Once upon a time, there was a place called Omaha, Nebraska. And in this town, was a band called The Faint. Working at their craft for over ten years, and having refined and changed everything from their line-up (once including fellow Nebraskan musician and current label-mate Connor Oberst of Bright Eyes fame), their name (formerly Norman Bailer and even their style (in their own words "lite rock, and not the good kind"), this creative and infectious dance-rock band is finally getting their due. On break from a recent tour and preparing to go out on another with their friends Connor Oberst, bass player and all purpose aural-troublemaker of The Faint, Joel Petersen, was kind enough to sit down and talk to us about crappy 80's synths, analogue madness, modular fun, and other such mysteries of the modern electronic musician. F.A.S. Truhan III: What was it like making the music you do in a place like Omaha? Even where I live, in South Florida, there isn't much outside of the requisite copycats of whatever is on MTV, so it seems to me it'd be even harder to make a scene in a more out-of-the-way place. Any advice for the aspiring musician in a similar climate? Joel Petersen: The music community we surround ourselves with is very supportive and I think that helps push us to make better records. We don't want to let them or ourselves down. F.A.S. Truhan III: In the biography on your web site, www.thefaint.com, you mentioned starting out with "crappy keyboards from the early 80's". What keyboards were those, and why did you think they were 'crappy'? Do you still use any of them, and if so, which ones? Joel Petersen: Our first one was made by Siel, I don't recall the model. Then, it was an Ensoniq Mirage which had some broken keys and whatnot. Our first 'real' keyboard was a Korg Poly 61 which we sold to another band on our label. When we first started getting interested in synths, I don't think we even knew what the distinction between analog and digital was. We just bought what was available and inexpensive, and what sounded good to us. When Jacob (Thiel, primary keyboard player of The Faint - Ed.) first joined the band we ended up getting a Roland Juno 106 which we liked but it became very problematic at shows. We were playing a lot of basements and small clubs that would get super hot and humid, and the keyboard would go out of tune. After that happened too many times we decided to start looking into virtual analog stuff for live shows. FAST: What analogue synths do you have? JP: Currently, we have a Korg MS20, a Doepfer A-100 modular system, a Doepfer MS-404, and a Studio Electronics Omega 2. FAST: Ah, I see my suspicions of you using a modular are correct. Any other modules from different manufacturers? What influenced your module choice? How does the modular influence sonics and/or song structure differently than your hard-wired analogues? JP: The Doepfer A-100 has some other filter options like an Analog Solutions Filtered Coffee and a Sherman Filter Bank 2. I chose that mostly because there was a store a few blocks from my house called 'Sonic Highway' that carried them and I was able to hear and touch it first hand before buying it. It let me think that the world of modular synths was something that I could understand and enjoy. I think it influences things in a way because you have a clean slate for every new patch/song. I feel like I get to re-invent how to make a sound each time and that is exciting, to feel like such an integral part of the process. FAST: What virtual analogues or other forms of digital synthesis do you complement them with? Why do you think these synths interact/complement your analogue gear? JP: We mostly play virtual analogue stuff like the Clavia Nord Lead 3, Yamaha AN1X, Novation Supernova 2, and Hartmann Neuron. I llike having options for different kinds of sounds and I think our various stuff plays against each other pretty well. FAST: That's a great cover on your previous album Danse Macabre that makes me smirk every time I look at it. What's the story behind that picture? JP: Thanks. Not much of a story, other than that was probably the 60th or so album idea we had for that record. FAST: How has your gear changed since Danse Macabre? Same stuff? Changed stuff completely? Mix of old and new? How was your rig changed from the earlier days when your band was known as 'Norman Bailer' up til now? JP: Yeah, it is sort of a grab bag of things that we have had for a long time and some newer pieces. Actually, some things that we have been searching out is better stuff for guitar and bass. FAST: I understand that earlier, the band found itself a bit wary of the current so-called "80's sound" revival. Though you wanted sound the way you wanted, you also didn't want to be associated with a bad trend either, and this wariness seemed to get you off to a slower start when making the new record. I find myself feeling the same way in many respects when I write music with my synths. So