This week we sat down with Michael Ferrier, electrosax pioneer and ambassador of Electropolis, the Minneapolis avant-garde psychedelic jazz quartet.

Ad-hoc improv with soulful experimentation from looped/distorted saxophones and trumpets, typewriters, conch shells, happy accidents and an obsession with sci-fi classics.

That’s Electropolis, and if they were an animal, can you guess what they’d be? For their thoughts on the current musical landscape, band geeks and that damned “My Hump” song, read on…

Q: So let’s get the obligatory, how did the four of you get together question out of the way
A: Steve Roehm wanted to get himself, Kelly Rossum (electrumpet), and me (Michael Ferrier, electrosax) together to see what would happen if three alpha males got together to play music with no rules, and with copious amounts of toys. He knew Kelly and I were into triggering processors and samplers with our run-of-the-mill band instruments. We played with a number of bass players, jamming until we recruited old friend and co-conspirator Michael O’Brien to be the regular bass player. So, now there were 4 alpha males and tons of electronics. Zaniness ensued. But the zaniness gave way to a bit of seriousness once people heard what we were doing and actually liked it.

Q: Where did the idea for looping traditional wind instruments come from?
A: Well, for me, I just got fed up watching all the guitar players have all the fun and get all the chicks! Ha!

But seriously, that’s partially where it came from, seeing guitar players experiment with processors and warping their sound. I used to feel really limited, which may be a by-product of my classical music degree, trying to just get the best acoustic sounds, etc. But at a certain point, I said, “F*&K it, I want to PLAY.” And then I started building the arsenal. From there, it has been a lot of learning and experimentation since none of the equipment was actually made to do what we’re asking of it. Happy accidents happy all the time. We’ve been able to limit the sad accidents, happily.

Q: I know you’ve used seashells and other unusual musical instruments in your live performances. Tell me about some of those, why they worked well and maybe some examples of things you’ve tried that didn’t quite work out.
A: Really, most have worked pretty well! We’ve used: conch shells, whirl-gigs, adding machines, selectric typewriters, power drills, stuff Steve has found by the side of the road, cell phones, toys, personal alert devices, walkie talkies, the audience, televisions, the list goes on. Once, we even used a trombone. CRAZY!

Basically, everything goes fine until it doesn’t. Like for instance, at our last Cedar gig my electronics set-up emitted several mind-numbing/blood-curdling/ear-destroying ZAPS for some reason. And I can’t seem to replicate the problem in the “laboratory.” So, who knows when it’ll show up again!?!?! These are the things that keep electronic musicians awake at night.

Q: I know recording is sometimes difficult for a band whose best notes are played live. How was producing your full-length with producer Chris Cunningham different than recording past EPs?
A: Actually, we cheated, because we recorded the whole thing–actually about enough material for three albums–by ourselves in our space. Then we had Chris Cunningham help us mix the thing. There was all sorts of bleed-through, and we had some squirrelly-ness on some of the tracks, so Chris had to help us sort it out and get some separation, etc. He really did a great job of getting the best sounds, and editing down to the best stuff. He gave us a really great perspective, but most of all, reassurance and guidance where we needed it since he’s been through “the wars.” He encouraged us to be ourselves at every turn. Pretty cool.

We did try to go the more traditional route, going to a studio to cut tracks, but that just isn’t conducive to our process. We need the freedom to absolutely SUCK for and hour (or three) before we get to the good stuff. When you’re on some studio clock, that doesn’t work very well. So, we take the bull by the horns, and Steve engineers our sessions. When we have stuff we like, we make records. So far, so good. We’ll probably get tired of that approach at some point though, and do the opposite. Just for spite.

Q: How do you view the Twin Cities music scene?
A: From the seedy underbelly. No, really, we think it’s about to BLOW UP. There are so many talented people here, and the world is just waking up to it. I can’t believe how much the audiences take for granted here! I think the talent here is HEAVY, but the appreciation is LIGHT among potential audience. I wish I could get the audiences here to move to Albuquerque for a winter or something so they could see how talented the musicians and bands are here. Not that there aren’t great musicians, etc. there, but after a month you’ll TOTALLY know what I’m talking about. I mean, right now, the talent here and opportunities to hear it are blowing MANHATTAN out of the water! REALLY! There’s a certain gentrification that hasn’t moved in here yet that has dampened the scene for musicians there. Maybe that’s why so many are moving here or are moving back. Common scenario: NYC musicians can’t BUY a gig in NYC, so they have to play in Europe. They get popular in Europe, move there, and then can’t get gigs in Europe. But, hey, now they can get gigs in NYC!

