John Schmersal Talks New Enon Record

"The ellipsis is the most important part of the title. That's where the shit goes down."
John Schmersal Talks New Enon Record Front page photo by John Ray Fuller

Four long years have elapsed since Enon dropped their last record of new material-- 2003's Hocus Pocus-- and two since 2005's B-sides/rarities collection Lost Marbles and Exploded Evidence. That's quite a span of studio silence from a band that released its first three albums across just over three years. So what have John Schmersal, Toko Yasuda, and Matt Schulz been up to all this time? Amid a little e-mischief, Schmersal shed some light on recent Enon goings-on in a recent email exchange with Pitchfork.

First of all, the dry spell will be broken on October 9-- "weather permitting," wrote a playful Schmersal-- when Touch and Go unleashes the fourth Enon longplayer, Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds.

"The ellipsis is the most important part of the title," John declared. "That's where the shit goes down."

And just what will the shit sound like? "This is probably the most stripped down we have been per se," Schmersal explained. "It's easier to describe to people for me, anyway."

He continued, "Most of the songs are uptempo and I mean in BPMs. It's more rock but, not in [a dumb way]. We haven't put out a record for a few years, and so I expect it sounds different. But not overtly so. Our goal was to have a good time making the album and replicate it at the show."

Said replication will take place over a series of Enon dates going down this November. The trio will first dust off their instruments, however, for a July 14 gig in their native Brooklyn.

According to Schmersal, "This record was born, not produced. Though soon it will be reproduced and then, faint-compressed versions will remain on hard drives everywhere...for several decades...until the magnetic surge."

[A note to our webmasters: please discover an organic way to back up our site prior to the magnetic surge.]

Schmersal offered up a generous helping of track titles during our e-mail exchange-- including "Neon Rain...Black Rust", "George Michael Jackson Pollock", and "You Are Paris Hilton Free!" Lo and behold, not one appears on the actual Grass Geysers tracklist (although both the real and these presumed fake titles are reprinted below for your amusement).

But it's possible tracks bearing these or similarly wacky names may turn up on future Enon material. "We'll probably have some other releases," Schmersal admitted, "but...I get superstitious when stuff isn't done yet. Somehow if you talk about it, it will never get done." However, "we are recording more regularly again, so expect something more."

Oh, and remember how Enon were looking for a fourth member? They didn't find one.

Schmersal's also whiled away the hours in between releases gathering equipment and "forg[ing] a modest overdubbing studio." There and elsewhere he has recorded numerous bands of late, including one-time tourmates Thunderbirds Are Now!, Annuals, and Mean Reds (as discussed early last year). He's also done some commercial work, including musical contributions to eco-savvy Sundance Channel show "The Green".

The ex-Brainiac guitarist has also lent his chops to other artistic endeavors, including-- with both of his Enon bandmates-- the upcoming Les Savy Fav LP. Schmersal and Yasuda have done some recording with Love As Laughter as well, while Schulz has been playing with Holy Fuck.

Dates, fake tracks, and real tracks just a click away.

Rejected Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds song titles:

NEON RAIN...BLACK RUST
SYMMETRICAL CHOKER
IMPERIAL WIZARD
IN DUST REALIZED
THE SAD PROTECTOR
GEORGE MICHAEL JACKSON POLLOCK
QUEEN OF PRUSSIA
GHOST OF JON BENET
CASTLE GRAYSKULL
DIGITAL LEXICON
POSTHUMOUS RESUME
FUNLAND
PART COP
JAPANESE EATING CHAMPION
THE WAR IS SPORTS...
YOU ARE PARIS HILTON FREE!
FULL TIME SUPERVISORS
UPPER DARBY CRASH
IMPETUS ERECTUS
MICROWAVE SIGNALS
ZEPPLIN V
CARDIAC PROTEST

Actual Grass Geysers...Carbon Clouds tracklist:

01 Mirror on You
02 Colette
03 Dr. Freeze
04 Sabina
05 Piece of Mind
06 Law of Johnny Dolittle
07 Those Who Don't Blink
08 Pigeneration
09 Mr. Ratatatatat
10 Paperweights
11 Labyrinth
12 Ashish

Enon-athon:

07-14 Brooklyn, NY - Union Hall
11-09 Tallahassee, FL - Club Downunder
11-13 Atlanta, GA - Drunken Unicorn
11-14 Durham, NC - Duke Coffeehouse
11-15 Washington, DC - Rock and Roll Hotel
11-16 Philadelphia, PA - Johnny Brenda's
11-17 New York, NY - Knitting Factory

Posted by Matthew Solarski and Amy Phillips on Thu, Jun 28, 2007 at 12:35pm