Sum of the Parts (Excerpt)

The four band members were interviewed and a vinyl album was made for promotional purposes for the Starfish album. Here is Peter’s section of that project.

PART 2: PETER KOPPES

I:
How did you guys choose to record in Los Angeles as opposed to
where you’re from, in Australia?

PK:
The producers were here (in Los Angeles), that were available and
were into doing it. Also, Arista was our new home label, and it
seemed like an idea for them to get to understand and know us a bit
better too.

I:
Tell us about your song, A New Season.

PK:
I’m really happy how it came (out). It’s an unusual song. I think
that might have been some of the attraction, in that it doesn’t run
a normal format of verse chorus verse chorus. It’s got an unusual
structure. It’s like a cross between a… mini-epic sort of, and a
pop song…

I:
Now you do some solo work on your own as well. Tell us a little
about that.

PK:
It’s got a lot of similarities to The Church. Obviously, as a
guitarist, I create the same things for myself as (I’d) contribute
to The Church, except in The Church’s form, the chemistry of the
collective is a different energy than what you have on your own.
On my own, I also write a lot more on keyboards, which I don’t do
at all in The Church. So at least 50% of my songs that come out,
like on my solo album, (are) things that are written on a keyboard
and feature it primarily in the song. They’re very melodic. A lot
of harmony, in my songs generally, compared to what The Church
has. You can be more personal on your own solo work too, you don’t
feel like you’re a spokesman for a committee. You’re writing from
a personal platform, which is much more relaxing, and very
satisfying as an individual. You don’t feel the pressure. You feel
a different sort of a pressure because you’re gonna have to stand
for it yourself, but it’s in some ways its more satisfying. But
when you work with a band you’ve got other energies and they
contribute ideas and it’s stimulating. I don’t necessarily think
its richer, but its different.

I:
A lot of people like to associate you guys… sort of as…
neo-psychedelic, and put that label on you. How do you feel about
that?

PK:
Well, for the sake of (a) label,… I’d rather be thought of as
surrealist. Just to give it a difference from the psychedelic
thing: the whole psychedelic thing was a bit of a fad, but it was
important in that it was experimental and exploratory. I think it
didn’t touch on a lot of areas it could have gone. Basically, in
the artistic sense, especially lyric(s) and poetry, it’s been
around (since) the beginning of time. The best artists, I think,
are people who don’t paint reality, but paint their feelings, and
impressions of it. I think in music there’s plenty of room for that
too. To sketch impressions instead of being too specific. Like
dance music to me is a very specific. We try to touch on different
areas, and expand. I suppose, with an intention like that, it’s not
really psychedelia, its surrealist.

I:
I’m interested in how you interact with Marty as a guitar player.

PK:
We, sort of, have a sum total that’s greater than the parts. An
idea comes about, through sort of a harmonic interplay. It happens
differently on different songs, but generally, when it happens the
best, as far as being (and) sounding like another instrument, you
can’t actually hear the two guitars. You just hear an orchestra of
instruments, and you get like pitticato violins, coming out of it,
and you get droning cellos and things like that. It just comes
about through us plucking different sort(s) of notes against one
another. And its a trick that just falls into place through
experimentation.

I:
Steve said that you play the “slow, echo-y parts”. Is that kind of
more in you personality?

PK:
Oh, I’ve got a bigger echo unit!