So, I think we have it good here, and that we’re spoiled. I both welcome and fear the day that the world wakes up to the scene here. God forbid we get trendy again. Trends end.

Q: What do you think of most of today’s Top 40 fail-safe 4/4 rock with recurrent chorus/verse/chorus/verse structure?
A: Same with all music for me, some I love some I don’t. Mostly, I like music that is sincere. I really just try to use my ears and my gut, and if I like it, I like it. I don’t just dismiss something if it’s popular. Right now, I can’t get the BEP tune “My Humps” out of my head, if you can believe that. “Check it out . . .” Hilarious, infectious, stuff! As far as playing that type of music, I think I would personally get bored doing that, so we just do what we want to do, and let that stuff influence what we do with the experimental thing. All of the guys in the band are extremely open-minded, musically.

Q: Perhaps more importantly, what do you think about the hordes of sheep that buy the records?
A: BAAAAAAA! BAA-BAAAAAA! I hope they buy Electropolis with their side of Gwen Stefani. The more people buying records and/or downloads, etc, the better. Hey, I started out buying the Beach Boys, and now I’m in an experimental rock band! As long as people are BUYING MUSIC, that’s a good thing.

Q: This was your first year participating in the Fringe Festival this year. How did that go?
A: It was great! We did a show with VJ Neverwas (Chris Cunningham) playing video sampler. Basically, Chris could improvise videographically along with the music we played, so it was a really interactive multi-media show.

The interesting thing was that because of how the Fringe works, we had to set up our very technological show in 20 minutes, and tear down in 10 minutes! Let’s say we got it down to a science, and put on some serious muscle-mass.

Q: One of my favorite groups is Drums & Tuba, and as a sax player myself, it really opened my eyes to the possibilities of using computers and electronic loopers to expand the limitations of traditional instruments – not that I ever did anything about it. How do you view your role in unleashing “the man’s” burdens and constraints thrust upon everyday band geeks in high school and college?
A: We’re happy to be a part of the revolution that will set all band geeks free from their bonds forever! Seriously, though, we have a young faction of our audience that seems really inspired by our “rule-breaking,” and we’re happy to be out on the edge of whatever that is. If we can get kids to experiment and jam, that’s great.

We played a gig a while back that was just so-so for me (I had an off-night, or something, and not too many people showed for the gig), and afterwards Michael O’Brien said some kids came up to him afterwards and said, “Man, watching you guys makes us want to go home and jam! You guys just have so much fun, it’s really inspiring.” I’ll always remember that, because it made the entire night worthwhile. It just felt so good that the circle was closing, and I was now the inspirer as well as the inspired.

Q: If people really dig Electropolis, what other bands do you recommend they check out?
A: Gosh, that’s a tough one. Grassy Knoll from Texas, Critters Buggin from Seattle, Color and Talea from Boston. Some of John Zorn’s stuff might appeal. A little band out of NYC called Sonic Youth. I would recommend the electric Miles Davis to anyone who hasn’t heard it, or has previously dismissed it. It really inspired me when Electropolis was getting started. What a wealth of material! Such soul in the electricity.

Q: If you were destined for an uninhabited planet devoid of all musical pleasures and could only pick one album to bring with you, which and why?
A: If nailed down, it’d have to be Miles Davis, “LIVE EVIL.” I cheated, cuz that’s a double.

Q: If Electropolis was an animal, what kind and why?
A: I’d say a puma. We can creep along, and before you know it, we’re on top of you. We can seriously run ass-fast if we need to, but we can also lay back and purrrrrrr. Don’t cross us, we’re dangerous and agile. Allow us to lock you into our gaze, and you might look away first.

Q: Releases?
A: “Music for Trips” EP, “SlowFast” EP, “Electropolis Plays More Music for Trips” EP, “Electropolis” full length record is out now.

Q: Any other tidbits or upcoming gigs?
A: We’re doing the live soundtrack to Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” at the Southern Theater on Sunday, February 19th. It’s an all-ages thing. The Southern is going to be a great place to do this. For the second act of the film, we’re going to do a live surround sound deal, incorporating opera singers, string players, turn-tables, etc. It is going to be a BLAST! We did a version of the soundtrack at the Cedar back in 2004, and people loved it, so we’ve been looking forward to doing it again and taking it to the next level.

You can also listen for Electropolis live in the studio with Chris Roberts on 89.3 The Current’s Local Show in early February.