Matt (musicGeek.org): Okay, so, why “Three Month Sunset” for a name?
Gabe (Three Month Sunset): there’s not much of a story to tell about that… my friend was always coming up with names for bands and I kept that one in the back of my head. i liked the dreamy abstraction of it. and also the sound of the vowels together…
Matt: good reasoning — it works really well with the music, it seems.
Gabe: yeah, back when I decided to use that as a name it wasn’t quite the same format…
Matt: oh?
Gabe: I was a little more minimal and kept things simplified.
Gabe: I recorded some tracks all as single takes to take around to venues to get shows. the single take idea was the first thing that started me pushing things more and more. I wanted to portray what I’d be doing live on the cd… after that I started using the effects a little more densely. routing things differently so that i could get more sounds all from the same basic source… just from a guitar… I guess it was mainly wanting to avoid using loops.
Matt: So your live performances, then, are just you? Do you find any challenges in managing things in a time-critical situation?
Gabe: yeah, it’s always been solo. although with naming the project i figured that I’d get others in to help, but the people I had in mind were always busy with other endeavours. I guess the main thing is lugging around 4 or 5 amps to each show.
Matt: Yeah, I’d imagine that would be a bit of a hassle. Do crowds seem surprised to see one man with more equipment than some full-sized bands?
Gabe: yeah, they do seem to be somewhat taken aback… usually people laugh at how much i drag on stage… but then I guess that makes them curious. makes me feel a bit extravagant or something… having more stuff than I probably need. but each bit has it’s purpose.
Matt: Do the crowds generally seem receptive once you start playing?
Gabe: yeah, for sure. it’s always really humbling to see a relatively noisy room dull down and become quite attentive.
Matt: How often do you end up performing with groups that pull in a completely different crowd than what you’d typically have listening to your music?
Gabe: haha! most shows I play are like that. usually quite mismatched… or perhaps just diverse… so it’s always a little intimidating to open for bands who have a completely different sound. you know? will people be bothered by what I’m doing? will they just talk over me? will it seem too self indulgent in contrast to what they’re paying to see?
Matt: Understandable worries — does it usually work out pretty well? What’s the worst experience you’ve had performing in a situation like that?
Gabe: generally I am pretty well received. which is always a massive surprise and relief. ha, um, there was one night I played a show to a doofy-feral crowd. they were all really drunk and trashy and I was really just background music… I couldn’t hear myself through them at times… I was going to walk off after the first song, because I didn’t feel motivated to try to express myself emotionally to such a rowdy crowd.
Matt: It must be a frustrating situation to have been in. On another note, you make some of your musical influences readily known through your music. What are some of your more obscure influences?
Gabe: haha, readily known? I guess from within it I just see it as a mess of lots of different things rather than obvious pointers to bands…
Matt: A little more obvious, maybe — a nice slew of post-rock seems prominent.
Gabe: haha, yeah, I guess… well, hmmm. there’s the bands that i try to use that might be obvious to the average person… so, slowdive, slint, sigur r?s… um, then if they don’t know them… it’s like… radiohead or coldplay… haha!
Gabe: which I don’t really ever listen to.
Matt: Haha, yeah, seems reasonable to me. What do you find yourself listening to lately?
Gabe: um, a fair bit of Boards of Canada, getting into M’m again… Arcade Fire. A little bit of local crustcore too. not that i really associate with that scene anymore.
Matt: Any reason?
Gabe: just social circles changing over the years. I’ll occasionally go and see shows that old friends are playing… but I usually only see those friends once every year or so these days.
Matt: Such is life, it seems. What band would you like to play with, regardless of their current status, regardless of deaths?
Gabe: to support?
Matt: Yeah.
Gabe: I guess the same 3 main influentials… the 3 S’s…
Locally I’d love to support my friend’s band Laura… Dave, if you’re reading this… BOOK ME, YOU BASTARD!
Stars Of The Lid would be pretty rad to support, too.
Matt: Any big plans coming up — new releases, big concerts, anything?
Gabe: well, once I get around to getting the computer back up and running smoothly I’ll be recording some new material. I was supposed to have done that a little earlier this year… but no such luck as yet. show wise I’m kind of taking a bit of a break. Probably not for very long, but just a bit of time to sit and ponder directions and so on… I’m hoping to get some shows lined up in Iceland for late next year… but other than that, nothing big planned.
Matt: Sounds like a good plan. Anything to add?
Gabe: I want a roadie!