How many people can say that they are revered as an indie-music legend, have seen punk icon Glenn Danzig’s semi-nude butt, and are proud owners of a headless torso? We’re pretty sure there’s only one: Travis Morrison of the Dismemberment Plan. Beginning in the late nineties, his band developed a sizable cult following for blending rock and dance music, but they broke up in 2003 before hitting it big. To the delight of fans everywhere, they recently reunited and today are releasing their first new record in twelve years, Uncanney Valley.
The album cover features front man Morrison with a mannequin torso on his head — and Vulture wanted to hear the story behind it. To make sure the interview was appropriately loopy, we paired Morrison with comedian Chris Gethard (of the bizarro talk show “The Chris Gethard Show“) and sent them on a shopping trip to Trash & Vaudeville, a vintage-clothing shop in the East Village. Their mission: to find something for the naked torso to wear while also talking about music. Watch them in action as they discuss everything from Danzig’s aforementioned butt to Gethard’s high-school penchant for fedoras.
Special thanks to Flickr user “babystew†for letting us use photos of Morrison taken at a benefit show for Fredericksburg All Ages.