The Apples in Stereo will start their summer tour on July 18 in Louisville. Are their any particular dates that you are looking forward to?

The Pitchfork fest is probably the biggest show on the tour. I'm looking forward to going to Chicago and if I don't have a heat-stroke, watching Spiritualized play.

This will be your first year playing the Pitchfork Music Festival. What are your thoughts on the line-up? What has your relationship with Pitchfork been like?

Pitchfork has been as good to us as they are to anybody and probably a lot nicer than they are to some bands. The line-up for Pitchfork is as good as any festival in the world. Any festival (where) you can see Boris, Hawk and a Hacksaw and Public Enemy is not to be missed.

You are scheduled to play a wide variety of venues—clubs, outdoor festivals, the Brooklyn Masonic Temple and the Colbert Report. What can audiences expect at each venue? Does the show change radically if you are playing a festival or on TV instead of a traditional rock club?

Time constraints are the only things that really change the feel of the shows. When we're headlining a club we can stretch out the set and get a lot more songs in than the rigid 50 minute set of a festival. When we play the Colbert Report it will only be one song. There won't be any time for interacting with the audience or improvisation. If Mr. Colbert would like to hear some sort of skronk noise-jam we could do it, but (we will probably perform) one song with words, verses and a chorus.

In what ways has the “Colbert Bump” affected the band? Are you swarmed by fans at airports? Do you have to wear disguises at the supermarket?

I think it will be a huge bump since it seems like most of America watches Colbert. I do wear disguises to the supermarket but only because I feel silly purchasing Captain Crunch at my age. At the airport I dress like a TSA officer so fans don't notice me and so I can get through security quicker.

What is the current status of the Elephant 6 Collective, of which the Apples…was a founding band?

Elephant 6 was dormant for a while but it is back with our last album, New Magnetic Wonder on Elephant 6, Simian and Yep Roc.

Elephant 6 is credited with reviving 60’s psychedelia for 90’s audiences much as the Paisley Underground (Rain Parade, Dream Syndicate, etc.) did for audiences in the 1980s. Are you seeing a new generation of bands in the spirit of Elephant 6?

It's funny because in the 80's I liked a lot of Paisley Underground bands and loved 60's bands but I never made the connection between them. I just thought of the Paisley Underground bands as good, current (80's) music. Now it seems obvious to me that they were influenced by 60's bands, but at the time I just thought that they were playing good music as opposed to bands like Spandau Ballet and Kajagoogoo who were not playing good music.

What has the reaction been amongst fans to your most recent record New Magnetic Wonder? Can you tell us a little about how the record was made and how it came to be released through Simian/Yep Roc?

Overall, there has been a very positive response to the new record. We all think it's the best one we've made yet, so it's nice to get some positive affirmation from the almighty critics. We had considered signing with Yep Roc when Elijah Wood, whom we had met years ago at an Apples show, told us that he wanted to start a record label and wanted us to be the first band. Our manager worked some kind of spell (possibly involving Santeria or Witchcraft) on Yep Roc and Elijah and they made a love connection. It's been a great place for us to release our album.

What is the music scene in Denver like these days? Does the entire band reside there?

Denver has a lot of good bands. The next band to break out of the local scene is going to be a wonderful group called Paper Bird. Mark my words! The only Apples remaining in Denver are me and our guitarist, John Hill.

How did you get involved with the new Mike Meyers film, The Love Guru?

Mike Meyers is an Apples fan and contacted Robert (Schneider, singer/songwriter) about working on some music for the film.

What other film/television work has the band done? What films would you have provided the soundtrack for if you had a time machine and all the right connections?

Most of the films that come to mind are ones that already have perfect soundtracks like Zabriske Point.

The Apples in Stereo perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 20 at Union Park as part of the line-up for 2008's Pitchfork Music Festival. The festival, which runs from July 18-20, will also feature full sets from Animal Collective, Spoon, Dinosaur Jr. and Public Enemy, amongst other acts from the worlds of indie rock, hip-hop and experimental music. www.pitchforkmusicfestival.com

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