WHAT: Neon Indian
WHO: Alan Palomo is busy.  He's been in a perpetual state of 'go' for some time now and with no signs of stopping any time soon.  We talked to him over the phone while he ventured up to Seattle for even more of his diligent days of late.  If you're looking for him now, try Scotland.  He won't be back in the states till mid-December and you're not going to want to miss him then.
STAND OUT: "6669 (I Don't Know If You Know)" is an example of what Psychic Chasms (his latest album) gives you.  Along with "Deadbeat Summer"....and the chance to find yourself amongst a sea of glow stick headdresses in his crowd.

Photo by Force Field PR

Alan: Yeah, I was originally born in Monterrey and when I was about 5 or 6 is when I moved to the U.S. That's when I came to San Antonio, TX, where I lived most of my life.....

RAPT: Anywhere else in Texas?

Alan: I've lived in Dallas, I've lived in Denton and I've lived in Austin so I've run the gauntlet in terms of Texas places to live...

RAPT: And right now you're living in New York, or where are you?

Alan: I haven't moved to New York yet, I feel like that's going to be happening in January....I actually, right now, don't live anywhere. Since May....I've literally just been on and off on tour...I think the longest break I've had has been maybe 2 weeks. Basically I've either been touring with Vega or with Neon Indian....

RAPT: So you've just been living the nomadic lifestyle then...

Alan: Incredibly. I would say as I'm traveling through the mountains, it's definitely very punctuated(laughing)....

RAPT: Are you enjoying that then or are you looking forward to settling somewhere and being still?

Alan: I am looking forward to a more stable lifestyle but I definitely enjoy this as well. It has it's own learning curve, this is very new for me.....but I really wouldn't mind doing it for a very long time. I really feel that it kinda comes with the territory – if you can write enough material, then you should feel comfortable backing it up with a good, tight, consistent live show and part of that is trying to get it out there as much as possible. But I am looking forward to getting up to New York and getting back into the studio which is where I'd say I'm my most comfortable.

RAPT: Yeah because you're often credited as a composer...do you prefer composing music to being a live performer, on stage?

Alan: I think they both have their own attributes that I really enjoy....but at times I do crave to be a homebody (laughing).  Not only have I consistently been on tour but I've also been executing these remixes that have been taking up quite a bit of time. It's really difficult to try to do them in a make-shift studio, in a hotel room that you only have for a night. I seem to do that night after night, trying to pull this off...and I finish them but it's definitely a much slower process cuz you don't have nearly as much time to get immersed in it. When it comes to actually writing material I do prefer, and more often than not need, to be in a stable environment...

RAPT: And Neon Indian is your own project, apart from Vega?

Alan: Neon Indian is definitely my own thing. I wrote the album sometime in late...no, actually it was some time in early April. It was one of those things...it was completed in my bedroom in Austin (laughing)....done in this 3 or 4 week span of time. It was this kind of crazy immersion process where I was going through this weird little introspective phase – I didn't have a car and I was really just focusing on school so I was feeling a little bit stir crazy and it was the perfect tempo to just sit and write. And just write, write, write until it's purely...I mean within 2 weeks time I had about 12 songs and a decent album. So it's definitely a very personal project.

RAPT: What's been the response with Psychic Chasms then?

Alan: Well I mean, it really feels like it's been highly positive...it's very...it's very hard to look at it objectively because right now I'm right in the middle of it, trying to play these shows and pull it off...

RAPT: And get it out there...

Photo by Force Field PR

RAPT: (laughing) You've dabbled in film before too haven't you?

Alan: I studied film in college and in fact, I have every intention of finishing it – music has just been a very interesting deviation that I've gone on. But yeah, I was studying right up until I took some time off to start touring so....

RAPT: Have you had any interest in composing film scores?

Alan: Well, it's something I've been considering a little more seriously as of late. I would say that...one of the ideas that I've had for a later Neon Indian album would be to write a screenplay and make this short film...or maybe even a feature length, but one of the stipulations is that I would write the score for it as well and then have the next Neon Indian album be a collection of singles that are all tied to this movie. So yeah, I've definitely considered that.

Neon Indian performed at Stubb's in Austin, TX on November 27, 2009.
Catch more show info and listen to Neon Indian here.

By V. Gonzalez