In 1999 four students at the University of Texas in Austin, doing as students do, started playing music together. Like many would be rock stars before them, the band had hopes of making it big, but no idea it would actually pull that off. Now, 10 years later, Explosions in the Sky is embarking on a tenth anniversary tour that makes a sold-out stop tonight at Central Park Summerstage. New York Press caught up with drummer Chris Hrasky to get his take on the last decade of American rock and his thoughts on the Lakers winning the 2009 NBA championship. My first encounter with seeing you guys was in Austin in 2001 when you played the Texas Union Ballroom. I was on the Music and Entertainment Committee and remember everyone on the committee commenting on how nice you all were. I like to tell people it’s because most of you grew up in Texas, but really how do you feel like your experiences in Texas and Midland have influenced your music and career?
Interestingly enough, I'm the one member of the band who didn't grow up in Texas (I was born and raised in Illinois) but I do have some thoughts on this one. The question of how Texas sort of informs the band and our music comes up a lot and it’s never an easy one to answer. Obviously, upbringing and environment influence everyone, and everyone is sort of made up of really specific circumstances. I suppose one could argue that the landscape of West Texas has influenced our sound, or that growing up in a smaller town and all that entails has an effect on how you interact with the world. But, ultimately, I think this is a question we can't really answer, as I don't think its something we really think about consciously.
You have mentioned in interviews that you are influenced by classical music; Mono is also currently celebrating its tenth anniversary with a tour, which included two NYC shows with an orchestra. Is this a setting that Explosions in the Sky is interested in exploring?
Not really. I think it works well for a band like Mono and it has worked well for other bands, as well. But we've always had this self-imposed rule that it’s always going to be just the four of us. We're pretty stubborn about this idea of making this sort of cinematic music or whatever but doing so in a more traditional rock band setting (four guys sitting around in a room with guitars and drums). But, who knows, maybe we'll change our mind in the future. Also, we're not exactly the most confident musicians in the world and I think we'd be pretty nervous to play with an orchestra. Although the idea of us four sitting around with a bunch of classically trained musicians is kind of funny to think about.
You’re often grouped with bands like Godspeed! You Black Emperor and Mogwai—are there bands that you feel a musical connection to or that you associate with your music?
Well, Mogwai and Godspeed were definitely influences on us. I'm not sure we'd even be a band if it weren’t for Mogwai. But instrumental rock is not a genre of music we listen to very much. If I listen to instrumental stuff its usually some sort of ambient thing like Stars of the Lid or Eluvium. As far as musical connection is concerned...I think we feel connected to our friends who are in bands, regardless of what they sound like. But we also connect with music the way anyone does. For the last month, I've been having a hard time listening to anything else but the first two songs on the new Phoenix record.
Looking back at the past 10 years of EITS is there any one moment as a band that stands out where you all realized that something special was happening?
There have been dozens of moments like that. And they still continue to pop up. I think we're all still freaked out by the realization that this is what we're doing with our lives and that, somehow, we've reached a point where this is our job. And I mean that in the best possible way. When we started this band we didn't have any sort of particular goal in mind other than making music together after work and now, 10 years later, the band has become the defining feature of our lives so far.
The band has already done lots of things in its 10 years, like curating All Tomorrow's Parties and composing the soundtrack to a feature film. Now assuming that EITS continues another 10 years are there any long-term goals or desires you want to fulfill?
We've never really had long-term goals. We've just sort of stumbled into things. So, really, the only goal we have at this point is to write another record that we'll be proud of. We would love to do more film music but we don't have any grand plan or strategy for that.
When will get some new music from you guys?
Hard to say. After last summer, we sort of went on a bit of a hiatus. One of the members of the band (Mark) and his wife had a baby girl so obviously he had to step back a bit. But, beyond that, we'd been going pretty much nonstop for nine years and it just seemed like the time for a short break. But over the last few months we've been working a lot on new stuff. We're pretty excited about the stuff we're working on, as it seems pretty different than what we've done in the past, but we're still a long way off from having a new record ready or anything.
What is your favorite place to visit while you are in New York City?
There is a veggie dim sum place in Chinatown that we always go to. I don't even know what it’s called, but we go there every time we're in the city.
I’ve read that you are all fans of the NBA. How do you feel about the Lakers winning the championship? It seems that people who follow the NBA either love them or hate them.
I would have liked to see Orlando win. I don't hate the Lakers or anything but they're not one of my favorites or anything. But, boy, they are a great team.
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