Da un'intervista in ispanico nell'ambito del concerto dei Vato Negro in Messico due mesi fa, un estratto tradotto in inglese. Intervista completa:
CITAZIONE
About The Mars Volta, after the curse that struck Bedlam In Goliath, how conflictive did recording the follow-up, Octahedron, turn out to be? Is this the reason why the new The Mars Volta's albums are taking so long to come out or is there anything planned?
Oh yes, I finished the new The Mars Volta's album. The thing is, like I said, the album is really the result of the process, and here's a good example. While making Octahedron, we were recording and suddenly Cedric and I had an argument. He told me, "I can't work at this rate; we're making an album every year and I feel pressured to be at your level and I can't do it, I'd like to take some time to do my stuff". I didn't know that, but it's a beautiful thing, because now I understand him and he understands me. So I told him, "oh ok, let's finish Octahedron and after that, I'll handle what's going to be the new album to you and for the first time I won't tell you anything" And what happened? It's been a year and six months, so now he understands me; we know we can't do it by my rate and neither by his. We have to find a middle point, that's what's nice. So the new TMV album, to me, is not a new album because I recorded it two years ago. We're waiting for this guy to finish his lyrics (laughs). But I don't care; the important thing is the process, that we understand each other another way. He finally told me something that was hard for him to say, because he didn't want to disappoint me. And now I see it is difficult, especially with a dominating person such as myself. So now I can be a better person for that. It's important to really live, and not carrying on the illnesses that really come from our families. Though it's not an ilness, it comes from my father.
Bedlam In Goliath was a much more aggressive album while Octahedron you called almost acoustic. This new album, which isn't new, where would you place it in this spectrum?
Fuck, I don't know. The new old new old album of TMV (laughs), I don't know where to put it. It was really a beautiful moment because I learned something new about my relationship with Cedric. It was also the album that I made with the drummer I really wanted to work with, Deantoni Parks. I hired him just after I fired Jon Theodore. And I love Deantoni as a person, which means that as a drummer, he is my drummer. But Deantoni couldn't make any commitment, because he was doing other things. So we used Thomas Pridgen, but for me he was never the right one. That's part of the reason that it was so difficult to make Bedlam In Goliath. So even though Thomas Pridgen was our drummer then, and we were touring Octahedron, I was already recording with Deantoni Parks, because I was going to fire Thomas and begin working again with Deantoni. So there was a very relaxed atmosphere making this record and you can feel it in the music. Totally different to Bedlam and Octahedron. In two days we recorded 27 songs because he gets my language and where I want to go to. I like it a lot. Because it's an album I recorded two years ago, normally I'd be bored by now, but since the process was so incredible and full of light, I listen to it and go "oh, cool, I can actually tour this album".
