California indie rockers Grandaddy will release their third album, and follow-up to 2000's acclaimed Sophtware Slump in April. The band is currently recording tracks at their own Central Heat and Air studio in Modesto.

So far they've finished a handful of songs -- including "El Caminos in the West," "I'm On Standby," "Now It's On" and "Off on Your Merry Way" -- but have enough music to fill a couple of discs.

"I think we're going to do two CDs, but in no way will it be a double album," says guitarist Jim Fairchild. "That is the biggest fuckin' rock overambitious cliche in the world. The record is probably going to run about fifty-five minutes: There's the making-dinner section, and there's the you already made dinner and you're home from the bar and you want to rock your ass for the forty-five minutes before you go to bed and everyone wants to dance in the living room."

Despite the breadth of material, there are no epic, meandering selections in the new batch. "This record doesn't really have many long songs on it," Fairchild says. "Jason [frontman Lytle] seemed to get into the 3:20s -- still, they're kind of tricky 3:20s."

Toronto filmmaker Matt Burke is designing the visuals -- essentially mini-movies to complement the tracks -- for Grandaddy's accompanying tour. "You want to have as many senses stimulated as possible," says Fairchild. "It's the whole concept of Fantasia. There's actors and dancers and costumes and animals and people kissing, and there's going to be the whole Matrix bullet camera thing. We called him one night when we were drunk and fortunately he and his pals were drunk . . . We're researching the technology right now to sync up the audio to the visuals, so it's not Grandaddy karaoke every night."

Prior to the release of the new album, Grandaddy will launch their own Sweat of the Alps label, an Internet-only imprint that will issue two records a year, beginning with a 1,000-copy run of fellow Central Valley rockers Arm of Roger's The Ham and Its Lily. "It's a really fucked-up record," says Fairchild, "and a little bit pretty in some spots."

COLIN DEVENISH
(November 6, 2002)