CHROMEWAVES RADIO: [interview] THE INTELLIGENCE

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

[interview] THE INTELLIGENCE

(previously on CWR)

Lars Finberg is the brainchild behind The Intelligence and he's just released the band's 7th LP, Everyone's Got It Easy But Me, on June 19 from In The Red Records (buy). On the new release, Lars and company continue the higher production quality that they first delved into with their previous, and quite
exceptional, record Males (buy). The new LP further showcases his knack for off-kilter, jangly punk tunes with a taste of more noticeably added effects such as synths and horns than what's previously been used. Lars calls L.A. home again (from Seattle) and the band will be heading out on a small tour through the west coast with a number of shows here in L.A., which includes July 23 at Alex's Bar, July 25 at Avalon Bar in Costa Mesa, and July 26 at Satellite (tickets).

I had the opportunity to run some questions by Lars, and his reputation as a comedian, and genuinely pleasant down to earth person, are clearly rooted in strong fact.

CWR: What are you wearing?

Lars: An outfit that just embarrassed me at the Starbucks in Bakersfield, CA. Daisy Dukes and a V-neck T-shirt and sneakers with no socks. But is is 108 degrees here so I'm at a loss in the tolerable outfit dept.

CWR: Ok, I just heard a rumour that The Intelligence broke up last year. This is news to me, can you provide any clarity? You are just about to tour with the band so what do you think could have sparked this? It could be you regular affiliation with so many other bands, I suppose.

Lars: I'm not sure where that came from. My only guess is a friends review on Terminal Boredom, I might have hinted at the time that Males was our last record and he wrote this really glowing but kind of R.I.P. sounding review. Other than that I have no idea. Maybe that was our fake 'going out of business' sale. Now we're 'under new management'...

CWR: Speaking of which, is Puberty over? I’m speaking of the side-project and not the state of maturation. I thought the single was fantastic and I've been hoping for more.

Lars: No, we have a LP we'd like to record but haven't found (or looked) for a label really. I had to put it on the back burner a bit when I moved away and got pretty busy with Thee Oh Sees this year. But we all still wanna do it, I hope we can work on an LP later this year.

CWR: I seem to lose count, but my last recollection is that you're a part of at least 5 different bands. What positives do you get out of playing in so many bands and how do you keep your calendar in order?

Lars: I've been in a bunch of bands but right now it's just The Intelligence, Wounded Lion and Puberty (which is kinda in non life threatening coma, so it doesn't take any time or effort at the moment). What do I get out of it? Besides a shit ton of easy money and sleazy chicks? No heath insurance or a future I guess. Seriously I just love playing and have a lot of great friends I enjoy working with and I like having different roles in a couple bands it's a nice break from obsessing about my own band all the time.

CWR: What’s your idea of a perfect weekend?

Lars: Get up early, ride bike to the juice place, tacos, walk in Griffith Park, see a movie, sit in the sauna, go to dinner with pals, hang around the campfire or hot tub in the backyard, fall asleep watching HBO. Get up early the next day, drive to see my family, play with the new baby, watch Breaking Bad with my pop, talk about eating healthy and then go eat taquitos at Mexicali.

CWR: Ian Curtis or Kurt Cobain?

Lars: Phew, tough one. I don't have to re-kill one of them do I? If I can only save one it'd have to be K.C.

CWR: What themes seem to inspire/motivate you the most when writing/recording? I particularly enjoy the social commentary in some of your songs.

Lars: Thank you! I guess I'm most interested in human interactions, specifically how they relate to ME. Even when people start talking about aliens or fantasy wizard monster TV shows I pretend I'm asleep. I like mood swings, life is beautiful AND gross. Someone pointed out that almost every song either references 'light' or 'trash' usually both.

CWR: What motivated the move from Seattle to L.A. for you? Was it music related, or just a life change? It doesn’t seem to have affected your music given the new record from my perspective, but I’m curious since many of your projects seem to be very specific to a locale.

Lars: I wanted to spend the rest of my time on earth with my family who all live in California. I had had enough of the weather and missed it here. I got a cool job opportunity and was going to relax on music but a bunch of cool stuff came up as soon as I moved here.

CWR: The tour is starting in July. What are you most looking forward to and what are you least looking forward to? Any favorite cities?

Lars: This tour's just a lil guy down the west coast which we haven't done in a while, so it kinda seems like an easy long weekend. I am really excited to play Seattle, we haven't played in over a year which is unheard of for us. Eureka is weirdly fun, in a "which weird stoner burn out should we ask for directions too?" We love San Francisco, I'm excited to play L.A. MY CITY. Happy to report no 'least favorites' on this one, I can get back to you when we do the rest of the U.S. though, PLENTY of doozies there.

CWR: You’ve been at it for a while now…a lot longer than most people may know. Any tidbits of knowledge for bands aspiring to tour?

Lars: Not that I can give up to the competition, we're out there to GRILL HEADS. Really I would suggest cleaning out the van regularly, it helps keep you sane. Starbucks has the cleaner restrooms.

CWR: Any other motivational messages for the youngsters?

Lars: Our first time in Eureka the drunk bartender booker imparted 'if you play a show you want it to be on a FRIDAY or a SATURDAY. If you play a 3 band bill you want to play SECOND, if you play a FOUR band bill you want to play THIRD".

CWR: Steven Spielberg or Martin Scorsese?

Lars: I'm not a child so no outer space, if it ain't Italians getting wacked with the Rolling Stones playing, I ain't interested.

THANK YOU!