With his music in the Microphones and Mount Eerie, Phil Elverum has become known as a prolific, influential indie musician. However, when Elverum was interviewed for Ojai Valley News to support a show the band played on Friday at a venue called Deer Lodge, the interviewer Bill Locey didn’t seem to know who Elverum was. So Elverum proceeded to fuck with him.

The interview was conducted over email. Elverum claimed to be a beekeeper, as well as a Crossfit obsessive, saying Mount Eerie “partnered with Avia for an athleisure brand focused on shorts, joggers, leggings, and lightweight (predominately mesh and mesh-hybrid) jackets.” He said that for songwriting he has to “lean pretty hard on ChatGPT,” and that the strangest gig he performed was “a TedX thing about my gastrointestinal issues.”

There are many quotable moments in the interview, but here’s one snippet:

BL: You seem to have carved out your own niche in the music biz — what might that be?

PE: I came up steeped in that sort of Twenty One Pilots thrash mindset but filtered through a pop lens. I think what “clicks” with folks is probably the disingenuous lyrical honesty coupled with my dark sexual energy.

BL: What was your big break or have you had it yet?

PE: Feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars: That’s the goal, anyway. But there have been some opportunities. The Hilfiger contract was huge. Touring with MCR (My Chemical Romance) was huge. I can’t say too much about it but there’s a Marvel thing happening in 2025.

A Reddit user even spoke to Elverum about it: “Talked with him before the show. He said the questions were all legit and asked if it was a print publication. lol. Confirmed it was and showed him a picture of Mr Locey. He seemed surprised they printed it! Wish I would have brought a copy for him to sign. Ha!”

Check out the interview here.