DeadJournalist.com Exclusive Interview: TV on the Radio

EXCLUSIVE Interview: TV on the Radio
Chuck Norton, DeadJournalist.com

If you are reading this sentence, the likelihood of you not knowing the band TV on the Radio is remote. In the event you aren't familiar with the band, go buy one of their albums, because trying to compare their sound to other artists is futile at best.

Simply put, TV on the Radio is unlike any other band - ever.

TV on the Radio features the distinctive and unforgettable vocals of Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone; which are mixed with complex layers of instrumental loops and noise created by David Andrew Sitek. The band's jazz/electro/psychedelic sound is rounded out by drummer Jaleel Bunton and bassist Gerard Smith.

The band has drawn a rapidly increasing number of fans and garnered an equally impressive amount of critical acclaim in the years following the release of the Young Liars EP in 2003. After the success of their full-length debut Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes and their follow up EP New Health Rock in 2004, the band moved up to a major label when they signed with Interscope Records.

While the praise bandied upon TV on the Radio is well deserved, there is more to the band than their music. The band recorded "Dry Drunk Emperor" after the Hurricane Katrina disaster in 2005. The band sold the controversial song on-line to raise money and awareness for the areas victims.

The band's long-awaited CD, Return to Cookie Mountain, will be released on September 12, 2006 and features vocals by David Bowie on "Providence". They will launch a supporting tour (many dates with Grizzly Bear) in New Orleans on September 14.

For more information on TV on the Radio, visit their Web site: www.tvontheradio.com or their Myspace.com page: www.myspace.com/tvotr.

DeadJournalist.com brings you this exclusive interview with David Andrew Sitek of TV on the Radio.

With the maturation and progression of sound on Return to Cookie Mountain was it difficult to explore new sounds without loosing the essence that is TV on the Radio?

DAS: I think if we didn't explore new sounds, we would have been in greater jeopardy of losing our essence. The band is mostly built on guesswork and exploration.

How did David Bowie's involvement in "Providence" come about?

DAS: We have known him for a while and passed on early versions of the songs to him. We told him he was welcome to join us on any of them. And he did just that. He liked the lyrical relevance of the song and had a marvelous harmony brewing for it.

What can people expect from your upcoming tour?

DAS: Grown men, acting like kids, pretending to be grown men. Loud love. Fast empathy. How did the band get involved with post-Katrina support?

Do you see progress being made in the area's recovery?

DAS: We have not been directly involved in relief efforts past donating a song to be sold and raising awareness. We did travel through New Orleans (9th Ward, East Orleans, Lakeside) and had the opportunity to interview some people. But that was more for us to get a grip personally on what had taken place and what was being done.

We were there nine months after the hurricane and while we were talking to firefighters a body was recovered. We couldn't believe it - nine months later. It is still quite daunting; what has to be done down there. And more disturbing is what little has been done.

The spirit of the people is strong, but there is still a tremendous need for outside help. Things as basic as wood, bricks, nails and manpower (are needed). It is a very complicated problem and there are competing interests vying for the reigns to head the process.

We can only hope that the people of New Orleans - the residents - have a say in how the city is rebuilt. I hope that this country will learn from this and realize that until we take care of our own citizens, we really have no business telling others how to run their country.

The only way the world will take us seriously is by example.