Don’t be fooled by Post Harbor’s maritime moniker, this Seattle quartet embraces a solid rock foundation. Set to release their first full-length album this spring, the band has performed its sumptuous sets throughout the Northwest, developing a loyal all-ages fan base. Forming more than two years ago and taking their name from a line in a poem (“The Song of The Merchant Kalashnikov”) by 19th-century Russian author Mikhail Lermontov, Post Harbor is comprised of 20-somethings Anthony Carlucci on vocals and guitar, Brandon Bogan on guitar, keyboard and bow, Kenny Ball on bass guitar, and Aaron Gustafson on drums. With their surging lyrics, complex rhythms and angular structures that possess a haunting, geometric beat, it would be simple to define their compositions simply as “math rock.” But with their raw, discerning sounds that blend multiple rock genres that would be too easy. And nothing worthwhile is ever easy.
I was fortunate enough to meet up with Carlucci and Gustafson to get their take on today’s music scene, the details of their new album, and why awkwardness can be a great thing.
What is Post Harbor’s guiding musical philosophy?
Anthony Carlucci: I think our approach is to create an adequate representation of our individual tastes comprised as a whole. I think that’s the whole idea of being in a band and collaborating with other individuals. You form this synergy that grows on itself and you end up with something totally different than what you might have envisioned in the first place on an individual basis.
Aaron Gustafson: We have always strived on awkwardness. And I take this also and use it in my personal life. I think that the more awkward the situation that you can get into, the more challenge you’re going to face and the more you’ll grow. So with music, it could be playing really well or playing really badly, but being uncomfortable, to a certain extent, is very good for personal growth and band growth.
Tell me about your first full-length album.
AC: It’s an interesting group of songs that we’ve sewn together. This is stripped down to our favorite stuff that we’ve been able to come up with over the past few years.
AG: There was a debate over whether we should have done this six months ago or that maybe we should do this six months from now, but there’s a point where you have to decide, and we’re at a place where we feel comfortable enough with our music to put in down on paper … [laughing] plastic.
AC: I’m excited about this album because we haven’t been under and time constraints or pressures. We’ve had years to be able to put these songs together and get them exactly how we want them to sound.
What is the sound going to be like, especially in relation to your live stuff, because most people know you strictly from that?
AC: I think one of the beauties of the recording process is that you get to do some things that you might not be able to do live. We’ve taken the time to add some instrumentation that might not have been there, and really embellish as much as possible on certain aspects that, ideally if we had the resources and the manpower, we’d be able to have already thrown together .
AG: Vocals will be a little bit more produced and filled out. We’re adding some vibraphone and some cello; it’s not going to be barebones.
AC: I think that’s going to be one interesting take for people who have seen us live, but who haven’t necessarily heard anything we’ve recorded in the past. It’s going to be a new experience.
What was your personal inspiration for this album?
AC: I think the main inspiration behind this album came from the third season of "Smallville" [laughs]. I suppose it would have to be the music that has meant such a great deal to me over the course of my life and my past that’s inspired me to play music in the first place.
AG: Also, for me, it’s the goal. That idea that we’re going to record, so I want these to be the best they can be, and put together something that feels good as a whole for everybody.
As an up-and-coming band, what do you think is the best way to get your music out there? And as music fans, what’s the best way to find music?
AG: Well, right now it's MySpace, to be honest.
AC: I think it’s not just MySpace, but the Internet. The medium as a whole is probably the greatest thing for small bands to ever come around.
AG: But also independent radio stations that broadcast via the Web because they spread small bands across the world—like KEXP in Seattle, for instance. You can log on in the UK or Iceland or wherever and listen to music that’s coming out of this area, but also everywhere else around the world. Independent radio stations like that are important.
In terms of your lives shows, do you have any preshow rituals or preparations?
AG: I usually hide out a little bit, on my own. I feel like it can be distracting to watch the music that comes right before your own set. It’s a nice time to sort of get away from it all and focus. Other times I sit and watch the bands, but a lot of times I’m sort of on my own.
AC: I just quit smoking a few days ago, so I don’t know what my preshow ritual is going to be like now, but as far as the past is concerned, I would usually find the back alley near wherever I’m at and just chain smoke right before.
AG: Brandon and Kenny have a few rituals, too, that we don’t like to talk about [laughing].
AC: Yeah, [deadpans] we’ll just leave it at that.
What do you think the biggest learning curve has been for the band?
