• Justin Dylan Renney

The Lights are a band that are unhinged and connected. They are live, unfrayed, tilted, and more importantly they are able to get live and tilted with their shows. For the Lights, there are two words that apply: “As One.” For they are, as one, three members bringing together the triumvirate union of garage wholeness, stage delivery, and appreciative listener. In pre-anesthesia times when Doctors performed brain surgery, patients threw back whisky and bit down on leather to cope with the pain. Conscious, with their skulls opened, they encountered so much pain that they entered a trance like state of suspended hallucinatory shock where all was beautiful, no pain. This is what happens when you listen to the Lights.

The Lights: “Puerto Escondido”

* The Lights play tomorrow, Friday, Feb. 26 at the Funhouse in celebration of their full length release of Failed Graves coming out on Wantage USA. Erik Blood and Partman Parthorse also play. Vocalist / bass player Jeff Albertson and drummer PJ Rogalski sat with me for a few moments to discuss. They bit down on no leather:

The Lights have relationships with their instruments, right?
Jeff: Yes. I am in a loving and committed relationship with a 1966 American-Made Fender Precision Bass. We've been together more than sixteen years. I love it because its got scars all over it and looks like it's seen it's fair share of fights, but it still sounds as pure as the day it was crafted in this great nation of ours.

PJ: I never go anywhere without a cracked 21" ride cymbal and a falling-apart bass drum pedal. And I love other people's drum chair things. I've tried to leave one at every club in town so I don't have to worry about lugging it around, but that hasn't really worked out and other people's stuff is so much better.

Your song “Puerto Escondido” has a feeling. What’s that feeling?
Jeff: "Puerto Escondido" is about that feeling you get when you've been drinking too much, doing too much and your insides hurt. It's about despair and knowing that you've fucked up so bad that you can never go back. It's one of the more stripped down and bare-bones songs we have. Recording it with Erik Blood was very natural for us. He was the earliest champion of our band and we are forever grateful for his ability to make us feel comfortable in the studio.

PJ: You won't hear much of that pristine cymbal on this song, but the bass drum pedal held up throughout the recording and there was a pretty comfy stool at the studio. It was good for me. Jeff and Craig nailed it, with the finger picking and broke-down, bummed out lyrics and all. Chalk up another hit.

Why the name “Puerto Escondido”?
Jeff: Song names are generally an afterthought for us. Often PJ comes up with the names for our songs. He's the smartest one in the band. He has even read books!

PJ: Two books, but one was really long.

What is the latest on your pesky neighbor making noise complaints?
Jeff: Here's the rub. We've lived and practiced in this neighborhood for three years now without one single noise complaint. Are we loud? Yes. Do we practice past 9:30? Never. Also, the Buckaroo Tavern generates more noise than we do. There's something to be said against urban density in that if you expect peace and quite while stacking five condo units in what was a single-home lot then you are awfully naive. The neighbors left town and have not returned since the initial noise complaint.

PJ: I find absolutely stunning that their first reaction was to call the cops. I guess there's nothing more frightening than the prospect of approaching three ahem older dudes in a living room rock band and asking them to turn down, or even better working on a compromise. Yeah, that's just too much effort. Better to send the cops and pull them away form work that may actually result in something positive. But then again, I don't have to live next door to Jeff. I'd like to think that a conversation, dinner, roses, and a back rub would just make the whole thing go away.

Jeff: I would love to go talk with them. I enjoy being personable and friendly with the people in our quirky neighborhood. The other neighbors are super cool about our music. Also, the owner of the Italian Restaurant nearby has never had a problem with us. I would personally like to: "Keep Fremont Weird." It seems that new neighbors are the exception. Hello new neighbors! if you read this please come talk to me. I would love to meet you and welcome you to the neighborhood!

What is your understanding of the noise ordinance in Seattle?
Jeff: You can be reasonably loud up until 10 PM on week nights and 11 PM on weekends. Also, the decibel level can not be above 55dbs from fifty feet away. And note, these new condo / town homes are squished into this tiny lot a mere fifteen feet from our living room.

• Andrea Rogalski

How well is your place soundproofed? Have you tried to add soundproofing since the neighbors complained?
Jeff: We live in a house that was built in the 1920s. It's safe to say amplified sound was of very little concern then. Since the complaint myself and Pete Capponi (Coconut Coolouts / Lamborghiniz Crew) constructed these plywood squares that are backed by soundboard material. Each piece fits snuggly over the single-glass pane windows. Does it help? A little, but more importantly in shows the neighbors and the police that we are not immune to their concerns and are working to remedy the situation. Most importantly we've turned everything down and are starting practices earlier.

What makes recording with Erik Blood natural? What makes this natural feeling happen?
Jeff: Erik is very calm and methodical in the studio. He's a personable and likable guy and shares a similar sense of humor as us. It's hard to explain. His Bill Cosby impression is spot on though. He also came and recorded some early practices prior to making this record. Those rough practice demos allowed him to be really familiar with all our new songs when we got to the studio.

PJ: Recording with Erik is always free and easy. He has an incredible ear and since he's worked with us from really early on he has a good sense of what it is we're trying to do. And I'm not sure if you know how difficult it is to nail a Cosby impression, but Erik's got it down. Really inspirational after a couple frustrating takes. Plus, he's just a stellar guy with great taste in music and chops to boot.

Is it true that the Lights enjoy Olympic Curling? And that you all Curl in your spare time?
Jeff: If by curling you mean shuffleboard and by spare time you mean once a year when I stumble into a bar that has shuffleboard then hell yeah. We're actually much more into table tennis, or as Americans know it: ping pong.

PJ: Everyone always thinks that the Olympics are the be all end all of curling. The real shit goes down on the pro-am circuit. But that's a young man's game and table tennis better suits our more sensible and mature lifestyles.

The Lights Failed Graves will be released on vinyl and digital download by Wantage USA. Produced and engineered by Erik Blood at MRX Studio and the Fremont House.