Q & A with Awesome Color

The band Awesome Color puts on one of the most compelling live shows you're likely to find.

Their performances possess an inexhaustible balance between chaos and euphoria. Filled with noisy feedback and a driving precision, the music is ideal for one to enthusiastically bang his head.

Guitarist and lead singer Derek Stanton, bassist Michael Troutman and drummer Allison Busch are no strangers to the road. In the last year alone, the band completed two tours with alt-rock legends Dinosaur Jr. as well as an extensive jaunt across Europe.

Troutman was able to find a moment in the midst of the band's busy touring schedule to answer a couple of questions and chat about the history of the band.

Taken by surprise

Q: I was very fortunate to see you guys open for Dinosaur Jr. this past May at the Triple Rock in Minneapolis. It's always a treat to be completely blitzed by a band you've never heard of in a live atmosphere. With two nights at the Triple Rock, were you guys able to check out any of the Twin Cities on your stop?

A: Just a little bit. We stayed at a friend's house while we were there and she lives in a really chill neighborhood, within walking distance to a tiny concrete skatepark that kind of sucked but was still decent enough. We didn't sightsee as much as we should have. Got an oil change for the van. Checked out a decent thrift store. Ate the killer vegan po' boys at Triple Rock.

Audience response and touring

Q: How receptive was Dinosaur's audience to your music? It seems like an uphill battle sometimes for opening bands to win over audiences who are only there to check out the main act. Were some crowds more receptive than others? What sorts of things do you learn and experience as a relatively new band when you tour with seasoned groups like Dinosaur Jr.?

A: I think there's always the challenge of defeating the "opening band sucks" stereotype. I remember Minneapolis treating us very nicely though.

Derek and I try to talk to the audience a bit between songs to get beyond the "we're here to rock you" mode and show some humanity I think.

We also try to play our songs hard and passionately every show. I feel like people pick up on that sincerity and our love for the music and appreciate that we're not just going through the rock band motions.

Usually as an opening band, we'll get at least a few people in the crowd moving around or smiling or nodding their heads and then I just try to focus in on them. Hopefully create some kind of feedback loop with the positive energy in the room.

Beginning influences

Q: How long have you three been playing together? How did you end up connecting to form Awesome Color? Some people have made references to bands like the Stooges and the MC5, but what do you feel are your strongest influences as a group (if any)?

A: We've been playing together for about three-and-a-half years. We kind of knew each other from living in Ann Arbor, Mich.

Derek moved out to New York to play music with another band, the Ofays. Allison and I moved to the city a year later. We started hanging out with Derek because he was from Michigan and Michigan folks are generally solid.

About a year later, in the fall of 2004, Allison and I started going over to Derek's loft/practice space and jamming.

We are definitely influenced by a lot of Michigan rock 'n' roll, including the MC5 and the Stooges. I remember watching the MC5 documentary when the band was just starting and being pretty into the power and personal and political involvement that that band represented.

All of that old footage and their story are just incredible and very inspiring. There's a rich tradition of amazing music coming out of Michigan, right up to present day. In my mind, we're a continuation of that tradition.

Above and beyond any established classic band though, we're all influenced by a lot of our peers and friends that play music.

I used to go to a lot of basement shows in Ann Arbor shortly after moving there in the mid-90s and got heavily influenced by that whole scene.

A lot of the people in those bands became my friends later, like Aaron Dilloway, Fred Thomas, Andrew WK, Alivia Zivich, Bill Skibbe, et. al., but at the time, I was just a kid who was kind of in awe of these people making incredible music.

It was a real change for me to see music in basements that was miles better and more interesting than most of the shows I'd seen in more traditional clubs and venues up to that point. I was doing my own music before moving to Ann Arbor, but it was all bedroom/4-track recording.

Seeing bands in Ann Arbor made me want to contribute more openly and be a part of what was going on. It was an exciting time.

European Tour

Q: How did the fall tour of Europe treat you? Any interesting mishaps or did things run relatively smooth for you? Were there any stops in particular on your European tour that you most enjoyed? Have you guys toured Europe extensively before?

A: Europe was awesome. We had some minor setbacks but nothing very interesting or any that soured the whole experience.

There were just some things we learned that we'll do differently next time. We've toured the UK a few times already, but this was our first real tour of Europe, beyond just a couple of shows earlier.

We met a bunch of sweet folks and look forward to returning in May. I think we all totally loved the city of Prague. Scandinavia also treated us well. We stayed for a few days in Den Haag in the Netherlands with some amazing musicians and artists at a spot called Helbaard.

The last four days in Italy blew my mind. It's kind of stereotypical to say, but I had the best wine, best coffee and the best spaghetti I've ever eaten. People were really kind and the shows were good. We had some fun skate sessions, too.

Touring setbacks

Q: Are there any particular hazards you guys have run into on tour? Have you ever had to deal with any huge setbacks?

A: Uh, thankfully to date: no major problems. On tour there are always setbacks, but we seem to get the minor kind and usually it's stuff that can be chalked up to our lack of experience in this whole industry/vocation/whatever.

I try to think of these things as learning experiences. We don't have a manager, tour or otherwise, so we're out there learning as we go. While it might be easier if we did have a manager and I think we kind of want one at this point.

I'm glad that we've still gone ahead with all the touring we've done and had all these incredible opportunities to really learn first hand.

New album

Q: You've stated on your MySpace page that you have a live CD-R that will be in limited release through your label Ecstatic Peace. Are there any immediate plans to record a follow up to your 2006 debut, or is it a bit soon at this point?

A: It's actually probably a bit late for our follow-up… nearly two years later. But that's mostly a product of all the touring we've been doing since the first record and also the Ecstatic Peace schedule.

They're putting out a lot of great records. Our new record, "Electric Aborigines," should be out at the end of April. It's all finished. We're all stoked on it.

We'll be touring Europe in May and into early June. Probably not doing a proper coast to coast states tour until September, but that could always change.

I like to skate even more than normal in the summer and be in Michigan if I can.

Awesome Color's newest album, "Electric Aborigines," is set to be released April 29.