(techno music) (music screeching) (rock music) ♪ Now he's back again, still talking through the dust ♪ ♪ About money, about the kids ♪ ♪ About 40 years of digging dirt ♪ ♪ Cold coffee and collared shirts ♪ ♪ Double threaded under dull light ♪ ♪ When your arms won't fold ♪ ♪ You're so sick for home ♪ (rock music fading) (rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ Now you're back again ♪ ♪ Walk in through the dust ♪ ♪ The same floor holds the same chairs ♪ ♪ Bent backs for collared shirts ♪ ♪ You breathed dust ♪ ♪ Stars shine through tin on plaster ♪ ♪ Straight arms won't stop the world ♪ ♪ Dust hangs in the dull late light ♪ ♪ You're so sick for home ♪ ♪ He breathed stone ♪ ♪ Breathe ♪ (rock music) (rock music continues) (rock music continues) - One of the advantages that we have now is we've been doing this for a long time together and we trust each other and we sort of know each other's strengths.

And so we can delegate things to each other and know that they're gonna happen and know how they're going to happen.

And I think with other bands or newer bands, that's something that where you don't necessarily have that relationship, you're hoping for other, you know, you're not communicating what you want from people.

And I think we do a pretty good job at this point of knowing what everyone's going to do.

- It also helps that, I don't think in any version of this band, this was never a tour for three months band.

You know, just it never worked out that way.

That's not part of who we are really.

We try to be selective and do interesting things.

I mean, just being here is incredible, you know?

- Yeah.

- Most of us have never been here.

And then, but it means that we also, you know, getting back to how do we balance, we've not really been in a position where we have to overburden our families, you know?

And that's been huge.

- It's also not that really hard to be in a band.

Come on.

Like, it mostly just requires being a little bit organized and like, oh, we need to sell shirts.

And just sort of like, it's an ongoing hum of keeping things going, but it's not, you know, it's not rocket science.

Like you just need to keep doing the work.

(rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ Wrong side of history, you are there ♪ ♪ Left all alone, pressing for air ♪ ♪ Time is the tide we try to hold down ♪ ♪ Head back and sinking ♪ ♪ Clench your fists ♪ ♪ Let your fingers carve holes in your hands and invent ♪ ♪ Clench your fists ♪ ♪ Let your fingers carve holes in your hands ♪ (rock music) ♪ Trust me, we'll all die alone ♪ ♪ No one will notice or know ♪ ♪ Wrong side of history, we are already there ♪ ♪ We're quietly sinking ♪ ♪ Clench your fists ♪ ♪ Let your fingers carve holes in your hands and invent ♪ ♪ Clench your fists ♪ ♪ Let your fingers carve holes in your hands ♪ (rock music) (rock music continues) (rock music continues) (rock music continues) ♪ Down ♪ ♪ Can you take it slow ♪ ♪ Get back on the ground ♪ ♪ There's not enough rope ♪ ♪ Stress, passed on like your name ♪ ♪ Now you wake so tired ♪ ♪ Take it, hand it down like a weight ♪ ♪ Now you wake so tired ♪ (rock music) ♪ Take it, hand it down like a weight ♪ ♪ Now you wake so tired ♪ ♪ Stress, passed on like your name ♪ ♪ Now you wake so tired ♪ (rock music) (rock music continues) - The first two records that we did, we recorded in our practice space, like all playing live together, you know, amps going a million DB and all that.

And had I recorded your band before we did the split?

I don't think so.

- I'm not sure.

- The very first thing I did at the studio Shark Bite in Oakland was, it might've been these two songs for us is like a test to see what it was like to get outta the practice space and go into studio.

One of the songs had a lot of space in the drums and everything, and it was really like, oh, like we didn't, this is really interesting.

And when we started writing for Container Ships, there was definitely also, John was a different influence for sure, and a different player than Jason.

But also we were trying to write a little bit more to plan to go back there and record again using just the room on the drums.

You know, just like if you give drums space to ring out in a big room like that, it's really nice sounding.

And that I think played a big role in it.

- And then ever since, just recognizing that those spaces were really compelling for us and interesting for us, we just started trying to figure out how to utilize it.

It never felt accidental.

We were thinking through like, how can we leave a gap and leave some space and leave a little bit more openness and then integrate that almost like a part?

(rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ There's no home for us here ♪ ♪ No stories to tell ♪ ♪ They stacked the decks with shining lights ♪ ♪ With undercuts and sabotage ♪ ♪ Did we get enough ♪ ♪ Are we satisfied yet ♪ ♪ All of your voices are like silhouettes ♪ ♪ They're never coming back ♪ (rock music) ♪ We never wanted to be cynical or fatalist ♪ ♪ But day to day through ringing ears and gasoline ♪ ♪ Bags of pills and buckets of ice ♪ ♪ Did we get enough ♪ ♪ Are we satisfied yet ♪ ♪ All of your voices are like silhouettes ♪ ♪ They're never coming back ♪ (rock music) (rock music continues) (rock music continues) - We mostly are influenced by each other at this point for this band.

Like, we kind of get the thing that we're trying to do and we push ourselves to do our own thing at this point.

So the only thing that happens a little bit in recording is that I can maybe, you know, like every time you record someone, you can pick one or two new things to try that maybe they won't work, maybe throw 'em away, but like, oh, I'm gonna do a weird thing with a mic or we're gonna try a second amp or whatever.

And some of those experiments may show up in one of the things that we record, but we keep it so simple when we record, there's not much to do.

Like our recording sessions I think are probably like 50% the complexity of a lot of the other ones I do.

(rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ One last thought ♪ ♪ Like we're choking on lampblack ♪ ♪ Can't sit still ♪ ♪ But can we wait it out ♪ (low rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ Run for the exit ♪ ♪ But you spin so fast you can't see ♪ ♪ You'll never get away that way ♪ ♪ When you spin so fast, you can't see ♪ (soft rock music) (rock music continues) ♪ You said we'll never get away ♪ ♪ You said run for the exit ♪ (rock music) ♪ One last thought ♪ ♪ Try to paint the page black ♪ ♪ You want a wheel to hold ♪ ♪ You want to feel like you're going home ♪ (rock music fading) - Thanks y'all, be kind to other people.