Pelican will enter the studio in June to begin work on their next album.
The effort is expected out this fall.pelican
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Pelican added a new guitarist to their lineup. The band announced that Dallas Thomas of The Swan King has joined the group, replacing guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec.Pelican have started writing material for their next album. The band finished their first writing session on Sunday and currently have five new songs done. Further details are to be announced.
"We teepeed Thrice while they were playing," says Pelican bassist Bryan Herweg. "We went out and actually wrapped them up in toilet paper." Chatting at a park bench on a calm street in Pomona, Herweg and guitarist Trevor de Brauw reminisce of tour pranks during Pelican's 2008 run with Thrice and Circa Survive. De Brauw remembers testing Circa Survive bassist Nick Beard's unicycling skills. Says De Brauw, "We were playing this song 'Last Day of Winter' that has a break in the middle and I play guitar with a bow." Beard was to deliver the bow onstage mid-song while unicycling. "He completely pulled it off," he laughs.In the Los Angeles area for a one-off matinee performance, Herweg and De Brauw take a look back on Pelican's 12-year career. Having pedaled their way through nearly 200 shows a year from 2005 to 2009, released four studio albums, along with several EPs and splits, the Chicago-based instrumental band has seen a shift in priorities. "Unfortunately after a while it became like we had to do it to make a living," comments Herweg. "In the beginning," De Brauw chimes in, "the motivation simply was that we were so excited to have the opportunity to share music with so many people…" Despite guitarist Laurent Schroeder-Lebec taking an indefinite hiatus from the band, and Pelican having retired from fulltime touring, Herweg and De Brauw say their latest EP Ataraxia/Taraxis "reignited the creative passion." The band will continue writing their next album as a three-piece -- so far they're 33% done with initial song structuring. "It's starting to pick up more momentum now." Left to right: Trevor De Brauw and Bryan Herweg Front page & article photo by Doc Pelican guitarist and founding member Laurent Schroeder-Lebec is taking an indefinite hiatus from the band. The group commented "...After recording sessions for our last EP, Ataraxia/Taraxis, when we were ready to begin writing our next album and began planning the writing sessions it would entail, Laurent confided that his heart wasn't fully in it and, rather than deliver music that was half-hearted, he would rather sit it out.""Laurent is our friend and our brother - while his decision is disheartening, we completely respect it." Dallas Thomas (The Swan King), who has been filling in live shows for Schroeder-Lebec, will continue performing with the band. Another preview of Chord's (Pelican) upcoming release Gmaj7, out June 5th via MIE Music, can be streamed below courtesy of ImposeMagazine.com. Burning Love, Enabler, Black Breath, and Martyrdod will embark on the "Southern Lord Summer 2012 Label Package Tour." Pelican will join select shows. The itinerary follows: Jun 19 Seattle, WA @ El Corazon w/ Poison IdeaJun 20 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater w/ Poison Idea Jun 21 San Francisco, CA @ The Mezzanine w/ Noothgrush Jun 22 Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst w/ Pelican, Noothgrush Jun 23 Pomona, CA @ The Glass House w/ Pelican Jun 24 San Diego, CA @ The Casbah w/ Pelican Jun 25 Phoenix, AZ @ Chasers Jun 27 Dallas, TX @ Club Dada w/ Power Trip, Wild//Tribe Jun 28 Austin, TX @ Red 7 w/ Power Trip, Wild//Tribe Jun 29 Houston, TX @ Walter's w/ Power Trip, Wild//Tribe Jun 30 New Orleans, LA @ Three Ring Circus w/ Dead In The Dirt Jul 01 Atlanta, GA @ 529 w/ Dead In The Dirt Jul 02 Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade w/ Dead In the Dirt Jul 03 Richmond, VA @ Strange Matter w/ Dead In The Dirt Jul 04 Baltimore, MD @ Talking Head Lounge at Sonar w/ The Secret Jul 05 Boston, MA @ Radio Bar w/ The Secret Jul 06 Brooklyn, NY @ Acheron w/ The Secret Jul 07 Philadelphia, PA @ The Barbary w/ The Secret Jul 08 Dayton, OH @ Blind Bob's w/ The Secret (No Martyrdöd) Jul 09 Chicago, IL @ Empty Bottle (No Martyrdöd) Jul 10 Milwaukee, IL @ Borg Ward (Black Breath & Enabler Only) Jul 11 Minneapolis, MN @ Medusa (Black Breath & Enabler Only) Jul 13 Spokane, WA @ TBA Jul 14 Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater (Black Breath Only) w/ Autopsy  When Æges frontman Kemble Walters played in Juliette and the Licks, he did a few studio sessions with Dave Grohl. "[Grohl] draws this picture and gives it to the runner there. 'I want you to buy all these parts,'" he says imitating Grohl's voice. "'Here are the instructions. Make it.'" Colorfully describing the enormous beer bong Grohl had the runner assemble, Walters says the energy during those recording sessions was crazy. "We destroyed [the studio] because we could. Dave Grohl was there." Today as we chat candidly at Bonnerhaus, the Ryan's Rock Show headquarters in North Hollywood, Walters and drummer Larry Herweg (who also plays in Pelican) say that same destructive energy is the foundation of The Bridge (out April 17th), the debut album from Æges, a band six years in the making."We jammed in hopes of having a band together…for some reason for six years it didn't work," comments Walters. After years of impromptu jam sessions between Walters and Herweg in the midst of hectic scheduling with their respective projects, timing to form a new band seemed to be on their side in late 2010. Walters, who had been playing a breed of pop/rock, wanted to test the waters of metal; Herweg insisted on being "in a straight up rock band." The clash of objectives ultimately led to the band's 2011 debut EP Roaches, an effort that fueled the group to architect a blueprint for The Bridge. "It took a few rehearsals of us screwing around," Herweg says, curiously observing the antigravity chairs on our studio wall. "Then we finally started figuring out stuff that worked." From left to right: Kemble Walters, Larry Herweg. I did an interview with Torche in 2009 and Steve Brooks told this story of stopping at a rest area outside of Montreal. He said when he went to wash his hands in the restroom, luckily he looked in the open soap dispenser, because someone had put "two pieces of shit" inside. I know Pelican has toured with Torche, and Æges had their debut performance in 2011 with Floor, Brooks' previous band. Are there fond memories of being on the road with Torche or from that first Æges show? Front page & article photo by Doc |
