As seen on Launch CD-ROM #46
As the name suggests, Floater manages to drift in and out of various rock moods in one sitting. The Portland, Oregon trio is as adept at somber acoustic music as it is psychedelic sounds and prog-rock expanse, and it's a genre-bent recipe that has made the group a regional favorite in the Pacific Northwest for the past ten years. Floater's fifth album, Burning Sosobra, is available from its own Elemental Records. Go to floatermusic.com for more information.
WHAT WE SOUND LIKE:
Like three people from very different backgrounds that have found a similar sound -- sort of brutal and beautiful
at the same time even though we come from different inspirations.
WHERE DID YOU ACQUIRE YOUR CHOPS:
Sitting in the garage when the parents aren't around and you can make a lot of noise while listening to your
favorite cassette in the Walkman.
WHERE WE GOT OUR NAME:
There's a colony of people who live on houseboats and are drifters, they do what they have to do to get by to
keep their boats. They call themselves floaters.
A COOL WAY SOMEONE'S DESCRIBED YOUR MUSIC:
One review said something like "the strength of the band was that they could caress you close enough to hit you
real hard, and just as they were driving you away could caress you again." It's sort of like an abusive relationship.
WHAT'S IN THE CD PLAYER:
Radiohead: OK Computer,
David Bowie: Outside and Earthling,
Lost Highway soundtrack,
Steely Dan,
Nick Cave,
Smiths,
Critters Buggin',
Lava Diva.
WHAT WE'RE READING RIGHT NOW:
Sogyal Rinpoche: The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying,
Nick Cave's And The Ass Saw The Angel,
Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game,
Robert Gilmore's Alice in Quantumland: An Allegory Of Quantum Physics.
ALBUMS THAT CHANGED OUR LIVES:
The Who: Quadrophenia,
Pink Floyd: The Wall,
Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds: The Good Son,
Billy Joel: Glass Houses and 52nd Street,
Yes: Close to the Edge,
Kiss: Destroyer
ULTIMATE BAND TO OPEN FOR:
The original Pink Floyd, Jane's Addiction, the Police, the Doors, Bauhaus, Rush.
FAVORITE SCENE FROM A MOVIE:
Apocalypse Now, when Willard finally meets Kurtz; Early in Contact, when they first show the Jodie Foster
character as a grown-up aside the telescope; the phone conversation in the opening scene of the original
El Mariachi.
FAMOUS PEOPLE IN HISTORY WE'D LIKE TO HANG WITH:
Albert Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, Salvador Dali.
ONE DAY WE'RE GONNA GIVE UP MUSIC AND BECOME:
Kung fu instructor, art teacher, night-club owner, or a bum and see the rest of the world.
Floater's performance was aided by the use of Line6 Flextone II amplifiers, MM4 Modulation Modeler stomp box, and Eden Electronics DC210xt bass amplifier.
Floater: All recordings courtesy of Elemental Records. "Marriage Of The Black Sheep" written by R. Wynia, D. Amador, P. Cornett; courtesy of Elemental Records.