The Posies perform in The Current studio
by Brian Oake
September 23, 2016
Founded in 1987, The Posies have been making music together for nearly 30 years. Now launching a tour in support of their new album, Solid States, the Posies — comprising founding members Jon Auer and Ken Stringfellow, and new drummer Frankie Siragusa — stopped into The Current's studio for a session hosted by Brian Oake, himself a longtime fan of the band.
In looking at the Posies' longevity, Stringfellow considers what's made that possible. "I think that we do have esoteric tastes and we're curious people," he says. "We've been doing this for 30 years, and of course, we're not going to stay in one spot — sometimes to the consternation of certain fans we have — but I think most of our fans have been pretty cool and I think they like the fact that we're flipping the pancake as much as possible, we're trying new things."
That desire to try new things is evident on Solid States.. "We tried to get outside our comfort zone again," Auer says. "You could keep doing the things that are easy for you to do or feel good for you to do — there's really nothing wrong with that, that's nice, but maybe if you want to make life more interesting, maybe you might want to try something new and something a little more challenging."
One of the ways they made things more challenging on Solid States was to avoid stretches of strumming guitar. "Guitars on this record are mixed in with keyboards and other electro elements," Stringfellow explains. "One of the things that we talked about making this record was that the guitar, instead of just strumming chords at any one point, would be in action, doing something: arpeggiating or playing a riff."
Another way the Posies have "flipped the pancake" is to take a new approach to live shows. After Stringfellow's experience touring with Holly Muñoz, he admired how she was able to find interesting, unusual and diverse places to play. The Posies have subsequently adopted that approach, hosting pop-up concerts in smaller locations that remain a mystery until just hours before each show.
Auer says doing shows in this way is more work, but it creates more memorable experiences for the audience, and he also says it's the most fun he's ever had on tour.
Stringfellow agrees, and says the pop-up approach is further fuel to the Posies' penchant for creatively stretching themselves. "It is a reminder that we're thinking about our audience and we're thinking about what we want to do and we're thinking about the kinds of things we want to make," he says. "This isn't just like showing up and collecting a check for us, let's put it that way. I think our obligation is to make something really interesting and unique each time we get together."
Use the audio player above to listen to the complete session, which includes the Posies' describing their deep ties to the Twin Cities — including their connections to the Replacements and Hüsker Dü, and their work with the Melismatics.
Songs Performed
"Scattered"
"Unlikely Places"
"Squirrel Versus Snake"
All songs from the Posies' 2016 album, Solid States, released on the Lojinx label.
Hosted by Brian Oake
Produced by Derrick Stevens
Engineered by Michael DeMark and Jalen Russell
Visuals by Nate Ryan
Web feature by Luke Taylor
Resources
The Posies - official site
