Algiers comes out with guns blazing

“We’ve done San Diego several times,” recalls Lee Tesche from the band Algiers, which plays the Casbah March 21. “The first time was with Blood Ponies at the Soda Bar, I believe. This may have been the time that we went for our first California burritos, which was great because we got [bandmate] Franklin James Fisher to eat one, and he’s usually not a burrito guy.

“The last time we came through was on a run opening for Curtis Harding. That was an interesting show as it was the last one of that relatively short West Coast leg. We had hooked up with them right after both bands played Sasquatch in Washington state.... It was one of those things where we thought maybe we played a little bit too good for an opening act, if you know what I mean. Immediately, there was a rivalry that developed all the way down the coast, with each night one band trying to top the other.”

“I’ll give them Santa Cruz for sure, and maybe even the couple of shows after that, but a sold-out Casbah was the last night, and we came out with guns blazing. Split room, half of our crowd showed up and half theirs with each mostly standing outside while the others’ was playing. I think both bands ended up playing excellent sets that night and everyone got what they came for, but we got the last laugh. We had a bunch of T-shirts on that run of, I’ll just say, an important historical figure with sunglasses. We sold so many of those shirts that night, like more than the rest of the tour, when it eventually dawned on us that all of his fans thought that it was actually Curtis. Haha, I feel guilty retelling this.”

Some of the stuff on the new album There Is No Year sounds a touch like dub. Tesche seems mildly surprised, but allows: “I’ll never forget being 16 and working my first job at Goodwill, and taking home this Sly & Robbie Reggae Greats: A Dub Experience record one day from work. My mind was blown. Just completely destroyed. I didn’t know music like this existed. That record changed how I think about music.”

What’s in the future for the band? Quoth Tesche: “More touring. More writing. We’ve gotta wear shades because the future looks bright.”