SFBG: No, don't worry!

BC: OK. It's hard for me to think about the album now. My brain is in travel mode or tour mode. We first recorded the songs on 4-track and then went into the studio and recorded with Tim Green. Tim's a really funny guy, a lot more funny than you think, listening to the [Fucking] Champs. He's a great guy to hang out and work with.

SFBG: How did Elisa [Ambrogio of Magik Markers and now in Six Organs and Chasny's partner] get involved?

BC: She moved to San Francisco. That was easy. Everyone on the record lives within a block of me. I moved to San Francisco so that's a new thing. Noel [Harmonson of Comets on Fire] lives a block away. Elisa lives with me.

SFBG: When we last talked you said you were going to put all your possessions in a storage container and just go on the road and not live anywhere.

BC: I ended up doing that for eight months, but I do kind of need a place to crash after tour, instead of being on tour for months. I kinda needed a space, and places opened up.

SFBG: Do you live near the Skaters?

BC: The Skaters moved to Germany or they're living in New York City. The last time I talked to them, they had moved again.

SFBG: When we spoke last you were also getting into Octavio Paz and writing songs about his work.

BC: I havent really read that much on this tour. The Shelter record was about checking out a lot of Paul Virilio. Not a cheery guy, a bit bleak. He's really concerned with the concept of speed and how speed relates to culture. He's just a really interesting guy, and he talks about impeding accidents that come with any advance in technology. He started to analyze biomechanics and mechanics and information and how those things will lead to a more global accident.

I like him a lot. But I hate him when I read his books because they're super-bummers. There's also his idea of singularity, which is about how nerds have gotten together and decided that since technology is increasing at an exponential rate, human beings will become outdated fairly soon. Nerds think it's a great thing. I think it's scary. It's already happening, even pacemakers - they're a first step. He's kind of thinking about superhumans. bioengineering plus biomechanics,

SFBG: What's going on with Comets on Fire?

BC: You heard about Ethan [Miller of Comets on Fire and Howlin Rain, which recently signed with American]? He's going to be really, really busy. Comets is kind of a question - we don't really know what's going on. Noel and [Ben] Flashman and Utrillo [Kushner] have been practicing - it's going to turn into a whole new beast. They've been playing as a threesome for a long time. I don't really know.

SFBG: You and Utrillo have played in other bands together, right?

BC: We’ve been in so many bands together, and he's always played drums. We were in our first punk band together. I really love Noel's playing too.

SFBG: Ethan has talked about what a punk you were in Humboldt.

BC: I was never really that punk! Utrillo was way more punk than I ever was. You wouldn't think so but he was a punk - he was looking pretty crazy.

SFBG: So back to the album...?

BC: It actually comes from...well, a ghost came and visited me and told me about when my record would be released and what I should do or risk offending it.

[Pause]

Nah, I'm just joking. I'm not the fucking Mars Volta!

SFBG: What's going on with your other project, Badgerlore?

BC: We started recording again. Rob [Fisk] moved up to Alaska again and he's going to school there. We've just done another record - all the same band members as the last one: Pete Swanson, Liz Harris in Grouper, me, and Tom Carter and Rob Fisk. It's way less song-oriented. Me and Rob started Badgerlore - I tricked Rob into moving to Arcata because I told him it was a hotbed of cultural activity.

SFBG: What's next?

BC: My brain is in zombie mode - go to the next show, eat, play, go to the next show. Too bad Mick Turner (of Dirty Three) isn't coming with us. He jumped in the van for the last two weeks, and he's been playing a set.

What's it like in San Francisco?

SFBG: Amazingly it's not raining. It's actually pretty nice, warm.

BC: That sounds great. I can't wait to get back there.

Six Organs of Admittance performs Saturday, Feb. 23, 10 p.m., at Bottom of the Hill, 1233 17th St., SF. $12.