Red Wire Black Wire formed from college ties, correct? Did you guys meet in the library or the dorm?

Doug P. Walters: Yeah, we all went to Wesleyan University except Greg, who I met because he is my brother. I met most of the people in this band through music classes at Wesleyan. One of the first interactions I had with Zac was seeing him freestyle wasted outside of a party.

What brought about the synth-led direction of the group? Is this a sound you had been playing around with for some time? It seems more difficult to assemble a band from synths than just from guitars, bass, and drums.

Walters: I grew up playing piano and drums, so when I started writing songs I got into synths and drum machines. I had some friends play guitar on some home recordings and it added a needed human element to the electronic stuff. Now we’re working almost entirely with live drums as well, and I think we’ve developed a nice mix of electronic and organic sounds.

The video for your song “Compass” is quite nice. Where was it filmed, and who did it?

Walters: Our friend Diana Frame put that whole thing together. It was filmed in a machine shop and at our practice space in Brooklyn. Fortunately you cannot smell the practice space through the video.

Tell us about self-releasing and writing your first EP. Nice artwork, too.

Walters: We actually got an offer from a pretty big indie label a few months after the band formed. We recorded almost a whole full-length on our own while working on contract details. They ended up pulling some pretty shady stuff so we decided that we’d rather just release an EP ourselves. The album art is by a Texan painter named Josh Heilaman.

Tough Customer has since taken over as your record label. What plans do the both of you have for next month’s big LP release? What’s the new album going to be called?

Walters: The new full-length is called Robots & Roses. It’s coming out this September. I think our plan is just to promote it as much as we can afford and play as many shows as possible. I think we could all go for an iPod commercial right about now, too. I’m tired of making sandwiches for money.

Meanwhile, the band is going to be touring all over, including the Great White North. How has traveling as a six-piece worked out so far? Does Jocelyn feel overwhelmed by the amount of dudes?

Walters: Traveling as a six-piece certainly makes it a little harder to play-out (more cars, more beds, less $ to go around). We really need six people to get our full sound, though. Jocelyn keeps us in check. She’s actually not coming on this tour, sadly. My friend Peter Spear is filling in for her.

The band is from Brooklyn. Is it very hard to find a place to practice in New York?

Walters: It’s not that hard, but it is pretty expensive. We rent a room by the month and share it with some other bands. It’s pretty much a concrete dungeon without air conditioning or any form of ventilation. August has been hot and shitty. I think Dave (our drummer) has passed out in there before.

Does the band’s name reference disarming a bomb?

Walters: The bomb reference was my initial thought when I came up with the name. I think there’s a fair amount of frantic caution in our music. Like, we’re freaking out but we’re also composed or something. I don’t know. That’s kind of how I think about it anyway.

How neat is it to play Monolith? Who are you hoping to see out there in Colorado?

Walters: Honestly, we’re really honored to be there. Red Rocks is crazy. We’re a pretty young band, and we’re playing with some bands that I’ve loved for a while like Of Montreal, The Walkmen, and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I think right now I might be most excited to see Starfucker. I’ve been getting in to there record lately and would love to see them live.