Er Among the Ether show us their stranger side—that is the side that’s slightly stranger than the less strange side—in this preshow interview before they hit the stage at The Lair next Wednesday, April 9th for round one of Emergenza Festival Australia. They talk to us about the mystery behind their name, how black magic aids in band rehearsals, and all the strange and frightening things that are in the works in the world of Er Among the Ether.

WHAT’S THE INSPIRATION FOR THE NAME ER AMONG THE ETHER?
During an out of body experience a big nosed, pipe smoking Jewish elf visited us, took us out to the ether and gave us our name. Or was it the premonition we had when we were practicing the ancient art of healing with the Amazonian Waatoochoo tribe, or maybe the sexual orgy encounter with trees at Hyde Park or extreme cheersing on the high seas with captain Otinger... Hmmmm we forget.

IF YOU COULD DESCRIBE YOUR SOUND IN THREE WORDS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Boom boom baaaaam!!

WHAT ARE YOUR MUSICAL AND NON-MUSICAL INSPIRATIONS?
Musically we're inspired by musicians that blow their heads off on stage after a killer song or choke on alcohol or other substances while partying... Legends! As for non-musical inspirations... Vaginas!

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP WITH VISUAL AESTHETICS AND THE MUSIC YOU PLAY?
We like to include artistic visuals with our live performances and clips because we want our shows to be about the art and the music not about us masturbating on stage. Most of our songs are also structured like movies. They can be very linear in their progression, so it's nice to play around with visuals and colours to accompany the feelings our sounds induce. We eventually want to attack all senses. We're looking into an Er Among the Ether cologne, an Er Among the Ether sometimes happy meal and a touch the band night.

WHERE HAVE YOU PLAYED BEFORE AND WHAT WOULD YOUR DREAM GIG BE?
We've played all around Sydney from flashy joints to flash and get in joints. We're in the process of extending our shows further out to other states like Melbourne, where there seems to be a better scene for our style of music. Our dream gig would be playing naked to the star people amongst the deserts of Mozambique or a private show for the Azerbaijan Olympic team.

HOW ARE YOU PREPARING FOR THE SHOW AT THE LAIR?
We are preparing by doing heaps of overtime at our day jobs, being good to our mothers, being obedient citizens and staying fearful of god so we can get to heaven. Then getting together at night and playing dress ups while reciting ancient black magic spells to summon three bosomed virgins.

WITH OTHER BATTLE OF THE BANDS COMPETITIONS AROUND, WHAT MADE YOU CHOOSE EMERGENZA?
We'll play any gig that is offered to us, except for big festivals, arenas, stadiums, tv spots, opening ceremonies and live aid concerts. Stop asking us, we won't play them.

For more details on the show at The Lair @ The Metro Theatre in Sydney on April 9th, click here.