Interview: Inspector Owl

They are fun, dancey, energetic, and the perfect headliner for December's BANDWIDTH. Flying in from the bustling metropolis of DeKalb, IL, Inspector Owl is a fanciful five-piece guaranteed to induce non-stop body shaking with their enthusiastic live performances and their delicate brand of electro-indie-pop akin to Polyphonic Spree, The Faint, and Modest Mouse. Inspector Owl's 2005 EP release Patterns of Nerve-Cell Action is an exciting taste of the great things to come and from what we gather we can expect that new album very soon. We took the opportunity to bounce some questions off of singer-guitarist Corey Wills (who also moonlights in Kid You'll Move Mountains).

Who is Inspector Owl? How did you all get started?
The band currently is myself (Corey Wills) on guitar and singing, Bobby Lord playing bass and singing, Ben Grigg is playing keyboards and trumpet, Kara Eubanks plays the violin and Jesse Fisher plays the flaming drum kit of death. The band started three years ago as just guitar, bass and a laptop. Soonly drums were added to the fray and we kept growing.

I love the history of names, where does Inspector Owl come from?
The name came from my friend Chi Chi. We at one point were called IO. There are the same number of bands named IO as there are atoms in your finger nail. So we decided to change it, we couldn't come to a consesus on the name so we decided to make IO actualy mean something. We had a contest on our website, fans and friends submited their ideas, the winner was to get tacos courtesy of the band. Thankfully Chi Chi won, saving us from having an awkward meal with a stranger.

When writing songs, where do you find the inspiration?
Song inspirations come from alot of places, sleep, lack of sleep, sometimes airplanes. Songwriting is different now. I used to write the songs and programing and then bring almost complete songs to the band. Now writing is more organic. I don't even bring finished songs to the band. We all work off of general structures and develop the songs from there.

Are you guys working on a new recording?
We have a new record, it is pretty much done. It will be out in very early 2007. We should be announcing the CD release show very soon. Very soon indeed.

What can the Bandwidth audience expect from your set on Friday?
The audience can expect to dance and have fun. They should be sure to wear their dancing shoes. They should expect music.

Who are your musical and/or non-musically influences?
Radiohead, Jarvis Cocker, Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo and Waffles.

Oooo. What do you think of the new Jarvis Cocker?
The Jarvis Cocker album is fantastic, I think they are some of the best songs he has written since Pulp's Different Class.

So, who else have you been listening to these days?
I have been listening to the new Shins, Bloc Party, and Damien Rice.

Lightning ROUND!

Clouseau or Gadget?
Clouseau, but the Peter Sellers Closeau, not the Steve Martin one.

The Faint or Bright Eyes?
For me, the Faint.

Nocturnal or Diurnal?
Nocturnal

Thank you very much for your time, Corey!!

Indulge yourself in all that Inspector Owl has to offer on Friday night (12/08) when they headline BANDWIDTH.

Download: Inspector Owl - "Spaceman Spliff"