present the listener with a very literate, mature indie rock sound in an emotionally heavy atmosphere. The contrast of the lively driven guitar work of JB Townsend and the pensive vocal delivery of Brad Hargett is a poignant combination. And drummer Frankie Rose (ex-Vivian Girls) and keyboardist Kyle Forester accentuate this creative outcome.

Deep in retro musical influences, Crystal Stilts still hold their contemporary identity tight. Based in Brooklyn, New York City, you can feel the restless -- chaotic -- charming metropolis in every beat, every note, every lyric that is sung. Their debut full length is 2008's Alight of Night.

Here is a recent interview Powerline A.D. did with guitarist JB Townshend and vocalist Brad Hargett.

Powerline A.D.: Jesus and Mary Chain, the Shop Assistants, Black Tambourine, the Seeds, Green on Red, Boyracer, Velvet Underground, Joy Division, C86, Love ... these are only some of the bands you are compared to in a review on allmusic.com, But the reviewer does go on to say that the sound is a "thrilling mess of distorted energy" instead of anything that could easily be derivative. That can be seen a grand compliment. Do you think originality is pretty much dead in rock music? And does it matter?
JB Townshend: I think it might matter to some people. I think in a massive way there will seldom be any more quality because the business market has dunked their giant loaf of bread into the the broth — soaked all the juice out of it and chucked it back to the next autotunemoboyband... Young kids are forced to listen to the total garbage that's been made for them. And the young kids then think that this is what people want to hear and that it is what is thought to be acceptable music and they go on to make a group that sounds like that shit or worse — and so on and so forth as the crow flies. That kind of stuff doesn't bother me too much anymore, though, really.

If you listen to the Tronics/Zarjaz discography you can hear the degenreification of music. Instead of trying to combine everything into one general sound, or even a few sounds, he respectfully takes bits of different types of music (from baroque to rockabilly to reggae etc. etc.) and boils them down to pop songs that sound quite different from each other yet refreshingly brilliant and original. Therefore, I don't think originality is completely dead. It's still possible to write good changes, have a good rhythm, have good lyrics, and a unique voice. There are a lot of groups nowadays that sound originally bad though. 

Powerline A.D.: The vocals do get comparisons to Ian Curtis. But, for instance, in a song like "Verdant Gaze," I can actually hear more Syd Barrett. Does the band tire of the Ian Curtis comparison?
Brad Hargett: I think everyone else tires of it more than me (probably because our music is not nearly as doomy). I would say ian curtis was more of a writing influence on me than a singing one. I don't really feel I have the technical ability to try and sing like anyone. It's sort of like whatever happens, happens. "Sugar Baby" has brought out quite a few Jim Morrison references, though, really, if it was trying to do anything on that particular song, it would be more along the lines of Alan Vega or Jeffrey Lee Pierece. I don't think I've listened to the doors in over a decade. But journalism — especially on the internet — has a snowballing effect that really begins to cloud critical objectivity. I'm not losing any sleep over it, I'll tell you that much — and yes, Syd Barrett is also a big influence.

Powerline A.D.: Baudelaire has been mentioned as a writing influence. The lyrics often mention the crowd of the city, the subways, the sidewalks, the cramped living spaces... but it's more claustrophobic, where, if I recall correctly, Baudelaire fully embraced that relentless chaotic energy. How do you connect the two?
Hargett: Well, I think you're partly correct,  though I believe there are very few writings by Baudelaire that don't contain at least a hint of dread. To me, whitman seemed the most purely ecstatic of the modern/city poets. That said I don't think my impressions of the city are entirely claustrophobic. For each of the harrowing moments on the record, like graveyard orbit or spiral transit, there are also moments that — I hope — convey a sense of sublime, timeless freedom, like "Shattered Shine," "City in the Sea" or even parts of "Prismatic Room." John Lilly called isolation chambers a 'hole in the universe', so I don't really see isolation and freedom or chaos and cosmos as mutually exclusive.
 
Powerline A.D.: How different do you think your music would be if you didn't live in NYC?
Hargett: Probably not that different, actually. We had the same influences and listened to basically the same music when we —JB and I — lived in florida.

Powerline A.D.: Does the cost of living in the New York City area really take its toll on an indie band and make it hard to make a living solely through your music?
Hargett: It's something we've definitely thought about, leaving New York for someplace cheaper. I think it's a great place for bands to start out because you can play out and get noticed more easily without having to tour, plus you're exposed to such a maelstrom, musically and culturally. At this point I suppose we could probably live off the band a lot easier — I still have a job whenever we're not on tour — somewhere else, but now all of our friends are here and in a lot of ways it's difficult to imagine not living in New York. It does take it's toll energy wise. Trying to write, record, rehearse while still working nearly full time. plus we still have virtually no equipment. I guess we can at least serve as an inspiration to those without trust funds and monthly allowances.

Powerline A.D.: Why did Frankie Rose leave Vivian Girls? And does she really play drums standing up?
JB Townshend: Frankie Rose? She played drums standing up for awhile, yeah. Not a huge deal on a 2-3 piece kit, really. As for the Viv Gs, you'll have to ask her/them that.

(Note: After this interview was posted Frankie Rose has left Crystal Stilts to work on her solo stuff. Crystal Stilts already have a new drummer.)

Powerline A.D.: Have you toured Europe yet? If so, what differences did you find between
European audiences and American ones?
JB Townshend: We've toured Europe three times now. Europeans are less skeptical and more honest perhaps? Maybe more grateful for bands coming through their towns? 

Interview by Pat Prince

Band Link:
www.myspace.com/crystalstilts

Related Links:
shopassistants.indie-mp3.net
www.slumberlandrecords.com/black-tambourine
www.last.fm/music/The+Seeds
www.greenonred.net
www.indiepages.com/boyracer
www.last.fm/music/Tronics
joydivision.homestead.com
www.sydbarrett.net
www.myspace.com/vegasuicide
www.jeffreyleepierce.net
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Baudelaire
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_C._Lilly
www.freewebs.com/viviangirls