Interview with Mark Morgan of Sightings

Sightings newest album, Terribly Well,  comes out on April 1st.  I decided to do a quick interview with Mark Morgan of the band while I wait for my copy.

 

You have a new album coming out on April 1st (my birthday ironically), Terribly Well, how does it sound compared to Future Accidents?

Mark: At the moment, I think it sounds better and I like the material more

A while back you released an album with Andrew W.K. producing.  How was it working with him, and who does the producing on the latest release?

Mark: I've been friends with him for awhile and it was pretty easy for the most part. We the band didn't always seem eye to eye with him on a few things but in the end, I guess it went smoothly enough.

Terribly Well is being released on Dais Records.  How did you get in touch with them and what was it about Dais that made releasing through them so appealing?

Mark: Ryan from Dais is a friend of mine and we decided to work together. Pretty simple.

When I look at your discography, you intermittently have releases on Load Records.  Is there any reason in particular for the minor label releases in between releasing on Load?

Mark: Not really.

Often your band states that the band is not a real source of income.  How difficult is it balancing work with the band, specifically when going on tour in Europe in support of your upcoming release?

Mark: Do we often say that? Shit, I'm worried that we sound like assholes making a point about something that's probably glaringly obvious. Anyway, we all lined up or fell into jobs that are thankfully understanding about touring so it's been pretty easy sorting that stuff out.

Mark, your last year collaboration with Pat Murano, Threnody for Marcus Junius Brutus, was an enjoyable surprise in 2012.  How did you feel about it and do you plan to do any collaborations with any other artists in the future?

Mark: I like it in that it's an improv thing where I don't have to remember anything. I don't have any plans for any other collaborations but I'm open to whatever if I can get along with the other person/people.

Last year in particular showed a huge influx of great noise rock albums.  What was some of your favorites from 2012?  Also, what albums outside of that genre did you enjoy from 2012?

Mark: Pretty sure I didn't hear any. Not as aggressive as I used to be in seeking out new music and I generally have a pretty low opinion of most rock these days.

Last year, White Suns released a limited run cassette improvisational album on Ominous Recordings' HQ Tape Series.  Have you ever thought about releasing an improv set on cassette?

Mark: Have vaguely considered it but I'm not a big fan of the format.

Mark, last year Spin Magazine listed you as the 98th guitarist of all time.  Were you caught off-guard by this, and what were your opinions on that list in general?

Mark: Hell yeah I was caught off-guard and many friends were greatly amused and taunted me with, "MR. 98".

I get the drift of what they were trying to do with the list in that they wanted to produce an alternate canon but it partially struck me as being a revenge of the nerds type thing-why can't Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen be on the same list as Robert Quine and Keiji Haino?

Arrived in Gold is still my favorite release by Sightings, partially because of high-school nostalgia.  Can we expect Sightings to ever write another funky, upbeat tune like 'Internal Compass' again, and how did that song end up on the record?

Mark: I have no idea about what we'll do in the future.

When writing lyrics, are there any themes you find yourself consistently returning to, and are all the lyrics written y Mark?

Mark: I've written song lyrics for the albums since Arrived In Gold but whether I remember them during shows is another question.

I want to thank you again for taking the time to do this interview and I look forward to hearing the new album on the 1st.  Is there any last words you would like to say?

Mark: Nope, I have to get back to work.

Thanks again Mark for taking the time to do this interview.  Terribly Well can be purchased Here and a song from the album can be viewed there as well.