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Through
the Looking Glass
An interview with Jeff Sanders of
Mountain Mirrors
By Bob
Ignizio |
Mountain Mirrors is a one man psychedelic rock band
from Fairhaven, Massachusetts masterminded by Jeff Sanders. His influences
include The Beatles, Vangelis, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Metallica, Kyuss,
Monster Magnet and Morphine. Rather than go the usual route of putting a
band together and playing the club circuit while trying to get a label
interested in his music, Jeff just writes and records on his terms and sells
the results on his own through
MP3.com and
Ampcast. There are free samples there as
well if you want to listen before buying. For publicity he mostly relies on
the internet and word of mouth. I recently conducted an interview with Jeff
by email, and here’s what he had to say.
Utter Trash: Prior to starting
the Mountain Mirrors project, you had played in
various bands. What led you to go it alone so to speak?
Jeff: A friend of mine gave me a four-track recorder to mess around on a
couple of years ago. I'd not been in a "band" for about a year. I've been
into riffing into the unknown since I was 14 years old. So when I'd hooked
up with so many area musicians who were perfectly cool with jamming covers,
it was discouraging.
Rehearsing with a band is like practicing for a sport. It can be like a
religious connection. Recording solo is like painting or writing. That's
where my soul feels comfortable. I try to paint with sound. It's an escape.
UT: Have you put together a band for live shows, and
if not do you have
any plans to do so in the future?
Jeff: You never know, I could run into four Indians
with AC/DC shirts on in the woods by a fire banging on drums and yelling at
the moon tonight and Mountain Mirrors would change forever.
UT: A lot of bands/artists talk about having diverse
influences but when
you listen to their music it doesn't come through. In your case
everything you cite as an influence is pretty much there. Do you have to
work to get all those different styles to mesh together, or does it just
come naturally for you?
Jeff: I feel I'm playing from my heart. There's many bands whose music
means the world to me.
UT: There are some definite
psychedelic elements to your style. Are you
into "consciousness expansion" yourself, either through drugs or
meditation?
Jeff: Everything New Age, metaphysical, paranormal and
in nature stimulates my soul in ways drugs could never do, man! I can't get
enough of that shit. Just to be in the woods and breathe the air, or read a
book about the unexplainable puts me right in my element.
Drugs don't appeal to me the way they used to. Although I support the
legalization of marijuana. Booze is the true Evil in this society. And
that's legal. It just makes sense to liberate the stoner.
UT: 'Voices' is a good chill out album. That said,
do you plan on having
some more uptempo numbers on the next CD similar to the "bonus tracks" you
included on my CD-R copy?
Jeff: The dynamics are way more potent on this new
material. It's heavier and more ethereal than past Mountain Mirrors songs.
And, I hope, better.
UT: What inspires your lyrics?
Any song (or two) that is especially
meaningful you'd like to talk about?
Jeff: The lyrics come to me at the oddest times. Usually when my wife Jenny
and I are going on a long-assed walk. The ocean's right down the road,
alongside a dirt path which leads to a bike trail the next town over. As
soon as the endorphins kick in, a seed gets planted. Sometimes it grows. I
also get inspired by reading and meditation.
UT: What do you consider a "comfortable" level of
success for Mountain
Mirrors?
Jeff: As long as I continue to grow and challenge
myself spiritually as an artist, I know things will keep falling into place.
Every letter I get from a new fan assures me I'm on the right path.
UT: Do you think psychedelic music will ever be as
popular as it was in
the sixties/early seventies?
Jeff: Yes. I think when there's a spiritual revolution
like there was during Vietnam, and people are searching for the Truth in a
primal way, the pure essence of that is very psychedelic. When the shit hits
the fan - and it's been hitting the fan for a while now - we want something
pure and fantasy-like. Hell, I just love the sights and sounds of trippy
art, never mind the rest of the world lol
UT: You mention Robert Anton Wilson (a personal
favorite) under your
influences. How do you relate his writings to your music?
Jeff: His ideas blow my mind. And he's funny as hell!
The whole essence of the idea that things are never what they appear to be
is thought-provoking. Perception is reality. What we think about most, we
become. I try to embody those ideas in my lyrics and sounds.
There's an interesting story behind the R.A.W. thing! I was reading his
book, "Prometheus Rising", where he suggests an exercise. While you're
walking down the street, envision a quarter. Really see it there on the
ground. And take note of how many appear. Well, at the end of a 5-mile walk
I found no quarters. Then I noticed a baggy off in the sand. Turned out to
be a ¼ oz. Of weed! Lol . From that moment on, I had the ultimate respect
for Robert Anton Wilson!
UT: Anything I didn't ask about
that you'd like to comment on?
Jeff: The new Mountain Mirrors LP will be out this
fall. You can download the "Voices" EP for free at http://www.mountainmirrors.com
at the MP3.com and Ampcast links there.
And support our troops, ya hippies!
Visit Mountain Mirror's
website.
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