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Still rubbing bellies from the Tex Mex and Lone Star gut rot they willing indulged in during SXSW a few weeks back, for this installment of Sounds Good we caught up with Chicago psychedelics Secret Colours. Jump down as we talk with Tommy Evans and Dave Stach, both of which play guitar and sing, about the aforementioned mentioned official/unofficial beer of Texas, a rad ragtag Wicker Park skate and party house, and the benefits of being Adrien Brody’s massive lady lovin’ schnoz. Also, pick up their stellar debut here.

Your sound is starkly 60’s psychedelic with leanings towards garage. But artists themselves always have a unique take on their music. How would you describe it?

Tommy: Reverberation rock.

If you could hijack any film and use your album to score it, which movie would you choose and why?

Tommy: Meet the Feebles. It would make Peter Jackson look like even more of a weirdo than he already is.

What’s the difference between ‘colors’ and ‘colours?’

Dave: Seattle and Chicago.

You just returned from a trek down to SXSW. How much Lone Star did you consume?

Tommy: Enough to not be accepted an organ donor anymore.

Dave: Far more than I ever wanted to. It kinda seems Lone Star is to Austin as PBR is to Chicago. It felt just like home slamming tallboys of Lone Star at 2 pm.

As a fan, the Austin festival can be so fucking tiring. What’s the hustle like for a band who played so many damn shows?

Dave:  It was pretty intense. We played 8 shows in total (showed up for 9, one got cancelled) so there was a lot of running around. We finish a show at 5:30 and then have to be at the next venue at 6:00 for load in. It was nuts.

Best thing about SXSW?

Dave: Barbecue, warm weather, getting drunk all day every day, beautiful women EVERYWHERE. We played a set at this bar called Agave on 6th street at 5:00, and the place got pretty packed. So the owner asked us to come back and play another set again at midnight, and we killed it.  That was pretty rad.

Tommy: Seeing The Night Beats.

Worst thing about SXSW?

Dave:  So many people. That main drag of 6th street is a cluster-fuck come Thursday and throughout the weekend. And then you have all these lame bands trying to make a splash by playing a set in the middle of the street, and others walking around with giant 8×8 foot posters of their band…  It’s like hell on earth.

Tommy: Buffalo Billiards.

The band drove down to Texas correct? Why does the drive back always seem like it takes so much longer than the trek there?

Dave: Our ride home actually was longer than getting down there. I think it has to do with driving that much in one sitting, you start to lose your mind.  I like it.

Get everything checked off your festival bucket list?

Dave: Not everything, but a lot. Got some Texas barbecue, I got to see Surfer Blood, but I missed the Black Lips and Ty Segall. Met the Black Angels and saw them. We played a show with Christian the first night we were there, so we got to hang with  him and some of the APF crew. One of the old bassists from The Warlocks randomly came to see us play in a parking lot, which was totally rad and unexpected. I didn’t get to hook up with any Texas girls, but all in all, I think we had a pretty rad SXSW for our first time down there. Now that we know what it’s all about, I’m sure next year we’ll get even more accomplished.

Tommy: Yea, not at all. I would have liked to see The Black Angels a few more times, the same with The Night Beats. Also, I didn’t get to see Jack White’s bus. But now we know the vibe down there, and can plan better for next year.

Favorite Chicago neighborhood to spend a nice and pretty spring Sunday afternoon?

Dave:  Just walking around, I’d say Wicker Park. If we’re goin’ to the beach, I’d say this little swimming spot we found down on 55th in Hyde Park. If we’re drinkin’ at the beach, North Ave or Fullerton beach.

Favorite bar/house/slum/dive to get drunk in?

Dave: We found this one DIY spot through a mutual friend, and it’s easily the greatest spot in Chicago.  It’s right in Wicker Park near the 6 corners.  6 skaters or so live in this old recording studio, it’s pretty massive. They have a huge ramp inside in the main room, and built a stage on it for the bands to play on. They have a little cash bar and sell $1 PBR cans and $1 shots of shitty whiskey or rum.

What makes it so?

Dave: Every time we play there it’s amazing. Everyone who goes to this venue just goes to have fun, get drunk, and listen to music. Sometimes it feels like we’re transported to another time. Everyone just dances, gets fucked up, and has a good time.

Which is better: Friday or Saturday night?

Dave: Thursday night.

How big a role does your retro aesthetic play in the way Secret Colours is perceived?

Dave: Not as big as people make it seem, I think. We play retro instruments because we like how they sound. We listen to old music, so that comes out in our sound. But not all of us wear vintage clothing or whatever. It’s just the way we’re perceived.

Who designs and subsequently prints your concert posters?

Dave:  Justin our drummer designs almost all of our posters. Nowadays you don’t always have to print the posters. Sometimes we’ll do it just at Kinko’s or whatever, because really posters are more useful online than in the city. You’re not even allowed to post them anywhere really, or you’ll get fined or the venue will get fined and chew you out. So usually we just use posters for online press only.

Willow Smith or Jaden Smith?

Dave: I’ve been known to whip my hair back and forth from time to time.

Jaden Smith or Ralph Macchio?

Dave: Ralph Macchio, and that’s a fuckin’ silly question. I never saw the new movie, but whatever.

Tommy:  Huh?

How supportive are other Chicago bands and the city’s creative scene in general?

Dave: The Chicago scene is seriously right at this critical mass. There are so many great bands coming out of the city right now and playing out, and people are digging them. Everyone we’ve met is totally cool. We talk online a few times, meet in person, get real drunk, and then blabber on and on about how much we want to play a show together. It’s pretty hilarious. It’s like “aww man I know you! Yea dude your band is awesome too! We totally need to play a show together man, yea we’ll fuckin’ do that next month”. But seriously Chicago is going to have something special here real soon.

Would you rather be Adrien Brody’s nose or Kim Kardashian’s ass?

Dave: Depends who Adrien Brody is dating.

Best venue to play in Chicago and why?

Dave: We like to play Subterranean and The Empty Bottle a lot. They’re rad, dark venues, and we can usually get away with not having ridiculous ticket prices. Especially the Empty Bottle, we do a lot of free shows there.

You’re currently demoing some songs for the next album. What can we expect from it?

Dave: It’s going to be much different. I hate how I just said we’re not really retro, but this new one may sound more…..retro?  We have some more straight up rock n’ roll songs on it, as opposed to our first album, where we had just a few. We’ve still got some psychedelic, but there is a lot of the garage coming out in these new demos. We’re about halfway done writing for this album, so theres still plenty of room for the direction to completely change again. We’ll see what happens.

Finally, plans for the rest of 2011?

Dave: We’ll be recording our new album at the end of the summer with a crazy awesome producer at a gnarly studio. Hopefully. We may be announcing a short tour supporting a great band, but I can’t say much about that right now. Chicago to NYC will be the route, with a lot of shows in between. Other than that, we’ll just continue to play Chicago and the surrounding areas, getting ready to graduate school and shove off on a real tour.

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