RR: Let’s talk about that ethos. What are you looking forward to at Camp Bisco?
AM: Camp Bisco has grown from the ground up, so every year…(laughs)…it’s just like how it was at summer camp as a kid. We get there on Wednesday night, and each passing day, I get this anxiety the way that I do when there’s only 15 minutes left of each Lost episode, you know? “OHMYGOD! It’s almost over! I don’t want it to be over!” I pause it for a minute, I go in, I get a drink, and I prolong it for as long as possible. (laughter) That’s how I deal with Camp Bisco. I never want it to be over, just like as a kid at camp. Your parents bring you out to camp when you’re nine years old, and you have all these friends for an entire summer, and the last thing you want to do is leave. It’s such a good feeling, a good vibe, and you have such good friends that you met, and you had such a blast all summer long that you never want to leave. That’s the same thing at Camp Bisco. It was part of the impetus for why we extended Camp from a two-day festival to a three-day festival. It was just too quick. It was just too quick.
RR: Bisco Inferno is something else to look forward to at the end of May at Red Rocks. What are your thoughts about the development of that festival?
AM: With Bisco Inferno, it’s interesting. I’m psyched to see what the development of it actually becomes. We could do something completely crazy like bring in our first video projections, or put dancers on stage. That was crazy and awesome and it worked so well. We definitely have some tricks up our sleeves. A lot of things are still brainstorming. I’m just as curious as you are to see what the development of that festival is going to be. This is only its second year [at Red Rocks], and I’m just as excited as you are to see how it develops.
RR: Speaking of, let’s talk about the development of the new songs from Planet Anthem in a live setting where they take on a second life.
AM: It’s pretty cool. Doing them at the TLA [3/16/10 at Philadelphia’s Theater of the Living Arts] was the only time we have played all of those songs from the album in its entirety was really cool for us. Bringing up those other musicians that contributed to the album—the horn players, particularly—added such an interesting dimension. We’d never played shows with horn players. Yes, we’ve brought up Elliot Levin on saxophone to blow a sax solo on some waltz or something, but we’ve never really brought in a horn section. Those guys are so good, and they lent so much to the tracks. It was really cool seeing these songs suddenly come to life, especially because there was definitely a little bit of trepidation for how these songs were going to play out live. It is still miraculous to me that we are able to, and they do fit into that live setting so well. I wish we were able to do another “Save Your Soul” and another “Sweatbox.” We just haven’t been able to do it because of the chaos, if you will, of the last month. But those are songs that I think can develop huge. They’re huge club-banging hits. They’re going to be huge live in the same way that “On Time” is a huge live song.
RR: Why did the band decide to release two EPs ahead of Planet Anthem ? Was it a chance to offer remixes and videos of songs before the album release?
AM: Planet Anthem was done at the time. We wanted to get something out, and build the momentum towards the album. There’s so much anticipation behind putting out an album in the first place. Then it comes out, and then that’s it—it’s out there. Putting out the EPs—number one, we had pushed the release date back a couple of times already, so we wanted to give something back to the fans who were so eagerly awaiting the album coming out. We thought it was a really cool way to still release these tracks, and continue to build anticipation for the album release without necessarily doing it in one swell swoop. I really enjoyed the piecemeal aspect of getting this album out there, actually.
RR: The year is filled with high profile gigs, but I wanted to ask about October 29 at Hampton Coliseum with the String Cheese Incident.
AM: Hampton is a venue that we’ve always wanted to play. There’s been so many epic shows that I’ve seen there over the course of my lifetime. That’s really what I enjoy about the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville. To me, it seems like a mini Hampton. It has that same vibe to it. [Hampton] is a venue I’ve always wanted to play. I hear what you’re saying. It’s definitely an interesting billing, but I think that it works. I’m really excited for that show.
RR: I’m open minded, and I am not tilting my critical hand in a negative way towards that particular lineup. I think everyone is going to have a great time.
AM: Yeah, in that venue especially. That’s certainly a milestone venue, and something
that we’ve always wanted to play, as well. Check that off. Madison Square Garden is next on our scorecard.
RR: Let me throw out another choice location: Mayan Riviera in Mexico, where the Biscuits, Umphrey’s McGee, and STS9 will play at the Mayan Holidaze in January.
AM: I feel like the change of pace—though, doing it in Jamaica was great and amazing for so many reasons—and breathing some new life by throwing in a little bit of a curveball and moving the [Holidaze] festival is a good thing. I feel like we got a lot of repeat customers on years 1 and 2 at Caribbean Holidaze, and to move it to another place, I think we’re going to start getting back to the people that had such an amazing experience the first couple of years, but are now looking for something new and different, and for us, it’s new and different and fun, and adding Sector 9 to the bill, as well, all of a sudden, Caribbean Holidaze is evolving just like the rest of our festivals have, rather than having it stay stagnant: “Here we go again, and let’s go down to hedonism.” It’s still an awesome, awesome time, but it is what it is, and it needs room for growth. Moving it to Mexico, in a bigger spot, and a bigger venue, nicer hotels, nicer resorts, allows us to grow the festival as organically as it needs to.
RR: Well, the Disco Biscuits are so unique, but you also seem to fit into any environment, and make it your own. You guys just bring your own party.
AM: Right. (laughs) That’s definitely true. Let’s see how it goes at BamaJam. (laughter)
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