Music Blogs

Have you ever seen a ghost?  If you answered “no,” then clearly you aren’t listening to Austin’s psych-rock drone-warriors The Black Angels.  Take one spin of their sophomore album Directions to See a Ghost (released May 13 on Light In The Attic Records) and by the time you hit the sixteen-minute disc-closer “Snake In The Grass,” chances are you’ll be dancing eyes closed with an apparition doing some sort of tribal holy jig in your living room.  And if the Angels touch you on record, just wait till they grab your soul live as they shock you back to 1968 with layers of fuzzy, reverb-drenched guitars stacked  above shamanic drums and blinding strobe lights all of which work together to trip you into a trance.  You don’t even need drugs, all you need is a ticket to the show and you too can see a ghost.  The Black Angels are on tour now, dates available at JamBase.com.               

Name: Alex Maas

Band(s): The Black Angels

Instrument(s): Sing, Bass, Keys/Drone Machine

Place You Call Home: Austin, TX

Last album to flip your lid: Goldsoul by The Bavarian Druglords

Album you always take on tour: Surgery by The Warlocks and Oscillations by The Silver Apples

What would someone always find in your van or tour bus?

Very difficult Sudoku puzzles partially completed.

What supplies don't you leave home without?

Water and a survival kit.

What personal rituals do you have to help keep your sanity while on tour?

Headphones.

Speaking of rituals, does the band have a pre-show ritual to help prepare for the stage?

Stephanie leads us in Middle Eastern hathara dance.

Audiences come in all shapes and sizes.  What's the screwiest fan encounter you've had?

Someone peed into the crowd from stage left in Detroit.

What's a great, positive fan encounter you've had?

During SXSW a woman cried tears of joy.

What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen from the stage while

performing?

A couple having sex on stage in Salt Lake City.

What’s the first thing you like to do after a show?

Load all the gear out into the van.

Tell us about a great road food stop you've discovered in your travels.

Billie’s Bad Ass Burrito Barn just outside of Lampasas, Texas.  You can’t find it on the Net and they rarely have what ya want, but dang it’s good.  The owners name is Sammy, ask for The Black Angel sauce.

If I weren't a musician I'd probably be a (fill in the blank) because (fill in the blank).

If I weren't a musician I'd probably be a professional baseball player because there was no one hiring at Maas Nursery.

(Fill in the blank) are the baddest mothas on the planet.

Customs Agents at U.S. Airports are the baddest mothas on the planet.

Your band mates will often reveal strange things about themselves during a tour.  What stuff have your fellow musicians shown you that took you aback or delighted you?

We have seen anything and everything you can imagine.  Everything!

Name a few things we'd find on your rider.

Black socks, whisky, batteries, local fruits and cheeses. Who keeps putting grapefruit juice on our rider?

What was the musical highlight of your last or current tour and why?