Emily Pothast and David Golightly of Midday Veil are a sight to behold. If you haven’t noticed David’s beard around the neighborhood, you either don’t go outside enough or you’re too busy staring at your shoes. Look up! That beard is madness.
As connoisseurs of all things psychedelic, Emily and David are well versed in what it means to be a psych band—“It’s music that acknowledges and willfully manipulates our notion of perception.”—Trippy.
Apart from the band, this couple co-coordinates Portable Shrines, a local art collective focused on psychedelic culture here in Seattle, (come get Volume I of their compilation at Cairo!) and runs a record label called Translinguistic Other. They also keep busy with organizing the annual Escalator Fest, AND Emily hosts the silkscreen workshops at Cairo. Phew.
E & D consider themselves to be pretty dark and spacey—“Leonard Cohen was the first artist I discovered whose mental state I could identify with”—but that definitely doesn’t manifest in their fashion choices. Both wanted to model bold and bright clothing, and Emily even pulled out some Cairo clothes from her personal closet.
Check out the photos and interview below, and head to our Flickr to see the rest!
How did you two meet?
D- We met in 2007 at Emily's art gallery.
E- David came in to Davidson Galleries. I was the director of the
antique print department. David came in on first Thursday with a
mutual friend.
What brings you to Seattle?
D- Seattle seemed like a place that it was easy enough to find jobs but not too expensive, with an interesting culture.
E- I went to grad school at UW.
Where were you born/raised?
D- I was born in Columbus where my dad was in grad school, and I grew up in Sacramento and Kentucky. Seattle seemed like a place that it was easy
enough to find jobs but not too expensive, interesting culture.
started working in software jobs.
E- I was born and raised in Iowa, and then I went to high school and
college in Wichita Falls, TX.
What else are you two currently working on?
E- Midday Veil has a cassette coming out this summer, and we are recording our second album in the fall. We are always coordinating for Portable Shrines events, and Escalator Fest, which is next spring.
What are some of your biggest inspirations?
E- Feedback systems…which means I look at my own stuff more than
anything else. (haha) No, I originally was inspired by Fursaxa and Cocorosie’s concept—like lo-fi/homemade/bedroom music. Hearing music that sounded really easy to make I guess. The book “The Death and Resurrection Show” was the perfect thing for me as well. It’s all about how show business and performance are related to shamanism—the link between performance and the spirit world.
D- I grew up around a lot of church music and classical music, and then went to
music school. I got really fascinated with Karlheinz Stockhausen, who is a big influence
because he was so grandiose in his exploration of music. Terry Riley is an inspiration oppositely—he’s a minimalist.
Is there a city with the best psych rock scene right now?
D- There’s the Internet now, so every city can have something.
Everybody is aware of what everyone is doing in the world.
E- Austin does have a lot of support though, especially with Austin Psych Fest.
What is the best venue you have played in Seattle?
D- the Comet.
E- Yeah, it’s historically a dive bar but Michelle Smith [Comet’s booker] is a
visionary. One of the best bookers in town. Cairo too, there is a crazy draw in the neighborhood… it’s very community-based. Also The Josephine in Ballard .You can get
away with anything there... be as loud as you want and as late as you
want.
Can you name each other’s weird habits?
D- Emily is obsessed with touching cats’ feet. They don’t like it, but Emily is…persistent.
E- I just like touching them softly! David likes to put headphones on for
synthesizer-based meditation. He needs to plug into his little universe
of knobs and cosmic noises every once in a while.
D- We also enjoy Mexican food in an obsessive amount.
E- Yeah, we basically toured the Southwest just to eat tacos.
Who are 3 people you want to have chat with?
E- Just my mom and dad. Everything I’ve done in the past five years is for them.
D- Oh man. Emily wins this one. Let’s just use her answer.
Who were you in high school?
D- I was home schooled until 9th grade. I lived in the sticks in Eastern Kentucky. I was really nerdy and a total outsider.
E- I was kind of the “token person who smoked pot in an RV between AP calculus classes”. The most loser-ish of the AP kids, if you will.
Dream travel destination?
E- I haven’t been to very many places in Europe, but we sell a lot of records overseas. I really want to tour Europe. Psych rock is a big thing there, and they have a culture of supporting traveling musicians too.
