A brief chat with Cloud Cult

Yellow Scene: The band is over 15 years old now – how do you think the band has grown?

Craig Minowa: It started off as a solo studio project, so gradually different musicians were added to try to bring those albums to life. Now we just have a strong group of musicians who partake more collaboratively in the creation process.

YS: Are you working on a follow-up to Unplug?

CM: Yep. We’ve been working on the new album since October of last year. It’s pretty close to done. We’re actually shooting a feature film, a fiction film that’s based on the album’s storyline. So it’ll be a film and an album that’ll be coming in October.

YS: Are you looking forward to Riot Fest?

CM: Yes, big time. There are some bands on that bill that I’ve liked ver since I was a kid. I was a big follower of the Damned, so the idea of being on a bill with that band is pretty mind-blowing.

YS: What can we expect from your set?

CM: Our set is a shorter period of time so we’re gonna pull out all the stops and play all of our best stuff. We’ll have the live painters there too, so they have a particularly difficult challenge because we’ve ben doing headlining tours so they’ve had an hour and a half to do a painting. They’ll be pushed hard when they have a half-hour to do a painting.

YS: When Riot Fest is over, what’s next?

CM: We’ve got a few more festivals, then we’ll be shooting the film and wrapping up the new album to get ready for the release.