Q&A: Isis
Isis have been putting out consistently compelling and challenging records since their inception over a decade ago. Their second album, Oceanic, was hailed as a classic from the moment it was released, and each record since has served to establish a style of music that they helped pioneer.
The band recently announced that their current tour, including dates with The Melvins and Cave In, would be their last. I spoke with drummer Aaron Harris about the reasons behind the band’s split, their final album, as well as the legacy they’re leaving behind. The band will be playing its last gig tomorrow, June 23rd, at Club Soda in Montreal – the very same city in which they played their first gig.
I wanted to set this up prior to the announcement of the band calling it quits. I guess I should start off by saying, “My condolences,” or, “Congratulations.” I’m not sure how to go about it.
Aaron Harris: [laughs] I appreciate it. It’s as positive as a break-up can be. We’re not fighting, there’s no hard feelings. It’s just something we arrived at and had thought of taking a break after touring for this record. The more we went on, the more we did, and the more we realized we knew what we’d wanted to do, and we’d taken it as far as we could. I think it was a good decision for everyone, for the band, and for the legacy of the music we’ve made. It’s not negative or any sort of falling out. It’s a product of us coming together and asking if we could take it further and deciding to bow out on a high note, and letting it be remembered as that.
Is it purely creative exhaustion for you guys in the context of the band? Have you just reached the end of the road as far as what you wanted to do with Isis?
Yeah. Even at the beginning of this band, we hoped we’d know when it would be the right time to end it and not carry it on longer than we said and do it for things like money or just for the sake of being in the band. It’s a tough decision to come to. It’s what we’ve all known for the last thirteen years. It was pretty crucial to our lives, as we were all becoming adults, and we made a lot of sacrifices to be in this band. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. We’re all kind of tense, but at the same time, we didn’t want to carry on with the band and just start making records that weren’t up to our standards, or start resenting each other. The last few records have gotten more and more difficult to write, not because of personalities, but because of being in this band for so long and the pressures of trying to make music that is good and keep moving forward. It felt like we’d done what we’d wanted to do, we made some good records, so let’s call it now and go out with a good catalogue, good history, and be proud of what we did.
There’s something to be said for an established band to do that in this day and age, especially a band like Isis, who had enough respect with both fans and critics that you could have potentially milked it a little while longer.
It’s always been about the music in this band. We really felt strongly about that, and didn’t just want to pump out crap for the sake of saying, ‘Oh, we could do a few more tours, do another record, and make some more money.’ It was about keeping the integrity of the band and the music, and keeping to our promise to do this when we felt it was the right time.
Usually a band’s “legendary” status doesn’t come to them until they break up, but it seems as though Isis has been respected and revered for almost a decade already. How does it feel to already have that level of admiration? Are you guys happy with the legacy you’re leaving behind?
Oh yeah, one hundred percent. It’s been totally overwhelming, the response from the fans. When you’re in a band, and you take breaks from tour, I don’t know if everyone does this, but in my time off, I lose contact with the world of our fans and how much we’re respected. You kind of forget because you’re not in the middle of it. I guess I didn’t realize. I told some friends about the announcement, and they said it was going to be big news, and I was like, ‘Really? I don’t know.’ We’ve been around for a long time, and I think we’re in the back of people’s minds now, and I don’t know what the response will be, but it was really heartfelt and amazing, the amount of feedback and people telling us that they appreciate all our music and what we created, and what it means to them. It’s really amazing. I didn’t expect it. We’re all pretty overwhelmed. There’s a broad range of emotions we’re all feeling.
You guys have always been one of those rare bands who consistently put out records that trump whatever came before it. I think that’s why it came as a surprise to so many people, because you were still at the top of your game. You never really had a chance to slip up, so to speak. It’s understandably baffling to some people.
I can totally understand that. As a fan, I would be confused, too, if a band I really liked who still made good records did that. When you’re a fan, you don’t know what’s going on behind what’s presented to you. We have lives, we’re getting older, people are wanting to start families and start their lives. Like I said, we sacrificed a lot to start this band. It gets to a point where the touring becomes harder, you’re away from your girlfriends, wives, families, and it’s a strain to make each record better as well. We’re not tortured artists or anything like that. We just wanted to leave a positive legacy with this band. It was a really tough decision, and it’ll be a while for us to grasp it, but we’re all happy to bow out with a good, positive record, and leave it at that.
What was it about Wavering Radiant that made you guys confident to end on that note? What did you accomplish with this record that you had sought to accomplish since the inception of the band?
