Originally published by USA magazine ‘Magnet’ (#?)
Interview conducted soon after 'Phase 3 : Thrones And Dominions' album release on 'Earth Day' April 25th 1995.
https://www.discogs.com/release/388388-Earth-Phase-3-Thrones-And-Dominions
"I got some cool mail the other day," says Dylan Carison, the starship commander/minor guitar celeb of the band Earth. "It was a copy of the first CD (Extra Capsular Extraction) snapped in half and taped to a piece of paper that said, 'I'll never buy another Sub Pop release again.' It was pretty cool."
And indeed, for those fortunate enough to be familiar with the Earth idiom, it's obvious Carlson is of such soul-shredding, slo-mo riffing and wunderkind guitar wizard stock that a reaction saturated with such venom and vehemence ultimately comes as no surprise. Though, of course, in this case, it's a big boot in the denims.
"Fan" mail like the broken CD, though undaunting to Carlson, nevertheless colored the marketing personality with which Sub Pop is heralding Earth's latest LP, Phase 3: Thrones And Dominions, clearly the magnum opus of the band's thus far supra-triumphant trilogy of releases. Easily Carlson's furthest foray into anything even hinting of commercial viability-with some "move-ments" up to 10 times shorter than those comprising both the aforementioned pantpeeingly impressive debut EP as well as 1993's Earth 2 LP. Unwilling to sink a real budget into what some view as a whimsical pet project of Sub Pop moguls Bruce Pavitt and Jon Poneman (both long known for near-impeccable musical taste), the Seattle label has launched Phase 3 not with the usual advance compact discs, snappy promotional pictures and overwhelming media and advertising blitz (all trademarks of said label), but with dubbed cassettes and backyard Polaroids taken by Carlson's friends. "Obviously I'm not a big commercial success, and I'm not going to be farmed out to a major anytime soon," Carlson admits. "But I feel as though there is somewhat of a marketing problem with the label and that the bands tend to get blamed. It sort of annoys me since this is the first of my records that has songs short enough to play on the radio. And then I get told they're not doing any promo CDs, just cassettes. Nobody's going to play an advance cassette on the radio."
As for selling records, Carlson says his output may be stigmatized by the very logo thousands of teenage boys would give up their left nut ring to stamp on their record sleeves: "The people that are into rock see the Sub Pop logo, buy an Earth record and are disappointed by it. The people who might be really into my stuff see the logo and won't touch it."
Though Carlson notes the unlikelihood of any of Earth's releases becoming a surprise success, he says he still feels a bit duped, and cites cases like Nurse With Wound and Current 93, bands of arguable commercial stability that established and retained record-buying audiences for lengthy careers.
"The general feeling is that there are a lot of people who express interest in Earth, but stop short of buying the record," he says, paraphrasing one Sub Pop employee. "Critically, we've done welL Even Forced Exposure gave us a great review, and I don't think they ever like Sub Pap stuff. I think that a lot of reviewers saw the first EP as sort of a hip test. They didn't know how they were supposed to respond to it: 'Ooh, do I say I like this?"'
Aside from problems with Phase 3's marketing scheme, Carlson says he almost didn't even get into the studio to put the album to tape. "This record turned into a lot of trouble," he says. "I work really quickly in the studio. Usually if I don't get a track down in one or two takes, I leave it and come back to it, or just forget about it. So I started recording Phase 3 and things were going pretty well,but then I had trouble getting down to the studio for the days I booked. I had to borrow all of this equipment and I don't have a car, so I was depending on other people for rides. Everyone was flaking out on me. This guy was supposed to drive me over there and decided he had to go get crack instead, stuff like that. It was a nightmare. Sub Pop got mad and pulled the plug, so I had to wait like a year before I could finish it. In that respect, I think it's sort of like two different records since the tracks were laid down so far apart."
Carlson hopes to tour in Europe this summer and says he wants to cover the U.S. as the opportunity arises. Until then, he's polishing his resume and searching for a lab tech position. But Carlson shamelessly admits that "given the choice, I'd prefer to be a wealthy rock star."
***INTERVIEW END***
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