INDIE INSTRUMENTALISTS RETURN TO TACOMA WITH SHOWS AT JAZZBONES AND THE NEW FRONTIER >>>

Trip the Light Fantastic is back - after taking some time off - but the band's return was far from a given. There were plenty of times of the last year, roughly the length of Trip the Light's "hiatus," when it seemed plausible that the instrumental indie rockers might never plug in together again.

Luckily, for ears in Tacoma, the boys of Trip the Light Fantastic figured it out, and their brand of far-out (now apparently chunkier) instrumentals has returned to the stage. On Sunday Trip the Light will play an all ages show at Jazzbones, then on Thursday, Feb. 4 they'll plug in for a 21+ crowd at The New Frontier with Freeze and Fur Coat and Clyde Kurtis.

In preparation for those shows, the Weekly Volcano caught up with Trip the Light Fantastic's Tyler Pratt. Below, you'll find his witty thoughts. This interview will post to Spew in two installments, with the second installment posting on Friday.

WEEKLY VOLCANO: First of all, give the Volcano's readers an update on what's been up since the last time we chatted. You guys have been through a lot, right?

TYLER PRATT: We have been through quite a bit. Everyone just wasn't feeling the vibe there for a while and we just kept booking and playing shows. It got to the point where we didn't even talk to one another, just showed up at the gigs. It was one of those things where we had to put the Trip the Light thing down, just so we could figure out what the hell was going on with each other

VOLCANO: You guys took a break in 2009. Can you explain what happened and why the band retuned? Was the break a good thing, in retrospect? Are you guys in a better place now?

PRATT: First of all, we have all been friends for a pretty long time - since we were really young. The reason Trip the Light Fantastic sounds like it does is because of our deep-rooted friendship together. We were like, "We could stop playing and stay best friends, or we can keep playing, not be friends soon, and then watch Trip implode."

It was a bummer. No one wanted to stop because we all loved the band. But sometimes you have to remember that too much of anything isn't good. So we took a break. I didn't know when we would ever play again. However, during the break we all hung out more than ever before. We remembered to laugh, and eat some dinner. You know, just chilling out with each other without this band thing we felt obligated to do. When you go through something like that with your brothers it's a big eye opener. Now we all seem to be in a better place for sure. Just getting loose and getting to create with each other again is utopian.

VOLCANO: What's the deal with the new recording? Did you guys start in November, as I read somewhere? How's it coming? What are your goals for the next Trip recording? What direction has the songwriting taken?

PRATT: We're definitely very excited to be working on our third release. When we all came back to Trip the Light we decided it was going to be all new - start from ground zero. Not to mention everyone's style had changed a lot in a year. We kind of had to start from scratch, which was a very good thing for us, musically speaking. We also have two guitar players now, which is totally changing everything with writing new tunes. Thomas Crow joined us after we had recorded the last two albums as a three piece. We are writing pretty heavy grooves these days; it reminds me of a fucking freight train moving in space. We've also been switching up instruments with each other lately. The release is roughly planed for May of 2010.