Surrender: Where did the name come from?
Jeffrey: From what I understand Sector 9 comes from Mayan cosmology mostly I
Guess. During the 9th bactoon of the Mayan culture, they were flourishing and supposedly, this is when they ascended. So the way they see it the Sector 9 is
the space of ascension, in that respect.
Surrender: Its hard not to notice the Mayan influence that seems to surround
the band- how did this come about?
Dave: Its something we all pretty much came to on our own, but then as a
group we expanded on it.
Jeffrey: It was found separately but really molded and came together with the
group. We all discovered bits and pieces on our own, but when we came
together it grew. It seemed to get stronger as we shared it with each other.
Surrender: It figures prominently on your web site, am I correct in assuming
this is your way of trying to share the message?
Jeffrey: Mostly share the 13 moon calendar is the focus. Trying to get back
to a ratio of time that's within the fractal of nature and the respect of the
cycles that are around our earth. We have a twelve-month calendar- that
doesn't really make too much sense. Just think on fundamental level peoples
consciousness being away from that fractal of time is maybe a reason why
there are so many problems in our culture. Just as a common point of coming
together about true time is what we are trying to get across.
Surrender: Who are some of your musical influences?
Dave: Anyone who is hot... and I have to say Herbie Hancock.
Zach: A lot of Indian music, just in the way it makes me feel.
Surrender: Wow, how were you introduced to that?
Zach: Just on my own and from different people hearing it. It really touched
me, and has taken me there. It’s totally a different thing then we do y'know.
Pretty much just the spiritual side of it and like the inspiration from that. Indian music is
defiantly a high influence. I listen to so much music it ridiculous. I'm
pretty open, were all pretty open. There is nothing I wont listen too. I
listen to a lot of electronic music, and a lot of jungle and drum and bass.
Surrender: And are there any other bands in the "jambands genre" you look to
for inspiration, or who really seem to influence the band?
Zach: We love Viperhouse. They are our friends, our companions. Lake Trout...
they're really good friends of ours. We have shared some good moments with
the Biscuits.
Surrender: How do you feel about the term "Organic Techno" being used to
describe your music?
Zach: I don't think anything should really be labeled. I think it's a good
term in the fact that its not what we set out to do... but its kinda what has
cosmically happened just through playing music and listening to the
connection of it. I guess kinda organic techno, but I don't know if I would
use techno.
Jeffrey: It's not bad, it doesn't hurt me. It's so much more then that...
that's just an element of it.
Surrender: What would you label it?
Jeffrey: That's hard, it's different every night. Its true fusion I guess,
without too many tags. It's just whatever comes…
Zach: I have a hard time describing it. How would you describe it? It's
almost like classical music in the fact that we have songs that are 35
minutes long, like a lot of other "jam bands" and the fact that they are not
so much jams but movements, understand? For example tonight we opened up with
the second part of the last song. Everything is really interchangeable, like
our song frequency. Labeling just turns me off. We read articles and people
say just that "fusion, techno, blah blah blah¦" and we've not yet come up
with what it is and can be instead of using other genres not that we are
creating our own it's like you have to go see it instead of just reading
about it. We're still working on our label I guess.
Surrender: And how do you feel about the way people seem to react to your
music as opposed to other bands out there?
Jeffrey: I think that having no lyrics offers the person listening their own
trip, or adventure in their mind. They are not limited by someone's words or
ideas or frameworks. We are after true interaction, and we really feel
through experiences that the crowd is manifesting the music. Were just trying
to be open to channel whatever, we have songs y'know... but we don't play the
songs the same. It could be 20 minutes one night and 3 minutes the next
night. That's not planned it just happens, it's a lot of improv within a
framework.
Surrender: So your music is not through composed, its straight up improv?
Jeffrey: There are frameworks, with a lot of improv involved.
Surrender: Would you consider that due to jazz roots?
Jeffrey: I think, maybe on just on another level, people really feeling
comfortable with their instruments. Just being open, and not having so much
intention really to do a certain thing. Being open to the day and what the
vibration of the day has to say through us via our instruments.
Surrender: Congratulations on hitting over a hundred members on your
electronic mailing list, it seems to be blowing up fast! How do you feel
about the web being used for promotion like that? And do you think it has
helped you?
Dave: I think it has helped us in helping the spreading of tapes and getting
our name out there.
Jeffrey: Thanks and yes I do. I think that it's going to change a lot of
things. As far as communication of course, having the information available.
But also as far as what we want to do on our web site in the future is have
an interactive drum and bass station, so we each make our own little samples.
You could pick out all these different samples and put your own song
together. I think the Internet is really going to hurt record labels.
Surrender: Along those lines how do you feel about the various digital
mediums that the music is being spread on such as mp3 and .shn for example?
Dave: We think it's really good that the music can get out there for people
to hear.
Surrender: Do you plan on doing releases this way in the future?
Jeffrey: Yeah, I think we planned on pretty much just veering away from
record labels and just sharing the music. Maybe to the point of putting out
live music every tour.
Surrender: You guys are headed in the direction of multi-tracking every show.
Is this the reason for the recent loss of soundboard access?
Jeffrey: That's a little ways down the road. About the board, what we're
finding out with all the experimenting we are doing and how good the board
tapes sound... it's dangerous for us. We want people have our music and they
are welcome to bring microphones. A lot of the music is experimental, and a
lot of the music being played right now is going to be released on a CD that
we are still working on in the studio. If people are dedicated enough to have
their own mics then they're gonna be the ones to get them.
Dave: There is no longer any board patches, and that seems to be due to a lot
of our band politics. I am not saying if no one has mics and you catch us in
a good mood we won't give you a patch, but don't plan on it.
Surrender: So you are definitely planning to continue with the live releases
periodically throughout the year?
Jeffrey: Yeah.
Surrender: You guys did some post Phish shows during the first part of their
fall tour, did that work out well for you and do you plan on doing it again?
Dave: Those went really great for us, but it won't happen again. It was just
kind of the right place at the right time so lets go for it.
Zach: Yes it did, and no we don't. That was just something that our booking
agents decided to capitalize on. I just don't think it will probably happen
again in the fact that we have structured tours now, and its really stepping
up. We're really blessed to have the people behind us who are behind us.
Right then it was just a few shows we could do during some off time, but now
I know what I am doing till December, y'know. We have been touring for two
and a half years Tuesday through Saturday, having maybe Sunday Monday off,
being gone for that long, and maybe going on a three-week tour and coming
home then doing the southeast where we are from. So our goals- we all have
girlfriends, we all have friends and family- and we like to spend time with
those family and friends and lovers. So the band's goal was to set up tours
that gave us time off for tour and then for time off for recording and doing
our own projects and doing our own thing. Traveling, I went to Costa Rica,
Dave went to Japan.
Surrender: Now that you are headlining, are there bands you plan on
attempting to help out by having them open for you and what not?
Zach: There are a couple of bands in Atlanta, Tria de Luna for one. We like
DJs too, we like how they set the vibe. In a sense a lot of the touring, like
tonight, don't feel like the different genres begin to be a show. Sure, it
was a show where people got to see all kinds of different music, but it
didn't flow. With DJ's it really flows, and the music doesn't stop for 3
hours. We are getting to where sector 9 can actually do that it's self.
That's the goal- that the music never stops. There is no set break; we just
keep going.
