Explosions In the Sky bring 'post rock' to Music Farm

As with any form of music, the term "post rock" is has come to mean multiple things.

A quick search on Google will cite the progressive inspiration of bands such as Emerson, Lake and Palmer, to the spacey trips of the shoegazer rock of the early '90s, to the intricate instrumental work of film composer Ennio Morricone and the minimalist work of composer Phillip Glass.

The one unifying factor in all of this music is the band's emphasis on tones, and sounds over lyrics.

One of the bands that has been given the post-rock label is Austin, Texas, group Explosions In the Sky.

The band's contribution to the soundtrack of the 2004 high school football drama, "Friday Night Lights," set the tone for many of the films more emotionally charged scenes. Alongside the band's various contributions to films and television, there are the many albums the group has recorded.

Explosions In the Sky's latest CD, 2007's critically hailed "All Of A Sudden I Miss Everyone," is but a sampling of what the band's live show is like.

Soaring tones and crashing crescendos take the audience on a nice little trip. Saturday night, the band makes a stop at the Music Farm. Drummer Chris Hrasky took a moment to chat with Preview while driving up to the group's next stop.

Preview: So, are you guys on your way to Rhode Island at the moment?

Hrasky: Yeah, we're in the middle of this, driving out in our vans.

Preview: How's the tour been so far?

Hrasky: Yeah, it's been good so far. We do a few more dates out here, and then we head overseas to Europe. The tour is going to go on for a couple of months, then we'll take a break and start working on another record.

Preview: What will the recording process be like for the next album? Is it going to be more improvisation, kind of "trial and error," or will it be more mapped out this go around?

Hrasky: Yeah, for the most part we still just go in and work on things and see what we come up with. We've been kicking around the idea of just going and planning things out, but who knows where that will go.

Preview: Do you ever record on the road?

Hrasky: Not really, we tend to think about new stuff when we have more time to think about it.

Preview: What first got you into music?

Hrasky: Well, I used to listen to a lot of soundtracks as a kid. I used to listen to (John William's) "Raiders Of The Lost Ark" soundtrack. Then it evolved a little more. My older brother was into metal, so I got into other music a bit.

Preview: Have you ever gone back and listened to any of your older recordings?

Hrasky: I don't really listen to a lot of our own stuff. I used to for a while in the beginning, but it got to be a bit much because you listen to live recordings, and all you can hear is where you messed up.

Preview: What's the band's musical taste like?

Hrasky: We listen to some of the more weird, actually weird isn't correct, but we listen to all kinds of music. We listen to a little composer music from people like Arvo Part, a composer Markoff, he's amazing. Then we listen to more common stuff like Phillip Glass and even Kanye West, but we really do listen to all kinds of music.

Preview: Are there any movies that you've seen recently, that you thought were the perfect marriage of music and film?

Hrasky: Well, when I think of that, the first thing that comes to mind is "There Will Be Blood." There are scenes in that movie that scare ... me. Then there is something like "No Country For Old Men," that use very little music but just a barely audible hum that really works as well.