after the fact, what are your current feelings on this renewed interest in synth sounds that are more associated with the 80's? Does it now seem more of a help that maybe more people might get into your music due to your association with synth-based music? Or do you feel your song title "Your Retro Career Melted' pretty much sums it up? JP: Well, I have always thought it was nice for anyone to have any opinion about our band and whether or not I agreed with it was beside the point. I don't feel it is my place to tell people how to hear/listen to our band. If people come to know our band because we use keyboards that is fine with me. FAST: I imagine you guys may have been fans of New Order, am I wrong? Your track "Conductor" in particular gives me this idea. JP: I have never heard a New Order album, I know the hits but that's it. I probably should check them out sometime. FAST: How did you come to find out about Shawn Cleary's Analogue Haven? JP: Through a link on the now defunct Sonic Highway website. FAST: That's a great obese bassline and drums on your track "Desperate Guys". JP: Thanks. FAST: What are you using to achieve that sound? JP: That was me playing a Fender Precision Bass along with a pitched kick drum from either our Alesis DMPro or Jomox Airbass 99, I forget which. The drums are effected in a couple ways, but most distinctly is the Sherman Filterbank, which is what gets all wicked at the end. FAST: How does your synth equipment influence your writing and arranging process? Do you find you search for sounds after you've written songs, or do you find that creating certain sounds inspires new songs? JP: A little bit of both. Sometimes one of us has an idea for a sound in some part, and other times jacob will make such a cool sound that we end up trying it in a bunch of songs before it finds a home. FAST: A statement that caught my eye from your band bio was how Todd said that after abandoning his old guitar-centric approach, he found himself now writing songs in his head, to the rhythm of the sounds of his feet while walking, and to the rhythm of windshield wipers. This immediately made me think of your track "How Could I Forget?", as there is what sounds to me a revving engine patch, making me suspect is was influenced by someone's experiences with motorcycles or motorbikes. Sound about right or am I reading too much into it? JP: That may have been a subconscious thing. I like your interpretation. FAST: In a word or hey, maybe I'll be generous and give you a whole sentence, why primarily analogue over your other choices? JP: It just sounds better for certain ideas. FAST: I find that much like your label mate Bright Eyes newer album "Digital Ash in a Digital Urn", but present in a much greater degree on your latest album 'Wet From Birth', there's a very organic interaction between your drummer and your drum machines. How do you guys decide to arrange your percussion? Any plan that works? Does it just happen? What drum synths do you use? JP: For our "Wet From Birth" album we were interested in human-like percussion with accents of programmed. I think we were just going for a more natural feeling record and the emphasis on live drums seemed appropriate. Everything is still to a click but it is those little inconsistencies that made it feel right for us. We don't really have a drum machine, we use an Akai MPC 4000 to sequence our stuff live and clark uses an Alesis DMPro that is sometimes programmed but usually plays it live with some triggers. He also has a Jomox Airbase 99 that we used in the studio for some things. FAST: On 'Agenda Suicide' and 'Paranoiattak', it can get difficult to differentiate from guitar and synth due to the texture of the sound as well as playing style, which is an approach I've found interesting that other artists have used it in the past. Was this a conscious stylistic choice or a bit of a happy accident? JP: Yeah, we like the idea of humans doubling synths. I think it worked on those songs well because they are sort of melodic lead parts and at times synths alone can be a bit stiff for that. FAST: That's a very interesting vocal effect on Symptom Finger. What is that? Some oscillator sync effect or are you treating vocals with some odd vocoding perhaps...? JP: Todd (Baechle, singer and keyboard player of The Faint -Ed.) likes using a T.C. Electronics Helicon Voiceprism and we did some doubling with various synced keyboard filters and whatnot, it usually varied quite a bit from song to song. FAST: What is responsible for that huge staccato unison mode-like sound on 'Posed to Death'? JP: My memory is a bit hazy, that was five years ago but I think we had three keyboards playing that. FAST: Do Todd and Jake have more varying or more similar tastes in synth gear? How do you feel their stylistic interaction and tone choices influence how the rest of you interact and react to them in your songwriting process? JP: I would say they have very different approaches, but both