AC: Probably the biggest obstacle we’ve had has been trying to work together as a team. Being four pretty headstrong guys, it’s kind of tough to find compromise on some issues, but its all part of the whole deal. You’ve got to learn to work together to get through. Everyone one wants to have their way all the time, but it’s through compromise and teamwork that you get the best results. That’s probably been our biggest issue to date.
AG: The easiest rehearsals are when we’re practicing already-written material. The hardest ones are when we’re writing new material because there are huge debates about what should or should not be done or used.
What’s been the best thing for you guys that have come out of being in a band?
AG: Sacrifice. Seeing your hard work come to fruition. I don’t think any of us are egomaniacs and do it because we want to see people jumping up and down and cheering. We do it because the music itself makes us happy and there’s something about the bond that comes out of mutual creation.
AC: Promiscuous sex and inexpensive drugs [laughs].
What’s a non-Post Harbor song you wish you could have helped create?
AG: "Egypt" by The Mercury Program.
AC: I’d have to say “Steps and Numbers” by The Appleseed Cast.
What’s the first piece of music you listened to this morning?
AG: I listened to Michael Jackson’s “Human Nature” on tape cassette in my car on the way to work, courtesy of Anthony. He gave me the cassette.
AC: I brought The Mercury Program’s CD “A Data Learn the Language” in the truck with me this morning.
What kind of music did you listen to growing up?
AG: My mom had four tape cassettes on rotation: Def Leppard’s “Hysteria,” Genesis’ “Invisible Touch,” Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and Milli Vanilli. Those were the four albums that influenced me greatly in my childhood.
AC: I actually listened to a lot of [R&B and hip-hop] in middle school. And then one day I was in my cousin Ryan’s house and I heard “H” [from “Aenima” by Tool] come on and I listened to that song in its entirety and I never went back. I was sold on rock, heavy metal, the whole deal, the whole way.
What is the first CD you remember buying?
AC: It was that “Aenima” album from Tool. It’s still in my top-five albums of all time.
AG: I can’t remember which was first. It was either Nirvana, “Nevermind,” or Weird Al Yankovic’s [parody album of “Nevermind”] “Off the Deep End.” They both had a major influence on me.
AC: I love that Weird Al is your inspiration.
AG: It’s true [laughing].
What got you interested in the instruments you play?
AG: Ringo Starr. Originally, that’s what brought me to the drums. That, and I liked the idea of being able to sit down when I was playing music. [laughs]
AC: I’ve been singing since I was a little kid. My mother was a singer. She sang around town, different clubs and stuff and I would always go out and watch her. I always knew that that would probably be a part of my life. I started playing guitar around 16, I believe, when I saw Jeff Buckley on TV. I saw him play, and it just blew me away, the things you could do and the emotion that came through. I knew that that was something that I wanted to do, too.
What’s your most memorable performance and why?
AC: I think the most memorable performance I’ve had is probably the worst performance I think we’ve ever done, too. It was beautiful. We were playing a midweek late show, so of course there’s only two or three people there. We started playing and somehow Brandon’s amplifier began picking up this radio station from Lord knows where. It sounded similar to NPR, but in Russian. And it started going off for seriously 10 minutes and it started to overpower the music.
AG: It was like the Air-force base scene in “Spinal Tap” [which, coincidently, takes place in Seattle].
AC: It was God-awful. I remember looking up and seeing the bartender just laughing at us. So that is certainly one of my fondest concert moments.
AG: I think for me it was the first show I played with Post Harbor. It was at this little dive in Olympia. The stage was ground level so everybody was standing up around us. The group that opened for us was just this guy and his illegitimate child [laughs], and they had these crazy instruments and were yelling and stuff. But it was great. I was awkward and that’s part of why I liked it, but also because it felt really good. It was our first show together and it was tiny and tight and smoky—not that I like smoke—but it was cool, memorable.
AC: Yeah, it’s always fun when you fit that many people into such a small little space. You just get sweaty and dirty and it’s great.
AG: I would rather play for 20 people in a closet than 1,000 people in a stadium because the more full a place is, the more fun it is. It’s more intimate that way, too.
So what’s next for you guys?
AC: Well, I suppose the priority right now is total and utter world domination, ruling the nations with an iron fist of “rockhoodinisticness,” [laughing]. Making supplicants of any and all record executives audacious enough to deny our unparalleled artistry, building a mouse army to do our bidding, and, finally, resurrecting Barry White so he, in turn, can sing my praises while I drift off to a guiltless sleep.
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