Disco Biscuits finally makes its Spokane debut with a ‘Space Opera’

If someone says “Spo-cane,” as opposed to “Spo-can,” the odds are that they’ve yet to set foot in the Lilac City. Disco Biscuits keyboardist-vocalist Aron Magner mispronounced Spokane while searching the band’s database for a tour date.

“Apparently we haven’t played Spokane,” Magner said while calling from his suburban Philadelphia home. “It’s about time we come to town.”

It’s hard to believe that the Disco Biscuits, who will perform Wednesday at the Knitting Factory, haven’t played Spokane, although they don’t spend much time west of the Rockies – it’s been a dozen years since the popular electronic jam band booked concerts in California.

“When we had shows in Denver or New York (in 2022), we heard it from our fans in California and the Pacific Northwest,” Manger said. “When are you coming out our way?’ Well, we’re listening and we’re finally coming to the state of Washington.”

Expect an avalanche of new material. A number of new trance-fusion cuts, which are dubbed as a “Space Opera,” will be previewed.

“We’ve come up with a story that’s unique,” Manger said. “It’s a space opera and the question for us is how to approach the aliens? We need to ask the aliens who is in charge.”

So one of the singles is entitled “Show Us Who is in Charge.” It’s a throwback of a show since many of the Disco Biscuits’ contemporaries refuse to preview material since the songs will land on YouTube before an album is released.

“We don’t care about that,” Manger said. “We want to play the new songs before they’re finished in front of an audience since our fans are part of the song.”

It’s an old-school approach – the Disco Biscuits employ the method bands practiced a generation ago, which is to work out songs in front of a crowd before entering the studio.

“The cool thing is when you do that, the songs can move in a different, often better direction when they are played in front of an audience,” Manger said. “We’re about serving the songs in the best way. Our fans also like to hear the new material.”

The Disco Biscuits, which also includes guitarist Jon Gutwillig, bassist Marc Brownstein and drummer Allen Aucoin, will improvise extensively whether it’s fresh or older tunes. “That way every show is different,” Manger said. “It’s what we need to do since many of our fans don’t wait for us to come to their city and they opt to travel to where we play and they catch a number of our shows.”

Magner, Gutwillig and Brownstein have been with the band since it formed in 1995 while the trio were attending the University of Pennsylvania. “It’s hard to believe that we’ve been together for nearly 30 years. Most bands and marriages don’t last that long. What’s amazing is that our creative output is greater now than it was at any point in our career, including our early days together. The songs are now written in a more collaborative way than ever before. We all contributed to the 14 songs that will be on our ‘Space Opera’ album. We still play our older material but much of what we’re about is moving forward. There’s definitely a place for us in the music world.”

There’s little doubt about that since there’s no group quite like the Disco Biscuits. The Grateful Dead and Phish inspired their improvisational approach. Frank Zappa and Ween had an impact since the Disco Biscuits are wonderfully weird and quirky.

“Like any other group we’ve been affected by other recording artists,” Magner said. “However, we make everything our own in this band. I think we’re different since our approach has always been unlike other bands. What the Disco Biscuits have always done since the beginning of this band is that we find different points in songs to jump off and jam. That point might be after the second chorus or it might come out of the bridge. Who knows? The cool thing is that we’re still discovering parts of songs to jump off of. We’re trying to create more infinite possibilities and we’re more inspired than ever.”

Perhaps the Disco Biscuits will play more shows west of Colorado. “Anything is possible, Magner said. “We’re finally coming to Spokane. I hope we return sooner rather than later.”