Michael Gibbons
Michael is one half of the fraternal guitar duo in Bardo Pond, a Philadelphia-based neo-psychedelic band that makes its home at Matador Records. According to CDNOW, fans of Bardo Pond are also fans of Cheech and Chong and Sonic Youth--a statistic that actually makes perfect sense. Bardo Pond plays the Crocodile on Tues March 12 with 31 Knots and Fursaxa.

What do you miss most about Philadelphia when you're on tour? "Well it is our home, and when you're away from home you can't help missing sleeping in your own bed. But we're just glad to be out of town doing some music, especially coming out west, the Pacific Northwest. But you guys can't compete with our beloved Phil City and our quaint little Kensington neighborhood--it has more than you'll ever need or want near your fingertips."

Is there such thing as too much reverb? "Using reverb is a bit tricky. Tough to judge. Sometimes a good drench is in order but generally we like things more on the dry side. Now distortion, that's different, never too much there, always just right. Delay is the same...."

Do you still have a side project called Prairie Dog Flesh? I sure love them prairie dogs...you wouldn't ever eat one, would you? "Oh yeah, they're curious creatures. And they're very good with teriyaki sauce, or so we hear from our marmot friends."

Do you enjoy being in a band with your brother? "Ah, he's right here next to me so I really can't get into that... oh wait, I'm not in the Black Crowes. Seriously, John and I get along pretty swell. We depend on each other for a lot of stuff and know we are each doing the best we can. The whole band are family members basically."

What's the most annoying question journalists ask you? "What? Journalists annoying? C'mon... uh, that's hard... what kind of question is this? Don't you want to ask us about drugs, man?"

Interview by Hannah Levin