This summer, the Astronaut Suit returned with their long-awaited sophomore EP, Soul of a Man. The principle project of Jess Farr, the group unloads an impressive, if improbable, combination of country-tinged twang and spacey electronic jams, like Spiritualized cut with an acoustic and southern sensibility. The title track stomps out a bluesy romp offset by the hazy organ and vocal reverb of “40 days” and battered distortion of “Follow You Down,” while “Rolling Thunder” slowly pulses in the vein of Primal Scream. You can check out the Astronaut Suit this Saturday, August 16 at Club DeVille with locals Deadman and the Come Latelys, or the following weekend at the Parish with the fantastic lineup that includes the Monahans and Dallas’ Doug Burr.
Profile: The Astronaut Suit
Year Formed:
I started the project in 2001 and worked off and on until 2007 when I got the band together. - jess
Members/Instruments played:
Jess Farr: vocals, guitar.
Josh Hathaway: drums
Gretagoo: organ, guitar, percussion.
Britton Beisenherz: bass
Former Bands/Side Projects:
none really. Britton plays bass for Monahans/Milton Mapes and produces their records
Albums:
east of eden 2003,
soul of a man 2007
we are going into Britton’s studio next month to begin recording a full length record.
Influences:
BRMC, Spiritualized, BJM, Bob Dylan, Hank Williams, the Verve, Stone Roses, Blind Willie Johnson, William Blake…
Strangest comment or comparison ever made about your music:
we were once called prog rockers
Favorite local bands:
Monahans, the Black Angels, Deadman, Hacienda, Heartless Bastards
Favorite local venue:
the Parish
Upcoming shows scheduled:
aug 16th @Club De Ville w/ Deadman and the Come Latelys.
Aug 29th @the Parish w/ Monahans and Doug Burr
Shows over the next month that you’re excited to see:
the Heartless Bastards at the Continental Club.
Some of your favorite albums from the past year:
In Rainbows, Icky Thump, Raising Sand
Ideal band (past or present) to open for on a national tour:
Elvis
Austin Sound questions:
What would be y’all’s top five favorite outer space related songs ever?
1. Mothership Connection (Star Child)- Parliment
2. Subterranean Homesick Alien -Radiohead
3. An Ending (ascent)-Brian Eno w/Daniel Lanios
4. Mystery Train -Elvis Presley
5. anything by Hank Williams
those last two aren’t really space related, but they always sound really spacey to me.
Since you asked, what is the soul of a man?
Honestly, I don’t know. Thats why I’m asking.
Song Introduction:
40 days
the song was recorded live to a four track. We were just messing around with the effects and this song just came along by accident. the version on the record is the first time we’d ever played it all the way through.
Sound Off:
the Astronaut Suit is not a literal one, but a metaphor for the Human Body as a vessel between the temporal and the eternal states. Music is created through this process. It comes not from the body but through it.
Mp3 from Soul of a Man:
40 Days
Websites:
www.astronautsuit.com
Myspace
