The Place Lives: Phil Elverum of Mount Eerie, The Interview.

If you don’t ask, you’ll never know what could have been… It is with great honor and pride, that I present to you my conversation with the legendary Phil Elverum, mastermind behind a personal favourite of mine, Mount Eerie.


You’ve just completed a North American tour and next month you will be heading to Japan for a couple weeks of dates. How were the shows, and will you be working on anything during your time off?

The tour was very fun. It was with 5 people total and we were playing music that felt different and new every night, even though it was the same songs. Those musicians I was playing with helped keep it fresh feeling, which is pretty essential to me. I don’t want to get too “tight”. I have lots of stuff to do before leaving for Japan. It’s not super thrilling. Mostly booking a few shows, making travel arrangements, fine-tuning my record label website, double checking inventories, coordinating some different releases, etc.

One time I was looking through some Earth dates and this band called Mount Eerie was on the tour so I checked it out and there you have it, another fan. How important is it for you to have quality openers, and are you involved in choosing your tour mates? Would you turn down an opening slot if the headliner was not someone you respected and believed in?

This last tour I just finished was the first time when I put any effort into selecting the local openers. I made a rule that I wanted bands with women in them to open, or women solo artists. I had started to notice that usually show promoters would put a bunch of emotional singing guys on the shows that weren’t my cup of tea, perhaps because it was too close to what I am doing, but in a way that made me feel bad about my thing. I thought that having women would at least make it one step different from what I was doing, but it wasn’t necessarily a perfect solution. Ideally I could curate an amazing show for every night of tour but the reality is that I don’t have the attention/time to go that deep in researching every single local music scene. I guess that’s why bands tour with their chosen openers. I don’t want to do this (although sometimes I do) because I think it’s essential to have a local artist on the bill in order to keep the wheels of locally made things turning, and keep attention focussed at least partially on what’s happening locally, even if it might not be my favorite music every night. My favorite shows are when they let me play my iPod through the PA between bands. That is the best. I wish I could go on tour and just do that.
I would totally turn down an opening slot if the headliner wasn’t someone I was into. I have done it before plenty of times. It’s quality, not quantity.

Speaking of Earth, you are both from the same part of the world, sort of. Is there any history between yourself and Dylan Carlson that your fans would find interesting? He played the Anacortes Unknown Music Series a little while ago you know…

We are friends. It has been great getting to know each other over the past few years of playing occasional shows together and touring. He is a super intelligent guy and it was so fun traveling in England with him and having him spout off deep histories about every single seemingly insignificant hill and valley. I feel lucky to know the guy.

In May you released Clear Moon and in September Ocean Roar, which you have said are parts 1 and 2 respectively. This morning I listened to them back to back and Ocean Roar really seems to pick up where Clear Moon ends, there is a seemless flow to the records. Did you intend for them to be listened to that way, with the listener making the time to sit down and take the journey?

Yes, totally, but I know it’s a lot to expect from people. Thanks!

Changing directions, I read an article from a few years back about your letter press shop in your garage, it was really interesting and I should post the link. As a fan and collector of physical product I appreciate your package ideas and concepts. Are you still heavily involved in all that, with Mount Eerie being so busy lately? If so, what have you been working on?

I haven’t been printing recently. Just a little bit for a recent 7″ I made that has the text letterpressed. I am still heavily involved with thinking about the packaging and assembling things though. It’s just that sometimes I am getting the components professionally made in larger quantities so I can do things like have fancy photos printed, foil stamping, heavy jackets, etc. But I do all the stuffing myself. The tangible feel of these things I make is pretty important to me. I like a physical object.

“Phil Elverum” and your various projects have a mystique about it that is a rare thing these days, with artists being plugged in and connected 24/7. You give the impression of a solitary man living in the mountains, taking pleasure in the simpler things in life, exploring and making beautiful art, without letting your audience in on the whole picture. How much of my perception of your life is accurate, and what did I get wrong?

I don’t know how that mystique is created. I feel like I’m swamped with emails all day every day, or making a dumb tweet, or rushing to the post office. I guess maybe because I don’t have a facebook it can seem in comparison that I’m hiding. That’s a crazy thought. I am reclusive I guess because most other people let the world know about every sandwich and poop.
I mean, that romantic picture you describe is how I aspire to be. I would love to enjoy simple pleasures and walk around in the mountains all day, but I also have to compare prices on airline tickets for 6 hours and reheat that pasta. The complete picture is not mystical, and I think you could say the same thing for literally anyone ever.

You did the Lost Wisdom album with Julie Doiron, which I love. I saw her open for Hayden in the early 2000s when she was something like 8 months pregnant. How does your approach to creating differ between your own stuff and collaboration?

It is so rare that I collaborate. In general I don’t think I’m very good at it. That record with Julie and Fred was so easy and fun. It happened so quickly and unintentionally. It was just “hey, I have these songs. We have a day. Let’s record versions real quick with this one microphone, one take, no overdubs.” Not collaboration exactly, more just capturing a cool moment that was in the air. In general my music making time is super solitary, just me wandering in the studio muttering to myself for months.

That’s all I’ve got for you, is there anything you’d like to add?

Not that I can think of.

Thanks for taking the time Phil, and good luck in Japan, Australia and New Zealand in the new year.

Thanks very much for having me.

For all Mount Eerie and Phil related vinyl, merch, dates and other stuff, visit pwelverumandsun.com, and check out his music HERE.