The Rosebuds may be your best hour of SXSW 2007. The North Carolina-based duo has been on the Merge (Spoon, The Arcade Fire) roster for several years, and new album Night Of The Furies may just be the record that breaks them to the larger audience they deserve. The album is a notable departure from both the New Pornographers power pop of debut The Rosebuds Make Out and the more somber, Pitchfork-lauded Birds Make Good Neighbors. The band seems to have somehow mined forgotten songs from the Factory Records vault for the new, synth and bass-heavy material.

People will be dancing with abandon at these shows, but none more so than Rosebuds co-founder, guitarist and vocalist Ivan Howard. Howard tells us about tea, shooting things in Austin, and BBQ wars in our SXSW preview.

You guys have played SXSW before. Do you look forward to it, or is it just chaos for a band perspective?

We look forward to going down there and visiting Kelly's Uncle Clyde. He manages a firing range right outside of Austin where you can actually get into tanks and shoot things up. It is cool seeing all the [SXSW] haircuts, too.

Do you ever get the chance to watch other acts and drink free beers at SX like we non-band people?

Honestly, last year I lost my badge and the security staff at all the venues would not let me in to see any shows. Understandable. So Kelly and I just got a 12 pack of tea and went back to the hotel and watched Americas Funniest Pet Videos. I barely got into the Merge showcase. I like the idea of seeing bands.

You're debuting new tracks from Night of the Furies. What's that title all about?

We took it from a story we heard a little girl telling other little girls at a birthday party. We tried to retell it, but I think we messed it up.

After hearing a few of the new songs, we must ask: when exactly did you move to late-80's Manchester?

We still live in Raleigh, NC. [There were] more New Order and Stone Roses tapes to be found in random boxes at yard sales in Rural NC than there were John Cale or They Might Be Giants tapes. Plus there are a ton of transplants from Manchester, UK to Fayetteville, NC and a lot of random parties. Maybe it just rubbed off.

What inspired the move toward the Peter Hook basslines and dancier sounds? The songs sound great.

Freedom. No one suggesting the word "no" at every turn in the recording process. There are no set boundaries for us - and I really like playing those kinds of bass lines. I think they are more like Bill Withers and Barry White bass parts than Peter Hook, though.

Your three albums all sound quite different to one another. Do you ever get fan complaints that the "Rosebuds sound" they liked best has disappeared?

Not really. We treat each song differently, and we have been pretty consistent with keeping the feelings true to each song, even if it makes them all sound different. Besides, we're not a real band, we're more of an art project, so we don't really have a "sound." That's good because it keeps us entertained.

The Rosebuds live show is loud, high-energy, and the songs are presented more aggressively than the album tracks. Any thoughts of a live record someday?

Maybe. Rosebuds "LIVE" would be good. But we would have to practice and release one with every new record since each tour we do for each record is different. I always love those live imports we find of other bands.

Do you use the band blog more as a creative writing outlet, or simply to keep in touch with your friends and fans?

Kelly uses it more to write. She tells lots of stories and is always keeping a journal. Maybe readers use it to keep in touch with us.

Finally, the all-important SXSW questions: Free beer or free margaritas? Tacos or BBQ? Business or parties?

All business and fish tacos and tea. The boss at Merge does not play. And we've heard that NC BBQ is better than Texas BBQ, but we will do our own tests.

The Rosebuds play SXSW 2007 at the following times:
Wednesday 3/14 - Antone's (Merge showcase) - 11pm
Thursday 3/15 - Birds Barbershop - 5pm
Friday 3/16 - Pok-E-Jo's (Merge/Absolutely Kosher day party) - 4:30pm
Saturday 3/17 - Mohawk (Hot Freaks party) - 3:30pm

[The Rosebuds MySpace]
[The Rosebuds Official Site]

Image via The Rosebuds official site. Photographer uncredited.