appreciate a great sound. Jacob loves his Clavia Nord Lead 3 and I don't think Todd has really figured out what he likes yet, he is kind of the ever searching spirit in the band. When we are writing we are all very much trying to get our mind around a synth sound, and we all tend to have ideas but also give jacob as much freedom as we can. FAST: Even though you are primarily thought of as the bassist in The Faint, I imagine you must still have much to do with the synths/electronics since you're such a synth heavy band. What greater role other than bassist do you play that most of your fans may not be aware of? Are there other projects of your own perhaps where you have a different musical identity than most of your fans would know of/expect? JP: In the faint, everything is done very democratically almost to the point of frustration at times. Basically, if one of us doesn't like something or thinks it could be better, then we keep working on it. If it never gets to the point where we all like it, then we drop it. That goes for everything from song titles/lyrics, to drum beats, to synth sounds. I also do a project called Broken Spindles that I do everything for, the writing/playing/singing/programming/etc. FAST: What is responsible for that reverby/resonance snap sound that dominates most of the Ballad of a Paralyzed Citizen? JP: Not sure what part you are specifically asking about, but the fellow we recorded that with, Mike Mogis, is a big fan of his plate reverb. FAST: I like your cute reference to that bad 80's song "Total Eclipse of the Heart' on "Let the Poison Spill From Your Throat"...or am I wrong? JP: I am not sure what you are talking about. probably unintentional. FAST: You once stood out with your band name "The Faint", before it became a big trend to name a band "The Somethings" like it's the sixties again, and now seemingly every band that's come out in the last three years have been called "The" something or others. Does that piss you guys off? JP: No, it doesn't piss me off, coming up with a band name is a very hard thing to do. FAST: You guys almost seem to want to downplay your more guitar-based days, and there seems to be alot less guitar and alot more synth on "Wet From Birth" than there is on "Danse Macabre". But, you have some good moments of that sort on "Wet From Birth", "Birth" for example is a great guitar-based rock song. Do you think you ever see the pendulum swinging back that way and you may take a more guitar-centric approach in the future? If so, do you think you'll perhaps take the approach of heavily processing your guitars with analogue pedals or modular synth rigs? JP: Interesting question. It is hard to say what our tastes will be when we sit down to write again. I have never really been a fan of heavily processed guitar, I always figured if you want a synth sound then play a synth. I think we are still interested in the human element of music, so maybe it will end up being less synth stuff. who knows. FAST: Any artists in the electronic realm that you thing are doing particularly interesting things? JP: I have been liking the Soft Pink Truth, The Bug, Lullatone, Matthew Dear, and probably lots I am forgetting. FAST: Any artists in that genre or from any others that you'd like to work with? JP: Maybe someone like timbaland. I have a sincere appreciation for his body of work. FAST: Any artists in any genre you wish would go away? JP: I am pretty over the over-produced radio friendly emo jock rock. FAST: What artists and styles do you think had the biggest impact on your songwriting process and sound ethos? JP: Me personally, it would have to be Sonic Youth or Fugazi. The punk-rock ethos never gets old. FAST: What do you think about the musical climate in general at the moment? JP: There are some cool things happening right now, but I am more excited to hear new stuff. I tend to be most interested in what is next. FAST: Do you have any new ideas or strong feeling about digital music distribution? Do you think alot of artists might be giving lip service to how they're ok with people getting free mp3's without permission and that in reality they're scared of being honest and suffering a backlash like say, Metallica did when they denounced Napster and the like? JP: I can't speak for other people, but I think downloading is great. It totally brings people out to shows and lets people try to hear new things without much commitment. I am a pirate and proud of it. FAST: Anything in particular you want to say to the readers of Analogue Haven or any neat projects you want to let us know about? JP: Make music. Or art. Or anything. FAST: Thanks for your time Joel. Hopefully I can catch you in Florida sometime, the state where no good bands ever tour. Ever. JP: Thanks. - F.A.S Truhan III. - The author of this article is a Capricorn who likes long walks on the beach with his Alesis Andromeda 6, and is a musician/troublemaker in South Florida. Say hi at vampeiyre@earthlink.net