Five minutes with Outer Space

Outer Space is Jeff Hatfield and John Elliot of Emeralds. To me there is no better place than Skylab, where Outer Space played last night. I walked in to the stairwell and heard a woman's voice practicing scales over music I can't describe. It was awesome to hear, but unfortunately it was the end of Outer Space's set. 

Both these guys were really cool about doing an interview. There's something very lame about interviewing. You come off as someone who has these unresolved questions about what you see and hear, as though you're missing the point. Really I just like talking to people who are excited about art. I realized shortly before that I had only come up with four questions, but that doesn't really matter.  

How important is volume on the effect you want to have with music?

John: I guess in a recording scenario it's important for the dynamic of the way a record's gonna work and in a live scenario it's important for a live performance, so I guess it's kind of different for each thing. But I think the entire range of dynamics is important. Live and recorded. 

I missed a lot of your set. But right when I walked in I kind of heard something completely different, at least in the two or three minutes I picked up. Do you make a point of distinguishing your shows, and doing something different week to week?

Jeff: Distinguishing shows... 

John: Yeah I think we try to make it different each time-- we'll talk about what we're gonna do. It never goes that way though. 

Do you think talking about it directs it in a way you can't control?

Jeff: Yeah we do sketch them out. 

John: Depends what the P.A.'s doing. And what the room's doing. Because then it can change, and you have more room. Sometimes you don't have any room because the P.A. sucks. 

So do you talk about dynamics, something vague like that? How specific do you go in talking about it?

John: There's not really too much talk about dynamics. It's more just talking about what everybody's gonna do. We don't talk about a lot of things or about how quiet it's going to be. It just ends up that way. It's kind of strange. Just depends on whatever's happening. 

I asked this question to Mark a couple weeks ago, but it’s one I think any musician can be asked. Do you see your music as something that you create to effect yourself, or do you see it as something through which you express an idea or statement from within? 

Jeff: Probably a little bit of both... 

John: Yeah definitely both. It's really important to kind of put your character out in what you're doing. It's really good to kind of take what's happened to you and try and put it into what you're doing. 

You had all the lights turned off throughout your last skylab show. Do you see darkness as the best visual in which to hear music?

Jeff: Yes.

John: Definitely. Blackness. I like playing in the dark completely. And I also like playing with specific, organized imagery or something like that. But if I don't have it together I just have to play in the dark. 

Is it because of some emotion you associate with it, or because people can create their own thing with it, or something else?

John: It's just because it kind of creates more space for everybody. It just kind of changes the way things go. I don't know how to say it. Lighting's really important. Whenever I... Now I'm just rambling, I don't know. I don't like lights. [To someone touching his head] He's asking me if playing in the dark has to do with the way I feel emotionally, or if it has to do also with what we're going to do for the audience. And I said it has more to do with doing it for the people. Giving them more space. 

Woman [muffled]: Well then why do you do this?

John: Because I'm waiting around. And I'm listening to Jeff. 

Woman: Is this the sound of listening?

John: I have to get myself together. I'll fiddle with stuff if I don't just... [in reference to the way she stands] That's very Italian. Sicilian. 

Woman: This is what people do, and most of old people, in countries, walk like this. 

John: Yeah. Sicily. 

Woman: Yeah. Bolivia. 

John: Bolivia. 

Woman: Peru. Japan. I haven't been to Japan. 

What countries have you been to in touring with Outer Space or Emeralds?

John: With Outer Space? I haven't played anywhere outside of the country with Outer Space, you know I don't think we've been outside of Ohio with Outer Space, except for like a show last month, and then these two Columbus show and then the Michigan show. I've never played solo outside of the state. Yeah, that's it. I don't know though, things are gonna change this year. Like I'm gonna do a... there's a record coming out soon. And I'm gonna do a double LP for Hanson, it's gonna be a CD as well. And that'll be out, middle of next year probably next summer. So that's what I've been working on.