D- You know, I really like the outdoors of Washington State. The Olympic Mountains and San Juan Islands are beautiful.
That's what's up.
See you next time! Liv
As connoisseurs of all things psychedelic, Emily and David are well versed in what it means to be a psych band—“It’s music that acknowledges and willfully manipulates our notion of perception.”—Trippy.
Apart from the band, this couple co-coordinates Portable Shrines, a local art collective focused on psychedelic culture here in Seattle, (come get Volume I of their compilation at Cairo!) and runs a record label called Translinguistic Other. They also keep busy with organizing the annual Escalator Fest, AND Emily hosts the silkscreen workshops at Cairo. Phew.
E & D consider themselves to be pretty dark and spacey—“Leonard Cohen was the first artist I discovered whose mental state I could identify with”—but that definitely doesn’t manifest in their fashion choices. Both wanted to model bold and bright clothing, and Emily even pulled out some Cairo clothes from her personal closet.
Check out the photos and interview below, and head to our Flickr to see the rest!
How did you two meet?
D- We met in 2007 at Emily's art gallery.
E- David came in to Davidson Galleries. I was the director of the
antique print department. David came in on first Thursday with a
mutual friend.
What brings you to Seattle?
D- Seattle seemed like a place that it was easy enough to find jobs but not too expensive, with an interesting culture.
E- I went to grad school at UW.
Where were you born/raised?
D- I was born in Columbus where my dad was in grad school, and I grew up in Sacramento and Kentucky. Seattle seemed like a place that it was easy
enough to find jobs but not too expensive, interesting culture.
started working in software jobs.
E- I was born and raised in Iowa, and then I went to high school and
college in Wichita Falls, TX.
What else are you two currently working on?
E- Midday Veil has a cassette coming out this summer, and we are recording our second album in the fall. We are always coordinating for Portable Shrines events, and Escalator Fest, which is next spring.
What are some of your biggest inspirations?
E- Feedback systems…which means I look at my own stuff more than
anything else. (haha) No, I originally was inspired by Fursaxa and Cocorosie’s concept—like lo-fi/homemade/bedroom music. Hearing music that sounded really easy to make I guess. The book “The Death and Resurrection Show” was the perfect thing for me as well. It’s all about how show business and performance are related to shamanism—the link between performance and the spirit world.
D- I grew up around a lot of church music and classical music, and then went to
music school. I got really fascinated with Karlheinz Stockhausen, who is a big influence
because he was so grandiose in his exploration of music. Terry Riley is an inspiration oppositely—he’s a minimalist.
Is there a city with the best psych rock scene right now?
D- There’s the Internet now, so every city can have something.
Everybody is aware of what everyone is doing in the world.
E- Austin does have a lot of support though, especially with Austin Psych Fest.
What is the best venue you have played in Seattle?
D- the Comet.
E- Yeah, it’s historically a dive bar but Michelle Smith [Comet’s booker] is a
visionary. One of the best bookers in town. Cairo too, there is a crazy draw in the neighborhood… it’s very community-based. Also The Josephine in Ballard .You can get
away with anything there... be as loud as you want and as late as you
want.
Can you name each other’s weird habits?
D- Emily is obsessed with touching cats’ feet. They don’t like it, but Emily is…persistent.
E- I just like touching them softly! David likes to put headphones on for
synthesizer-based meditation. He needs to plug into his little universe
of knobs and cosmic noises every once in a while.
D- We also enjoy Mexican food in an obsessive amount.
E- Yeah, we basically toured the Southwest just to eat tacos.
Who are 3 people you want to have chat with?
E- Just my mom and dad. Everything I’ve done in the past five years is for them.
D- Oh man. Emily wins this one. Let’s just use her answer.
Who were you in high school?
D- I was home schooled until 9th grade. I lived in the sticks in Eastern Kentucky. I was really nerdy and a total outsider.
E- I was kind of the “token person who smoked pot in an RV between AP calculus classes”. The most loser-ish of the AP kids, if you will.
Dream travel destination?
E- I haven’t been to very many places in Europe, but we sell a lot of records overseas. I really want to tour Europe. Psych rock is a big thing there, and they have a culture of supporting traveling musicians too.
D- You know, I really like the outdoors of Washington State. The Olympic Mountains and San Juan Islands are beautiful.
That's what's up.
See you next time! Liv
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