After three successful years of hosting Bisco Inferno at Red Rocks and consistently playing three- to four-day runs in Colorado, the Disco Biscuits have left an indelible imprint on the Centennial State. Taking a bit of a break from the band, Marc Brownstein and Aron Magner are now focusing on their side project, which has grown into a full-fledged touring act from playing late-night Biscuit after-party sets. In addition to those two, the group, Conspirator, consists of Chris Michetti of RAQ and a star cast of rotating drummers, including Darren Shearer of the New Deal, Adam Deitch of Pretty Lights and Mike Greenfield of Lotus. We recently spoke with Brownstein about Bisco Inferno and his plans for Conspirator.
Westword: Can we get some insight into Bisco Inferno? Is there even going to be one this year?
Marc Brownstein: Let me just say this — at this time last year, we were planning on taking the full year of 2011 off. That meant we weren't going to do Bisco Inferno or Camp Bisco, but we did. Then we did the Identity Tour and planned the New Year's Run later in the year. Right now, we're where we were a year ago: We just want a year off, and we haven't gotten it yet. With that said, we tend to change our minds a lot, too. I know everyone is wondering and asking, but this is why we don't like to make definitive announcements, because we may play it or we may not. I know that's not the answer that everyone was looking for, but at least that is some insight into the process.
The Disco Biscuits can't make it to Colorado for their annual winter run, but you have planned an extensive tour for Conspirator. What are you trying to make of this whole situation, and where are you trying to go with this side project?
Conspirator started in 2004 during a Disco Biscuits genre transition, commonly known to us as a hiatus. The purpose was to be creative and to have a creative outlet that we could turn to musically when we didn't have one with the Biscuits. Aron and I wanted to do something different that would make us better as musicians and producers, and then we can take that to make the Biscuits better. But after a heavy amount of touring in '08 and '09, we decided to take a step back and reassess our plans for the future. We are a little bit older now, so that much touring really started to take a toll on us for multiple years in a row.
There were two questions that needed to be answered by this point: Did we want to be a touring band, or an event-based band? Ten years ago, our vision was to tour the shit out of the country for a decade, then pull back and become the more event-oriented band. The reality of the whole situation is that I love touring and do not want to stop. I'm 38, and I don't feel the urge to sit at home and not do what I do.