It’s hard to say. It’s just a feeling that we had, like, this is the best we’re going to do. We spent a lot of time working on those songs and rearranging them, and it was straining, but a lot of fun. Working with Joe Baressi was great. We’ve all been growing as musicians with each record, and Aaron [Turner]’s singing has gotten leaps and bounds better. If you listen to it, you hear how much we changed as musicians, individually. It’s the one record that I can listen to now and say that it’s the best we’ve ever done. The other records, I wasn’t disappointed, but I did think that we could have done this or that better, but when I listen to Wavering Radiant, even a year letter, I still think it’s the best record we’ve ever made.
Why did you guys decide to switch from your longtime producer Matt Bayles to Joe Baressi?
Not to say this in a negative way, but it became formulaic for ourselves and Matt to work together. We had a formula and we knew it well, and it was a sound that was something we created together, and making records became a little bit routine in a way. It was good for us to say that we wanted to go with someone else. He was totally supportive, no hard feelings at all. He was excited to see who we’d pick to take over. When he heard we decided on Joe, he was really happy, and respected Joe. We did all those records with Matt, and wanted someone new. Joe brought out some things in us that weren’t brought out before. When you work with someone new, they’re naturally going to hear you differently than someone else.
It’s interesting, because it came out sounding different tonally, but still sounding very much like an Isis record.
Yeah. Matt was always great to work with, and we had this sound with him, and we get a lot of compliments on those records, and there was a vibe there. It was cool to get a new perspective from Joe on how to make the record.
What’s it like going on this last tour with a band like the Melvins, who you all grew up listening to, and then playing your last show with Cave In, who you grew up playing with? It seems like going on your last date with your girlfriend before you break up.
[laughs] It’s really strange because we were offered the opportunity to play Bonnaroo, so we decided to do a tour to coincide with it. We tried to figure out who to tour with, and the Melvins were doing the festival, too. It’s funny how it worked out. The thought of ending the band only happened a few weeks after we were offered the tour. It ended up that we toured the west coast with two of our favourite bands, Jacob and Tombs, at our favourite venues in our favourite cities. Then we’re going to the east coast to open for a band that has been a huge influence on us, and also label mates. Then the tour is ending in Montreal, which is really kind of eerie, because we had our first show there in ’97, and that’s with Cave In, who is a band we first toured with. It’s kind of creepy! It sort of solidifies the idea that this is the right thing to do. It’s really appropriate, but it’s strange how it all worked out.
A lot of bands don’t have the luxury to go out like that.
Yeah. The thing with Montreal being the last show, that was totally an afterthought. We realized it after we decided we were ending, and were like, ‘That is really strange.’
Why was the first show in Montreal to begin with?
It’s hard to remember, but I remember it was a bill with six or seven bands on it. It was at a punk skatepark slash venue in the winter. I think Converge and a few other bands played? There was a show, and we got offered, and we said, ‘Sure.’ This was back in the days when you could go to the Canadian border and say, ‘Yeah, we’re going over to record!’ [laughs] I think there’s a video somewhere floating around. We should try to find that.
How has your perspective on being a working, touring musician changed from that day in Montreal to now?
It’s changed immensely. It would take me hours to explain to you all the differences I’ve seen over the past thirteen years, from the way records are made, to the way bands tour, to the way shows are promoted, to the level we tour now compared to then. It’s completely changed. Our first few shows, we’d be given a list of shows and places we needed to be, and that was pretty much it. There was no internet, no cellphones, we had nowhere to stay. We got a map and looked on the map and said, ‘Okay, here’s the city,’ drove to the city, asked people where the club was, then at the show we would ask if anyone had a floor to sleep on. You’d find a payphone and call home. From there, it became that we could afford a hotel room, so two people would book a room, then someone would park the van around back, and then sneak in the back door and sleep on the floor of this hotel room. It’s pretty amazing, the progression. Now, I have this thing in my pocket where I can call home and look up where I am on a map, get directions, find the nearest Starbucks. It’s so crazy how much it’s changed.
What are you guys all doing now that the Isis is officially over?
I’m not 100% sure. I know that everyone will continue on musically, somehow. As to where my position is, I’m not quite sure. I’d love to keep playing in a band. I’ve been doing a lot of recording and mixing, so I’d like to get more into that. It’s hard to say. We have this tour to do, and I’m just focusing on that right now. There’s non-musical ideas for things I’d love to do. It’s up in the air right now, but I have some good prospects. We’ll have to see what happens.
Is there anything special planned for these last few shows?
The vibe has been really special. It’s hard to describe. The fans and we know that this is the last time you’ll see us in that specific city, on that stage, in that club. These performances have been really intense and special. We’re not walking onstage saying, ‘Let’s destroy this place.’ We just want to make them good shows. A lot of the reviewers have said that there was a certain intensity in these shows that wasn’t there before. You can expect to see that, I guess. It’s bittersweet, but it is what it is. We’re happy that we can get there and play some more shows. It’s our way of saying goodbye.
