Nick: So how�d you come to be touring with The Ocean, Lair of the Minotaur, and Withered?
Phillip: We just got asked � it came through our booking agent. We�re recording a new album soon and wanted to play some of the new songs out.
Nick: What does the new material sound like?
Phillip: Of course, we�re stoked about it. It�s heavy. We�re doing a lot of the same things, just trying to tighten our sound up. We�ve tried things before that don�t work. What has worked well, we run with. So this time we�re keeping it heavy � there�s not going to get that mellow. It�s really song-oriented. In the past we�ve gotten a little bit out there, so we�re reining it in a bit, catchy and interesting. Of course there�s always been some experimentation in what we do.
Nick: Is that the biggest difference?
Phillip: The biggest difference is this time we�re going to sit on it, not just record it and release it. We�ll record it, put it away, and see what we think a little bit.
Nick: Speaking of newer stuff, there�s a pretty spacey song on your MySpace right now, �Set the Controls for the Center of the Sun.� When did you record that?
Phillip: The Pink Floyd cover! Not too long ago. We�ve got another one too, �Inerstellar Overdrive,� which will probably go on a Dwell compilation. We�ve just been playing them out live for fun, never really intending to release them. People requested we record them, so we did. We can�t really afford to deal with the legality stuff, so that�s why it�s on the MySpace for free. We did it out of respect for the band.
Nick: Back to the tour, how did you end up co-headlining on a tour with four bands?
Phillip: We�re still trying to figure that out [laughs]. It was kind of news to us. We thought we�d be on support for a couple of weeks. It�s great, everyone in the bands are cool guys. There are really good shows too; the bands are similar enough, but not too different. You�re not seeing four bands do the exact same thing every night. It�s cool to be out with Withered. I just produced their last album � it�s out in June. It was a nice surprise to tour with them � they�re cool guys.
Nick: I�ve heard from a few bands that touring has gotten to be a bigger problem in the last few years, and not just with gas prices. Has Kylesa had an easy go at it?
Phillip: No, but it�s never been easy. I started touring many years ago � I�ve been touring over a decade � there were problems then and they�re problems now. For bands that are doing pretty underground music, it�s always going to be difficult. There are just a different set of things now. You go on the road, you figure it out. We�re getting by so far, doing alright.
Nick: How has playing the new songs been?
Phillip: Great. It�s real fun putting out new songs. We have respect for the fact that people don�t know the new ones so we mainly play them at the beginning. We�ve got lots of compliments.
Nick: What are you playing from your other records?
Phillip: A little bit of everything. Three new ones, one song from the first record, one from the second, one from the split, and three from Time Will Fuse Its Worth. Our sound has changed so much and everyone likes something different � we try to respect that. I get that. I don�t like it when bands don�t play their older songs.
Nick: You�ve toured with a lot of bands straddling and pushing genres � I remember seeing you a while ago with Genghis Tron. Is that purposeful?
Phillip: I don�t think we put too much thought into it. We play with bands we like. Touring can be real hard if you�re not into the bands you�re playing with, but it�s the most fun when you�re with bands you respect and like. Every once in a while we�ll play with someone we don�t particularly like, but that�s very rare.
Nick: This is an East Coast tour � any idea when you�re headed to the West coast again?
Phillip: We�ll probably have something in the fall. We haven�t booked anything yet.
Nick: So this tour starts in North and works its way South. You�ll be finishing up near Georgia, near your home town. What kind of reception do you get there?
Phillip: We won�t be playing our hometown in a year [there�s one show in Atlanta but none in Savanna]. Now we�re all living in different cities. In the past the receptions been great. It never seems like there�s a huge amount of people from the South that support the bands from the South � though there are some people and the bands certainly support each other. There�s a lot of respect there. I can name a handful of bands that we trade shows with.
Nick: I don�t mean to put you on the spot, but do you have favorite of the bands you�re touring with right now?
Phillip: I like them all for different reasons. No one wins. Everyone is doing something that I find interesting.
Nick: And one last question about the new album � are you doing anything special with vinyl? There was that limited run of the double 7� early on�
Phillip: Yeah, we�re all huge vinyl fans. You should see the record collections at our houses. We haven�t decided on anything yet, but we�ll try to make it something cool.
