Interview with Dallas Orbiter on Their Upcoming New Album, “Spaceman Things”

Dallas Orbiter is a long-running Minneapolis-based rock quartet exploring the cusp between pop song-craft and modern, spaced-out psychedelia.  The group began with long Krautrock and electric Miles Davis-inspired space jam sessions in the late 90s/early 2000s in the process of refining an ensemble sound. The band released 3 full-length albums and 2 EP’s between 2000 & 2008, along with an online-only monthly singles project in 2011.

Their new full-length LP entitled ‘Spaceman Things,’ recorded & mixed with John Miller at Future Condo Studio, will be released in the fall of 2024, along with archival self-recorded releases of freestyle improvised music under the band’s collective alter ego Laser Bats From Mars.

Interview Contributed to by Krista Vilinskis of Elephants and Flowers Media

Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you each first got into music?

I’m Greg. I play the drums. I started banging on pots earlier than I can remember. It’s always been drums for me.

I’m Mark. The guitars & lead vocals are all my fault. I was a skateboarder & a punk rock & metal kid in my early teens. A little later I got into a lot of sorta psychedelic post-punk (like Wire, The Cure, Echo & the Bunnymen, XTC, & Robyn Hitchcock) and then the beginnings of the UK shoegaze thing started to seep in (Jesus & Mary Chain, Ride, MBV, & Swervedriver to name a few) and I was really into that as well. Just soaking up what I thought were cool songs & guitar sounds. We went to college in Oshkosh, WI, and there was an amazing band there called Rebel Waltz who turned me on to a lot of off-the-beaten-path music & have really become great friends & mentors over the years.

Who inspired each of you to make music? Anyone you admire and why?

Greg: I have always been inspired by Steve Gadd. His playing is always so musical and natural sounding. On the other end of the spectrum, Dave Lombardo from Slayer always blew me away with his speed.

Mark: After I started playing guitar & writing songs/music a little more seriously & my perspectives grew I got really into Stereolab, and they were a gateway band into a lot of genres & subgenres I still like exploring, like German Kosmische music, The Fall (a genre unto themselves!), & post-rock. Those things plus Miles Davis’ electric period from the late 60s – mid 70s were really big early influences on what would eventually become Dallas Orbiter. Brian Eno was a big inspiration as well. All those things & more come back to me/us when we’re trying to work raw song ideas into actual arrangements, and also shape our ideas when we’re working in an instant composition/improv setting like we’ve been doing in our Laser Bats From Mars mode (Volume 1 now available on Bandcamp & all the streamers!)

What is your creative process like? For example: what was your process/concept when writing your album Spaceman Things?

Mark: It’s never just done one way. Our song-based stuff usually starts with basic ideas from me. On our earlier self-recorded records we’d often work them up together in our studio/rehearsal space, which is a really fun process I wouldn’t mind going back to at some point. For ‘Spaceman Things,’ these songs had been gestating for a long time, over 10 years in some cases. That meant that by the time we got to Future Condo & started working with the brilliant engineer John Miller, we had multi-track demos to send him, and I was able to edit & rework lyrics over time.

What did you learn about yourself when writing and creating your new album?

Greg: We worked on a lot of the music on this release for quite a while. It was interesting to recognize all the ways we have evolved. I learned that inviting in a 3rd party (Engineer John Miller) is great fun. It’s always interesting to hear someone else’s point of view and I think it helped shape the energy on the recordings.

Mark: I totally agree. Although I have always loved doing the somewhat more experimental DIY recording thing, it was freeing to be able to trust someone with all the little things, like mic selection & placement & focus on just being us playing in a room together.

What single is your favorite off your new album and why?

Greg: I love the energy of “Forth, Gen!” Jon’s keyboards are a lot of fun.

Mark: I love that one too, along with the fact that Greg’s young daughter, along with my wife & Dan’s wife, got to come to the studio & be involved with the gang vocals on the last chorus. Another one, which is probably too long to be considered a “single, is “The Fragile Epigram,” which is a very personal song for me. The whole band delivered an incredible performance on it, but Jon’s piano playing, especially on the last wordless chorus, really levitates the room whenever I hear it. Also, I think “Fade Away, Just Begun” is a great album closer, and Dan’s vocal harmonies are amazing. We were also joined by a dear friend Mark Edwards for some additional background vocals on a few songs.

What would you like fans to take away after seeing you perform live and or listening to your music?

Greg: I hope they take an earworm or 2 away with them. Oh, and a copy of the album.

Mark: Yeah, people, just buy some of our stuff! I’m so thankful to be friends & bandmates with such amazing human beings who also happen to be insanely talented artists & players. I hope that comes through the PA, speakers, or earbuds somehow!

What is next for Dallas Orbiter? Any big plans? Tours? Festivals? Something the listener should know?

Mark: We’ll be playing November 9th at Can Can Wonderland in St Paul with fellow locals Manual Controller and Sleepersound from Milwaukee. Then our friends Redshift Headlights from Wisconsin will be coming to town & we’ll be at Eagles 34 along with another cool Twin Cities band called Manias on 12/6. On 12/7 it’ll be us & Redshift in Duluth (I think the venue is technically still tba). We’d love to do some festivals next spring, but until then we’ll be continuing to record & release psychedelic/spaced-out spontaneous composition/improv music as Laser Bats From Mars, and also hopefully work up some newer Dallas Orbiter material. Stay tuned!

Crew:
Greg Flanagan: Drums
Dan Gahres: Bass/Backing Vocals
Mark Miller: Guitars/Vocals
Jon Schmig: Keyboards

Website and Social Links:
Website: www.dallasorbiter.com
bandcamp: https://dallasorbiter.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dallasorbiter
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dallasorbiter
X: https://x.com/dallasorbiter