Conduits Reminisce the Scent of Cursive | Q&A

story by Steven Ashford | photos by Daniel Muller

After 26 concerts, Omaha's wondergazey mood rockers Conduits have seen and experienced the better half of the nation. For the first time as a band, they have had the opportunity to play on a new platform to different, unknown audiences and venues each night as they supported Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars on tour.

Inching their way closer to home base, the past weeks' reflection on the road indicates a bittersweet closure to this chapter of the band. Conduits play The Bourbon Theatre on Sunday with Cursive and The Berg Sans Nipple.

While stationed in Covington, Ky., lead singer Jenna Morrison talked to HN about the country's ongoing familiarity with the Omaha music scene, the scent of Cursive's Tiger Balm and the importance of being a band from Nebraska.

Hear Nebraska: How do you feel the tour with Cursive has been so far?

Jenna Morrison: We are actually nearing the end of the tour. It has been a great experience. We're making new fans, spending time with great musicians, and we get to see Cursive and Cymbals Eat Guitars every night. It does not get old — at least not for me. As much as I miss Omaha, working at Brothers and my dog, I am pretty sad that the tour is soon coming to an end.

HN: For those who were unfamiliar with Conduits, how do you feel audiences have responded to your material?

JM: The crowds have responded really well to our music, and we have been told that for an opener, we are selling albums incredibly well! Actually, not much different to how people in Omaha reacted towards us when we first hit the scene. However, it does help to be playing in front of Cursive's crowd. We're pretty grateful for the opportunity. 

HN: Were concertgoers familiar with Conduits prior to seeing you guys? 

JM: There have been a number of people who were familiar with us. I think that there were some who heard we were out with Cursive and went to check us out, but there were others who were really familiar with the Omaha music scene, and already had ordered our album.

One man had ordered it from the Team Love website, and when he was concerned it wouldn't ship fast enough, ordered it from Amazon. He now has two copies. Another guy in Austin told me he came to see us. I don't know how true that statement was, but I appreciated it.

HN: What has been the most significant stop on the tour thus far and why?

JM: That is an incredibly hard question to answer. We have played 26 shows at this point. I can say that the crowd reaction to our music in D.C. kind of blew us away. I mean, everywhere has been great. Each city has its different perks, different styles, etc.

HN: Aside from playing shows, what have been some of the tour's more memorable experiences ?

JM: The smell of Cursive's Tiger Balm every night (I found some aromatherapy spray that smells just like it and bought it. I'm a creep. JJ [Idt] says that I'm going to smell like an old lady).

Cymbals Eat Guitars bought JJ a pineapple for his birthday, and we sacrificed it outside of the High Noon Saloon in Madison. We got to go to the beach in St. Augustine, Fla. We've met a lot of memorable people, especially in Austin, ha.

HN: Were there any unforeseen incidents along the tour or has it been a pretty smooth ride? 

JM: It's been a pretty smooth ride for the most part. No real complaints. Except once instance when the owner of Lee's Fried Chicken came out and yelled at us today in Covington, Ky., for unloading in his parking lot. Needless to say, we did not have fried chicken for dinner.

HN: Has this tour made you realize an importance or appreciation in regards to being a band from Nebraska?

JM: Totally. A lot of people have asked us where we are from, and when we say Omaha, their eyes light up. There are a few who still "don't know,” but most people who ask are aware of the scene.

HN: What are your biggest anticipations on returning home to Nebraska this weekend?

JM: For me, it's my dog. Spending some serious time in bed. Going back to work at Brothers and seeing all of the people I care about. For the band, we plan to start recording our next album really soon. Oh, and we are playing a coming home show at Brothers on April 27 with Lightning Bug.

After a few days off, I know I will be itching to play another show. Still, the ending of the Cursive tour is bittersweet. We're going to miss those guys. And Cymbals Eat Guitars.

Steven is a Hear Nebraska contributor. He feels apprehensive because each year on this glorified ganja holiday, the fear that the mindless dopes will embark on a mass-murderous rampage and trigger a worldwide genocide starting with the first toke of this dangerous, deadly drug runs rampant through his head. Reach Steven at stevena@hearnebraska.org.