Clem Pool on Finland,

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za za zoo, clemens pool

W & A: Clem, are you in Finland as we speak? How's life out there?

C.P: Hey man, helsinki is treating me with a certain touch of serendipity. following train tracks has never led to such wonderful things. its kind of hard to crack but then austin was a nut i ve already broken so many teeth on finland is peanuts. seriously, no where i have lived have i felt the kind of thing i have in austin. the town is so self absorbed its like coming up for air to exit for a time, and see so many places that would say 'music capital of the world' if the clubs and bars could speak.

You told me there was a group in Finland similar to the Order of the Owl that you'd be putting on some renegade shows with. What's the deal with that?

Saatopaivat is a finnish order that is actually focused on personal and collective adjustment. It formed as the Guild in 2003, and its gatherings generally consist of some sort of collective artistic self adjustment. it just so happens that this year that involved some cardboard elephant pandemonium...the devious man behind saatopaivat has a short called lumi on the web at http://people.jyu.fi/~oljunele/lumi/ and people can peak into my dark and sticky past on
www.churchofchristmarshill.org/welcome.asp

Describe the Order of the Owl to folks who may not know what it is, how it came about, and what the future will bring.

The Order of the Owl is basicly Gwar and Opeth meeting up and realizing the world is too small for the two of them. The ensuing battle would wreak such havoc that all that would be left would be a handful of timid spirits floating around the ruins.

How long have you and your brother Noah done music together? When did you guys meet?

Noah and I have only been sleeping together since I was 16. The music thing... well, thats just sort of the pleasant aftermath of that relationship.

What prompts you to write a song, are there any general kinds of experiences that commonly lead you to write?

I m generaly trying to explain somthing to myself when i write. weather i always make it clear is uncertain... and i suppose as soon as it is something external one has a certain responsability to those in the path of your creation. you can say im impure in my motives, but i think the environment you create in sometimes steals your work from you like a tithe, taxing you on the ingredients of your creation.

What's it like when you go to the local bar with your sketchbook? (hee hee, you can answer that however you want, including telling me to fuck off)

Going downtown with my sketchbook? Sort of like public masturbation... shame and impure thoughts. Is that like telling you to fuck off?

What are the big differences between your approach and Noah's in Wax Museum Pandemonium project?

I'm not sure i want to make any assumptions on how Noah feels about what we do. It's sort of like a tree guessing what motivates a stone.

You've got a video online that you did for my project… your music and art is up on myspace… anything else online that we can direct folks to?

Well is that really any fun to give away all the little results of adolescent confusion that permiate this little information resource we have? Brother Clem Pool of austin texas as done many things to smile at...

How does life in Austin affect your art? Where else have you lived and how does it differ from those towns?

I don't really want to say where else I've lived because Austin deserves itself... I wouldnt want to distract it. I will say thanks to Austin for keeping me on edge and outside. I like the friction.

Where do you think you'll be in a year?

I've got some ideas about where I might go after Texas, but none that Ican share without feeling like a wanker, and none that I can imagine Austin not resenting abandonment. I don't mean the people, I mean the place.

Music/recordings you're into or influenced by currently?

For a few years ive been really into Jablkon. Also there is some really excellent Finnish children's music out there. Opeth is amazing. But i dont know, a list of the stuff Ilike is sort of like a tire track that still stinks. It only betrays a little of my direction.

What's on the horizon? Collaborations, art, recording plans, etc.

Look this winter for the simultaneous release of Listen and Understand essential wax museum pandemonium I and its companion Speak and Read essential wax museum pandemonium I. Also if i ever find a place to put it on the internet keep an eye out for the new video for the song "Lonely Luck."