High School Reunion: Mike Sempert of Birds & Batteries (1995-1999)
I was really into music in high school and I played jazz and listened to certain records in a ritualistic manner. I was also really into the fusion records of Herbie Hancock and Weather Report, which I think sparked my love for synthesizers and production. Those albums were like an aural safari — music for the imagination. I soon got into Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Thomas Mapfumo, King Sunny Ade, Tom Petty, The Cars, and Squeeze as well as Talking Heads. All of that music was mind-blowing as well, but more of this world.
I was lucky because my parents had collected a lot of great records in the ’70s and ’80s, which were just sitting in boxes in the basement. I rediscovered those boxes freshman year and spent many nights in high school, just by myself, listening to those records in the basement. It was a sanctuary of music, just a pure listening space for me. ~Mike Sempert
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cqg_ZGcuybs
Editors Note: We at The Owl Mag are super stoked to present Birds & Batteries at Rickshaw Stop on August 3rd along with Portland’s Radiation City and the East Bay’s Trails and Ways. More information on the show will be arriving next week.
Birds & Batteries – Let The Door Swing