Features

STS9: Right Here Right Now (Relix Revisited)

As it turns out, Peaceblaster is not only Sound Tribe Sector 9’s most cohesive album to date but also its most overtly political, a powerfully charged set of music that makes a statement with its bold red, white and black cover and suggestive title before even a note is played. Unlike its predecessor, Artifact, which was recorded over three years in a succession of different cites and studios and tour buses, this album was recorded in one intensive session that started last October. “In that time, we built a studio, wrote, composed, played, performed, recorded, mixed and mastered it,” Velmer says. “Simply stated, we wanted to play. We were excited. It was brewing—inspiration and ideas and the freedom of us twisting the knobs. We were growing as artists and human beings. And then we had a new level of camaraderie and the openness to push each other, almost like Olympians. We were so ready.”

As intense as things became inside these walls, the band members were always sharply tuned to the world outside, deriving additional impetus to fuel tracks like “Shock Doctrine” and “Metameme.”

“I think it’s more political than anything we’ve ever done,” says Brown. “The times are more urgent than they’ve been since we’ve been a band. It’s just a reflection of what we’ve been doing and thinking about and talking about over the last eight months. That’s what we wanted Peaceblaster to be, a snapshot of a period of time and politics have a lot to do with that history. There are a lot of themes that we don’t necessarily want to define, but those things were intentional: The simple, stark album cover and the song titles.” Lerner adds, “That’s what we felt was maybe proper and necessary for our culture; the megaphone being the big symbol there, using one’s voice to do whatever.”

The band spent a lot of time defining the themes that shaped Peaceblaster. They wrote poems and lyrics to help them get to the heart of the message, often recording vocals just to delete them later. The process of completing the album was mostly a process of subtraction, taking away all the superfluous parts that got in the way of the end result, the sense of urgency to the sound. For an instrumental band, making an album brimming with distinct ideas brought with it a whole different set of challenges.

“Our underlying intention isn’t to say what we feel is right or wrong,” Lerner says. “It’s merely an expression to inspire people to find what inspired us to make the music, what inspired us to do any of it. If the world was a perfect place maybe that wouldn’t be necessary for us. As much as we care about the music, we care about people, the planet and the country. There’s no separation for us as far as influences and what goes into the art.”

The thing that made Peaceblaster different is that, for the first time, the band knew exactly the kind of album it wanted to make. “We knew what kind of outcome we were looking for,” says Murphy. “We wanted to do something that related more to the energy of the live show, a little more in your face. A lot of our previous albums were more experimental. We really wanted something that related more to what we were playing live. It gave us more of a direction and concept.”

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The band members say that anytime they’re in a room together, talk inevitably turns to politics. They don’t always agree on issues, but they all inherently believe that people need to be involved in the system they live in. “We can complain about a lot in America and the government but at the end of the day we agree we live in the best place in the world, as long as people use their voice and opinions,” Murphy says. “We try to take a real nonpartisan look at American life and government and encourage people to get involved. We all disagree about stuff, which is always healthy. We always try to push each other and understand where one of us might be coming from. But for the most part, we’re all pretty likeminded people.”

One dollar from every ticket to every concert Sound Tribe Sector 9 plays is divided between three constantly changing charities. The band devotes a good deal of its time researching where its money is most effective. Additionally, the group wholeheartedly backs a slew of nonpartisan causes through its website, such as HeadCount, Rock the Vote, Democracy Now, Rock Against Cancer and the local Women’s Crisis Support. They also do an annual benefit for a small tribe in Senegal.

“We saw how easy it is to do something about the things you care about,” Velmer says. “Music is a gathering point. We wanted to open that up to all platforms.”

“It makes it feel like it’s an important job,” says Brown. “As exciting as it is playing for 10,000 people, it’s just as exciting doing those little things. We want to be that living example.”

The upcoming election has obviously fired up the band, although it defers from endorsing any particular party or cause. Rather, the band members point fans to their constantly updated site, Peaceblaster.com, which posts various news items and links to the news the band member’s feel requires the most attention. They describe it as the ever-changing album booklet, what they would have put inside the CD booklet if they had unlimited space. Many of the posted items focus on issues that will play a big role in the election.

“I’m hopeful,” Velmer says. “It’s going to be a huge step for our country. Obviously, if Obama is elected it would be a huge statement. But whoever gets there has a lot of responsibility.”

“I don’t think we can change things simply by voting,” Phipps says. “You have to get involved.

“We’re just hoping Americans take more responsibility for America,” says Brown. “We have to leave it in a better place than we found it.”